Phidias

Phidias was a fifth-century BCE Greek sculptor associated with the great artistic programme of Periclean Athens. Ancient writers credited him with monumental cult statues including Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon and the seated Zeus at Olympia, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.

He also appears to have supervised or coordinated major sculptural work on the Acropolis, although the exact extent of his personal authorship is debated. Later traditions describe prosecutions connected with his work and his relationship with Pericles, but the chronology and circumstances of his death remain uncertain.

Mary Beard’s The Parthenon places Phidias within the Periclean building programme that transformed the Athenian Acropolis. His association with the colossal Athena Parthenos and with the supervision of the temple’s sculptural decoration helps Beard connect artistic achievement to Athenian religion, imperial wealth and the politics of fifth-century BCE democracy.