The ancient Greek calendar starts in 776 BC, for the Olympic games are believed to have started that year. The magnificent temple of Zeus was designed by the architect Libon and was built around 450 BC. Under the growing power of ancient Greece, the simple Doric-style temple seemed too mundane, and modifications were needed. The solution: A majestic statue. The Athenian sculptor Pheidias was assigned for the "sacred" task, reminiscent of Michelangelo's paintings at the Sistine Chapel.
For the years that followed, the temple attracted visitors and worshippers from all over the world. In the second century BC repairs were skillfully made to the aging statue. In the first century AD, the Roman emperor Caligula attempted to transport the statue to Rome. However, his attempt failed when the scaffolding built by Caligula's workmen collapsed. After the Olympic games were banned in AD 391 by the emperor Theodosius I as Pagan practices, the temple of Zeus was ordered closed.
Olympia was further struck by earthquakes, landslides and floods, and the temple was damaged by fire in the fifth century AD. Earlier, the statue had been transported by wealthy Greeks to a palace in Constantinople. There, it survived until it was destroyed by a severe fire in AD 462. Today nothing remains at the site of the old temple except rocks and debris, the foundation of the buildings, and fallen columns.
Seven Wonders of the World:
1. The Pyramids of Giza
Built in the 3rd millenium BC,are the oldest of the seven wonders and the
Only ones remaining intact today.
2. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Perhaps built by King Nebuchadnezzar II about 600 BC, were a mountainlike
Series of planted terraces.
3. The Temple of Artemis
(356 BC) was located at Ephesus in Greece.
4. The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
(4th century BC) was a monumental marble tomb.
5. The Colossus of Rhodes
(280 BC) was a bronze statue of the Greek sun god Helios.
6. The Pharos of Alexandria
(3rd century BC), located in Alexandria, Egypt, was a famous ancient lighthouse.
Note: The color painting at the top of the page is of artistic nature and does not necessarily Represent an accurate reconstruction of the Wonder.
