Olympieion Photo. Athens, Greece

Picture of Athens: The Olympieion

The temple of Olympian Zeus is the largest ancient temple in Greece and it
was completed over the span of 700 years. Construction at the site first began under Peisistratos in the 6th c. BCE but it was never completed. Some building took place during classical times around the 4th c. BCE, and again in 174 BCE by Antinochus Epiphanes (king of Syria). After an interruption construction continued in 86 BCE, before it was finaly completed by Hadrian in 130 CE.

According to the Blue Guide, City Guide: Athens "About 1450 Cyriac of Ancona recorded 21 columns standing with architraves. In 1760 one was converted into lime by the Turkish governor for the construction of a new mosque. Anothe fell in the great storm of 26 October 1852".

This picture of the Olympieion taken in 1907 shows that the temple's condition has changed little in almost 100 years.