In about 450 B.C., the city of Olympia -- where the first Olympic Games were held in 776 B.C. -- built a temple to honor the god Zeus.
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Many considered the Doric-style temple too simple, so a lavish 40-foot statue of Zeus was commissioned for inside. Athenian sculptor Phidias created an ivory Zeus seated on a throne, draped in a gold robe. Zeus had a wreath around his head and held a figure of his messenger Nike in his right hand, and a scepter in his left.
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Eventually, wealthy Greeks decided to move the statue to a palace in Constantinople. Their effort prolonged its life, as fire later devastated the Olympia temple.
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