Painting of the sculptor, Phidias Showing the Frieze of the Parthenon to his Friends (1868), by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. It is also worth noting that one of the typical titles for a sculpture in Greek was “zon”, or “alive thing,” indicating the sculptor’s attempt to capture living stuff in unfeeling metal or marble. Whether the worshippers truly thought that the deity possessed the statue is debatable, but prayers and ceremonial movements were clearly directed towards it. The statue was usually positioned in the center of the structure so that when the doors were opened, it could see the sacrifices and rites being done in that god’s honor just outside. As a result, the god statue within was considerably more significant than the temple itself. The master sculptor relocated to Olympia, and digs in the 20th century CE uncovered his studio, which included a basic red-figure wine jug etched with the words “I belong to Phidias.” The workshop also had ivory tools, a tiny hammer for dealing with gold, and molds for components of a big female statue.ĭescription of the Zeus Statue at OlympiaĪ temple was regarded as the home place of a god in ancient Greek religion, as its name naos (‘residence’) implies. Phidias was the ideal candidate for a difficult job that would need hundreds of workers and several years of labor. The new cult figure and temple to hold it would be excellent additions to Olympia at a period when rival games were still conducted at other locations including Nemea, Delphi, and Isthmia near Corinth.įurthermore, a great commitment to Zeus, the creator of the Olympian gods and the ultimate figure of ancient Greek mythology, would be beneficial to the Eleans’ spiritual and intellectual well-being, as well as the psychological and physical well-being of all of classical Antiquity. The city-state of Elis ruled over Olympia at the time, and the hallowed location drew thousands of visitors, pilgrims, and sports enthusiasts from all across the Mediterranean. The statue of Zeus at Olympia by Phidias (1835), as imagined by engraver John Jackson John Jackson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons It was here that every four years the Pan-Hellenic Olympic Games were held. The great sculptor Phidias, who had previously overseen the creation of Athens’ Parthenon and its massive sculpture of the region’s patron deity Athena, was commissioned to create an equally gigantic Zeus statue at Olympia. Simply put, it was an issue of commemorating the city’s patron at a moment when Olympia was gaining prominence throughout ancient Greece. This massive new temple had to fit a massive statue.Īs a result, the erection of the Zeus monument was based solely on religious beliefs. It boasted a temple that had been extensively reconstructed in the 5th century. According to Greek mythology, the city was put under the guardianship of Zeus, the Prince of the Gods. It is the site of the ancient Olympic Games, a world-renowned sporting tournament whose contemporary counterparts are held every four years. Phidias worked in Olympia in a particularly specialized studio, where archaeologists discovered some relics from that historical period, revealing to us the techniques utilized in this ancient Greek artform.įrom the 7th century BC, the city of Olympia was a significant cultural hub of ancient Greece. Following its move to Constantinople, the statue of Zeus at Olympia was lost in later Roman times, but it enthralled the world of the ancient era for 1,000 years and was a must-see site for anybody attending the ancient Olympic Games. The Olympia statue of Zeus, constructed in the 430s BCE under the direction of great Phidias, the Greek sculptor, was even larger than Athena’s statue in the Parthenon.
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