Statue of Zeus at Olympia
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Image:Zeus Hermitage St. Petersburg 20021009.jpg
Roman Seated Zeus, marble and bronze (restored), following the type established by Phidias (Hermitage Museum)
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the classical Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was made by the famed classical sculptor Phidias (5th century BC) circa 432 BC in Olympia, Greece.[1]
DescriptionThe seated statue, some 40 feet (12 meters) tall, occupied the whole width of the aisle of the temple built to house it. "It seems that if Zeus were to stand up," the geographer Strabo noted early in the 1st century BC, "he would unroof the temple."[2] Zeus was a chryselephantine sculpture, made of ivory and accented with gold plating. In the sculpture, he was seated on a magnificent throne of cedarwood, inlaid with ivory, gold, ebony, and precious stones. In Zeus' right hand there was a small statue of Nike, the goddess of victory, and in his left hand, a shining sceptre on which an eagle perched.[3] Plutarch, in his Life of the Roman general Aemilius Paulus, records that the victor over Macedon “was moved to his soul, as if he had beheld the god in person,” while the Greek orator Dio Chrysostom declared that a single glimpse of the statue would make a man forget his earthly troubles.[4] Image:Forngrekiska mynt från Elis med bilder efter Fidias staty av Zeus i Olympias Zeustempel.jpg
Coin of Elis illustrating the Olympian Zeus (Nordisk familjebok)
The circumstances of its eventual destruction are a source of debate: some scholars argue that it perished with the temple in the 5th century AD, others argue that it was carried off to Constantinople, where it was destroyed in the great fire of the Lauseion (Schobel 1965). According to Lucian of Samosata in the later second century, "they have laid hands on your person at Olympia, my lord High-Thunderer, and you had not the energy to wake the dogs or call in the neighbours; surely they might have come to the rescue and caught the fellows before they had finished packing up the swag."[5] Perhaps the greatest discovery in terms of finding out about this wonder came in 1954-1958 with the excavation of the workshop at Olympia where Phidias created the statue. Tools, terracotta molds and a cup inscribed "I belong to Pheidias" were found here, where the traveller Pausanius said the Zeus was constructed.[6][7][8] This has enabled archaeologists to re-create the techniques used to make the great work. Notes
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bn:অলিম্পিয়ার জিউসের মূর্তি bs:Zeusov kip u Olimpiji bg:Статуя на Зевс Олимпийски ca:Estàtua de Zeus a Olímpia cv:Олимпири Зевс кĕлетки cs:Feidiův Zeus v Olympii da:Zeusstatuen i Olympia de:Zeus-Statue des Phidias dv:ޒިއުސް ގެ ބުދު el:Άγαλμα του Ολυμπίου Διός es:Estatua de Zeus en Olimpia et:Zeusi kuju Olümpias eu:Olinpiako Zeusen Estatua fa:تندیس زئوس fr:Statue chryséléphantine de Zeus olympien gl:Estatua de Zeus hr:Zeusov kip u Olimpiji id:Patung Zeus di Olympia is:Seifsstyttan í Ólympíu it:Statua di Zeus he:פסל זאוס באולימפיה ka:ზევსის ქანდაკება ოლიმპიაში lt:Dzeuso skulptūra hu:Pheidiasz olümpiai Zeusz-szobra ms:Berhala Zeus di Olympia nl:Beeld van Zeus te Olympia ja:オリンピアのゼウス像 no:Zevsstatuen i Olympia nn:Zevsstatuen i Olympia pl:Posąg Zeusa w Olimpii pt:Estátua de Zeus em Olímpia ro:Statuia lui Zeus din Olympia qu:Olimpyapi Zeus wank'a ru:Статуя Зевса в Олимпии simple:Statue of Zeus at Olympia sk:Diova socha v Olympii sr:Статуа Зевса у Олимпији sh:Zeusov kip u Olimpiji fi:Zeuksen kuvapatsas Olympiassa sv:Zeusstatyn i Olympia ta:ஒலிம்பியாவின் ஸேயுஸ் சிலை vi:Tượng thần Zeus ở Olympia tr:Zeus heykeli uk:Статуя Зевса на Олімпі |
