Mason Bacot, Avery Games, and Lisbon Lopes
Western Civ.
Dr. Camp
20 August, 2017
The Statue of Zeus The Statue of Zeus is the sixth wonder of the world. It was located in Olympia, Greece from 444 B.C. to the mid fifth century A.D. The statue was made to honor the Greek’s king of gods, Zeus. Zeus was also known as the father of the Olympic games, which took place every four years to honor him. Copies of the statue were made, but none survived. Experts only have images on coins to see an idea of what the statue looked like. The architect of the statue was a man by the name of Phidias. Phidias had previously built the statue of Athena in Athens, which was over fourty feet tall. He also did much of the sculpture work on the exterior of the Temple
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It was twenty-two feet wide and over fourty feet tall, about twice as tall as the Abraham Lincoln statue. The head almost grazed the ceiling; if the statue, which was built sitting down, were to stand, it would break through the temple ceiling. The statue was erected using a technique where gold and ivory were attached to a wooden frame. The throne on which Zeus was seated was created out of gold, ebony, and ivory and inlaid with gems. Figures of Greek gods and mythical creatures were carved into it. Zeus’s skin was constructed of ivory and his hair, beard, and robes were made of gold. In his right hand, Zeus held the goddess of victory, Nike; in his left hand, Zeus held a sceptor with an eagle on top. The temple consisted of little more than the statue, but this was how it was preferred. Although, there was a pool of olive oil that was set in the ground under Zeus. One aspect of the pool was that it served as a reflecting pool: light reflected off the pool and gave an illumination effect on the statue. The main purpose of pool, however, was for the maintance of the statue. The ivory of the statue was in danger of cracking in the humid climate in Olympia, so it often had to be treated to prevent this. The decendents of the architect, Phidias, took it upon themselves to service the …show more content…
An earthquake caused damaged to it in 170 B.C.; but this damage was repaired and the statue remained. Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and declared all gold be stripped from pagan shrines in early fourth century. The statue lost some of its wonder, but it was still standing. The Byzantine historian Goergios Kedrenos believed that a wealthy greek man named Lausus moved the statue to Constantinople as a part of his private collection of classical art. From this event, Kedrenos believed the statue was destroyed in a fire that swept through the city in 475 A.D. However, others believe the statue was still at the Olympic Temple and was burned with it in 425
The process by which this particular statue was created involved using a method developed by Kaikei, a Japanese sculptor. It was a groundbreaking process that involved carving different pieces of wood separately and then joining them together (“Amida”). Instead of using a single object for creating a sculpture, multiple parts could be used to make the statue easier to construct and put together. After the parts were all joined together, the statue was covered in a lacquer finish and gilt was added to the face to give it the golden look.
The Egyptians created Ramesses’ statue 1279-1212 B.C. using granodiorite. The statue is currently being exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Its dimensions withouts a base are 59 3/4 x 23 1/2 x 30 inches (seems bigger than life-size). One must look at the statue from various sides in order to see its entirety. Ramesses II, known also as Ramesses the Great, ruled Egypt for over sixty years. there are thousands of statues made in his honor to proclaim his power and divinity.
And just like the Greek the statue are both big and almost human size. A great example of this is the “Augustus of Primaporta, 1st century C.E. (Vatican Museums).” It truly shows the evolution of art sculpting. It is a full size very detailed sculpture of Augustus. It very detailed from his hair showing every curl and split to the small details in his armor that also depicts a story as well is shows the god of the sky looking down on him and the goddess of the earth looking up towards him as they watch the Parthians surrender to him and returning the standards shows the great power that Augustus has, and not just that but also the sculpture itself is a symbol for how Augustus wanted everyone to see him as, as god like. And it even has a little small cupid on the side which is also detailed which shows that Augusts is decedent from a
The statue titled, Torso of Venus, was a replica of the original work by Praxiteles. The Romans made the sculpture in 1st or 2nd century AD during the time of the Late Antiquity period; more specifically known as the Pre-Constantine period. Like the original, the statue was made out of marble. The Torso of Venus is a statue of the goddess Venus, known commonly as the goddess of love and beauty. It was said that she was born, or emerged, from the sea foam. Venus, or Aphrodite to the Greeks, was the embodiment of beauty, sexuality, love and fertility. I believe the Torso of Venus was the Roman version of “Aphrodite of Knidos”, which was one of the most famous works of the ancient Greek sculptor Praxiteles of Athens in the 4th century BC.
The statue is made of marble, instead of the bronze statue. This statue is one of the earliest marble statues of a human figure carved in Attica. The statue is a kind of symbol; he does not in any way a likeness. This is my first expression when I saw the statue: the statue is showing me a simple, clear action that was used by Greek youth sculptures throughout this period. Looking at this statue, he expanded into 3D space, because he is standing straight and facing forward without any exaggerated movements, thus the post makes him look closed-off and a column his limbs are locked in space. Therefore, the standing posture, the decorations on his body, his hair and knee’s texture and how the Egyptians impact Greek art, is what makes me interested in it. A question that has always been in my mind is
The Altar of Zeus currently is on display in Berlin, Germany for anyone to see and it is assumed that the temple was dedicated to Zeus or its purpose, in addition to being a tribute to the Zeus/the gods, was most used for celebration of the Pergamene people over anyone who opposed them. As Richter explains,
The purpose of this statue was probably as a source of motivation for Athenians. Usually, Early classical statues represented Gods and heroic figures in history. Gods like Zeus or Poseidon represented holy deities, they were built towering over the common man with a very muscular physique. They were also presented usually engaging in battle. The Kritios Boy does not have the Archaic smile the canon common to most Archaic
The Greeks believed the deities provided the city protection and allowed them to be successful in their endeavors while in time of war. Phidias, a master bronze worker, was commissioned to create the sculpture of Athena Parthenos, the goddess of wisdom to show tribute to the gods by creating a large scale sculpture in Acropolis. The Acropolis was the most important site in the city of Athens, and was well recognized as the hilltop of protection. It is also the most significant reference point of ancient Greek culture as well as the symbol of the city of Athens. Some of the greatest architectural masterpieces of the period were erected on its ground.
As most of Praxiteles’ sculptures were, this sculpture was originally made of marble, but the copy viewed was made of plaster cast. Hermes posture was rather relaxed, with one arm reaching upward, and the other arm bent at the elbow, holding Dionysos. The clothing worn by Hermes and Dionysos was scarce. Both were nude, which was typical during this time period, and Praxiteles was actually the “inventor” of creating nude sculptures. Although the two figures are nude, Hermes is wearing sandals, and the drapery is partially covering Dionysos’ legs. Hermes hairstyle is short, curly and unfinished looking, while Dionysos’ hair is very vague.
statue was found in the Hera's Temple. Contained in the Temple of Zeus was one
...les are also important to the Acropolis. The many statue and sculptures of the gods nearly match the beauty of the temples. The bronze statue of Athena inside of the Propylaea is one of the largest and most famous of the statues in the Acropolis. All of the sculptures have a meaning. This could either be a portrayal of a god or goddess or of moments in Greek history.
The next build of the statue is made out of silver. The neck to the torso consists of silver. Silver can be represented as Media. The torso to the upper thighs on the statue are consistent with Persia and the symbolism Of bronze. The thighs to the feet symbolizes iron.
The Parthenon building was located at the top of the acropolis. The temple was created in 447 and completed around 438 B.C. The temple had a 40 foot high statue of the person it was dedicated to, Athena. The statue was carved from wood and ivory and had gold plating covering the all 40 feet of it. The temple itself had suffered a great amount of damage during the 18th century when a battle was fought it Greece.
http://www.pentheon.com/articles/z/zeus.html 2 page, accessed April 7, 2004. Created on March 3 1997, Modified March 19. 12, 2004. Encyclopedia Mythica 1995-2004
In a city in southwestern Greece, called Olympia, is the birthplace of the Olympic games. Created to offer thanksgiving and honor to Zeus, chief god, the first record of the Olympics dates back to 776 bc and the event occurs every four years thereafter. The first day of the festival was devoted to non-human sacrifices as praise to the gods. Speeches from famous philosophers , poetry readings parades, and banquets were also held before the games begun.