Chryselephantine Statues
Monumental cult statues made of gold and ivory over a wooden frame, the most prestigious form of Greek religious art, including the two greatest lost masterpieces of antiquity.
The Meaning of Chryselephantine Statues
Chryselephantine (gold and ivory) statues were the supreme achievement of Greek sculpture, reserved for the most important cult images. Pheidias created the two most famous: the statue of Athena Parthenos inside the Parthenon (completed c. 438 BC) and the statue of Zeus at Olympia (completed c. 430 BC), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Athena Parthenos stood about 12 metres tall, with skin of ivory, drapery of removable gold plates weighing about 1,140 kilograms, and a Nike figure in her right hand. The Zeus at Olympia was even more magnificent — seated on an elaborate throne, the god was so enormous that Strabo remarked if Zeus stood up, he would burst through the temple roof. Thucydides notes that in emergencies, the gold could be removed and melted for currency — Athena's statue was literally Athens' gold reserve, making the Parthenon both a temple and a treasury.
Parents
Pheidias (sculptor)
Symbols
Fun Fact
The two most revered artworks of antiquity — Pheidias's Athena and Zeus — are both completely lost. The Zeus at Olympia was last recorded in Constantinople around the 5th century AD. The Athena Parthenos vanished even earlier. Neither has ever been found. Together they contained enough gold to fund a small war and enough ivory to empty an elephant population. The greatest treasures of Greek civilisation simply disappeared, making them history's most valuable missing objects.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
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