The Statue of Zeus (Civ3)/Civilopedia

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the site of the original Olympic Games held to honor the king of the gods, depicted him as a massive ivory figure clad in robes and sandals of gold. The statue was almost four stories tall, with its head nearly touching the roof of the temple that housed it. The sculpture is described as exquisite in even the tiniest details by historians and writers of the day -- its robes intricately carved with designs of animals, flowers, and images of Zeus' children, and its base surrounded by sphinxes and other mythological creatures. Such a statue could not long escape the notice of greedy kings and warlords, and several attempts were made to steal the statue -- including one by the crazed Roman emperor Caligula. The statue was finally successfully stolen about the third century A.D., and was destroyed in a fire in Constantinople just after the fall of Rome. No images or accurate reconstructions of this, one of the lost Wonders of the Ancient World, survive today.