Phidias’ Hand - Divine Art

Wood, gold, ivory, and celestial influence

Wood was there as your inner part, Phidias often worked like that. He hewed it into a body at first. A divine essence came to manifest. Gold and ivory then embraced that, but wooden remained your powerful “heart”. A special liquid was used to keep wood hydrated. Living “in drought” was something you hated. Whatever was your statue’s appearance, it was just a phenomenon; earthly symbolism of what you were in the beyond. Hard when needed, soft when commingling; forming up gods and deities. Encoded wisdom within their “fairy tales”. Nike, the goddess of victory on your right hand, supporting heroes at their glorious act. With your scepter on your left hand, you were ready to command. Eagle never leaves your side. Your sacred bird has eyes that shine. In flames your statue ended up, but what fire can make real Zeus stop? So many centuries have passed since my ancestors wrote about your charms. And still, everything you represent, within the collective conscience lies and rests.

Thank you ScienceDuuude for inviting me and welcoming me to “Woodworkers of the World Unite”. I know it’s not all about wood here, but since Greek mythology is often present in my poems, Zeus and his statue at Olympia was a suitable start, because it was made with ivory and gold panels, but on a wooden substructure.

Anthi Psomiadou — CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International : Credit must be given to the creator/ Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted/ No derivatives