Klemio
Temple of Olympian Zeus
The Temple of Olympian Zeus is a cluster of giant Corinthian columns in a flat open field, all that is left of what was once the largest temple in Greece. It took something like 600 years to finish, started by tyrants in the 6th century BC and only completed under the Roman emperor Hadrian. It is a quick visit and a lot of it can be seen from the fence, so weigh whether you want to pay to walk among the columns or just admire them from outside with Hadrian's Arch next door.
Photos: A.Savin (CC BY-SA 3.0), Jebulon (CC0), No machine-readable author provided. Chrisfl assumed (based on copyright claims). Retouched by AM (CC BY-SA 2.5), via Wikimedia Commons
Worth a short stop, especially if you are walking past anyway. The columns are huge and the fallen one is a great visual, but it is a 20-minute site, not a main event. If you are counting your money, the free view from the fence plus Hadrian's Arch is a fair compromise.
Worth it for
- Anyone walking between the Acropolis and Plaka who wants a quick ancient-Rome stop
- History buffs curious about Roman Athens and Hadrian
- Quick photo stops with Hadrian's Arch in the frame
You can skip if
- You are short on time and the columns from the fence are enough for you
- You only want to pay for the headline sites and would rather not add a separate fee here
Tickets & tours for Temple of Olympian Zeus
Which ticket should you buy?
What it is
Also called the Olympieion, this was meant to be a colossal temple to Zeus, the king of the gods. Construction dragged across centuries, abandoned and restarted several times, until Hadrian finished and dedicated it in the 2nd century AD. In its prime it had over a hundred enormous columns. Today around 15 still stand, plus one that toppled in a storm in the 1850s and lies on the ground in a neat row of drums, which is oddly the best way to grasp how each column was built.
The site also takes in fragments of the surrounding area: bits of Roman bath, old house foundations, and a stretch of the ancient city wall. But the columns are the show, and they are tall enough that the scale is genuinely impressive even as a ruin.
Hadrian's Arch and the setting
Right by the site, on the edge of the busy avenue, stands Hadrian's Arch, a tall marble gateway built to mark the boundary between the old Greek city and Hadrian's new Roman additions. You can see and photograph the arch for free from the street, no ticket needed, and it frames the temple columns nicely behind it.
The field sits in a green pocket between the National Garden and the Acropolis, so it works well as a stop while walking between Plaka, Syntagma, and the Acropolis Museum rather than as a destination on its own.
Visiting and tickets
This is a short visit, often 20 to 30 minutes. There is a separate admission for it; the old combined multi-site ticket that used to cover it along with the Acropolis was scrapped in 2025, so it is its own ticket now. Because the columns are visible over the fence, plenty of people decide the photo from outside is enough.
There is almost no shade in the field, so in summer it gets hot fast. Morning or late afternoon is more comfortable, and the low sun makes the columns photograph better anyway.
Temple of Olympian Zeus: FAQs
Usually 20 to 30 minutes. It is one open field of columns, so it is a quick stop rather than a half-day site.
You can see the columns clearly over the fence, and many people are happy with that plus the free view of Hadrian's Arch. Going inside lets you stand beneath the columns and see the fallen one up close, which is the main reason to buy a ticket.
No, the arch stands on the street outside the fenced site and is free to view and photograph. The ticket is only for entering the temple field.
Not anymore. The official combined multi-site ticket that used to cover both the Acropolis and the Temple of Olympian Zeus was abolished in 2025, so this site now needs its own separate ticket. Some private operators sell their own bundles.
Around 15 standing, plus one that was knocked down by a storm in the 19th century and lies on the ground in its separate drums. The original temple had well over a hundred.
Barely any. It is an exposed field, so bring water and a hat in summer and go early or late if you can.
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