Temple of Zeus, Olympia: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Olympia-ZeusTempelRestoration.jpg|thumb|right|[[Wilhelm Lübke]]'s illustration of the temple as it might have looked in the 5th century BC ]] |
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The '''Temple of Zeus at Olympia''' was an ancient [[Greek temple]] in [[Olympia, Greece]], dedicated to the chief of the gods. The temple, built between 472 and 456 BC, was the very model of the fully developed classical Greek temple of the [[Doric order]].<ref name ="b">[http://traumwerk.stanford.edu:3455/Archaeopaedia/243 Temple of Zeus] at Archaeopaedia, [[Stanford University]]</ref> |
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==Setting== |
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The temple stood in the most famous sanctuary of Greece, which had been dedicated to local and Pan-Hellenic deities and had probably been established towards the end of the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean period]]. The ''Altis'', the enclosure with its [[sacred grove]], open-air altars and the [[tumulus]] of [[Pelops]], was first formed during the tenth and ninth centuries BC<ref>[http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp?obj_id=2358 (Hellenic Ministry of Culture: The sanctuary site at Olympia, including the Temple of Zeus]</ref> [[Greek Dark Ages|Greece's "Dark Age"]], when the cult of Zeus was joined to the already established cult of Hera.<ref>Preceding the Temple of Zeus in the ''[[temenos]]'' at Olympia were the archaic structures: [http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp?obj_id=2358 "the temple of Hera, the Prytaneion, the Bouleuterion, the treasuries and the first stadium."]</ref> |
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==Statue of Zeus== |
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{{main|Statue of Zeus at Olympia}} |
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It housed the renowned [[Statue of Zeus at Olympia|statue of Zeus]], which was one of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]]. The [[Chryselephantine]] statue was approximately {{convert|13|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} high and was made by the sculptor [[Phidias]] in his workshop on the site at Olympia. He took about twelve years to complete it. On his head was a sculpted wreath of olive sprays. In his right hand he held a figure of [[Nike (mythology)|Nike]], the goddess of victory, also made from ivory and gold, and in his left hand, a scepter made with many kinds of metal, with an eagle perched on the top. His sandals were made of gold and so was his robe. His garments were carved with animals and with lilies. The throne was decorated with gold, precious stones, ebony, and ivory. The statue was the most famous artistic work in Greece. |
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==Construction== |
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The temple was constructed by the architect [[Libon]], with carved [[metope (architecture)|metopes]] and [[triglyph]] friezes, topped by [[pediment]]s filled with sculptures in the [[Severe Style]], now attributed to the "[[Olympia Master]]" and his studio. |
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The main structure of the building was of a local limestone that was unattractive and of poor quality, and so it was coated with a thin layer of [[stucco]] to give it an appearance of marble. All the sculptural decoration on the temple was made of [[Parian marble]], and the roof tiles were of the same [[Pentelic marble]] used to build the [[Parthenon]] at [[Athens]]. |
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==Decoration== |
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[[Image:Bull metope Olympia Louvre MA716.jpg|thumb|left|Heracles vanquishes the old order: metope with Heracles and the Cretan Bull ([[Musée du Louvre]]).]] |
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The unifying theme of [[iconography]] of the temple is the ''dike'' or justice based on custom, as represented by Zeus, its upholder.<ref>Jeffrey M. Hurwit, "Narrative Resonance in the East Pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia' ''The Art Bulletin'' '''69'''.1 (March 1987:6-15).</ref> |
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The east pediment,<ref>Marie-Louise Säflund, ''The East Pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia: A Reconstruction and Interpretation of Its Composition'', Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology, '''27''' (Götheborg) 1970, summarised fifty-eight previous reconstructions; her reconstruction has been widely but not universally accepted.</ref> erroneously attributed to [[Paeonius]] by [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], who gave a detailed account of its sculptures in the late second century CE, depicted the myth of the chariot race between [[Pelops]] and [[Oenomaus]],<ref>King Oinomaos would only let his daughter wed if a suitor could beat him in a chariot race. Pelops, the man who fell in love with Hippodameia altered the Kings chariot by replacing the axle linchpins with beeswax and consequently the king died and he married the Kings daughter. Oenomaus' violation of ''dike'' was symbolised by the thirteen heads of unsuccessful suitors, hung on columns in his palace.After the successful race, Zeus with a thunderbolt destroyed the palace.One wooden column left standing was shown to Pausanias with this commentary.</ref> with Zeus standing in the centre, flanked by standing pairs of heroes and heroines, and the two chariot groups, with recumbent figures in the corners. [[Hippodameia]] and her maid stand to Zeus' left (north), and [[Pelops]] to Zeus' right. A great part of all fifteen figures has been recovered, in carefully documented excavations; scholars still discuss the placement and interrelationships of six seated or kneeling figures in the composition, and their specific identifications. |
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The west pediment depicted the [[Centauromachy]], the fight at the wedding of [[Peirithoos]] between the [[Lapiths]] and the [[centaur]]s, who had violated ''[[Xenia (Greek)|xenia]]'', the sacred rules of hospitality that support the social norms. [[Apollo]]<ref>A.F. Stewart and N.D Tersini, "The gesture of Apollo in the west pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia", ''American Journal of Archaeology'' '''86''' (1982:287f).</ref> stood in the centre, flanked by [[Peirithoos]] and [[Theseus]].<ref name="a">[http://www.sikyon.com/Olympia/Art/olymp_eg00.html Pediments of the temple of Zeus, 470 - 456 BC] at www.sikyon.com</ref> Peirithoos, king of the Lapiths has invited the centaurs to a wedding celebration. The centaurs get drunk and kidnap the women. Perithoos succeeds in defeating them. The Lapiths have been taken to represent the civilised Olympian order of the Greeks themselves, while the Centaurs represent primitive nature of [[chthonic]] beings; the frieze also reminded fifth-century Greeks of their [[Greco-Persian Wars|victory over the Persians]], "outsider" threateners of the Hellenic order. The statue of Apollo (currently in the [[Archaeological Museum of Olympia]]) was depicted on the [[Obverse and reverse|obverse]] of the Greek 1000 [[Greek drachma|drachmas]] banknote of 1987-2001.<ref>[http://www.bankofgreece.gr/en Bank of Greece]. Drachma Banknotes & Coins: [http://www.bankofgreece.gr/en/Banknotes/banknote_selection.asp?Value=1.000 1000 drachmas]. – Retrieved on 27 March 2009.</ref> |
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The ''[[pronaos]]'' and ''[[opisthodomos]]'', the entrance portico and the balancing false portico at the rear, were constructed ''[[in antis]]'', with six metopes at either end, carved with the [[Labours of Hercules|12 labours of Heracles]], in which Heracles successfully defeats a series of creatures and monsters that threaten righteous order.<ref>Hurwit 1987:6.</ref> |
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==Subsequent history== |
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[[Image:Temple of Zeus.JPG|right|220px|thumb|Ruins of the temple.]] |
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The Roman general [[Mummius]] dedicated twenty-one gilded shields after he sacked Corinth in 146 BC; they were hung upon the columns. In 426 CE, [[Theodosius II]] ordered the destruction of the sanctuary, and earthquakes in 522 and 551 devastated the ruins and left the Temple of Zeus partially buried.<ref>[http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp?obj_id=2358 Hellenic Ministry of Culture].</ref> |
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The site of the ancient sanctuary, long forgotten under landslips and flood siltation, was identified in 1766. In 1829 a French team partially excavated the Temple of Zeus, taking several fragments of the pediments to the [[Musée du Louvre]]. Systematic excavation began in 1875, under the direction the German Archaeological Institute, and has continued, with some interruptions, to the present time. |
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==In Film== |
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The 1997 [[Disney]] animated film [[Hercules (Disney film)|Hercules]] depicts the Temple of Zeus as the only communication Hercules has with his father while he is a mortal. Zeus communicates by possessing the statue within the temple. In an episode of the [[Hercules: The Animated Series|animated series]], Zeus further uses this ability to address an issue on Earth by using the statue to visit other cities near Athens. |
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== See also == |
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*[[Elis]] |
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*[[Architecture of Ancient Greece]] |
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*[[Greek temple]] |
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*[[List of Greco-Roman roofs]] |
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*[[Apollon of Olympia]] |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist|2}} |
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==External links== |
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{{Commons category|Temple of Zeus in Olympia}} |
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*[http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/ARTH209/Olympia_Temp_Zeus.html Collection of images of the building layout and sculptures of the temple of Zeus] |
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*[http://diglit.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/curtius1892bd1/0012?&sid=4e30e09413021c16b7707a1d9d6ede04 Ground floor planof the temple by Dörpfeld, (Berlin, 1892) from the library of Universität Heidelberg] |
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{{Ancient Greece topics}} |
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{{coord|37|38|16|N|21|37|48|E|region:GR-14_type:landmark_source:dewiki|display=title}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Temple Of Zeus}} |
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[[Category:Ancient Greek buildings and structures]] |
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[[Category:5th-century BC architecture]] |
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[[Category:Temples in ancient Olympia|Zeus (Olympia)]] |
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[[cs:Diův chrám]] |
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[[de:Zeustempel (Olympia)]] |
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[[el:Ναός του Δία στην Ολυμπία]] |
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[[es:Templo de Zeus Olímpico (Olimpia)]] |
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[[fr:Temple de Zeus à Olympie]] |
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[[it:Tempio di Zeus (Olimpia)]] |
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[[he:מקדש זאוס באולימפיה]] |
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[[no:Zevstempelet]] |
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[[ru:Храм Зевса в Олимпии]] |
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[[si:සියුස් දේවස්ථානය]] |
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[[simple:Temple of Zeus at Olympia]] |
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[[sr:Зевсов храм у Олимпији]] |
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[[sh:Zeusov hram]] |
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[[fi:Zeuksen temppeli Olympiassa]] |
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[[uk:Храм Зевса в Олімпії]] |
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[[zh:奧林匹亞宙斯神廟]] |
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