Statue of Zeus at Olympia
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The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was a giant seated figure, about 12.4 m (41 ft) tall, made by the Greek sculptor Phidias around 435 BC at the sanctuary of Olympia, Greece, and erected in the Temple of Zeus there. Zeus is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, who rules as king of the gods of Mount Olympus.
Olympian Zeus in the sculptured antique art of Quatremère de Quincy (1815).
A fanciful reconstruction of Phidias' statue of Zeus, in an engraving made by Philippe Galle in 1572, from a drawing by Maarten van Heemskerck
Coin from Elis district in southern Greece illustrating the Olympian Zeus statue (Nordisk familjebok)
Statue of Jupiter (Hermitage), marble and bronze (restored), following the type established by Phidias (Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg)
Phidias
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Phidias or Pheidias was an Ancient Greek sculptor, painter, and architect, active in the 5th century BC. His Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Phidias also designed the statues of the goddess Athena on the Athenian Acropolis, namely the Athena Parthenos inside the Parthenon, and the Athena Promachos, a colossal bronze which stood between it and the Propylaea, a monumental gateway that served as the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens. Phidias was the son of Charmides of Athens. The ancients believed that his masters were Hegias and Ageladas.
Phidias Showing the Frieze of the Parthenon to his Friends (1868) by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
In this painting by artist Paul Delaroche, Phidias is depicted enthroned on the right.
The Varvakeion Athena, a Roman-era statue of Athena Parthenos considered to be the most faithful reproduction of the chryselephantine statue made by Phidias and his assistants, as displayed in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens
A reconstruction of Phidias' Statue of Zeus at Olympia in an engraving made by Philippe Galle in 1572, from a drawing by Maarten van Heemskerck