Leonidaion

The Leonidaion was an ancient lodging facility for athletes participating in the Olympic Games, built around 330 BCE at Olympia. Designed by architect Leonidas of Naxos, it was the largest structure at the site, featuring four Ionian colonnades with 138 decorated columns. The building's exterior formed a square with dimensions of approximately 80 meters on each side, while its interior housed a central Doric peristyle with 44 columns. The Leonidaion was destroyed by an earthquake in the late third century AD, and its remains were repurposed for constructing a protective wall against invaders.