At that time, the statue was moved to a temple in Constantinople, where it is believed to have been destroyed in a fire in the year 462. The Zeus statue graced the temple at Olympia for more than eight centuries before Christian priests persuaded the Roman emperor to close the temple in the fourth century A.D. According to legend, the sculptor Phidias asked Zeus for a sign of his approval after finishing the statue soon after, the temple was struck by lightning. The statue of Zeus was richly decorated with gold and ivory.Īt 40 feet, it was so tall that its head nearly touched the top of the temple. Holding up the thrones’ armrests were two carved sphinxes, mythical creatures with the head and chest of a woman, the body of lion and the wings of a bird. The statue depicted the god of thunder seated bare-chested at a wooden throne. The famed statue of Zeus, the king of the gods in Greek Mythology, was crafted by the Athenian sculptor Phidias and completed and placed in the temple of Zeus at Olympia, site of the ancient Olympics, around the mid-fifth century B.C. See more: Striking Photos of Classical Greek Architecture Still, all seven continue to inspire and be celebrated as the remarkable products of the creativity and skill of Earth’s early civilizations. Furthermore, it is possible that at least one of the wonders might not have existed at all.
Ultimately, human hands joined with natural forces to destroy all but one of the wonders. The original list comes from a work by Philo of Byzantium written in 225 B.C. They are also, however, reminders of the human capacity for disagreement, destruction and, possibly, embellishment.Īs soon as ancient writers compiled a list of “seven wonders,” it became fodder for debate over which achievements deserved inclusion.
The amazing works of art and architecture known as the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World serve as a testament to the ingenuity, imagination and sheer hard work of which human beings are capable.
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