| The ancient Greek temple dedicated to Zeus was | | | | 13 carved pillars on the long sides of the rectangle and |
| constructed at Olympia in the sacred sanctuary of | | | | 6 pillars on the shorter sides. The roof had an incline, |
| Altis. Zeus was the king of all gods in ancient Greece. | | | | and the pillars were carved to show the 12 tasks |
| He lived on Mt. Olympus and was also the god of | | | | performed by Hercules. |
| thunder and sky. | | | | The ancient Greek temple of Zeus was constructed in |
| In ancient Greece, Olympics were held every 4 years | | | | the Doric style architecture which was prevalent during |
| for athletes. The athletes used to travel Mount | | | | those times. Limestones from the local quarry were |
| Olympus to take part in the games. During this period, | | | | used for the construction, but the appearance was dull |
| the wars would stop and the kings of different | | | | and not very attractive. So, the outer part of the |
| territories would call a truce to allow safe passage to | | | | temple was covered with Scutto. The sculptures |
| the athletes. The Olympics were dedicated to Zeus, | | | | housed in the temple were made using Parian marble |
| and were held at the temple in a stadium under a | | | | and the inner sanctum housed a 40-foot statue of |
| statue of Zeus. | | | | Zeus. The statue was shown sitting on a golden |
| In the initial stages of the stadium was simple and | | | | throne. |
| makeshift. However, soon the ancient Greeks wanted | | | | Although in the subsequent years, the temple was |
| something grander and more majestic. This was to | | | | ruined due to floods and wars, the temple and its |
| show their reverence to the king of all gods. So, the | | | | magnificent beauty remained etched in people's mind |
| started building a bigger and more magnificent temple | | | | and the description was passed down from one |
| in 470 AD. The architect of the temple was Libon, who | | | | generation to another. The magnificent statue of Zeus |
| was Elis. | | | | was destroyed in 462 AD due to a fire. |
| It is believed that many ideas for the temple were | | | | The ruins of the temple were discovered in 1829 AD |
| taken from the Parthenon and the temple of Artemis, | | | | by French archaeologists and it took 5 whole years to |
| which was located at Ephesus. The temple was built | | | | excavate. The task was further taken up a team of |
| on a raised platform that was rectangular in shape. It | | | | German archaeologists in 1875 AD. |
| had a huge roof that was supported with the help of | | | | |