HERE - Olympia Summer Academy

TOUR OF ATHENS, stage 1
ANTIQUITIES IN ATHENS
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Tour of Athens, stage 1:
Α NTIQUITIES
IN Α THENS
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1 ΟLYMPIEION
The Olympieion includes the
sanctuary (temple) of
Olympian Zeus, Roman baths,
classical houses as well as a section
of the ancient city’s fortification
wall. According to the
geographer Pausanias, the temple
of Olympian Zeus was
founded by Deukalionas,
a mythical ancestor of the
Greeks. In the age of tyrrany,
circa 515 BC, Peisistratos the
younger grandson of the tyrant
Peisistratos, attempted to replace
the old temple with a
new, more impressive temple.
The tyranny, however, was
abolished and construction
work was terminated. The construction
of the new temple
was later assigned to the
Roman architect Decimus
Cossutius by the king of Syria
Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
Antiochus died in 163 BC and
the construction of the temple
was once again abandoned.
The structure did not have a
roof and pediment. The construction
of the temple, which
ranks among the biggest in antiquity,
was completed in 131
AD by the Roman Empe ror
Hadrian. It is of Corinthian
order (110m in length and
approximately 44m in width),
three rows of eight columns at
the narrow sides and two rows
of twenty columns at its long
sides. Inside the temple there
was a gold and ivory statue of
Zeus which does not exist
today.
• Ilissos Valley. The surviving
section of the Ilissos river
valley (right behind the temple
of Olympian Zeus) is worth a
visit. In antiquity the Ilissos river
was known as the sacred river
of the Muses. Scattered remains
of ancient sanctuaries
are located in the valley. You
will find nearby the rock of the
Kalliroi spring – which was famous
in antiquity – and the
church of Ayia Fotini, which
was built in 1872 at the site of
an ancient temple, on the foundation
of the sacred sanctuary
of Ekati. You will find nearby,
the preserved monuments of
the Classical, Roman, and
Byzantine age, among others,
(the Temple of Apollo Delphinios,
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A3-kilometre pedestrian zone (the biggest in
Europe) has been established in central roads
(Vas. Olgas Str, D. Areopagitou Str, Ap. Pavlou Str,
Adrianou Str. and a section of Ermou Str)
leading to the major archaeological sites of Athens
(archaeological park).
Visitors to the section from Dionyssiou Aeropagitou
(opposite Hadrian’s Arch) to the crossroads
of Ermou Str and Piraeus Str (in the Kerameikos area)
may enjoy the ancient landscape in a tranquil
setting of the city.
The archaeological tour is an unforgettable experience.
2. Temple of
Olympian Zeus:
16 of a total
of 104 columns
(with a height
of 17 metres)
have been
preserved.