The Treasuries

On a terrace at the base of Mount Kronos lies a row of poorly preserved treasuries built in the sixth century. All but two are dedications of Greek colonies. The best preserved is the Treasury of Sikyon, which has been partially restored. Two unidentified treasuries were obliterated by a fountain dedicated by the wealthy Athenian, Herodes Atticus, in the second century AD.

Immediately in front of the treasury terrace is the Metröon, temple of the mother of the gods, built in the fourth century. In Roman times, portraits of the Emperors were erected there. Today, only the stylobate survives.

• Treasuries were built at Olympia by some of the Greek city-states, starting in about 600 B.C. They served as elaborate storehouses for valuable objects, many of them votive offerings which were given by people or cities to honor and thank the gods for blessings. Money was also deposited at Olympia, possibly in the treasuries.

• The Sikyonian Treasury contained two chambers lined with bronze, and such rich offerings as the sword of the hero Pelops, with a hilt of gold; an ivory horn inscribed to Olympian Zeus; and a wooden statue of Apollo with its head plated in gold.

• Many of Olympia's visitors were Greeks who had emigrated to new colonies around the Mediterranean. They saw their participation at Olympia as a way to maintain their Greek identity. All but two of the twelve treasuries were built by Greek colonies.

• Public works like the treasuries were undertaken with public money in order to add to a city-state's prestige, and as expressions of piety. The most famous of these public works was the Parthenon built on the Athenian acropolis, which, with its mammoth gate building, the Propylaia, easily cost the equivalent of over a billion dollars in modern terms.

To read more about these topics, see Further Resources.

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