Phidias, famous for his three monuments to…

Phidias, famous for his three monuments to Athena on the Athenian Acropolis (the Athena Promachos, the Lemnian Athena, and the colossal Athena Parthenos for the Parthenon), in 430 BCE completes eight years of work on his magnificent statue of Zeus, placing it in the huge Temple of Zeus at Olympia in western Greece.

The statue, almost twelve meters (forty feet) high and plated with gold and ivory, represents the god sitting on an elaborate cedarwood throne ornamented with ebony, ivory, gold, and precious stones.

On his outstretched right hand is a statue of Nike (Victory), and in the god's left hand is a scepter on which an eagle is perched.

Noted for the divine majesty and goodness it expressed, the statue will become known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.