Statue of Zeus at Olympia

I shine like the sun in a big, quiet room. I am so big. So very big. I am the Statue of Zeus. I sit on a giant, sparkly chair. My skin is smooth and white, like a seashell. My clothes are made of real, shiny gold. So much gold. I wear a little crown of green leaves on my head. I am as tall as a house. A very, very tall house. I lived in a special place called a temple a long, long time ago. People would come to see me and say, 'Wow'.

A kind artist made me. His name was Phidias. He was very good at making things. A long, long time ago, around the year 435 BCE, he had a big idea. He wanted to make something special for Zeus, the king of the gods. So he built me. First, he made a big wooden frame, like my bones. It was strong and tall. Then, he put on my smooth white skin and my shiny gold clothes, piece by piece. It was like a giant puzzle. He made me to sit in my temple in a place called Olympia. I was a happy surprise for everyone.

So many people came to see me. They came from far away. They would walk into my room and look up, up, up. Their eyes would get big and they would smile. 'Wow,' they would say. They loved me so much. They called me a Wonder of the World. I am not in my temple anymore, but you can still think about me. You can imagine my shiny gold clothes and my happy face. I am still a wonder in your imagination, showing you that big dreams are beautiful.