Temple of Zeus

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

The Temple of Zeus is located in Olympia, Greece and was created in the ancient times to honor the King of the Gods, Zeus. The most important festival in the ancient times was the Olympic Games in honor of Zeus, in which athletes form all lands would compete in. they first started in 776 B.C.  and were held at a shrine on the western coast of Greece, Peloponnesus. The site of the games was held in Olympia for the season and as time went on, the shrine for Zeus eventually became a temple. It was built around 432 BC and made of Ivory and gold-plated plates with a wooden frame. The designer of the temple was Libon of Elis, who followed the basic design of many other ancient Greek buildings, like the Parthenon. It was built on a rectangular platform with thirteen columns to support the roof and a peaked roof. Above the columns were sculptures of the twelve labors of Heracles assigned by his father, Zeus. This temple became the best example of the Doric design and inside was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, a magnificent statue of Zeus that further emphasized the importance of the King of the Gods. 

What is the artist communicating and how?

The two major themes of the Temple of Zeus are to express a love and gratitude to the King of the Gods in the Ancient Times and to tell a story, almost. The entire purpose of the temple was to create an even bigger shrine than there already was for the King of the Gods, who everyone in the lands worshipped. The Olympic Games were held in honor of Zeus and therefore many believed that there should be a much larger shrine for him that would do some sort of justice. The statue that was added and became an ancient wonder of the world, further exemplified the importance and the love that the people of the ancient times had for Zeus. There is a myth in which Zeus, himself, approved of his temple on Olympia by touching the temple with a thunderbolt that did no damage and where a bronze Hydria appeared in the place of the thunderbolt. The story being told in the Temple of Zeus is that of Zeus, himself. The story of the Temple is the importance that the King of the Gods held at the time and how worshipped and loved he was by all. His son, Hercules, further proved Zeus’ importance with his twelve labors being depicted at the top of the temple. 

Why do you find it beautiful?  

I picked the Temple of Zeus as opposed to something better known like the Parthenon because I wanted to do something different. I found this temple beautiful in particular because all that is left of what was supposed to be the most beautiful temple in all of Greece, is a couple of columns on the rectangular platform. Historians have an idea as to what they think that the temple should have looked like according to what they have extracted and found and I think that it was the most beautiful temple that I had ever seen. The intricate designs and architecture involved in building the Temple of Zeus is so complex and beautiful. Also, the thought that the ancient people put into building this temple from where to place the temple to what to put inside it was amazing. I have a soft spot for the statue that was placed in the temple because the sculptor who created that statue was the same sculptor who created the statue of Athena Parthenos, Phidias. His designs and his sculptures are so beautiful and intricate it’s amazing. All in all the temple was so thought out and that is evident through the way that it still stands today after centuries.