The Place de la Constitution, or Syntagma Square (Pl. F, 5, 6; p. [505]), with its hotels and cafés, is bounded by gardens on the E., beyond which rises the Royal Palace (Pl. F, G, 5, 6), built of limestone and Pentelic marble (1834–8), with a Doric portico. The trellised walks of the palace-garden (Pl. F, G, 6; entr. to the right, in the Rue de Képhisia; adm. Wed. and Frid., 4–6, in winter 3–5; smoking prohibited) afford shady promenades; from the S. part, with its fine palms, we get picturesque glimpses of the columns of the Olympieion, the Acropolis, and the sea.
From Syntagma Square the broad Rue des Philhellènes leads to the S., past the Russian Church and the English Church (Pl. F, 6, 7), a tasteful Gothic edifice, to the beautiful grounds of the Záppion (Pl. F, 7), an exhibition-building opened in 1888.
The two statues adorning the flight of steps represent the brothers Zappas, who founded the building. At the W. angle of the grounds is a pleasing Statue of Byron (Pl. E, 7). Café on the Terrace (p. [503]).
To the S. we have a view of the sea; to the E. (left) rises Hymettos. In the foreground, adjoining the Olympieion (p. [509]), is *Hadrian’s Arch (Pl. E, 7), erected either by himself or his successor. This gateway, 14½ yds. broad and 59 ft. high, marked, as the inscriptions record, the boundary between the older quarters and the new town of Hadrian (p. [507]). It was adorned with projecting Corinthian columns, of which fragments of the bases and the entablature alone survive. Above the gateway rises an attica with three window-like apertures and a pediment in the centre.
The Olympieion (Pl. E, F, 7, 8), or Temple of the Olympian Zeus, has been entirely destroyed with the exception of fifteen huge marble columns. The original temple dates from the time of Peisistratos (ca. 530 B.C.; p. [506]), but scarcely more than the foundations were then built. The work was resumed, ca. 174 B.C., by Antiochos IV. Epiphanes, to whose edifice the existing ruins belong, but it was completed only by Hadrian. When the temple was consecrated (ca. 129 A.D.) the Athenians showed their gratitude by erecting a statue of the emperor next to the gold and ivory statue of Zeus. The temple rose on a basis (118 by 45 yds.) approached by three steps, and was the largest Greek temple in existence after those of Ephesus and Selinus. The W. and E. ends were flanked with triple rows of eight columns, and the N. and S. sides with double rows of twenty; in all there were 104 Corinthian columns, 56½ ft. high and 56–67 inches in diameter.
The precincts of the temple consisted of a large levelled platform, created by Hadrian, 224 by 141 yds., which had to be backed up on the W. side and at the S.E. corner, where it is buttressed with huge substructions. On the N. side, in a line with the E. front of the temple, an entrance with four columns has been unearthed.
The view stretches from Hymettos to the sea, with the islands of Ægina and Hydra and the coast of Argolis.
The Olga Boulevard (Pl. E-G, 7, 8), on the bank of the Ilissos (generally dry), leads to the E. from the Olympieion to the Stadion bridge. Opposite the bridge is the old Protestant Cemetery.
The *Stadion (Pl. G, H, 8; adm. 20 l.), the scene of the Panathenæan games, situated in a natural basin, was planned by Lykourgos (p. [507]) in 330 B.C. The seats and balustrades in Pentelic marble were added, about 140 A.D., by Herodes Atticus (p. [507]). The great size of the Stadion and the height of its rows of seats produce a very imposing effect, and this is enhanced by the rich marble decorations, which were renewed in 1896–1906. On its completion the building was inaugurated in 1906 with Olympic games, which are to be held here every four years. The entrance consists of a Corinthian propylæum. The race-course, ascending slightly, is 224 yds. long as far as the semicircular space at the S.E. end (sphendonē), and 36½ yds. in breadth. Exclusive of barriers and corridor, the actual course was 600 Græco-Roman or 584 Engl. ft. (195 yds.) long, and was divided into sections by metae or goals, consisting of double hermæ, two of which have been re-erected at the semicircular space. The course is separated by a marble parapet from a corridor, 3 yds. wide, affording access to the lower tiers of seats. These are 24 in number, and higher up, separated from them by a broad passage, are 20 rows of benches, above which runs another passage overlooking the whole and protected on the outside by a parapet. There is accommodation for 50,000 spectators.
From Hadrian’s Arch the short Rue de Lysicrate leads to the N.W. to the beautiful choragic *Monument of Lysikrates (Pl. E, 7), resembling a small round temple. This is the oldest well-preserved monument in the Corinthian style, and once served as the library of that French Capuchin Convent where Lord Byron spent a night. According to the inscription above the half-columns on the S.E. side, it was erected in 335–334 by a certain Lysikrates who had won the victory in the Dionysian games. On a cubic basement rises a round building in Pentelic marble, 21½ ft. high, with six Corinthian half-columns which support a tripartite architrave and sculptured frieze. The conical roof, consisting of a single slightly convex block of marble, is crowned with a vigorous acanthus flower, on which once stood the bronze tripod won by Lysikrates. The frieze, which dates from the prime of the school of Praxiteles, represents in very low relief, partly obliterated, the punishment of the Tyrrhenian pirates who had robbed Dionysos; before the god converts them into dolphins, they are being tormented in every possible way by his attendant satyrs.