Temple of Olympian Zeus

Today we took the subway to where we thought we would find the Temple of the Olympian Zeus. As we have come to expect, it was not where it seemed like it ought to be on the map. The guidebooks all say that none of the ancient sites here are marked very well. That is so true. The street signs are in Greek of course. There are few pictographs to help the tourist. There is no Map of the Stars such as we have in Hollywood. And so, we head out each morning with a destination in mind and are happy if we find it and find something else to enjoy if we can't find it.

From the Acropolis, the Temple of Olympian Zeus is visible. It must be huge as we can easily see the columns from where we stood on the Likovitos Hill where the Pantheon stands. It would seem that you could see these gigantic monuments from a distance as they are mammoth, but you can't. As the city has grown up around them, the perspective is out of whack and something always seems to be in my line of vision.

We have been walking for ages and have decided to look for a place to eat when we spy the Arch of Hadrian. It is an interesting archway with another, more delicate archway on top of it. On the side which faces Athens, it is inscribed with This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus. On the other side, it says This is the city of Hadrian, not of Theseus. This park separates ancient city from the new Athens of Hadrian. Talk about an ego…

It is of interest that the columns are not one big pieces of marble as I imagined, but sections. This particular column fell during a thunderstorm in a recent century. The sections all fell in a nice row.
Peisistratos began construction of the temple in the sixth century BCE, but it was not completed until Hadrian's time. He dedicated it to Zeus in 132 ADE at the Panhellenic Festival. It is the largest temple in Athens, larger than the Pantheon. One corner of the building remains. Much of the rest of the building was scavenged for subsequent building projects. The columns are 56 feet in height. The building was 130 feet wide. Standing next to them makes you wonder how they ever managed to put it all together. The lines are very clean as you look through the columns to the blue sky. Kudos to the architect.

The complex includes a huge series of baths, both men's and women's. This carving is set at the base of the women's baths.