[color:f486=darkred][u][b]The Seven Wonders of The Ancient World(4)[/b][/u][/color]
[b][color:f486=orange]The Statue Of Zeus At Olympia[/color][/b]
Almost 300 years ago,Olympia was an important religious center in southwest Greece.The ancient Greece worshiped Zeus,king of gods,and held regular festivals there in his honor.These included athletic competitions.The first Olympic Games, as they came to be known, were probably held in 776B.C .For over 1100 years the games then took place every four years.They were very important, and all wars had to stop to allow competitions and spectators to attend the games.
[color:f486=brown][b]The Temple Of Zeus[/b][/color]
In the fifth century B.C,the citizens of Olympia decided to build a temple to Zeus.A magnificent structure was put up between the years 466 and 456B.C.It was built with huge stone blocks surrounded by massive columns. For some years after it was finished,the temple had no proper statue of Zeus, and it was soon decided that this was need.A famous sculptor from Athens was chosen to make the statue.
[b][color:f486=brown]Building The Statue[/color][/b]
At Olympia,Phidias,the sculpture, and his workmen first put up a wooden framework, to act as a skeleton for Zeus.They then covered it with plates of ivory for the god’s skin and sheets of gold for his clothing.When it was finished it was 43 feet high and reached the ceiling of the temple.Platforms were built so that people could climb to see his face.
Moving the Statue
About A.C. A roman emperor Wanted to have the statue moved to Rome.Then in A.D 391 with the rise of Christianity the Romans banned the Olympic games and closed the temple.Then the statue was shipped to Constantinople.In 462A.D the palace containing the statue was destroyed by fire,leaving nothing behind.
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