The Temple of Zeus Essay

The ancient Greek site is known for its agonal spirit where people assemble at some place, especially the Zeus to have a contest just as all ancient civilizations had some form of contest. The contest was known for its impact to the society and culture. It is at the ancient Greek site where two contests including physical and mental occurred. Under the physical category, people participated in athletic sports whereas others participated in games. Under the mental category, drama, lawsuit, politics and philosophy were included. The western culture has ever since had the feature of agonal spirit.

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At the ancient Greek site stands the Temple of Zeus was constructed in the early classical period, at 470 B.C, a time when there were ancient Olympic games were held every four years. It is housed in the sanctuary of Zeus, who is the king of the Olympian Gods. Prior to its construction, there was a war amongst Elis and Pisa which are two neighboring powers in southern Greek, Olympia. As a result, due to the defeat of Elean, funds were issued by the town to build the magnificent temple. Its construction took at least 17 years, until 457 B.C. The temple now stands at an archaeological site of Olympia. The Temple of Zeus was designed by Libon of Elis and built by Phedias, who is the most talented sculptor of ancient Greece to honor the chief of the gods. Libon designed this magnificent building on a 64 meter long, 698 feet tall and 95 feet wide setting. Its architecture was similar to that of other ancient Greek temples including the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus and Parthenon in Athens. It was made of white stone, alongside limestone, with a coating of scutto, giving the temple an impression similar to that of the marble.

The Parian Marble was the most dominating material for all the sculptural decoration. The Pentelic marble was used to make the roof tiles. Its construction was never complete as it always underwent various renovations. However, Theodosius II ordered its destruction in 426 AD. Its destruction has always been a source of debate where some scholars argue against the destruction, claiming that the site alongside the temple perished in the 5th century AD. The temple was burnt down and later, it, alongside the statue of Zeus was eventually destroyed by an earthquake in 551 and 552 AD. One of the instances is its floor which was enveloped later by marble after the colorful mosaics with pebbles and stones were removed. The magnificent golden and chryselephantine statue of Zeus is the most attractive components of the temple. As a result, it is considered amongst the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The temple was a place of cult Zeus and holds various treasures, chapels, theatres, altars, and statues. Further, the temple was used as a place of worship and a place to celebrate certain rites and ceremonies, most of which related to the ancient Olympic games. Its treasury was also a treasury, used to store costly gifts. The decoration of the east pediment presented the race of chariots between Pelops and Oinomaos. On the west, the fight amongst Lapiths and Centaurs was depicted. The Labours of Hercules, who was the son of Zeus, was also not left out as he was depicted at the 12 metopes. The statue of Nike, at the temple's right hand along with a scepter on its left, was attractive sites for visitors including Aemilius Paulus who was the general of the Roman Empire. Both the site and the temple are important to today's society and culture besides educating us of the culture of the ancient Greece.