Avlogiari Dimitra-Maria, Goura Eleni
At 433 B.C. the famous Greek sculptor Phidias finished the construction of an imposing statue depicting Zeus, the leader of all Greek Gods, at the sanctuary of Olympia, Greece, where the Olympic Games were held. Zeus was a protector of the athletes competing at the games and therefore the Olympic Committee decided to build his statue in Olympia to honor the father of the gods. It was located inside a temple made exclusively to host this huge statue. Such a magnificent and realistic statue it was that many visitors thought that they had seen Zeus himself and this was also one of the reasons why it was included in the 7 wonders of the ancient world.
The statue was about 12 meters tall and 6.7 meters wide. It was so tall that important visitors could have a closer look of the face by climbing a ladder leading to a gallery above the second line of columns. The figure's skin was composed of ivory and the beard, hair and robe of gold. Phidias constructed it by using a technique known as chryselephantine where gold-plated bronze and ivory sections were attached to a wooden frame. It sat on an elaborate throne made up of cedar and decorated with gold, ivory and ebony. Zeus held a scepter in his left hand with an eagle on top, symbolizing the immense power of the God and on his right hand sat Nicaea, a Greek Goddess whose name means victory.

It is not just a statue that was built for praising Zeus. The face of the statue was outstanding, and when Panainos who was thought to be a nephew of Phidias asked him what inspired him, he replied that he had imagined the face of Zeus by reading the lyrics of the Iliad of Homer. Pausanias writes that when he finished his work, Phidias asked Zeus if he was satisfied with his creation . Then the God responded with a lightning bolt that divided the temple in the middle without destroying anything. At the point where the lightning struck, a bronze urn was placed. Dio Chrysostom, in 97 AD, said: "If a man with a heavy heart from grief and sorrow of life, found himself in front of the statue, he would forget everything. In addition , Malvits and Volfrkangka Siringk, German archaeologists in 1954-1958, discovered many new details about the way it was curved. They were able to show that the dimensions of the workshop were exactly the same as the interior of the temple. Malvits and Siringk were also able to represent where scaffolds had been put so that the craftsmen could work at the tops of the statue. Actually, the statue gave the impression that if Zeus stood up it would sweep the roof.

It was the jewellery that decorated the city of ancient Olympia. People from all around the world travelled to visit the magnificent statue of Zeus. The temple of Olympian Zeus in ancient Olympia was undoubtedly the biggest and most important of all the monuments that existed in the Sacred Altis. The height of the statue together with the pedestal touched twelve meters, i.e. it was seven times greater than a normal human. The statue caused such admiration to those who looked at it as featured as one of the seven wonders of antiquity. Even now, people are wondering how they could build such landmarks. You can also watch this video :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laD3WUysddc
http://www.unmuseum.org/ztemp.htm 
http://www.ancient.eu/article/126/