Write this in your own words i'll give you over 100+ points once you do. the statue of zeus at olympia in greece was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. created in the 430s bce from the greek sculptor phidias, the huge ivory and gold statue was bigger even than that of athena in the parthenon. worshipped by pilgrims from across the mediterranean, the statue inspired countless imitations and defined the standard representation of zeus in greek and roman art in sculpture, on coins, pottery, and gemstones. lost in later roman times following its removal to constantinople, phidias’ masterpiece captivated the ancient world for 1,000 years and was the must-see sight for anyone who attended the ancient olympic games. the sculptor and architect phidias, who had already supervised construction of the parthenon in athens and its giant statue of the city’s patron goddess athena, was called on again to produce a similarly monumental sculpture of zeus. the location was to be olympia in the western peloponnese of greece where a huge brand new temple awaited. it was there that, every four years, the pan-hellenic olympic games were dedicated. olympia was then controlled by the polis of elis and the sacred site attracted thousands of travelers, pilgrims, and sports fans from across the mediterranean. the new cult statue and temple to house it would be fine additions, adding prestige to olympia at a time when there were still rival games held at other sites such as delphi, nemea, and isthmian near corinth. in addition, a magnificent dedication to zeus, father of the olympian gods and supreme deity of the ancient greek religion, could only be a positive for the eleans' and indeed all of ancient greece's spiritual and material well-being. phidias was the perfect choice for what would be a challenging project requiring hundreds of craftsmen and several years of work. the master sculptor moved to olympia, and excavations in the 20th century ce revealed his workshop, which contained a simple red-figure attic cup or wine jug (oinochoe) inscribed in greek pheidio eimi, “i belong to phidias”. the workshop also contained ivory tools, a small hammer for working gold, and molds for pieces of a large female statue. the temple in the 5th century bce, the sanctuary of olympia reached its peak of prosperity and a massive doric 6 x 13 column temple was begun c. 460 bce. completed c. 457 bce, it was designed by libon of elis and it was the biggest in greece at that time, measuring over 20 metres in height, 64.12 x 27.68 m along its sides with columns 10.53 m in height and 2.25 metres in diameter at their base. the pediments of the temple displayed magnificent sculpture: on the east side the mythical chariot race between pelops and oenomaus, and on the western pediment a battle scene with centaurs with the majestic central figure of apollo. metopes from the temple represented the labors of hercules. many of these decorative figure’s sculptures survive today and can be seen at the museum at the archaeological site of olympia. the statue in the religion of ancient greece, a temple was considered the dwelling place of a god, as its name naos suggests. thus, the statue of the deity inside was far more important than the temple itself. the figure was typically placed in the centre of the building so that when its doors were opened it could look out upon the sacrifices and ceremonies being performed just outside in that god’s honor. whether the worshippers believed that the god somehow inhabited the statue is a moot point, but certainly prayers and ritual gestures were directly addressed to it. it is also interesting to note that one of the common names for a statue in greek was zōon or “living thing”, such was the endeavor of the sculptor to capture living matter in unfeeling bronze or marble. certainly, phidias’ vision was of a statue so large and gleaming in gold that it would be nothing short of an awe-inspiring epiphany to the onlooker, it would provide as close a link as possible between humanity and the divine.