Guy Notices Something Odd On Top Of Zeus’ Temple In 1858 Photo, Discovers What They Don’t Teach At School
Being a history researcher means endless hours of poring over books, paintings, photos, and manuscripts, looking for clues from the past to create an accurate picture of what things were really like.
Naturally, when following a lead it can be easy to be led down all kind of interesting ‘rabbit holes,’ and that’s precisely what happened to author and Ph.D. student Paul Cooper, from Norwich, England, while researching the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the ruler of gods in Greek mythology, in Athens, Greece.
Paul came across an incredible photo of the Zeus temple’s ruin, taken way back in 1858. “I was researching the forgotten histories of different ruined sites around the world for my Ph.D., which looks at how our attitudes and artistic representations of Greek architecture ruins has changed over history,” Paul told Bored Panda. “As a novelist and a writer of historical fiction, ruins are important in my work.”
This particular photo intrigued him, as there was something weird perched atop the temple pillars. What on earth could it be? The strange little hut-like appendage is nowhere to be found on the Temple of Zeus ruins as they stand today. It was also absent on an identical photo that he had unearthed after further research.
Digging deeper, he found a painting of the Greek temple ruins and more photos from a similar period. The little stone hut was there, sitting proudly atop the great temple again! The intrigue intensified, and so did Paul’s curiosity. Could there have been people living up there, perched precariously on top of one of ancient history’s magnificent temples? Why was the hut included in some photos, but not others? And why isn’t it there anymore?
Paul loves exploring the stories behind the many ancient ruins scattered across the world, from North Africa to Cambodia and beyond. He spent time exploring the incredible ruins of Polonnaruwa in Sri Lanka whilst writing his first novel ‘River of Ink.’ “Many ruined sites have hidden or erased histories that take place after the building has been ruined,” he told us. “For instance, the ruins of the Acropolis in Athens were once the site of an Ottoman mosque, and the Colosseum held a Christian heritage. The ruins of Palmyra in Syria were once home to a thriving town before it was demolished by French archaeologists in the 1920s.”
So what hidden secrets does the Temple of Olympian Zeus hold? Scroll down below to find out for yourself, as Paul uncovers the mystery in a viral Twitter thread. Let us know what you think about it in the comments!
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Share on Facebookbrilliant work! but I am wondering how these saints solved the toilet situation on top, could these pillars be hollow? just a wild guess:)
I didn't know they could stack s**t that high. (Sorry, this is the only time in my life I could use this phrase appropriately and I had to go for it.)
Load More Replies...Spending time digging history to understand the past of buildings is my full time job, so I can only love this post! I absolutely love this, following a thin line and finding something mind-blowing... the best part of the job! (with spending time exploring fantastic buildings indeed)
Kudos for the young lady that came across this hystorical marble and made time to follow the thin white line!!! Enjoyable article and with potential for, as it was pointed out, a story for a documentary.
Greek here, goddamn christians (pun intended) just LOVE to deface , demolish and build-upon our ancient greek heritage. You can't imagine how many churches here in athens have a nice little plaque that says something like : here used to be the temple of Hermes or something. they destroyed all the statues because they were nakes (oh no, a d**k!) and they tore down the buildings to build churches.
That was standard practice even in antiquity, though. Every time there was a war (or skirmish, or tantrum) the winners would run through down knocking all the d***s off the statuary. It's not an xtian thing. That's just the way it was. If you doubt it, it's documented. Go to Musee D'Orsay and take a look at the statues.
Load More Replies...I doubt if this would be taught in most schools, except at the postgraduate level or if you were a Medieval History major.
This info is available in the specific archaeological site, on one of the explanation panels.
Fascinating finding. I wonder that the people of old thinked that Zeus oversee everything from his throne on Olympus.
Fascinating finding. I wonder that the people of old also wondering that Zeus is stand in the Throne of Olympus.
To me, this looks like a section of a double walled bas-relief section that was between the columns and the roof like the Parthenon. Not positive as I need to look closer at the pictures. HOWEVER, that does not detract from the topic that history is often edited.
So effectively this was pre 20th century Photoshop... I can't recall any examples of a photoshopped image pre dating this one..
If the person wanted to get a History Channel documentary made about it they'd have to either try to p**n the hut, put it in a storage locker to be 'discovered,' or claim that Hitler lived there when he was studying art.
Anyone else have rather read this piece in a proper article than screenshotted together from various tweets?
brilliant work! but I am wondering how these saints solved the toilet situation on top, could these pillars be hollow? just a wild guess:)
I didn't know they could stack s**t that high. (Sorry, this is the only time in my life I could use this phrase appropriately and I had to go for it.)
Load More Replies...Spending time digging history to understand the past of buildings is my full time job, so I can only love this post! I absolutely love this, following a thin line and finding something mind-blowing... the best part of the job! (with spending time exploring fantastic buildings indeed)
Kudos for the young lady that came across this hystorical marble and made time to follow the thin white line!!! Enjoyable article and with potential for, as it was pointed out, a story for a documentary.
Greek here, goddamn christians (pun intended) just LOVE to deface , demolish and build-upon our ancient greek heritage. You can't imagine how many churches here in athens have a nice little plaque that says something like : here used to be the temple of Hermes or something. they destroyed all the statues because they were nakes (oh no, a d**k!) and they tore down the buildings to build churches.
That was standard practice even in antiquity, though. Every time there was a war (or skirmish, or tantrum) the winners would run through down knocking all the d***s off the statuary. It's not an xtian thing. That's just the way it was. If you doubt it, it's documented. Go to Musee D'Orsay and take a look at the statues.
Load More Replies...I doubt if this would be taught in most schools, except at the postgraduate level or if you were a Medieval History major.
This info is available in the specific archaeological site, on one of the explanation panels.
Fascinating finding. I wonder that the people of old thinked that Zeus oversee everything from his throne on Olympus.
Fascinating finding. I wonder that the people of old also wondering that Zeus is stand in the Throne of Olympus.
To me, this looks like a section of a double walled bas-relief section that was between the columns and the roof like the Parthenon. Not positive as I need to look closer at the pictures. HOWEVER, that does not detract from the topic that history is often edited.
So effectively this was pre 20th century Photoshop... I can't recall any examples of a photoshopped image pre dating this one..
If the person wanted to get a History Channel documentary made about it they'd have to either try to p**n the hut, put it in a storage locker to be 'discovered,' or claim that Hitler lived there when he was studying art.
Anyone else have rather read this piece in a proper article than screenshotted together from various tweets?
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