Temple of Olympian Zeus
Colossal ruined temple of towering Corinthian columns, once home to a giant ivory-and-gold statue of Zeus.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens opens in 1759, when the city's Ottoman governor Mustapha Agha Tzistarakis ordered a towering ancient column near this spot burned down for lime to plaster his new mosque. It follows the outrage that spread among Athenians and even his own soldiers, and the plague that struck the city soon after, which frightened residents read as no coincidence. From there it turns to another fallen giant nearby, its drums scattered where a storm left them in 1852 and never moved since.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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