Long after the Greek city state became a shell of its glorious past, the Romans ousted the Macedonian rulers in 146 BC and occupied the town. They built a new Roman section that has now mostly disappeared. Athens still had formidable intellectual power and it became a seat of learning in the Roman empire (Cicero and Horace were educated here). Hadrian bequethed the Temple of Olympian Zeus, a massive temple that was really built over 200 years. A few impressive columns remain.