The monument was initially begun by Philip II as a victory monument, but after his death in 336 BC, it was completed by his son, Alexander the Great.
The placement of the Philippeion was deliberately chosen to interact with earlier monuments and served as a crucial reference point for later Hellenistic royal dedications. Its primary purpose was the worship of the deified royal family of Macedon.
This building exemplifies the 4th-century shift toward a new mode of self-promotion at the site.
The Philippeion is the only circular building (tholos) found inside the Altis, the sacred precinct of Olympia.
It was dedicated to Zeus by Philip II of Macedon following his victory at the Battle of Chaironeia in 338 BC.
It was initiated by Philip II as a monument to his victory.
Following Philip’s death in 336 BC, the monument was completed by his son, Alexander the Great.
The building served as a place for the worship of the deified royal family of Macedon.
The monument is considered one of the most significant Hellenistic monuments.
It was considered a particularly elegant building.
Its circular structure had a diameter of 15.24 m.
The exterior featured eighteen (18) Ionic columns standing on a three-stepped marble base (crepidoma).
These columns supported a stone entablature.
The roof was covered with marble tiles and was crowned with a bronze flower on the top.
The circular cella wall was constructed of rectangular poros blocks.
The inner wall of the cella was covered internally in red plaster with white joints which imitated brickwork.
The interior of the cella was decorated with nine (9) engaged Corinthian columns.
The Parian marble base used for the statues suggests the statues were entirely or partially of marble.
The Philippeion housed five chryselephantine statues of the Macedonian royal family.
These statues were placed upon a semi-circular podium situated directly opposite the entrance.
The statues were crafted by the renowned sculptor Leochares.
The figures represented Alexander, his parents (Philip and Olympias), and Philip’s parents (Amyntas and Euridice).
The traveler Pausanias (in the second century AD) noted that the two female statues (Olympias and Euridice) had been transferred to the Heraion, which served as a treasury.
None of these statues have survived to the present day.
Only the foundations and the lower part of the walls were visible in situ until 2002.
The monument has been restored after a donation of the .
For the Athens Olympic Games of 2004, the Berlin Museum returned ten architectural members (including column and base fragments, a Corinthian capital, and a marble roof-tile) to aid in its restoration.
The Philippeion housed five chryselephantine statues of the royal family, crafted by the famous sculptor Leochares.
These statues were placed on a semi-circular podium directly opposite the entrance. They represented Alexander, his parents Philip and Olympias, and Philip’s parents Amyntas and Euridice.
The travel writer Pausanias, who visited the monument in the second century AD (V, 20, 9), notes that the two female statues (Olympias and Euridice) had already been transferred to the Heraion, which served as a treasury. None of these chryselephantine statues have survived.
As one of the most significant Hellenistic monuments, the Philippeion demonstrates the close relationship between political power and religious worship in the Panhellenic sanctuary of Olympia.
