West of the sanctuary of Althea and opposite the temple of Zeus is located the workshop of Pheidias. The workshop was built in the second half of the 5th century BC. when the great sculptor of antiquity after finishing his artworks on the Acropolis of Athens arrived in Olympia in order to create the huge ivory statue of Zeus.
The artistic elegance and fame of this statue exceeded the borders of the Greek world of its time and today is characterized as one of the seven wonders of antiquity.
How was the ivory statue of Zeus made by Pheidias?
The dimensions of the workshop were 32.18x14.50 and were almost identical to those of the temple of Zeus in order to serve the construction of the statue. The temple was built of conch stone and was divided into three aisles. The central aisle was hosting the wooden core of the statue on which Pheidias placed the parts of the work successively.
Among the findings are many tools of the artist and the characteristic black ink painted pottery on the base of which is engraved the inscription FEIDIO EIMI, which means "I belong to Pheidias". Historians say that the final adjustment of the statue took place inside the temple and the final result was a statue of the god Zeus sitting on his throne.
The workshop during the years.
Since the 2nd century BC, the workshop was transformed into worshiping place. While later (between 435 and 451 AD) the foundations of the workshop hosted the construction of the oldest early Christian church in the region of Elis.
This church was destroyed after the great earthquake of 551 AD, while the entire monument came to light again with the excavation efforts of French and German archaeologists that began in 1829.