), Barringer, Judith M. 2010. Not too interesting, probably some random objects from among the many thousand unidentifiable pottery artefacts that are found at excavations across the Mediterranean and beyond year-in, year-out. Zeus is the god of the gods in ancient Greek mythology (almost equal to the Tathagata Buddha). Now, there are several statues that maintain the spirit of the Zeus at Olympia, one of the most famous of them is the statue in honour to Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Immediately, runs the legend, a thunderbolt fell on that part of the floor where down to the present day the bronze jar stood to cover the place. It truly was a wonder to behold. (Image by Wikimedia Commons user Joanbanjo). Amongst the Seven Wonders of the World, appears the Statue of the king of Gods, Zeus, in Ancient Olympia. Your email address will not be published. The most precious and most admired statues of gods, however, were those known as chryselephantine, meaning they were made of gold and ivory, some of the most valuable materials available at the time. The Statue … It is said to have stood in Olympia, on the Greek peninsula of Peloponnesus. Zeus was the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, who ruled as king of the gods of Mount Olympus. It took him 12 years, from 430 to 422 BC, to complete the statue. Every four years, thousands of people descended upon the site to partake in or to watch the Olympic Games, an athletic event held in the honour of Zeus and a major occasion for the hundreds of city-states that made up the Greek World to compete, and thus to meet. Measuring more than 12m high, it wascreated in 436 B.C by the sculptor Phidias. [4], The 2nd-century AD geographer and traveler Pausanias left a detailed description: the statue was crowned with a sculpted wreath of olive sprays and wore a gilded robe made from glass and carved with animals and lilies. A cup inscribed "ΦΕΙΔΙΟΥ ΕΙΜΙ" or "I belong to Phidias" was found at the site.[20]. Ancient Olympia, located in the Peloponnese, was the city where Greeks originally celebrated the Olympic Games that started in 776 B.C., in order to honor Zeus. The statue of Zeus at Olympia is the smallest ancient wonder of the world. "[3] The Zeus was a chryselephantine sculpture, made with ivory and gold panels on a wooden substructure. The initial excavations in the 1870s and 1880s revealed a structure clearly of 5th century BC date, of nearly the exact dimensions as the great temple's cella, but later reused and modified as an Early Christian church. 2.What condition is the wonder in today? The statue was a chryselephantine sculpture of ivory plates and gold panels on a wooden framework. Zeus's head nearly brushed the ceiling, he was so tall. Zeus was a chryselephantine sculpture, made of ivory and gold-plated bronze. The statue of Zeus is known as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was a giant seated figure, about 12.4 m (41 ft) tall, made by the Greek sculptor Phidias around 435 BC at the sanctuary of Olympia, Greece, and erected in the Temple of Zeus there. Pheidias was also responsible for the re-design of the Athenian Acropolis, and for the likewise gold-and-ivory statue of Athena within the Parthenon, as well as for that building's celebrated sculptural decoration. 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