Ivory covered the exposed flesh of the Statue of Zeus at Olympia.
The statue used chryselephantine construction, an expensive technique that combined carved ivory with sheets of gold. Ivory represented Zeus’s skin, while gold covered his clothing, hair and other attributes. A wooden or composite framework supported the large figure.
Phidias made the statue for the Temple of Zeus at Olympia in the fifth century BC. Ancient descriptions emphasize its seated pose, monumental scale and rich decoration, although no complete original copy survives.
Ivory and gold were practical choices as well as symbols of wealth. Their brightness and rarity helped create an image suitable for the sanctuary’s supreme deity. The statue should not be confused with the bronze or marble Zeus figures found elsewhere in the Greek world.