Olympieion

According to tradition, the establishment of the sanctuary goes back to the time of mythical Deucalion. The site was inhabited in the prehistoric period and the cult of Zeus is attested in early historic times. In ca. 515 BC, Peisistratos the Younger, began the construction of a monumental temple which was not finished because of the fall of the tyranny in Athens. Much later, in 174 BC, Antiochos IV Epiphanes, the king of Syria, attempted to continue the erection of the temple, which was finally completed by the Roman emperor Hadrian, in AD 124/125. Inside the temple stood a colossal chryselephantine (gold and ivory) statue of Zeus.

The most important monuments of the site are:

• Temple of Zeus Olympios.
• Temple of Apollo Delphinios.
• The Court at the Delphinion.
• Gates of the city wall of Athens, built by Themistocles in 479/78 BC.
• Roman baths, constructed in AD 124-132.
• Temple of Panhellenic Zeus, built in AD 131-132.
• Temple of Cronos and Rhea.