During the years of Greek democracy， the temple was left unfinishedunfinished adj.未完成的， 未琢磨的， 未染色的， apparently because the Greeks of the classical period thought it hubristic to build on such a scale. In the Politics Aristotle cited the temple as an example of how tyranniestyranny n.暴政， 苛政， 专治 engaged the populacepopulace n.平民 in great works for the state and left them no time， energy or means to rebel.
The work was resumed in the 3rd century B.C.， during the period of Macedonian domination of Greece， under the patronage of the Hellenistic king Antiochus IV of Syria， who hired the Roman architect Cossutius to design the largest temple in the known world. When Antoichus died in 164 B.C. the work was delayed again.
In 86 B.C.， after Greek cities were brought under Roman rule， the general Sulla took two columns from the unfinished temple to Rome to adornadorn v.装饰 the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill. These columns influenced the development of the Corinthian style in Rome.
In the 2nd century A.D.， the temple was taken up again by Hadrian， a great admireradmirer n.景慕者， 赞赏者， 敬慕者 of Greek culture， who finally brought it to completion in 129 (some sources say 131).
The temple was built of marble from Mount Pentelus， and measured 96 metres along its sides and 40 metres along its eastern and western faces. It consisted of 104 Corinthian columns， each 17 meters high， of which 48 stood in tripletriple n.三倍数， 三个一组 adj.三倍的 vt.三倍与 vi.增至三倍 rows under the pediments and 56 in double rows at the sides. Only 15 of these columns remain standing today. A 16th column was blown down during a gale in 1852 and is still lying where it fell.
Hadrian dedicated the temple to Zeus (known to the Romans as Jupiter)， the king of the gods. He erected a giant gold and ivory status of Zeus in the cella， and placed an equally large one of himself next to it. Nothing remains of these or anything else from the interior of the temple. It is not known when the building was destroyed， but like many large buildings in Greece， it was probably brought down by an earthquake during the mediaeval period， and the bulk of its ruins taken away for building materials.
The temple was excavated in 1889~1896 by Francis Penrose of the British School in Athens (who also played a leading role in the restoration of the Parthenon)， in 1922 by the German archaeologist Gabriel Welter and in the 1960s by Greek archaeologists led by Ioannes Travlos. The temple， along with the surrounding ruins of other ancient structures， is a historical precinctprecinct n.区域， 围地， 范围， 界限， 选区 administered by Ephorate of Antiquites of the Greek Interior Ministry. It is open to visitors from Tuesday to Sunday.
Syntagma Square宪法广场
雅典市区的中心无疑是宪法广场 (Sintagma Square)，附近不但有旅游服务中心，从国际机场而来的巴士(Express Bus)也停驻于此，许多航空公司、银行、旅行社及咖啡店也都集中于此；大部分街车和蓝色巴士都有站牌在此，交通非常方便；可以说是雅典的心脏地带，因为雅典往希腊其他各地的距离均以此为丈量基点。
宪法广场西面就是波拉卡区 (Plaka)，平价住宿、希腊烧烤店 、礼品店全在这一区的迷径小路中，卫城、古罗马遗迹(Agora) 、宙斯神殿等叙述着神话及古文明光辉的遗迹，也全在这一区。
从宪法广场到卫城，主要可沿着国家花园 (National Garden)旁的Leoforos Amalias，经过哈德良拱门（Arch of Hadrian）及宙斯神殿（Temple of the Olympian）后，就可到达卫城的山麓。
从宪法广场往蒙纳斯提拉奇广场较大的道路有二： Ermou及Mitropoleos，前一条街是购物的必到之处，后者的美塔波里斯东正教教堂(Mitropoles Cathedral)是希腊最大的一座。
从宪法广场到利卡维多斯山丘 (Likavitos)的Vassilissis Sofias路上，有许多博物馆，如拜占庭博物馆(Byzantine Museum)及国立画廊(National Gallery)等；在宪法广场上无名战士碑前的卫兵交接仪式，则是最不容错过的节目。
Syntagma Square is back and better than ever. Well maybe not better than ever. It was probably at its best in the early 1900，s when there were not cars and buses whizzing around it and it was shaded by large trees. But with the rerouting of the traffic， the opening of the new metroMetro n.伦敦地下铁道， 地下铁道 and the removalremoval n.移动， 免职， 切除 of the wooden billboard covered walls that hid the construction site that was once Athens most popular platia， Syntagma looks better then it has in many years.
The name Syntagma means Constitution. When Greece was liberated from the Turks the great powers decided that they needed a king and chose Otto of Bavaria. Since he was too young to actually rule he came with a military force and three regents who ruled as dictators， imposing heavy taxes， and stealing from the country. When the king finally came of age the Greeks who had fought to free the country from Turkish occupation were now fed up with the tyranny of the BavariansBavarian adj.巴伐利亚的， 巴伐利亚人的 n.巴伐利亚人， 巴伐利亚方言(见Bavaria). With the support of British diplomatsdiplomat n.外交官， 有外交手腕的人， 有权谋的人， two Greek soldiers， Dimitrios Kallerges and Ioannes Makriyannis led their troops to the palace and demanded the king get rid of the foreigners and within thirty days produce a constitution. This was the end of foreign domination of Greece (supposedly).
The Square has a long history. It seems every major event in Greece has either been mournedmourn v.哀悼， 忧伤， 服丧 or celebrated here. It has held some of the biggest political peprallys that have ever been seen on the planet. In the nineteen forties it was the sight of a battle between the communists and the rightwing government. Greece had been occupied by the Nazis and like many countries， the resistanceresistance n.反抗， 抵抗， 抵抗力， 阻力， 电阻， 阻抗 was made up primarily of communists. In December of 1944 British forces arrived to liberate Athens but the Germans had already left. Instead they turned their guns on the Partisans who had fought the Germans and sided with the collaboratorscollaborator n.合作者 to create a Greece that would not be communist. Churchill wanted to restore King George to the throne but the majority of Greeks who had suffered through the Metaxas dictatorshipdictatorship n.专政 under the King neither wanted his return or the return to power of the right wing royalistsroyalist n.保皇主义者， 保皇党人 adj.保皇主义者的， 保皇党人的 who had collaborated with the Nazis. Unfortunately for the people of Greece their fate had been decided by England and Russia at a meeting in Moscow. Greece would fall under the influence of Great Britain in return for Rumania， Bulgaria and Hungary coming under the control of the Soviets.
