The Statue of Zeus at Olympia, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was an awe-inspiring masterpiece of chryselephantine (gold and ivory) sculpture created by the famed artist Phidias around 435 BC. It stood approximately 12 to 13 meters (roughly 40 to 43 feet) tall. To put this in perspective, the statue was so large that if Zeus had stood up, he would have "unroofed the temple," as the ancient geographer Strabo famously noted. Zeus was depicted seated on an elaborate throne made of cedarwood, ebony, ivory, gold, and precious stones. His body was fashioned from polished ivory, while his robes and sandals were made of hammered gold. In his right hand, he held a figure of crowned Nike (the goddess of victory), and in his left, a scepter topped with an eagle. The sheer scale of the statue was intended to inspire "religious awe" and symbolize the omnipotence of the king of the gods. Although the statue was eventually lost or destroyed—likely during a fire in the 5th century AD after being moved to Constantinople—detailed descriptions from ancient writers and depictions on coins allow historians to estimate its height and grandeur with significant confidence. It remained the benchmark for divine representation in the classical world for centuries.