A CULT STATUE OF ZEUS OLYMPIOS FROM OLYMPOS (LYCIA)

Summary In the Lycian city of Olympos, 365 statue fragments were unearthed from the naos and pronaos of the Roman‐period temple that had been incorporated into the city's episcopal complex. These fragments derive from statues that had been deliberately dismantled and subsequently gathered together. Three‐dimensional modelling was employed to determine which fragments could be assigned to the statue handled here, after which the conventional sequence of ‘identification, typology and dating’ could be applied. Stylistic and iconographic parallels indicate that the Olympos head corresponds to representations of Zeus. The left hand holding a sceptre and the right hand holding a thunderbolt also point to the same deity. Comparison with related material, as well as inscriptions and coins of Olympos, lead to the conclusion that the fragments belong to the cult statue of Zeus Olympios, originally standing approximately at an impressive 3.5 m high.