ZEUS STATUE: HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTICS - HISTORY - 2024

The Statue of Zeus, also known as Zeus of Olympia or Olympian Zeus, was a sculpture over ten meters high, made of ivory and gold, erected by the sculptor Phidias in the city of Olympia, Greece, at some period during the 4th century BC It was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The statue of Zeus was inside a temple built just to contain it, and its size and size were such that it occupied the entire corridor of the building. It was a representation of the great Greek god seated on a throne.

Artist's rendering of the statue of Zeus at Olympia (1572). It is inaccurate in some details: according to historical sources Zeus carried a statuette of Victoria in his right hand and a scepter with a seated bird in his left hand.

Around the throne and the base were descriptions and engravings evoking great actions on the part of this deity.

The statue was kept for centuries in his temple at Olympia, until on the orders of the Emperor Caligula, it was allegedly moved to Constantinople, where it was kept in a temple until a fire completely destroyed it.

All the vestiges and reconstructions that exist today of the statue of Zeus do not come directly from the original piece, but from its representation in murals, engravings and even coins minted from the time.

History of the statue of Zeus

The statue of Zeus is estimated to have been built sometime in classical times, possibly in the middle of the 5th century BC.

Olympia had become the site of the Olympic Games and an urban center of worship to Zeus, so the Hellenes, custodians of the Olympics, commissioned the construction of a statue of the god to house it within the temple.

The task was entrusted to the architect Phidias, who was in his prime after having erected a statue of Athena Partenos in Athens. It is said that one of the reasons why the Hellenes commissioned the construction of the statue of Zeus was their rivalry with the Athenians.

The temple within which the statue of Zeus was housed was designed by the architect Libon, and it did not have as fine finishes as the statue itself had. Once completed, the statue of Zeus was venerated and protected, as well as the celebration of the Olympic Games every four years.

The threat of Emperor Caligula

During the period of power of the Emperor Caligula, his pride made him order that all the statues of God of great artistic and religious value be beheaded and his own head be placed in their place. The statue of Zeus was one of these victims, but the emperor was assassinated before it could be carried out.

A legend that manifests the value of the statue is that when the soldiers sent by Caligula went to behead it, Zeus, through the statue, emitted a great laugh making everything around him tremble, scaring those present, who no longer dared to approach, and somehow announcing the death of Caligula by his arrogance.

The transformation of the Roman Empire to Catholicism and the prohibition of pagan cults later promoted by Emperor Theodosius the Great, resulted in the abandonment and disuse of the temple of Zeus at Olympia.

Destruction

Two historical versions are handled around the eventual destruction of the statue of Zeus at Olympia. One tells that it was transferred to Constantinople, to be housed in the Palace of Lausos, and would eventually succumb during a fire that suffered the structure in approximately the year 475.

The other version relates that the statue was little by little looted and dismantled in its own temple in Olympia, due to its composition in ivory and large portions of gold, and that it was already damaged by another fire that affected the temple in 425..

It is said that because faith in Zeus was not as strong as before, he could not react to the looting and looting of his own image on earth.

The original statue of Zeus did not have any replica or copy in marble or other material of the time, and at present there have been several representations that today seek to emulate, from the historical vestiges, what this great piece could have been sculptural. One of the most popular is the Zeus of Dresden, preserved in the Hermitage museum in Russia.

Description and characteristics

The statue of Zeus was a work of chrysoelephantine technique (which Phidias had already applied in the construction of the statue of Athena), that is, a combination of the most polished ivory with elements in pure gold.

It is said that it was over 12 meters high. It is estimated that if the statue of Zeus had risen from the throne and stood up, it would have broken the roof of the temple.

The statue represents Zeus seated on a throne, with his bare chest and a large golden mantle covering his legs. His arms are raised, holding Nike, the goddess of victory, in one hand and a scepter in the other. On that same side, at his feet, a golden eagle whose height reaches the waist of the god. The sandals were also made of gold.

The throne on which Zeus sat had its own ornaments in gold, ebony, and precious stones, as well as detailed engravings.

The base of the statue contained a series of sculpted murals that evoked some divine historical sequence; Phidias chose to represent the birth of Aphrodite through cosmic representation and with the presence of other gods.

Legend has it that at the end of the statue, Phidias asked Zeus for a sign to see if his representation was to his liking. Zeus responded by throwing a lightning bolt onto the temple floor in approval.

Around the statue, the temple was decorated with sequential murals that glimpsed themes related to Zeus himself and his offspring, such as justice and the 12 works of one of his sons, Hercules.

There was also the place where the Olympic torch is lit and which, like today, remained lit during the course of the Olympic Games.

References

1. Barringer, JM (2005). The Temple of Zeus at Olympia, Heroes, and Athletes. Hesperia, 211-241.
2. Jordan, P. (2014). Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. New York: Routledge.
3. Müller, A. (1966). The seven wonders of the world: five thousand years of culture and history in the ancient world. McGraw-Hill.
4. Pastor, PA (2013). A reconstruction of the temple of Zeus at Olympia: towards the resolution of the "Phidiasprobleme". Madrid: Complutense University of Madrid.
5. Richter, GM (1966). The Pheidian Zeus at Olympia. Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 166-170.