The Statue of Zeus at
Olympia is one of the classical Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World. It was
carved by the famed sculptor Phidias
around 435 B.C.E. in Olympia, Greece.
The seated statue occupied
the whole width of the aisle of the
temple that was built to house it,
and was 40 feet high. "It seems
that if Zeus were to stand up,"
the geographer Strabo noted early
in the 1st century B.C.E., "he
would unroof the temple." The
statue was made of ivory and accented
with gold plating. In the sculpture,
Zeus was seated on a magnificent throne
of cedar wood, inlaid with ivory,
gold, ebony, and precious stones.
In Zeus's right hand was a small statue
of Nike, the goddess of victory, and
in his left hand, a shining scepter
on which an eagle perched.
Plutarch, in his Life
of the Roman general Aemilius Paulus,
records that the victorious general,
upon seeing the statue, “was
moved to his soul, as if he had beheld
the god in person,” while the
Greek rhetorician and philosopher
Dio Chrysostom wrote that a single
glimpse of the statue would make a
man forget his earthly troubles.
Although the statue
itself is lost, in 1958 an excavation
discovered the workshop used to create
the statue. This has led archaeologists
to attempt to re-create the technique
used to make the great work.
Temple
of Zeus
The Temple of Zeus at
Olympia was built between 470 B.C.E.
and completed by 456 B.C.E. to commemorate
the Elean defeat of the Pisatans in
470 B.C.E. It was designed by Lisbon
of Elis at Archaeopaedia. Later, it
housed the monumental Statue of Zeus,
which was added to the temple around
435 B.C.E. The temple was destroyed
by earthquake in the fifth century
B.C.E.
The temple was built
from limestone and covered with stucco
built on a raised rectangular platform
of approximately 210 feet by 92 feet,
with 13 33-foot columns on each side
and six at either end. The temple
was divided into three sections.
Olympia
Olympia not only housed the Temple
of Zeus, but also hosted the Olympic
Games. Held every four years, the
games dated back possibly further
than 776 B.C.E. The games quickly
gained importance throughout Ancient
Greece, reaching their zenith in the
sixth and fifth centuries B.C.E. The
Olympics were of fundamental religious
importance, contests alternating with
sacrifices and ceremonies. These rites
honored both Zeus, who was said to
be presiding over the games, and Pelops,
divine hero and mythical king of Olympia,
famous for his legendary chariot race,
in whose honor the games were held.
The number of events increased to
20, and the celebration was spread
over several days. The games were
held every four years, and the period
between two celebrations became known
as an 'Olympiad.' In 394 C.E., the
Christian emperor Theodosius I abolished
the games because of their connection
to paganism.
Ruins of the Temple
of Zeus at Olympia, GreeceOlympia's
sanctuary, known as the Altis, consisted
of an unordered arrangement of various
buildings. Enclosed within the temenos
(sacred enclosed area) were the Temple
of Hera, the Temple of Zeus, the Pelopion
and the area of the altar, where sacrifices
were offered. The hippodrome and later
stadium stood to the east.
To the north of the
sanctuary were the Prytaneion and
the Philippeion, as well as the array
of treasuries representing the various
city states. The Metroon lies to the
south of these treasuries, with the
Echo Stoa to the East. To the south
of the sanctuary are the South Stoa
and the Bouleuterion, while the west
side housed the Palaestra, the workshop
of Pheidias, the Gymnasion and the
Leonidaion.
King
of Gods
Zeus was the king of
the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus.
In Greek mythology he was the bringer
of thunder and lightning, rain, and
winds. Zeus's symbols were the thunderbolt
(his weapon), eagle, bull, and the
oak. In addition to his Indo-European
inheritance, the classical Zeus also
derives certain iconographic traits
from the cultures of the ancient Near
East, such as the scepter.
Frequently envisaged
by Greek artists in one of two poses,
Zeus is most often seen standing,
striding forward, a thunderbolt leveled
in his raised right hand, or seated
in majesty, as in the case of the
Statue of Zeus at Olympia.
Zeus was also protector
of cities, the home, strangers, and
supplicants. Statues of Zeus appeared
in forecourts of houses all over Greece,
while mountaintop shrines attracted
scores of pilgrims. The Statue of
Zeus at Olympia, located in a sacred
grove between two rivers was the most
revered object of Zeus' worship.
Seven Wonders of The
Ancient World-Statue of Zeus at Olympia
