Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Olympian Zeus

Olympian Zeus

9.9
A large seated statue of the god Zeus made in ancient Greece
  • proper noun
  • Literature
translation icon : Zeus Olímpico
  • The Olympian Zeus was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Examples

  • Many pilgrims traveled to Olympia just to gaze upon the Olympian Zeus statue.

  • Art historians continue to debate the artistic techniques used to create the Olympian Zeus.

  • The Olympian Zeus was a symbol of power and majesty.

  • Many visitors flock to see the Olympian Zeus statue in history books.

  • Many pilgrims traveled to Olympia just to gaze upon the Olympian Zeus statue.

  • Art historians continue to debate the artistic techniques used to create the Olympian Zeus.

  • The Olympian Zeus was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Surface Forms

Olympian Zeus main

Morphology

Olympian + Zeus

The phrase is compositionally interpretable as 'Zeus who is Olympian' so a B1 learner who knows 'Olympian' and 'Zeus' will understand it refers to the god Zeus associated with Mount Olympus. However the specific referent here — a particular seated statue by Phidias at Olympia (a cultural/historical object) — cannot be derived from the constituents and requires background knowledge, making the expression only partially predictable.

Etymology

Olympian Zeus is the name of a huge seated statue of Zeus that stood in the temple at Olympia and was made by the artist Phidias. People came from far away to see this image of the 'chief god', and because it was so famous it became remembered as 'one of the Seven Wonders', which is why the name refers to that particular great statue today.