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Temple of Zeus Olympia
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Located in Olympia, Greece, the Temple of Zeus at Olympia is considered to be a near perfect example of Doric style architecture. Construction of the temple began around 470 BC and continued until approximately 456 BC. The main architect of the temple was Libon of Elis, however the sculptor of the pediments is currently unknown. The temple is a peripteral hexastyle building that includes thirteen columns on the sides and six on the front and back, as well as an East/West orientation. The columns are made of limestone found locally, and then covered in stucco. There are only a few features of this temple that are made out of marble; one of them being the pediments. The temple is comprised of the pronaos, the opisthodomos, and the cella. The cella is divided into three rooms by two rows of seven columns, and at the far end once stood a monumental statue of Zeus. This statue, made of ivory and gold and designed by Pheidias, is considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The western pediment portrays the battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs, which is centered around a figure of Apollo. The eastern pediment features a chariot race between Pelops and Oinomaos, while Zeus himself watches over. The twelve metopes, six at each entrance, depict the twelve Labors of Herakles. The Temple of Zeus at Olympia was burnt down circa 426 AD, and archeological earthquakes destroyed what remained of the standing temple.
Judith Barringer, author of the article entitled The Temple of Zeus at Olympia, Heroes, and Athletes, suggests that since the discovery of the temple, the two pediments and six metopes have been treated as entirely separate architectural pieces. Barringer proposes that the pediments and metopes b...
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... has to be a common theme among these pieces so that it relates back to the temple. The theme is strength and glory in relation to the local people, as well as a thematic location to the temple.
Barringer presents her thesis in an honest and complete fashion. She stated her argument and then continued to point out the arguments and theories of other people to prove her point further. There are so many conflicting theories and interpretations about the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, however Barringer makes herself aware of the evidence given and also explains what the ancient Greeks would have seen during the time of the temples use, which makes her argument more successful.
Works Cited
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Barringer, J.M. “The Temple of Zeus at Olympia, Heroes, and Athletes,” Hesperia 74 (2005), pp. 211-241.
Being a spectator to an ancient Greek sporting event was limited to Greek male citizens. Since we know that participation in sports was open to all male Greek citizens, we can assume that most, if not all, those who came to see a spectacle were former athletes in some regard. In Kyle’s
...r. "Ancient Greece." Gardner's art through the ages the western perspective. 13th ed., Backpack ed. Boston, Mass.: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. 101, 123,129. Print.
Daly, Kathleen N. Greek & Roman Mythology A to Z. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2004. Print.
"Unhandled Exception." Ancient Greece - History, Mythology, Art, War, Culture, Society, and Architecture. 2008. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. .
Guerber, H. A. Myths of Greece and Rome. New York: American Book Company. 1921. Print.
“It is universally accepted that 776 B.C. was the year the festival at Olympia, in honor of Zeus, became known as the Olympics, and the period of four years between celebrations became an Olympiad (Zimmerman 1984).” Yet the precise circumstances surrounding the creation of the ancient Olympics are still shrouded in mystery. Several myths encompassin...
Kaltsas, Nikos E. Athens-Sparta. New York, NY: Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA) in Collaboration with the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, 2006. Print.
Pelling, Chris. "UCL Department of Greek & Latin." The Ancient Olympics. 28 Aug. 2015. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.
When New West began to investigate The Peoples Temple, it shook the members of the group and they attempted to fend it off by messaging the media group with several letters and calls saying “We hear New West is going to attack Jim Jones in print; don’t do that. He’s a good man who doesn’t good works.” After a bit of time passed, ex-members of The Peoples Temple
Scott, Foreman and Company, 1903. Kohne, Eckhart and Cornelia Ewigleben, eds., pp. 113-117. Gladiators and Caesars: The Power of Spectacle in Ancient Rome. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000. Meijer, Fik (Liz Waters, trans.).
statue was found in the Hera's Temple. Contained in the Temple of Zeus was one
Farris, Dale. "Shutt, Timothy B.: A History of Ancient Sparta." Library Journal 15 May 2009: 45.
The end of the Geometric period resulted in the beginning of the Orientalizing Period, dated between 700-600 BC. Within this time frame, Greek introduced a new innovation, the Peripteral Temple. For many years prior, a row of colonnade was used on the interior primarily to hold up the roof of the building. In contrast, columns are seen being used on the outside, creating a visual wall around the building exposing parts of the interior. With in the temple existed the megaron style, carried forward from Bronze Age homes. It was also in eastern influenced period, the first real stone temples, and terra cotta roof tiles came to exist to hold the weight on these new stone temples. The population grew drastically, introducing new techniques and styles, which blended to form designs with balance and symmetry. It was during this period, two major Greek designs were developed, the Ionic and Doric order. (Pedley, 2012: pg. 180) The Doric order, being the first and most simple, consisted of baseless columns placed closely together as the Greeks did not know how much weight the shortened columns could hold. Reason behind this was the lack of length in the columns were believed to hold less weight and therefore forced into being placed closer together. This closely set arrangement created a very bold statement in the Doric temple. The Capital, which sat on top of the concaved shaped shaft, was left plain but when grouped alongside others, suggested a bold harmony. In contrast, the Ionic order was less bulky and more delicate than the Doric order. The top of the capital is decorated with two scrolls, also known as volutes, which could have resembled a shell or animal horns. Above the capital, held room for a surrounding frieze depictin...
Ancient Egypt’s pyramids are the oldest and largest stone structure in the world. Along the Nile 35 major pyramids still stand. The three largest pyramids at Giza rank as one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. It was on the list of notable things to see which was made up by the travelers during ancient times. The ancient Egyptians also built temples of limestone. They designed parts of the temples to resemble plants. Moreover, many of ancient Egypt’s finest paintings and other works of art were produced for tombs and temples. Ancient Egyptian sculptors decorated temples with carvings showing festivals, military victories, and other important events. Sculptors also carved large stone sphinxes. These statutes were supposed to represent Egyptian Kings or Gods and were used to Guard temples and tombs. The Temples were houses of worship. The word temple most often refers to Buddhist, Confucian, Hindu, Taoist, and ancient Near Eastern and European places of worship. Most Temples are built to honor god, a God, or many Gods. Many of these buildings are considered the homes of gods. Back then and still today worship at temples often involves traditional ceremonies and may include sacrifices. Certain temples stood on sacred sites. The design of numerous temples was symbolic.
In Ancient Greece, religion dominated their life, so it is understandable that their architecture would be dominated by their religion. Before Greece became many different city-states, they had kings, and they would build a room called a megaron to show they King’s authority. A typical megaron is a single chamber with a fire pit in the middle with a throne off to the side. This room opened up into a porch (portico) that had four columns in the front. After there were no more kings these megarons turned into temples. The fire pit, which turned into some type of altar or a place to show a sacrifice for that god, was now outside in front of the temple. The altar was now outside so people could see you make these sacrifices to their gods. The first Greek temples were made out of wood and were long rectangular buildings with a porch all the way around which was supported by columns made from tree trunks. A Greek temple consists of five basic parts: the pediment, entablature, columns, base, and the cella, or the inner sanctum. The pediment is triangular and would have a type of sculpture or ornament known as acreteria on each corner. An entablature consists of three parts: the cornice, frieze, and architrave, which holds up the pediment. The columns are the support between the entablature and the base. The base usually consists of three steps. The cella is the inner sanctum, which has different rooms with more columns for support. Each temple would have a cella but they were not identical.