Statue of Zeus at Olympia

Recorded 1572 of the statue of Zeus in Olympia. In 394, it was transported to Constantinople (current Istanbul), where it is said to have been destroyed by a fire.

Zeus marble statue at the Hermitage Museum.

Elide coin of the time of Adriano with the representation of Zeus Olympic.

The Statue of Zeus in Olympia was a large chrysoelephantine sculpture created by the sculptor Phidias. Located in Olympia, (Greece), it is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. While the remains of the foundations of the statue's base at Olympia have been preserved, the statue itself has been lost and can only be reconstructed from depictions on ancient coins and descriptions. According to a legend from the 12th century, the statue was in Constantinople in the V d. C., where it was destroyed and lost in a fire in the year 475. It is only known about it thanks to those descriptions of ancient historians and representations on coins.

Timeline

Traditionally the statue is considered to have been made towards the end of Phidias's life, around 430 BC. C., but some historians believe, instead, that it could have been made before the statue of Athena Pártenos (carried out in 438 BC), relying, among other arguments, on the fact that the different lighting conditions of both sculptures in their respective locations suggest that Phidias tried to improve the adaptation to his building in Athena Parthenos with respect to Zeus.

Description

The statue spanned the entire width of the temple room built to house it. According to a contemporary source it was approximately forty feet tall. Zeus was sculpted in ivory (or modelled, since in the making the ivory was soaked in a liquid that made it more malleable) on a wooden frame, and the gilt details were solid gold.

According to Pausanias, Zeus appeared seated on a throne with a bare torso and a cloak around his legs, his head was crowned with an olive tree and his gaze, directed downwards, gave him a paternal appearance. In his right hand he held a small Nike, also in gold and ivory, and in his left the gold scepter topped by an eagle; his cloak was adorned with lilies and his sandals were gold, resting his feet on a footstool decorated with an amazonomachy in relief. The throne itself was a work of art, made of ivory, ebony, gold, and precious stones; the back, arms, feet and crossbars between them were carved and decorated with reliefs later copied and reproduced separately, as in the case of the sculpture of Athena Pártenos. The relief with the slaughter of the children of Niobe, carved on the crossbar of the front legs of the throne, had a special impact. The floor in front of the throne was black marble tile surrounded by a white marble skirting board.

As he had done in Athens, to decorate the base of the statue of Zeus, Phidias chose the theme of the birth of a divinity, in this case Aphrodite, and treats it again as an event of cosmic order witnessed by gods Olympians and astral divinities. Pausanias says that Aphrodite was seen emerging from the sea and was welcomed by Eros.

The only known reproductions of the Zeus of Olympia come from Roman coins, more like commemorative medals, minted in Elis in the time of Hadrian, on one side of which Zeus appears enthroned and on the other the detail of the head. Despite the representation in profile and the reduced format, the essential aspects coincide with the description of Pausanias, from which comes the special interest in the reproduction of the head with its noble bearing and its hairstyle of curls that hang on both sides.

According to the most reliable literary sources, the most dazzling aspect of the Zeus of Olympia was the religious one, because, as Quintilian summarizes, Phidias had managed to add something new to traditional religion since, until then, everyone had had an idea of Zeus until Phidias fixed the idea of what this god should be.

According to Pausanias and epigraphic inscriptions, the so-called fedrintas were specifically in charge of caring for the statue. The Phaedrinths are usually considered to be "descendants of Phidias", but it is disputed whether these descendants were relatives of the artist or whether they acquired this status solely as an honorary title.

Relocation and destruction

According to the Roman historian Suetonius, Emperor Caligula ordered the statue of Zeus to be moved to Rome and have its head cut off to put his own in its place. When the Roman soldiers sent by Caligula were going to comply with the provisions, they heard the loud laughter of Zeus, leaving the place in terror without complying with the order.

In the year 391, Emperor Theodosius I forbade participation in pagan worship and closed all temples, so the sanctuary of Olympia fell into disuse. Although some believe that the statue perished along with the temple in a serious fire in the year 425, according to a passage by Cedrenus, the famous statue would have been transferred to Constantinople in the time of Theodosius II where it was housed in the palace of Lauso, one of high officials of his court. It is believed that it was destroyed by fire there along with other notable ancient pieces.

Importance

It was considered unlucky by the Greeks who had not seen the sanctuary and the things in it. Acropolis built with the same technique. It represented the scowling chief of the gods (supercilium). Because with a raised forehead, according to the ancient belief, Zeus ruled the world; with a frown he made Olympus tremble. Even in antiquity, Phidias was accused of violating the rules of correct proportion in his statue, since the seated Zeus reached up to the roof of the temple, which he would have destroyed if he had stood up. On the other hand, his contemplation must have been disconcerting. be an emotionally exciting event. At the beginning of the II century B.C. In BC, the Roman general Aemilius Paulo was terrified to see the statue and expressed the opinion that only Phidias had recreated Homer's Zeus. Aemilius Paulo was so moved by the statue's impression of realism that he ordered an offering to the god. similar to a sacrifice in the Capitoline Temple for Jupiter.

The statue of Zeus first appears at the end of the II century B.C. C., by Antipater of Sidon and by Philo of Byzantium in the canon of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Philo even describes its effect explicitly, stating that only for this image had the gods invented ivory; and while the other wonders were only admired, this one would even be adored, for as a work of art it would be incredible, but as an image of Zeus it was sacred. As a wonder of the world, the statue is mentioned as far back as Late Antiquity, and in some cases with increasingly fantastic size specifications. If Hyginus, at 60 feet, or slightly less than 18 meters, is still a relatively good approximation of the actual height he reached, the height of the statue according to Ampelio would be 150 cubits, or more than 66 meters, and even 170 cubits or 75 meters is mentioned by Anonymous as height. In contrast, the height of 100 feet or about 30 meters in Vibio Sequester is a more moderate exaggeration. Even the 18th century Roman statesman and scholar VI d. C. Cassiodorus favorably mentions the statue of supreme elegance among the seven wonders of the world.

Phidias Workshop

The approximate date of the statue (third quarter of the 5th century BC) was confirmed by rediscovery (1954-1958) from Phidias' workshop, approximately where Pausanias said the statue of Zeus was built. Archaeological finds included gold and ivory working tools, ivory shavings, precious stones, and terracotta molds. Most of the latter were used to create glass plates and to form the statue's mantle from sheets of glass, naturally draped and folded, and then gilded. A cup with the inscription "ΦΕΙΔΙΟΥ ΕΙΜΙ" ("I belong to Phidias")..