THE MAGNIFICENT STATUE OF ZEUS AT OLYMPIA
Just like in Indian Mythology we have Lord Indra, the chief of all gods; similarly, in Greek Mythology, Zeus is known to be the Supreme God amongst all Greek Gods. Zeus was the God of thunder and lightning, similar to Lord Indra. He was the son of Cronos and Gaia. According to Greek Mythology, Cronos ate his children in a fit of rage. Gaia fearing for the safety of her son, hid Zeus in the Tartarus Mountains, under the watchful eyes of the Titans, a powerful race of demi-gods. Later on, as Zeus rose to power, he defeated the Titans in the war for control over Olympia and banished all the Titans, including Cronos to the depths of the Tartarus Mountains. Zeus, being the supreme god was kind of autocratic in his reign and also was known to be very mischievous and domineering amongst all fellow gods and mortals. The Greeks were very fearful of him and worshipped him so that he may look down kindly upon them t. For this very purpose, they built many temples all across Greece. Some of them have survived the vagaries of time, while others have been less fortunate. Today, we are going to talk about one such temple built in his honour at Olympia, Greece.
Now, Zeus was believed to be a Casanova, a playboy kind of a god during those times! He was always on the lookout for creating some kind of mischief or the other! He was also a very good seducer of innocent mortal women, who fell victims to his charm and affection. Greek heroes like Hercules, Perseus, Xenia etc were believed to be born from the union of Zeus and different Greek mortal women. Hera, Zeus’s wife knew of Zeus’s philandering and was believed to be very jealous of these mortal women! Anyways, coming back to the topic, his temple was built at Mt. Olympia to ingratiate him and keep him in good mood for his followers and disciples. The statue of Zeus was built at Mt. Olympia during the 5th century B.C. It was made by the Greek Sculptor Phidias at around 435 B.C. This statue was built to adorn the Doric temple at the city of Olympia, a Grecian town that was already world-famous for hosting the first Olympic Games in around 776 B.C. The grand statue was that of a seated Zeus and was around 12.4 metres (41 ft.) tall.
The whole statue was covered in ivory plates and gold panels from head to toe on a wooden framework. It was a grand monument to behold and the geographer Strabo, noted early in the 1st century B.C. that if Zeus decided to stand up, he would break the roof of the temple! Furthermore, in the 2nd century, Pausanias, geographer and historian left a detailed description of the magnificent and grand statue at Mt. Olympia.
According to Pausanias, the statue was crowned with a sculpted wreath of olive sprays and wore a gilded robe made from glass and carved with animals and lilies. Also, in Pausanias’s description, the statue’s right hand held a small chryselephantine statue of Nike, goddess of victory, and its left hand held a sceptre wreathed with many metals and supporting an eagle. Also, the statue featured painted figures and wrought images and these were decorated with gold, precious stones and ivory. According To Roman Historian Livy, the Roman General Aemilius Paulus saw the statue and was moved to his soul; as if he had seen God himself! The 1st Century A.D. orator, Dio Chrysostom, believed that one glimpse at the statue would make anyone forget all earthly troubles. Also, according to legend, when Phidias was asked what inspired him, the artist answered that he had portrayed Zeus according to Book One, verses 528–530 of Homer’s Illiad.
According to Roman historian Suetonius, the Roman Emperor Caligula gave orders that such statues of gods should be brought from Greece to Rome to upkeep their sanctity and maintain their artistic grandeur. Unfortunately, he was murdered before his orders could be fulfilled. In A.D. 391, the Christian Roman Emperor, Theodosius 1, banned all participation in pagan cults and ceremonies. This led to neglect and ruination of the grand temple. According to Byzantine Historian Georgios Kedrenos, it was carried off to Constantinople in the 11th century, where It was destroyed in the great fire of the Palace of Lausus in 475 A.D.
It was rediscovered somewhere around 1875 and a reconstruction project was started on it. The approximate date of the statue was confirmed in the rediscovery of Phidias’s workshop in 1954–1958.
Well, whatever the reason was for its destruction but the world has lost a magnificent and grand monument which was listed in the earlier record of the Seven Wonders of the World! The ruins of this grand statue in all its magnificence can still be seen at Mt. Olympia.
