The ancient Greek temple dedicated to Zeus was built in Olympia in the sacred sanctuary of Altis. Zeus was the king of all gods in ancient Greece. He lived on Mount Olympus and was also the god of thunder and the sky.
In ancient Greece, the Olympic Games were held every 4 years for athletes. Athletes used to travel to Mount Olympus to participate in the games. During this period, the wars would stop and the kings of different territories would call a truce to allow safe passage for the athletes. The Olympic Games were dedicated to Zeus and were held in the temple in a stadium under a statue of Zeus.
In the initial stages the stadium was simple and improvised. However, soon the ancient Greeks wanted something more grandiose and majestic. This was to show their reverence to the king of all gods. So, they started building a larger and more magnificent temple in 470 AD The architect of the temple was Libon who was Elis.
Many ideas for the temple are believed to have been taken from the Parthenon and the Temple of Artemis, which was located in Ephesus. The temple was built on a raised platform that was rectangular in shape. It had a huge roof that was supported with the help of 13 carved pillars on the long sides of the rectangle and 6 pillars on the shorter sides. The roof had a slope and the pillars were carved to show the 12 tasks performed by Hercules.
The ancient Greek temple of Zeus was built in the Doric style architecture that was prevalent at the time. Limestone from the local quarry was used for the construction, but the appearance was dull and unattractive. So, the outer part of the temple was covered with Scutto. The sculptures housed in the temple were made from Parian marble and the inner sanctum housed a 40-foot statue of Zeus. The statue was shown sitting on a golden throne.
Although in the following years, the temple fell into ruin due to floods and wars, the temple and its magnificent beauty remained etched in people’s minds and the description was passed down from generation to generation. The magnificent statue of Zeus was destroyed in 462 AD due to fire.
The ruins of the temple were discovered in 1829 AD by French archaeologists and it took 5 whole years to excavate. The task was taken up by a team of German archaeologists in 1875 AD.