Temple of Zeus, Olympia

The Temple of Zeus at Olympia was an ancient Greek temple in Olympia, Greece, dedicated to the god Zeus. The temple, built in the second quarter of the fifth century BCE, was the very model of the fully developed classical Greek temple of the Doric order.

The temple was probably established at an ancient religious site dating from the fourth millennium BC that was dedicated to the earth mother, Gaia, and eventually, was the site of a temple to Hera that dated to the Archaic period. The Altis, the enclosure with its sacred grove, open-air altars and the tumulus of Pelops, was first formed during the tenth and ninth centuries BC,Greece's "Dark Age", when the followers of Zeus had joined with the followers of Hera.

Construction of the temple began around 470 BC and was probably completed by 457 BC. The architect was Libon of Elis, who worked in the Doric style.

The temple was of peripteral form, with a frontal pronaos (porch), mirrored by a similar arrangement at the back of the building, the opisthodomos. The building sat on a crepidoma (platform) of three unequal steps, the exterior columns were positioned in a six by thirteen arrangement, two rows of seven columns divided the cella (interior) into three aisles. Although it lies in ruins today, an echo of the temple's original appearance can be seen in the Second Temple of Hera at Paestum, which closely followed its form.

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