Temple of Zeus

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The Temple of Zeus at Olympia was destroyed by earthquake in the 5th century CE. It was constructed in the doric order, with carved metopes and triglyph frieze, topped by pediments filled with sculptures in the Severe Style now attributed to the Olympia Master and his studio.

The east pediment, erroneously attributed to Paeonius by Pausanias, depicted the myth of the chariot race between Pelops and Oenomaus, with Zeus stood in the centre. The west pediment depicted a fight between the Centaurs and the Lapiths. Apollo stands in the centre, flanked by Peirithoos and Theseus.

A sequence of twelve metopes – six over the pronaos and six over the opithodomos – showed the 12 labours of Herakles. Like the pediments, they were carved from Parian marble.

References

See also

• Category:Temple of Zeus at Olympia

External links

• Collection of images of the building layout and sculptures of the temple of Zeus

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Last updated on Tuesday March 11, 2008 at 17:05:03 PDT (GMT -0700)
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