See & do · Landmarks & architecture
Temple of Olympian Zeus
Images provided by Google Places
Vast temple begun in 6th century B.C. on the site of an ancient outdoor sanctuary dedicated to Zeus.via Google
A colossal ruined temple featuring massive Corinthian columns that took centuries to complete.
- Good to know
- €, visible from the street if you do not want to pay entry.
Reviews from Google
Simply amazing to see this place. Athens is full of culture, great cafes, great coffee cafes, and of course the history. The walk up was a bit of a struggle but once on the top the views were amazing. Highly recommend this as a place to see.
The Temple of Zeus in Athens is impressive in theory, but in practice there’s not much to see — most of the site is behind fences and the ruins are quite limited. Compared to the Temple of Hephaestus, which is excellently preserved and much more striking, the ticket price feels a bit overpriced. Worth a quick visit if you’re in the area, but don’t expect the same impact as other ancient temples in Athens.
Another great piece of Ancient Greece. This was a a great place to take in the history and imagine. However the downsides outweighed the positives! The cost was €20 per person! You could explore only from a distance. The QR codes didn’t work. There was very little any signage and no information at the entrance. Nobody was helpful at the entrance or the concession area. You could literally stand outside a get photos and observe from there. A group of school kids were there and they were very rude. This is the first place we’ve visited and gained no knowledge from at all! While it was neat to see, sadly we were disappointed.
Perhaps most of people thought it bored, so there are not many persons in the site. I have to say that it’s worthwhile to be closed and to sit near at the left monuments quietly, and u can find a totally different Athens from the general view.
The Temple of Olympian Zeus (Olimpiejon) in Athens tends to land firmly on the “must-see” lists—though visitors often note, with a hint of wistfulness, that what remains is but a fragment of its former grandeur. Even so, the scale still impresses. Of the original 104 columns, 15 remain standing, and they are quite enough to stir the imagination. Towering, weathered, and faintly theatrical, they hint at a structure that must once have bordered on the audacious. Visually, it’s a gift. The site is widely considered one of the more photogenic corners of the city, with those monumental columns often framed against the distant Acropolis of Athens—a pairing that feels almost too perfectly composed to be accidental. It is, however, a brief encounter. Most visitors find that 30 to 60 minutes suffices to wander the grounds, take a few photographs, and absorb the atmosphere. In that sense, it works best as a graceful pause during a longer stroll through Athens rather than a destination in its own right. There is, inevitably, a trace of anticlimax. Beyond the columns, the site is rather sparse, and much of the original architectural richness has long since vanished. Still, what endures does so with quiet dignity—less overwhelming than expected, perhaps, but no less evocative for it.