What was the Statue of Zeus at Olympia like?

Created by the sculptor Phidias around 435 BC, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia was a towering chryselephantine figure made of ivory plates and gold panels over a wooden framework. Housed inside the Temple of Zeus, this giant seated sculpture depicted the Greek king of the gods and was celebrated as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Because the statue was completely lost and destroyed before the end of the 6th century AD, its exact form is only known today through ancient descriptions and representations on coins and artwork.

What we know

• The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was created by the Greek sculptor Phidias around 435 BC. [2]
• The sculpture was approximately 12.4 meters tall and featured ivory plates and gold panels on a wooden framework. [2]
• The statue was erected inside the Temple of Zeus at the sanctuary of Olympia, Greece. [2, 3]
• Details of the statue's form survive only through ancient Greek descriptions and depictions on art and coins. [2]

Still open

• There are conflicting accounts regarding the exact date and circumstances of the statue's destruction.

Where to go next

• whoWho was the sculptor Phidias?
• the bigger pictureWhat are the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World?
• how it workedHow was the Temple of Zeus at Olympia structured?
• a case in pointWhere was the Statue of Jupiter in the Hermitage found?
• whenWhen were the ancient wonders destroyed?
• an unexpected connectionHow does a Roman statue in Russia connect to Olympia?A colossal Roman statue of Jupiter now in the Hermitage Museum was directly prototyped from Phidias's legendary Greek statue of Zeus at Olympia.

Sources

• [1]Statue of Zeus at Olympia (Wikidata Q46239) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Statue of Zeus at Olympia · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Temple of Zeus, Olympia · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Statue of Jupiter (Hermitage) · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Seven Wonders of the Ancient World · CC BY-SA 4.0