TempelGeschlossen 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Orthodox Easter Sunday, 25 December, 26 December

Temple of Olympian Zeus

#4von 10 Orten zum Besuchen in AthensAthens, Attica, Greece

Auch bekannt als Olympieion · Naos tou Olympiou Dios

Kurz gesagt

Öffnungszeiten: 08:00–20:00 and 08:00–15:00, last entry 19:30. Eintritt: €8. Plane 45 min ein. Beste Zeit: Late afternoon in summer.

Aktualisiert am 18 September 2026 · Erstellt von Traveliac, KI-unterstützt · 4 Min. Lesezeit

Route anzeigenOffizielle Seite

Photo: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Öffnungszeiten: 08:00–15:00; 1 April–31 October: 08:00–20:00 daily, last entry 19:30. 1 November–31 March: 08:00–15:00 daily, last entry 14:30
Eintrittspreis: €8; Ticket ab
Benötigte Zeit: 45 min
Beste Tageszeit: Late afternoon in summer
Beste Monate: Apr – Jun, Sep – Oct
Adresse: Vasilissis Olgas Avenue, 10557 Athens, Greece

Über Temple of Olympian Zeus

The Temple of Olympian Zeus once held 104 Corinthian columns, each 17 metres tall and 1.7 metres in diameter, of which 15 survive standing and a 16th lies where it fell during a storm in 1852. Construction began around 520 BCE under the Athenian tyrant Peisistratos but was abandoned for financial and political reasons after his sons were overthrown, leaving the foundations exposed for over three centuries. Roman Emperor Hadrian, an enthusiastic admirer of Greek culture, finally completed the temple in 131 CE — roughly 638 years after it was begun — and installed a colossal gold-and-ivory statue of Zeus inside, plus a matching statue of himself beside it, a gesture of self-association with the god that Greek sources treat with some ambivalence.

Beste Tageszeit: Late afternoon in summer. When the low sun angles through the surviving columns and the site is less crowded than the nearby Acropolis.

Öffnungszeiten von Temple of Olympian Zeus

Öffnungszeiten: 08:00–15:00; Mon–Sun 08:00–20:00 and 08:00–15:00; 1 April–31 October: 08:00–20:00 daily, last entry 19:30. 1 November–31 March: 08:00–15:00 daily, last entry 14:30
Geschlossen an: 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Orthodox Easter Sunday, 25 December, 26 December

Mon–Sun	08:00–20:00 and 08:00–15:00

Öffnungszeiten zusammengestellt aus tickets.hh.gr und öffentlichen Quellen, zuletzt aktualisiert am 18 September 2026. Sie können sich ohne Vorankündigung ändern — vor der Reise bitte bestätigen. Wie wir diese Reiseführer schreiben

Eintrittspreis für Temple of Olympian Zeus

Entry fees for Temple of Olympian Zeus
Ticket	Preis
Standardticket	€8
Ermäßigt (Studenten / Senioren)	€4
Kinder	Kostenlos

Adult ticket €8, concession €4 (over-65s and non-EU visitors aged 6-25), as of 2026. EU citizens under 25 enter free with ID; children 0-5 free. Verify at tickets.hh.gr before visiting, as site fees are reviewed periodically.

Preise zusammengestellt aus tickets.hh.gr und öffentlichen Quellen, zuletzt aktualisiert am 18 September 2026. Sie können sich ohne Vorankündigung ändern — vor der Reise bitte bestätigen. Wie wir diese Reiseführer schreiben

Beste Reisezeit für Temple of Olympian Zeus

Quiet
Moderate

08:00 – 10:00
Morning OpeningBest time to go
Few visitors this early; most itineraries prioritise the Acropolis first thing.
Quiet
10:00 – 13:00
Mid-Morning
Visitors arriving after the Acropolis or en route to the Stadium pass through; still comfortable to move around.
Moderate
13:00 – 16:00
Midday Heat
Sun exposure with no shade keeps numbers down in summer despite being open.
Quiet
17:00 – 19:30
Late Afternoon
Best light for photography; a modest uptick in visitors timing their visit for sunset colour on the columns.
Moderate

Geschichte von Temple of Olympian Zeus

Peisistratos's original 6th-century BCE design followed the older Doric order at a scale meant to rival the greatest temples of Ionia, but work stopped almost immediately after his death and the site remained a field of unfinished column drums for centuries — Aristotle later cited the abandoned project as an example of tyrannical overreach. The Hellenistic king Antiochus IV of Syria restarted construction around 174 BCE using Roman architect Cossutius and switching the design to the more ornate Corinthian order, but this phase also stalled when Antiochus died in 164 BCE. Hadrian's completion in 131 CE coincided with his founding of Hadrian's Arch immediately adjacent, a gateway marking the boundary between the old city of Theseus and 'the city of Hadrian.' The temple's decline began with the sack of Athens by the Herulians in 267 CE and accelerated through the medieval period, when its marble was systematically quarried for lime-burning and new construction; a single storm in 1852 toppled one of the last standing columns, whose drums remain scattered on the ground exactly where they fell.

Regeln & Etikette in Temple of Olympian Zeus

The site is compact and entirely outdoors with minimal shade, so a visit in the middle of a summer afternoon is uncomfortable rather than dangerous — 20 to 30 minutes is typically enough. Paths are flat gravel and paved stone, more accessible than the Acropolis or Ancient Agora. Photography is unrestricted for personal use; the standing columns against the sky make this one of the more straightforward sites in Athens for wide-angle shots without crowds in frame. Hadrian's Arch, immediately outside the ticketed perimeter on Vasilissis Amalias Avenue, is visible and photographable free of charge from the street.

Tipps für den Besuch von Temple of Olympian Zeus

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Because the site takes under an hour, pairing it with the Panathenaic Stadium (a 10-minute walk northeast) or the Acropolis and Plaka (a 10-minute walk northwest) makes for an efficient half-day loop through Athens's classical core. The single toppled column, lying in sections near the eastern group of standing columns, is easy to miss if moving quickly — it is the clearest physical evidence of the 1852 storm and worth the extra two minutes to find. There is no café or shop on-site; the National Garden borders the temple grounds to the north and offers shaded benches and a kiosk for a break immediately after the visit.

Anreise nach Temple of Olympian Zeus

Der rote Stern zeigt Temple of Olympian Zeus; die nummerierten Markierungen sind die 8 nächstgelegenen Orte aus unseren Reiseführern, jeweils mit ihrem Rang in der eigenen Stadt. Für Details auf eine Markierung tippen.

Vasilissis Olgas Avenue, 10557 Athens, GreeceRoute in Google Maps

Ab Athens International Airport (ATH)
30 km · 45-55 min
€9 single airport fare
Ab Syntagma Square
1 km · 12 min walk
Free (walking)
Ab Akropoli metro station
0.7 km · 9 min walk
Free (walking)

Nächster Flughafen

Ab Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH)

30 km, approximately 40–50 minutes via metro Line 3 to Syntagma then a short walk or tram.

Nächste Station

Ab Akropoli metro station (Line 2)

700 m, a 9-minute walk along Dionysiou Areopagitou and Vasilissis Olgas.

Häufige Fragen zu Temple of Olympian Zeus

Why did the Temple of Olympian Zeus take over 600 years to build?

Construction began under Peisistratos around 520 BCE but was abandoned after his sons were overthrown; the project restarted under Antiochus IV around 174 BCE and stalled again at his death in 164 BCE. Roman Emperor Hadrian finally completed the temple in 131 CE, closing a gap of roughly 638 years from the original start.

How many of the original 104 columns are still standing?

Fifteen columns remain standing today. A sixteenth column lies on the ground in sections after being toppled by a storm in 1852, and its fallen drums are still visible near the eastern group.

Is Hadrian's Arch included in the temple ticket?

No, Hadrian's Arch stands just outside the ticketed perimeter on Vasilissis Amalias Avenue and can be viewed and photographed free of charge from the public street without an entry ticket.

How long does a visit to the Temple of Olympian Zeus take?

Thirty to forty-five minutes is typical, since the site is a single open field of columns with a short circular walking path and no indoor exhibits.

Mit KI-Unterstützung aus offiziellen Quellen und öffentlichen Aufzeichnungen erstellt und erst nach den Prüfungen veröffentlicht, die beschrieben sind unter Wie wir diese Reiseführer schreiben. Niemand von Traveliac war persönlich vor Ort. Zuletzt aktualisiert am 18 September 2026. Wie wir Orte bewerten und prüfen