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The Philippeion ( el, Φιλιππεῖον) in the Altis of Olympia was an Ionic circular memorial in limestone and marble, a tholos, which contained Phillipeion
Greek Ministry for Culture and Sports 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. The importance of the chryselephantine material used is that it was also the material used for the statue of Zeus at Olympia (comparing the Macedonian royal family to the gods). The fact that Alexander is represented here is also important, as Philip had seven wives, therefore after his death there very well could have been claims to the throne by people other than Alexander. By putting Alexander in the statue it makes it clear who the successor should be. It is however disputed whether or not Philip constructed this monument or whether Alexander had it constructed later, in which case the motives would be different.
Philippeion
in
Archaeopaedia
' *''Philippeion in
culture.gr
' *Olympic victor monuments and Greek athletic art By Walter Woodburn Hyde Page 353 Ancient Olympia Ancient Greek buildings and structures Culture of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) Ancient art on Alexander the Great Philip II of Macedon {{Greece-struct-stub
The Philippeion ( el, Φιλιππεῖον) in the Altis of Olympia was an Ionic circular memorial in limestone and marble, a tholos, which contained chryselephantine
Chryselephantine sculpture (from Greek grc, χρυσός, chrysós, gold, label=none, and grc, ελεφάντινος, elephántinos, ivory, label=none) is sculpture made with gold and ivory. Chryselephantine cult statues enjoyed high status ...
(ivory and gold) statues of Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who populariz ...
's family: himself, Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
, Olympias
Olympias ( grc-gre, Ὀλυμπιάς; c. 375–316 BC) was a Greek princess of the Molossians, and the eldest daughter of king Neoptolemus I of Epirus, the sister of Alexander I of Epirus, the fourth wife of Philip II, the king of Macedoni ...
, Amyntas III
Amyntas III (Greek: Αμύντας Γ΄ της Μακεδονίας) (420 – 370 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia in 393 BC and again from 392 to 370 BC. He was the son of Arrhidaeus and grandson of Amyntas, one of the sons ...
and Eurydice I. It was made by the Athenian sculptor Leochares in celebration of Philip's victory at the battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)
The Battle of Chaeronea was fought in 338 BC, near the city of Chaeronea in Boeotia, between Macedonia under Philip II and an alliance of city-states led by Athens and Thebes. The battle was the culmination of Philip's final campaigns in ...
. It was the only structure inside the Altis dedicated to a human.
The temple consisted of an outer colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or cur ...
of Ionic order with 18 columns. Inside it had nine engaged column
In architecture, an engaged column is a column embedded in a wall and partly projecting from the surface of the wall, sometimes defined as semi- or three-quarter detached. Engaged columns are rarely found in classical Greek architecture, and then ...
s of the lavishly designed Corinthian order
The Corinthian order ( Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...
.Greek Ministry for Culture and Sports 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. The importance of the chryselephantine material used is that it was also the material used for the statue of Zeus at Olympia (comparing the Macedonian royal family to the gods). The fact that Alexander is represented here is also important, as Philip had seven wives, therefore after his death there very well could have been claims to the throne by people other than Alexander. By putting Alexander in the statue it makes it clear who the successor should be. It is however disputed whether or not Philip constructed this monument or whether Alexander had it constructed later, in which case the motives would be different.
Notes
References
Philippeion
in
Archaeopaedia
' *''Philippeion in
culture.gr
' *Olympic victor monuments and Greek athletic art By Walter Woodburn Hyde Page 353 Ancient Olympia Ancient Greek buildings and structures Culture of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) Ancient art on Alexander the Great Philip II of Macedon {{Greece-struct-stub