How can I recursively apply chmod 777 to a folder and all its contents?

chmod 777I'm trying to change the permissions of temp_dir to 777. Why are these commands not accomplishing that? I'm using Linux by the way.Thus, 777 (111 111 111) is all permissions for everyone, while 700 (111 000 000) is all permissions only for the owner. Other combinations are also common: 666 (110 110 110) is