A new room at the Archeological Museum of Olympia will accommodate remains of the workshop where the Gold Statue of Zeus has been manufactured. Tools, moldings and other objects of the workshop, where one of the seven wonders of the world- the Gold Statue of Zeus- has been manufactured, will revive after two and a half thousand years.
The new room at the Museum will be dedicated to Pheidias as a statue maker and his works of art, as we know them by the detailed description of Pausanias. The ancient sightseer Pausanias (2nd c. AD) was so impressed by the glamour and prestige of the Gold Statue of Zeus standing in the middle of the temple of Olympion Zeus, that recorded the painting and plastic of the statue in detail. It is of major importance for the tourists today to realize that the present gleanings of the statue are the ones described by Pausanias. That proves that the statue laid indeed in the temple for 850 years. According to Middle Ages sources the statue was then moved to Istanbul to be destroyed by fire in 475 AD.
Findings that remind of the existence of the statue today are the clay cloth mold of God Zeus, which German archeologists found inside the workshop of Pheidias, outside the Sacred Alte (sacred woods) of Olympia. Pheidias’ workshop was a long-narrowed corridor of equal size of that built in the actual temple, underneath a later built Christian church. Pheidias and his working team, the famous painters Panenos and Kolotis, contributed to the construction of the statue, twenty years after the construction of the temple of Olympia (456 BC). By that time the artist had already accomplished the statue of Athina (438 BC) and the sculptures of Parthenon and had been made apparently a deportee from Athens.
The inner part of the Gold Statue of Zeus was wooden, similar to all contemporary ivory-gold statues whereas the outside was covered by gold and ivory. Its outer coat, shoes, the scepter on the left hand with an eager on top of it and Niki on the right hand were made of gold. The rest of the body was made of ivory. The imposing mercy seat of the God was also made of ivory and gold decorated by precious stones, sculptures and paintings from mythology. The statue was 9.90 meters high, according to poet Kalinikos (3rd BC) whereas in total (including the stand) was 12.40 m. high, 6.65m long and 9.67 deep.
Such a precious piece of art was scheduled to remain sacred and untouchable but designed to be visible from all over the place. It covered the whole of the inner part of the sanctuary surrounded by a short turret to prevent people from approaching. The face of the statue was visible by the loft from where two staircases --one on the right and one on the left-- led to. It is said that remains of thunder striking on the floor of the shrine had confirmed God’s reward for Pheidias’ divine mastery.
Pausanias mentions that ivory parts of the statue were slightly worn, though greased against humidity. He also notes that young men are depicted on the mercy seat while playing games and in particular that the sculptured young man that offers a victor the olive branch looked like Padarkis --a young man from Elida, with whom Pheidias had fallen in love. If this is the case, Pheidias managed to ensure eternal fame or immortal divine protection for a beloved/special person.
Greek and American architects and archaeologists are examining the erection of four more pillars of Zeus temple in Nemea. Of course the archaeological question still remains that is, whether we should proceed with the further reconstruction of an ancient building when we may not be sure of what it really looked like in ancient times. However, it is for sure that four more columns to the already standing five will offer a better picture of the glamour and elegance of the sanctuary.
The temple was built at the end of the 4th BC as a part of grandiose constructions of the century, which included a stadium to perform well the athletic games organized in Nemea. This sanctuary is the one built over the earlier temple that was destroyed during the archaic period.
Nemea’s monuments were destroyed in 585 AD after a raid of Slavic tribes, which were invading Europe at the time. A big part of the remains of the temple is scattered around the area today and this is the main argument for the re-erection of the shrine. That is, the reconstruction will be based on 80% original limestone material. The new temple will look as close to the original temple as possible, according to architect Katerina Skliri. The firmness of the construction is also assured by the size of the pillars, which also prevents earthquakes from ruining the building, according to archaeologist Prof. Nikos Makris.
The four column re-erection plan is based on the architectural studies made by American architect Fred Cooper over the general project supervision of Prof Stefanos Miller of California University at Berkley.
