This coin, struck from pure silver and then gilded, depicts Zeus. It is modelled on the statue of Zeus, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was a giant statue about 12 metres high, made by the Greek sculptor Phidias around 435 BC at the temple of Zeus in Olympia, Greece. Zeus sat on a painted cedar wood throne, decorated with ebony, ivory, gold and precious stones. The statue was destroyed in the fifth century AD. Details of its shape are known only from ancient Greek descriptions and depictions on coins.  Zeus in Greek mythology was the highest of the gods, the sixth child of Reia and Kronos. Ruler of heaven and earth, he was called "father of gods and men". His attributes were lightning bolts, an eagle and a shield called an aegis.