Hello my readers :3 Thx for visiting my blog again. Now I’ll
describe you about.. yes I know you read the title :v this is a bit explanation
about “TEMPLE OF ZEUS” gotta jump :3
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| Ilustration of Statue of Zeus |
Well.. do you know about Temple Of Zeus? I think you already
know who was Zeus is right? The Greece people think that Zeus is The KING Of
The Gods.. and to worship Zeus.. the Greece people built a temple that called
Temple Of Zeus.
Temple of Zeus built around 432 BC at Peloponnesus (Modern
Greece) and the function is to worship the God King, the size of its building
is around 40 ft or 12 m in tall and it was made of Ivory and gold-plated plates
on its wooden frame. The temple design is similar to other Grecian temple, such
as Parthenon in Athens and Temple of Artemis is Ephesus. It was built on a
raised, rectangular platform. With Thirteen large columns supported the roof
along the sides and six supported it on each end. The pediments or A
gently-peaked roof topped in the building created by the sloped roof at the
ends of the building were filled with sculpture. Under the pediments, just
above the columns, was more sculpture depicting the twelve labors of Heracles,
six on each temple. Though the temple was considered one of the best examples
of the Doric design because of its style and the quality of the workmanship, it
was decided the temple alone was too simple to be worthy of the King of the
gods. To remedy this, a statue was commissioned for the interior. It would be a
magnificent statue of Zeus that would become one of the Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World.
And the name for creating the Zeus temple was a man named
Phidias. He had already rendered a forty-foot high statue of the Goddess Athena
for the Parthenon and had also done much of the sculpture on the exterior of
that temple. And after the work in Athens was done, He traveled to Olympia
around 432 BC and start to construct the Statue of Zeus. And the time to
complete the Statue takes 12 years. The statue is located in the western end of
the temple. The temple is about 22 ft wide and more than 40 ft tall. And the
figure of Zeus was seated on an elaborate throne with the had nearly grazed the
roof.
About the construction of the statue.. The figure's skin was
composed of ivory and the beard, hair and robe of gold. Construction was by a
technique known as chryselephantine where gold-plated bronze and ivory sections
were attached to a wooden frame. Because the weather in Olympia was so damp,
the statue required care so that the humidity would not crack the ivory. It is
said that for centuries the decedents of Phidias held the responsibility for
this maintenance. To keep it in good shape the statue was constantly treated
with olive oil kept in a special reservoir in the floor of the temple that also
served as a reflecting pool. Light reflected off the pool from the doorway may
also have had the effect of illuminating the statue. The Greek traveler
Pausanias recorded that when the statue was finally completed, Pheidias asked
Zeus for a sign that the work was to his liking. The god replied by touching
the temple with a thunderbolt that did no damage. According to the account a
bronze hydria (water vessel) was placed at the spot where the thunderbolt hit
the structure. Besides the statue, there was little inside the temple. The
Greeks preferred the interior of their shrines to be simple. The feeling it
gave was probably very much like the Lincoln Memorial or Jefferson Memorial
with their lofty marble columns and single, large statues. However with a
height greater than 40 feet, the statue of Zesus was more than twice as tall as
Lincoln's likeness at his memorial on the mall in Washington D.C.. Copies of
the statue were made, but none survive, though pictures found on coins give
researchers clues about its appearance. Despite his magnificent work at
Olympia, Phidias ran into trouble when he returned home. He was a close friend
with Pericles, who ruled the Athens. Enemies of Pericles, unable to strike at
the ruler directly, attacked his friends instead. Phidias was accused of
stealing gold meant for the statue of Athena. When that charge failed to stick,
they claimed he had carved his image, and that of Pericles into the sculpture
found on the Parthenon. This would have been improper in the Greeks' eyes and
Phidias was thrown into jail where he died awaiting trial. His masterpiece
lived on, however. It was damaged in an earthquake in 170 B.C. and repaired.
However, much of its grandeur was probably lost after Emperor Constantine
decreed that gold be stripped from all pagan shrines after he converted to
Christianity in the early fourth century A.D.. Then in 392 A.D. the Olympics
were abolished by Emperor Theodosius I of Rome, a Christian who saw the games
as a pagan rite. After that according to the Byzantine historian Georgios
Kedrenos, the statue was moved by a wealthy Greek named Lausus to the city of
Constantinople where it became part of his private collection of classical art.
It is believed that the remains of the statue were destroyed by a fire that
swept the city in 475 A.D.. However, other sources say the statue was still at
the Olympic Temple when it burned down in 425 A.D..
Well.. I think it is enough.. I’m sorry if I do mistakes..
and about the source.. it is on www.unmuseum.org
hehehe and yes.. I do a bit copying xD byebye..
