Philippieion

Philippieion

View looking southwest at the circular foundations of the Philippieion.  This monument consisted of two concentric colonnades (a tholos).  It was built by Philip of Macedon in the late fourth century B.C. and probably completed by his son Alexander the Great.  The structure housed five statues plated with gold and ivory (chryselephantine).  The statues were of Philip, his wife, his parents, and his famous son Alexander the Great.  None of the statues have been preserved although remnants of their bases have.

These statues probably were placed here to stress the Macedonian supremacy to the whole Greek world and especially to those living in the south – in the Peloponnese.

 

Beyond the Philippieion, just right of center, are columns of the Palaestra.

 

To see a map/diagram of Olympia Click Here.

 

For a description of Olympia and a map Click Here.