As of late, The Conco Companies have
been busy working on several modern day wonders such as providing concrete
services on the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco and the Wilshire Grand Center
in downtown Los Angeles. Both buildings
are slated to become the tallest structures in the U.S. west of the Mississippi
River. This has revived our interest in
many of the architectural marvels built in ancient times.
We know that the three main orders of
classical Greek architecture, the Doric, the Ionic and the Corinthian influenced
Roman architectural styles as well as those of the Renaissance Period. In addition it has continued to inspire many
of our modern day structures.
As to one of the best examples of
Doric order architecture (featuring heavy fluted columns with plain,
saucer-shaped capitals and no base), most experts agree that it would be the
Temple of Zeus. Built in the ancient
city of Olympia, it was located in the Altis sanctuary and constructed between
472 and 456 BC. The purpose of the
temple was to house one of Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the great statue
of Zeus.
The architect on the project was Libon
of Elis, who designed the Temple with an east-west orientation and in a
“peripteral hexastyle with thirteen columns along the sides.” Each column, constructed from local
shell-limestone and covered in white stucco, was more than 32 ft. high and had
a base almost 7.5 ft. in diameter. The
Temple’s roof tiles, pedimental sculptures and lion’s head water spouts were
made of marble.
The interior chamber of the Temple
(the cella) was separated into three naves by two double rows of seven
columns. The statue of Zeus sat at the
far end of the cella and was believed to be approximately 40 ft. tall. What we know about the statue is that Zeus
was holding a scepter in his left hand and a winged Victory in his right.
Another architectural detail was in
the east gable that had an inscribed block, which supported a gold shield in
commemoration of the Spartan’s victory at Tanagra. The Temple of Zeus was badly
damaged by fire in 436 AD and completely destroyed by a series of earthquakes
in 551 and 552 AD.
The Conco Companies are one of the
leading concrete contractors in the Western U.S. and offer a wide range of
quality services and products. While we
tackle projects both big and small, our experience
includes providing the complete concrete package for the Levi’s Stadium along
with other notable projects. We serve
California, Washington State, Oregon, Colorado and Nevada.
Source: olympia-greece.org/templezeus.html
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