This circular construction at the south side of Plythaneion was dedicated to Zeus by Philip II, King of Macedonia, in 338BC to thank the victory at Chaironeia. The building was completed only postumously during the reign of Alexander the Great, his son.
It is 15.25m in diameter and was circled by 18 Ionian style columns. The entabulature also is in the Ionian style. The roof was made with marble tiles.
The building honoured the family of Philip II and Alexander. Inside there were statues of Alexander, Philipp, his wife and Alexander's mother Olympias, and of the parents of Philip II, Amyntas III and Eurydice. All the statues were chryselephantine and reputed to be made by Leochares.
Restauration of the building started in the 21st century and finished in 2005. The project was funded by the Leventis Foundation and executed by the German Archaeological Insitutute and in the course of restaurantion some pieces stored in Pergamum Museum in Berlin were restituted.
References
- Robin Barber, Greece (Blue Guide), London- N.Y. 2001 (Revised reprint of the 6th edition of 1995), pp. 324.
- Olympia Vikatou, Olympia : the Archaeological Site and the Museums, translated by Myriam Caskey, Athens : Ekdotike Athenon, 2006, p. 19-20.
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