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

Temple of Olympian Zeus

#4sur 10 lieux à visiter à AthensAthens, Attica, Greece

Aussi appelé Olympieion · Naos tou Olympiou Dios

L'essentiel

Horaires d'ouverture : 08:00–20:00 and 08:00–15:00, last entry 19:30. Entrée : €8. Comptez 45 min. Meilleure période : Late afternoon in summer.

Mis à jour le 18 septembre 2026 · Rédigé par Traveliac, avec assistance IA · 4 min de lecture

ItinéraireSite officiel

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

Horaires d'ouverture: 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
Prix d'entrée: €8; Billet à partir de
Durée nécessaire: 45 min
Meilleur moment de la journée: Late afternoon in summer
Meilleurs mois: Apr – Jun, Sep – Oct
Adresse: Vasilissis Olgas Avenue, 10557 Athens, Greece

À propos de 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.

Meilleur moment de la journée : Late afternoon in summer. When the low sun angles through the surviving columns and the site is less crowded than the nearby Acropolis.

Horaires de Temple of Olympian Zeus

Horaires d'ouverture: 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
Fermé le: 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Orthodox Easter Sunday, 25 December, 26 December

Mon–Sun	08:00–20:00 and 08:00–15:00

Horaires d'ouverture établis à partir de tickets.hh.gr et de sources publiques, mis à jour le 18 septembre 2026. Ils peuvent changer sans préavis — vérifiez avant de partir. Comment nous rédigeons ces guides

Prix d'entrée de Temple of Olympian Zeus

Entry fees for Temple of Olympian Zeus
Billet	Prix
Billet standard	€8
Tarif réduit (étudiant / senior)	€4
Enfants	Gratuit

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.

Tarifs établis à partir de tickets.hh.gr et de sources publiques, mis à jour le 18 septembre 2026. Ils peuvent changer sans préavis — vérifiez avant de partir. Comment nous rédigeons ces guides

Meilleure période pour visiter 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

Histoire de 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.

Règles et étiquette à 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.

Conseils pour visiter Temple of Olympian Zeus

1
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.

Comment se rendre à Temple of Olympian Zeus

L'étoile rouge indique Temple of Olympian Zeus ; les repères numérotés sont les 8 lieux les plus proches de nos guides, chacun avec son classement dans sa ville. Touchez un repère pour plus de détails.

Vasilissis Olgas Avenue, 10557 Athens, GreeceItinéraire sur Google Maps

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

Aéroport le plus proche

Depuis Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH)

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

Gare la plus proche

Depuis Akropoli metro station (Line 2)

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

FAQ — 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.

Rédigé avec l'assistance de l'IA à partir de sources officielles et de registres publics, et publié seulement après les vérifications décrites dans Comment nous rédigeons ces guides. Personne chez Traveliac ne s'est rendu sur place. Mis à jour le 18 septembre 2026. Comment nous classons et vérifions les lieux