The Temple of Olympian Zeus：The Oldest Site of ...
The Temple of Olympian Zeus is a colossal ruined temple in the centre of the Greek capital Athens that was dedicated to Zeus, king of the Olympian gods. It is the oldest birthplace of the Olympic games.
奥林匹亚宙斯神殿，是希腊首都雅典中心的一座为奥林匹斯山众神之王宙斯而建的巨大破庙。它是奥林匹克运动会最古老的发源地。
●The Long History of Architecture and Damage 漫长的建筑与损毁历史
Construction began in the 6th century BC during the rule of the Athenian tyrants, who envisaged building the greatest temple in the ancient world, but it was not completed until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD some 638 years after the project had begun. During the Roman periods it was renowned as the largest temple in Greece and housed one of the largest cult statues in the ancient world.The temple's glory was short-lived, as it fell into disuse after being pillaged in a barbarian invasion in the 3rd century AD.It was probably never repaired and was reduced to ruins thereafter.
An earlier temple had stood there, constructed by the tyrant Pisistratus around 550 BC. The building was demolished after the death of Peisistratos and the construction of a colossal new Temple of Olympian Zeus was begun around 520 BC by his sons, Hippias and Hipparchos.The Temple of Olympian Zeus was intended to be built of local limestone in the Doric style on a colossal platform measuring 41 m by 108 m.
The work was abandoned when the tyranny was overthrown and Hippias was expelled in 510 BC. The temple was left unfinished during the years of Athenian democracy.It was not until 174 BC that the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who presented himself as the earthly embodiment of Zeus, revived the project and placed the Roman architect Decimus in charge.The design was featured to be three rows of eight columns across the front and back of the temple and a double row of twenty on the flanks, for a total of 104 columns.The columns would stand 17 m high and 2 m in diameter.The building material was changed to the expensive but high-quality Pentelic marble and the order was changed from Doric to Corinthian, marking the first time that this order had been used on the exterior of a major temple.However, the project ground to a halt again in 164 BC with the death of Antiochus.The temple was still only half-finished by this stage.
A half-hearted attempt was made to complete the temple during Augustus'reign as the first Roman emperor, but it was not until the accession of Hadrian in the 2nd century AD that the project was finally completed. Over the following centuries, the temple was systematically quarried to provide building materials and material for the houses and churches of medieval Athens.By the end of the Byzantine period, it had been almost totally destroyed.Fifteen columns remain standing today and a sixteenth column lies on the ground where it fell during a storm in 1852.Nothing remains of the cella or the great statue that it once housed.
这座庙宇的建筑开始于公元前6世纪，那是雅典的暴君们统治时期，他们企图建造古代世界最大的寺庙，可惜一直没有完工，直到罗马皇帝哈德良统治时期，于公元2世纪，也即此项工程动工大约638年后才竣工。在罗马时期，它因是希腊最大的寺庙，并安放下古代世界最大的宗教雕像而闻名天下。这座寺庙的辉煌时期十分短暂，当公元3世纪蛮族入侵后，它就变为废墟。这可能是从来不曾修缮才逐渐沦为废墟的缘故吧。
该庙的原址上原先有一座寺庙，是由暴君佩西斯特拉托斯于公元前550年授命建造的。该建筑在佩西斯特拉托斯去世后被拆除了，由他的儿子，希庇亚斯和希帕科斯于西元前520年重新建造了一座庞大的新奥林匹亚宙斯神庙。奥林匹亚宙斯神殿的宗旨是用当地石灰岩在一座41米×108米的庞大平台上建造一座多立克柱式风格的庙宇。
公元前510年，当希庇亚斯被驱逐，暴政被推翻的时候，这项工程就报废了。在民主雅典时期，这座庙宇一直在待修状态。到了公元前174年，塞琉西国王安条克四世提出，他自己就是宙斯的人间化身，所以要恢复该项目，并命令罗马建筑师德西姆负责此项工程。设计特征为从正面和背面穿过三排8根柱和从两侧竖起两排20根柱，共为104根柱子。柱子高17米，直径2米。建筑材料改为昂贵但优质的大理石，构架是由立克柱式风格改为科林斯柱式风格，这标志着此构架第一次用于大寺庙的外部建筑。然而，该项目于公元前164年，因安条克国王的去世而再次停止。这个时候，该庙宇依然是只完成了一半。
后来在第一个罗马皇帝奥古斯图斯统治时期，对寺庙进行了三心二意的修建。直到公元2世纪，进入哈德良时期，该项目才最终竣工。在接下来的几个世纪，寺庙的建筑材料被系统地开采出来建造中世纪的房子和教堂。在拜占庭时期，它已几乎完全被摧毁。如今有15根柱子仍然屹立如初，还有16根柱子已经在1852年风暴中刮倒在地。庙内的内殿和巨大雕像，没有留下一点遗迹。
●Zeus and the Olympic Games in Greek Mythology 希腊神话中的宙斯和奥运会
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus is the"Father of Gods and men"who rules the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father rules the family. He is the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology.His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull, and oak.Zeus is frequently depicted by Greek artists in one of two poses：standing, striding forward, with a thunderbolt leveled in his raised right hand, or seated in majesty.His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.His Hindu equivalent is Indra.
Zeus is the child of Cronus and Rhea, and the youngest of his siblings. In most traditions he is married to Hera, although, at the oracle of Dodona, his consort is Dione.He is known for his erotic escapades.These resulted in many godly and heroic offspring, including Athena, Apollo and Artemis, Hermes, Persephone, Dionysus, Perseus, Heracles, Helen of Troy, Minos, and the Muses；by Hera, he is usually said to have fathered Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus.
According to legend, Hercules, a son of Zeus, got the name"Titan"for his great strength. In Elis, the Greek city-state, he spent less than half a day in finishing cleaning the whole stall full of bullshit.Before Hercules took the heavy task of clearing away the bullshit, the king had promised to present him 300 bulls as the"wage".But the king broke his promise.In a fit of pique, Heracles drove the king away.In order to celebrate the victory, he held a sports meeting in Olympia.It's the first ancient Olympic games.
在古希腊的宗教中，宙斯是“众神和人类之父”，他统治着奥林匹斯山的奥林匹亚人，就像一位父亲统治着自己的家庭一样。在希腊神话中，他是掌管天空和雷电的神。他象征着雷电，鹰，牛和橡树。宙斯常常被希腊艺术家塑造成两种姿势：站着，阔步向前，举起右手，手中握着霹雳，或者威严地坐着。他相当于于罗马神话中的木星朱庇特，伊特鲁里亚神话中的主神丁尼亚，印度神话中的主神因陀罗。
宙斯是克洛诺斯和瑞亚之子，也是兄弟姐妹中最小的一个。在大多数的传统传说中，他娶了赫拉，虽然在多多纳的神谕中，他的配偶是狄俄涅。他以风流好色而著称。他的放荡结晶就是众多的神和英雄的后代，包括雅典娜、阿波罗和阿耳特弥斯、赫尔墨斯、珀耳塞福涅、酒神狄俄尼索斯、珀尔修斯、赫拉克勒斯、特洛伊的海伦、米诺斯与缪斯女神；通常认为，他与赫拉生下的是站神阿瑞斯，青春女神赫柏和火神赫菲斯托斯。
相传，宙斯的一个儿子赫拉克勒斯，因力大无比，获得“大力神”的美称。在希腊的伊利斯城邦，他用不到半天的时间，扫干净了国王堆满了牛粪的牛棚。在接手这个艰巨的任务之前，国王承诺将赠送300头牛给他作为“工资”。但国王食言了。一气之下，赫拉克勒斯赶走了国王。为了庆祝胜利，他在奥林匹亚举行了运动会，即最早的古代奥运会。
●The Attractions around the Temple of Zeus 宙斯神殿周围景点
The temple is located about 500 m south-east of the Acropolis, and about 700 m south of the center of Athens, Syntagma Square. There are a lot of important cultural attractions nearby.
这座寺庙位于雅典卫城东南大约500米，雅典中心的宪法广场南部大约700米的地方。附近有很多重要的人文景点。
Nymphs Mountain 山林水泽女神山
The mountain is located in the north of the ancient meeting field of the Athens. It is about 104 meters high.There was a lookout park on the mountain, and a rock in the park, engraved with the words to the nymphs, so the mountain got the name.In the Greek and Roman mythology, the nymphs are a group of beautiful goddess dwelling in the forest.They build altars in the place of residence, and make them consecrated.The lookout on the peak lookout stands tall, and only be open to visitors on the last Saturday of every month.There are remains of ancient buildings on the hillsides, including the St.Marina chapel, an ancient building with many domes on the top.
女神山位于雅典旧城古会议场的北面。山高约104米，山上建有瞭望台公园，园内有一块岩石，刻着献给山林水泽仙女的文字，山由此而得名。希腊、罗马神话中的山林水泽女神是一群居住在山林的美丽女神，她们在居住的地方建立祭坛，并视为圣地。山顶的瞭望台高高耸立，只在每月的最后一个星期六才对游客开放。山坡上有古建筑遗址，其中有一处是圣玛丽娜小教堂，是一个多圆顶的古代建筑物。
Arch of Hadrian 哈德良拱门
The Arch of Hadrian is located 325m southeast of the Acropolis. It is a monumental gateway resembling a Roman triumphal arch.It spanned an ancient road from the center of Athens, Greece, to the complex of structures on the eastern side of the city that included the Temple of Olympian Zeus.It has been proposed that the arch was built to celebrate the arrival of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and to honor him for his many benefactions to the city, on the occasion of the dedication of the nearby temple complex in 131 or 132 AD.It is not certain who commissioned the arch, although it is probable that the citizens of Athens or another Greek group were responsible for its construction and design.There were two inscriptions on the arch, facing in opposite directions, naming both Theseus and Hadrian as founders of Athens.While it is clear that the inscriptions honor Hadrian, it is uncertain whether they refer to the city as a whole or to the city in two parts：one old and one new.The early idea, however, that the arch marked the line of the ancient city wall, and thus the division between the old and the new regions of the city, has been shown to be false by further excavation.
哈德良拱门位于雅典卫城东南方325米，这是一座庆祝罗马胜利的拱门。它跨越了从城市中心通往城市的东侧包括奥林匹亚宙斯神庙在内的建筑群的古老的街道。据说兴建这座拱门是为了庆祝罗马皇帝哈德良在公元131年或132年的到访，皇帝来此是为了当时附近新建的神庙，向该市捐献了大量财物，对于如此重大的荣幸，需要以适当的方式表示尊敬。虽然不能确定是谁修建了此门，但是负责设计和修建的可能是雅典或其他希腊城市的公民。在拱门的正反两面都刻有文字，分别称忒修斯和哈德良为雅典城市的创建者。目前尚不能确定，这里的城市是指整个城市或城市的两个部分：老城和新城。但是，早期的想法认为拱门标志着古代城墙的位置，因而区分了该市的老城和新城，但是已被进一步的挖掘证明不正确。