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Philippeion
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Philippeion

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The Philippeion () in the Altis of Olympia was a tholos made of in limestone and marble. Originally, it contained chryselephantine (ivory and gold) statues of the family of Philip II, including himself, his son Alexander the Great, one of his wives Olympias, his father Amyntas III, and his mother Eurydice I. It was made by the Athenian sculptor Leochares as a memorial celebrating Philip's victory at the battle of Chaeronea (338 BC). It was the only structure inside the Altis dedicated to human beings rather than gods.

Key facts

Building.name
Philippeion
Building.native_name
Φιλίππειον
Building.native_name_lang
GR
Building.image
The Philippeion in Ancient Olympia on October 14, 2020.jpg
Building.caption
The ruins of the Philippeion in 2020
Building.location_town
Olympia
Building.location_country
Greece
Building.architect
Leochares
Building.building_type
Tholos
Building.architectural_style
Ancient Greek architecture

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Olympia Philippeion 2010 4.jpg
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Philippeion
inception
0338-00-00
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The Philippeion () in the Altis of Olympia was a tholos made of in limestone and marble. Originally, it contained chryselephantine (ivory and gold) statues of the family of Philip II, including himself, his son Alexander the Great, one of his wives Olympias, his father Amyntas III, and his mother Eurydice I. It was made by the Athenian sculptor Leochares as a memorial celebrating Philip's victory at the battle of Chaeronea (338 BC). It was the only structure inside the Altis dedicated to human beings rather than gods.

== Description == thumb|Floor plan The temple consisted of an outer colonnade of Ionic order with 18 columns. Inside it had nine engaged columns of the lavishly designed Corinthian order. It had a diameter of 15 metres. The naos contained two windows, much like Hera II at Paestum. It had a carved marble roof which was decorated with a bronze poppy head on top.

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