The statue of Zeus is found in Olympia, on the west coast of modern Greece, approximately 150 km west of Athens.  The Greek calendar started 776 BC, which was the year the Olympics started.  The Temple of Zeus was designed by Libon and built around 450 BC A simple Doric style temple was considered too worldly for the God, so they decided that a statue was the answer.  The Athenian sculptor Phedias was assigned this task.  For years afterwards, the temple attracted visitors and worshipers from the entire world.  In the second century BC repairs needed to be made to the statue.  The Roman emperor Caligula attempted to move the statue to Rome in the first century BC, but this attempt failed when the scaffolding collapsed.  When the Olympic games were banned in 391 AD by Theodosius I, the temple was closed.  Olympia was hit by earthquakes, landslides and floods, and the temple was damaged by fire in the 400’s AD the statue was moved by wealthy Greeks to the palace in Constantinople.  It survived there until it was destroyed by fire in 462 AD.          

   Phedias began working on the statue in 440 BC. Years before, he had discovered the technique for building huge gold and ivory statues by making wood frame on which sheets of metal and ivory were placed to provide the outer covering.  His workshop still exists today.  It is identical in size and orientation to Zeus’ temple.  There he carved different pieces of the statue before they were assembled in the temple.  When assembled, it barely fit inside the temple. Strabo wrote: “…although the temple itself is very large, the sculptor is criticized for not having appreciated the correct proportions. He has shown Zeus seated, but with his head almost touching the ceiling, so that we have the impression that if Zeus were to stand up he would unroof the temple.”

    Strabo was incorrect on the opinion that the sculptor should be criticized. Instead he should be commended. The size impression made the statue more wonderful. Just the idea of having the king of gods being able to stand and unroof the temple inflicted awe on every visitor. The base of the statue was 6.5 meters wide and 1 meters high. The overall height of the statue was 13 meters, equivalent to that of four-story building. In fact, the statue was so high that visitors described the throne more than Zeus himself. The legs of the throne were decorated with sphinxes and winged figures of victory. Other Greek gods and goddesses also adorned the scene, including Apollo, Artemis and Niobe’s children. Greek Pausanias wrote: “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 lilies. The throne is decorated with gold, precious stones, ebony and ivory.

   It was occasionally decorated with gifts from kings and rulers.  One was a woolen curtain “adorned with Assyrian woven patterns and Phoenician dye” which was dedicated by Syrian King, Antiochus IV.  Copies were made, but none survived to the present day.