The statue of Zeus has been recreated by the 3D printing companies Stratasys and 3DPTree and it has been put on display in Atlanta, in the U.S. at the Millennium Gate Museum. The statue is significant because it was recorded as one of the ‘seven wonders of the world’ (now more often referred to as the ‘seven wonders of the ancient world.’)
The statue is not an exact replica because the only references to the original is from descriptions in texts or from the markings on coins from the era. The information gathered about the original statue is that it dates from around 435 BCE, and it existed until the 5th century CE (it was during this century that the statue was recorded as missing, probably damaged.)
The statue was constructed by the sculptor Phidias and positioned at Olympia. It included a wooden framework covered with ivory plates and gold panels. The main description comes from the Roman historian Suetonius.
To recreate the statue as a model, based on the various bits of historical documents, would be remarkable enough. To have formed something on a large scale — 1.8 meters tall — through 3D printing is an impressive feat of design and technology. The size of the statue does not quite match the original, which is estimated to have been 13 meters in height.
The statue was printed using thermoplastics from a design template. One of the technologists involved, Jesse Roitenberg, told the BBC that it took two days to 3D print Zeus’s body and 20 hours to print his legs. Pleased with the final outcome, Roitenberg said: “It’s not just for engineers, it’s not just for designers – it’s for art, it’s for archaeologists.”
