The Temple of Olympian Zeus - Article Example

? World Literature The ical period includes the importance of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. The research focuses on the contribution icalconcepts. It deals with the Temple of Olympian Zeus’ descriptions, as well as Hellenistic importance. The Temple of Olympian Zeus is a testament to the flourishing effects of classical humanities on our modern culture. In terms of humanities, Philosophy & Literature of the western culture deal with Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece & Rome. The architecture of the Temple of Olympian Zeus (Athens, Greece) reflects the values and aesthetics of the culture that created it. The Temple of Olympian Zeus displays classical, as well as Hellenistic, culture. During the Hellenistic’s period, Zeus was honored as God. Greek history is a part of the Classical humanities. The Temple of Olympian Zeus is a towering temple ruin located in Athens, Greece. The building of the temple started during the 6th century B.C. It was finally completed during the 2nd century B.C. all through the Roman emperor Hadrian’s rule. They were attacked, robbed, and torn down by the barbarian invaders during the 3rd century B.C. In terms of the philosophical aspect of classical humanities, the study includes the concept of the antiquities. The classical era dates from 600 BC to 600 AD. The classical culture is described as the group which included a majority of the highest class of citizens. The humanities study focused on the “Philo’s Rule” (strike the divine coin again). Classical Philosophy includes the intellectual, as well as aesthetic, admiration of the best around the world. Specifically, the temple is made from Doric style limestone creations. The remaining evidences of the hugeness of the Zeus which focused on temple are the towering columns. The towering columns still remain today as testimony to the unforgettable influence of the Classical architecture on the prior Greek society. Aristotle mentioned that the Classical Period included the king’s forcible use of the citizens to build the Temple of Olympian Zeus. The people’s focus on creating the architectural masterpiece kept them busy. Being occupied with the temple construction, citizens did not have time to stage rallies and attacks on the king during the classical period. In terms of the literary aspect of classical humanities, Edward Coplestone emphasized that Classical literature centers on learning, which includes the sending of data to the human mind. Classical literature persuades the current generation is encouraged to emulate the best of the classical period. The human being must prioritize a high sense of honor. Likewise, the classical person enjoined to refute death for good reason. Lastly, classical literature empowers the average person to devote one’s life to the welfare of the Greek community. During the later part of the temple’s construction, some of the columns were made from the prior low quality building materials to the premium quality Pentelic marble. In addition, the later columns were made using the Corinthian architecture style. The new style replaced the prior Doric architectural designs. The architectural design includes several towering columns that resemble those supporting the Parthenon. The Parthenon is located in Athens, Greece as well. Likewise, the Parthenon was constructed during the Classical humanities period, 488 B.C. to 480 B.C. Both the Parthenon and the Temple of Olympian Zeus included the construction architectural column types (small and big cella architectural types). During the Classical humanities period, the architectures prioritized the competitive creation of grand, beautiful, and technically ingenious works of architectural art. On the side of the Parthenon, the architectural foundation of the temple was made out of the limestone and marble. The people labored most of their waking lives to quarrying raw material from Greece’s Pentelic Mountains to finish the Parthenon Temple’s architectural masterpiece. In addition, the Parthenon employed Parian marble slabs for the temple’s huge statues. The Hellenistic humanities topic focuses on Athens, Greece. The people’s culture centered on Athens. The people’s ideals imitated the Athenian ideals. Likewise, the people’s lifestyles were grounded on Athen’s lifestyle standards. The age of Pericles included the people’s focus on Athenian literary and philosophical standards. Many of the classical writers drew their inspiration from the Classical period’s central community, Athens. In short, Hellenism is likened to pagan happiness. Further, Hellenism prospered during the Byzantine Empire. Hellenism places emphasis on Bible texts, as well as other canonical references. Hellenism includes emphasizing on the importance of inculcating the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and the Christian components of Byzantine identification (Kalellis 4). Additionally, the propagators of the Hellenistic humanist philosophies focused on the bribing Seleukid Ding, Antiochos IV, to mediate in some petty quarrels. The king used his heavy hand to reform the temple along Zeus’ godly status (Kalellis 29). Specifically, one author stated that the Temple of Olympian Zeus was constructed by Architect Libon of Elis. It was considered the largest shrine in the Peloponnesos and is identified as a classical example of Doric architecture. The temple is similar to the classical period’s Temple of Hera II located in Paestum. The South Italian temple continues to preserve the columns of the peristyle, the superstructure until the Cornice. The external part of the Temple of Olympian Zeus is richly decorated with many sculptures. On the other hand, the Temple of Hera II at Paestum hasn’t been filled with an equal number of sculptures. The building is covered with white plaster. The Temple of Olympian Zeus was showered with optical refinements. The refinement consists of a fractionally arched stylobate. The Temple of Olympian Zeus’ columns, as well as the entasis, were slightly focused on wards. The refinements were rarely found in the Western Greek humanistic areas. The architect of the Temple of Olympian Zeus was trained in Greece. Some quarters classified the Temple of Olympian Zeus as originally built for housing the government’s money (Lapatin 56). In addition, the Temple of Olympian Zeus was used as the site for the Olympic Games. Architectural design of the temple shows it is more lavishly decorated compared to the Temple of Aphaia. There were many statues filled the pediments of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. In addition, the six metopes located near the Temple of Olympian Zeus’ doorway in the pronaos and the matching six of the opisthodomos were significantly adorned with reliefs. The Temple of Olympian Zeus’ east pediment had deep local influence. The chariot race was used in a contest between Pelops (from the Pleoponnesos) and King Oinomaos. King Oinomaos had challenged any suitor, who wanted to marry Hippodamia, to a chariot race. The race started from Olympia and ended in Corinth. Its conditions stated that the winner can marry his daughter, Hippodamia. However, the suitor who loses the chariot race will be meted instant death. The story tells that the King used the finest horses in order to outrun the suitors. However, Pelops won the race by bribing the King’s groom to rig the chariots. Consequently, King Oinomaos was killed when the rigged chariot broke apart. The Olympic chariot games include the three actors. The three actors are Zeus (statue located in the center), Oinomaos, and his wife on one side, Pelops and Hippodameia on the other with their respect chariots lined up for the start of the chariot race (Kleiner 119). In 2004, one column of the Temple of Olympian Zeus was reconstructed. It was classified as one of the prior wonders of the World. The Antiquarian Philo of Byzantium opined that Zeus had created elephants in order to the make the ivory image of Zeus by sculptor Phidias. The 13m (43 feet) Phidias statue was on the site of the well-preserved brick building which is clearly visible from the west of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, known as the Workshop of Phidias site (Porter 506). In terms of contribution, Greek writers have the classical Hellenistic concepts contributed to today’s economic environment. The Hellenistic concepts included issues on private ownership of property. Likewise, Hellenistic concepts integrated division of labor. Division of labor was used in the construction of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. In addition, Wealth creation cropped up during the Classical Hellenistic era. Classical Hellenistic principles significantly influenced Karl Marx and Adam Smith’s writings (Petrochilos 215). Similarly, classical architecture emphasizes on the use of columns and beams to keep the building sturdy through the centuries (Gruin 16). Lastly, the Christian Tradition incorporates the Classical Hellenistic belief of using figurines in rituals (Martin). Based on the above discussion, the classical period incorporates the significance of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. The classical concepts are included in the Temple of Olympian Zeus’ architecture. Its construction incorporates Hellenistic culture. Indeed, the Temple of Olympian Zeus is the strong evidence of the flourishing effects of classical, including Hellenistic, culture upon our modern society. Works Cited Gruin, A. “Rufurbishment of Old Buildings by Classic and Modern Technologies”. IABSE Symposum Report Journal 2006.1 2006: 16-21. Print. Kalellis, A. Hellenism in Byzantium: the Transformation of Greek Idenity and the Reception of the Classical Tradition. New York: University Press, 2007. Print. Kleiner, F. Gardner's ARt Through the Ages. New York: Cengage Press, 2010. Print. Lapatin, K. Ancient Greece: Art, Architecture, and History. New York: Getty Press, 2004. Print. Martin, L. “The Anti- Individualistic Ideology of Hellenistic Culture”. Numen Journal 41.2 1994: 117-140. Print. Petrochilos, G. “The Hellenic Contribution to Economic Thought”. Global Business and Economic Review 1.2 (2005): 215-246. Print. Porter, D. Frommer's Europe. New York: J. Wiley & Sons Press, 2010. Print. Read More