Wonders _
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Definition: The Athenian sculptor Pheidias (Phidias) is considered the greatest of the classical sculptors, so in 440 B.C., when it was decided that Zeus should preside via statue at the Olympic games, at Olympia*, those responsible for honoring the king of the gods commissioned Pheidias. The ivory and gold-covered statue of Zeus that Pheidias crafted sat in a Doric temple built c. 450 B.C. by the architect Libon.
Even in a sitting position, the statue of Zeus was forty feet high. The god's head was so close to the top of the temple it looked as though he would lift the roof if he stood up. Pausanias, a major travel writer who lived in the second century A.D., says,
"On his head is a sculpted wreath of olive sprays. In his right hand he holds a figure of Victory made from ivory and gold... In his left hand, he holds a sceptre inlaid with every kind of metal, with an eagle perched on the sceptre. His sandals are made of gold, as is his robe. His garments are carved with animals and with lilies. The throne is decorated with gold, precious stones, ebony, and ivory."
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the classical Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was carved by the famed Classical sculptor Phidias (5th century BC) circa 432 BC in Olympia, Greece.[1]
The seated statue occupied the whole width of the aisle of the temple that was built to house it, and was 40 feet (12 meters) tall. "It seems that if Zeus were to stand up," the geographer Strabo noted early in the 1st century BC, "he would unroof the temple."[2] Zeus was a chryselephantine sculpture, made of ivory and accented with gold plating. In the sculpture, he was seated on a magnificent throne of cedarwood, inlaid with ivory, gold, ebony, and precious stones. In Zeus' right hand there was a small statue of Nike, the goddess of victory, and in his left hand, a shining sceptre on which an eagle perched.[3] Plutarch, in his Life of the Roman general Aemilius Paulus, records that the victor over Macedon “was moved to his soul, as if he had beheld the god in person,” while the Greek orator Dio Chrysostom wrote that a single glimpse of the statue would make a man forget his earthly troubles.
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Definition: The Athenian sculptor Pheidias (Phidias) is considered the greatest of the classical sculptors, so in 440 B.C., when it was decided that Zeus should preside via statue at the Olympic games, at Olympia*, those responsible for honoring the king of the gods commissioned Pheidias. The ivory and gold-covered statue of Zeus that Pheidias crafted sat in a Doric temple built c. 450 B.C. by the architect Libon.
Even in a sitting position, the statue of Zeus was forty feet high. The god's head was so close to the top of the temple it looked as though he would lift the roof if he stood up. Pausanias, a major travel writer who lived in the second century A.D., says,
"On his head is a sculpted wreath of olive sprays. In his right hand he holds a figure of Victory made from ivory and gold... In his left hand, he holds a sceptre inlaid with every kind of metal, with an eagle perched on the sceptre. His sandals are made of gold, as is his robe. His garments are carved with animals and with lilies. The throne is decorated with gold, precious stones, ebony, and ivory."
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the classical Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was carved by the famed Classical sculptor Phidias (5th century BC) circa 432 BC in Olympia, Greece.[1]
The seated statue occupied the whole width of the aisle of the temple that was built to house it, and was 40 feet (12 meters) tall. "It seems that if Zeus were to stand up," the geographer Strabo noted early in the 1st century BC, "he would unroof the temple."[2] Zeus was a chryselephantine sculpture, made of ivory and accented with gold plating. In the sculpture, he was seated on a magnificent throne of cedarwood, inlaid with ivory, gold, ebony, and precious stones. In Zeus' right hand there was a small statue of Nike, the goddess of victory, and in his left hand, a shining sceptre on which an eagle perched.[3] Plutarch, in his Life of the Roman general Aemilius Paulus, records that the victor over Macedon “was moved to his soul, as if he had beheld the god in person,” while the Greek orator Dio Chrysostom wrote that a single glimpse of the statue would make a man forget his earthly troubles.