Olympia, Palaestra, Doric Colonnade () by Greek Art

Olympia, Palaestra, Doric Colonnade  - Greek Art -

Artwork Information

TitleOlympia, Palaestra, Doric Colonnade
ArtistGreek Art
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About Olympia, Palaestra, Doric Colonnade

The Palaestra is an ancient Greek building that was constructed as a training ground for wrestling, boxing, and other athletic activities during the mid-3rd century BCE. This 66 meter square building had an open court surrounded by a Doric colonnade of 72 columns. The lower courses of the walls and columns were made of stone, while the upper parts were made of different materials. The lack of ornamentation or carvings on the columns meant that only a stone ring called an astragal transitioned the shaft to the echinus.

The Olympian Palaestra was a quadrangle bordered by a covered portico, some columns still standing today. Exekias, an ancient Greek painter and potter from Athens who worked sometime between 545 BCE and 530 BCE would have admired this ornate structure with its simple yet powerful design complete with its impressive Doric colonnade.

In Olympia at about 460 BCE stands one of Greece’s largest buildings; The Temple Of Zeus in Olympia. As Greek art tends towards depicting humans in their natural form it comes as no surprise that this temple has been described as awe-inspiring because it had huge chryselephantine statues which depicted Zeus sitting atop his throne along with numerous mythological creatures adorning almost every part of it making use of incredibly detailed sculptural techniques.

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