Statue of Zeus at Olympia

A depiction of the statue

Statue of Zeus at Olympia was a large seated figure, about 12.4 m (41 ft) tall, made by the Hellenic sculptor Phidias around 435 B.C.E. at the sanctuary of Olympia, in Greece, and erected in the Temple of Zeus there.

Quote:

• But the most notable of all was an ivory statue of Jupiter, the work of Phidias, son of the Athenian Charmides, of such greatness that although the temple is very high, nevertheless it seems to exceed the right proportion: for the artist he sat down; and yet it almost touches the roof with its head: so we then see that if it were to stand up it would uncover the temple. And some described the size of that statue, among others Callimachus in iambic verses. The painter Panenos, his nephew, cooperated greatly with Phidias in that work, to whom he was assigned together with Phidias, and embellished the statue with the ornamentation of colours, and mainly in the part of the drapery. (Strabo)

Related entries:

• Phidias
• Pediments of the temple of Zeus in Olympia