Zeus Returns to Throne 1,500 Years Later with Stratasys 3D Printing

A fifth-century BC Greek statue, so massive and revered it was tagged as one of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World,” is being replicated – slightly smaller – by Stratasys 3D printers. The 3D printed version of the Statue of Zeus at OIympia, based on the original created by the sculptor Phidias in 422 BC, will be the centerpiece of a new exhibit at Atlanta’s Millenium Gate Museum, timed for the opening of the 2016 Olympics. Entitled “The Games: Ancient Olympia to Atlanta to Rio,” the exhibition opens August 20, 2016 and runs until January 2, 2017, and it features Greek artifacts from The Hearst Castle Collection in San Simeon, California, and the Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta, Georgia.

The original statue, to honor the mightiest Greek god, Zeus, was planned and constructed at the temple in Olympia over the course of more than a decade. It was designed on a wood frame with gold and ivory panels and stood at over 40 feet tall. The statue kept watch over the temple for about 800 years before it was destroyed, allegedly in a fire, 1,500 years ago. Preserved for posterity on ancient Greek coins, this ambitious homage to this monumentally well-known landmark has been powered by the true-to-life realism of 3D printing.