THE TEMPLE OF ZEUS

The olympic games were made in honor of the God Zeus. They were held in the shrine to Zeus located near the west edge of Greece in a city called Peloponnesus. The statue was simple at first, but as the games became more popular everyone could tell that they would need a new, larger temple that was worthy to the king of the Gods. Between 470 B.C. and 460 B.C. a new temple was started. The maker was Libon of Elis and the masterpiece he created, The Temple of Zeus, was finished in 456 B.C. It was built on a raised rectangular platform. The sides were supported by 13 large columns and six on each end.
Though the temple was considered great, many thought that it wasn't good enough for the King of Gods.
Inside they placed a statue of Zeus, created of ivory and gold over wooden frame. The statue was 22 feet by 40 feet tall. Zeus, placed on a throne, almost touched the ceiling.
None but a few pieces of the statue remain today. They are on display at a museum.
So with everything that I have talked about, the magnificence of the temple was so great it became a landmark, therefore making it so magnificent that it became what it is known to us as one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World.