The chief curiosity at Elis, however, was a statue of Jupiter, formed by Phidias[229]. The serene majesty and beauty of this piece of sculpture ranked it among the wonders of the world. Jupiter was represented sitting upon a throne, with an olive wreath of gold about his temples; the upper part of his body was naked; a wide mantle, covering the rest of it, hung down in the richest folds to his feet, which rested on a footstool. The naked parts of the statue were of ivory; the dress was of beaten gold, with an imitation of embroidery, painted by Panænus, brother of Phidias. In the right hand stood the goddess Victoria, turning towards the statue, and carved, like it, out of ivory and gold; she was holding out a band, with which she appeared desirous to encircle his olive crown. In his left hand the divinity held a parti-coloured sceptre, made of various metals skilfully joined, and on the sceptre rested an eagle. Power, wisdom, and goodness, were admirably expressed in his features. He sat with the air of a divinity, presiding among the judges of the games, and dispensing the laurel wreaths to the victors, calm in conscious dignity. The statue was surrounded with magnificent drapery, which was drawn aside only on particular occasions, when the deity was to be exhibited. A sense of greatness and splendour overwhelmed the spectator, the height of the figure being about forty feet. The structures of Elis[230] seem to have been raised with materials far less elegant and durable than the produce of the Ionian and Attic quarries. The ruins are of brick, and not considerable; consisting of pieces of ordinary wall, and an octagon building with niches, which, it is supposed, was the temple, with a circular peristyle. These stand detached from each other, ranging in a vale southward from the wide bed of the river Peneus, which, by the margin, has several large stones, perhaps the relics of the gymnasium. The ruins of Elis, says Mr. Dodwell, are few and uninteresting. Of Grecian remains nothing is seen but a confused wreck of scattered blocks. There are some masses of brick-work, and an octagon tower of the same materials, which appears to be of Roman origin. It is surprising that there should be so few remains of the temples, porticoes, theatres, and other edifices, which embellished the town at the time of Pausanias; but some suppose that much is covered by the earth; since it is considerably higher than its original level[231]. NO. XXXV.--EPHESUS.