I am going to ask myself, what I hope, is a dumb question. Are there two temples dedicated to Zeus? One at Athens and one at Olympia? I assume, of course, that Athens and Olympia are two different places. I think that they are.
The Temple of Zeus at Athens is the one that I visited, after our visit to the Acropolis at Athens. It was a hot afternoon. Beautiful, blue skies. And, the ruins of the temple, with the hills and the city in the background represented a melancholy sight. The temple had a long and sorry history. It was started in the 6th Century BC, and completed in the 2nd Century AD, during the reign of the Roman Emperor, Hadrian. It was then duly pillaged in the 3rd Century AD, and fell into disuse.
15 of the original 105 columns remain standing, and the 16th lies collapsed on the ground. Designed to be a tribute to the most supreme of the Greek Gods, it never really lived up to the promise. Maybe, the God himself was not satisfied, which is why it took so long to build, and why it was pillaged so soon afterwards.
It reminds me of the current day Birla business empire. Birla is the name of the family. As per the story, the Birla family has to be working on the construction of a temple, any temple, every day. Failing which, the business empire will collapse.
Well, as George Harrison sang, "All Things Must Pass". As did the days of the people who constructed the Temple of Zeus. As will the Birla Empire. Transcience is the name of the game.
Hard disks are notoriously unreliable, which is why even these photos will not last centuries.
Taking photos in the afternoon is not a great thing to do, unless it is late afternoon, and the rays of slight slant with a warm light. Yet, the light was perfect for the aura of melancholy that I felt that afternoon, as I brooded over the forgotten emperors and people who laboured over the Temple of Zeus.
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