Edwinus sat with his back to the wall finishing his cup of wine in the silence of the Temple. He looked into the fire of one of the torches and spoke as though in a trance of things long past.

"Pausanias was an enthusiastic visitor. His eyes devoured the details of Pheidias' masterpiece, and he has faithfully transcribed his notes for us. It was the throne that impressed him most--partly because Pheidias had lavished upon it all his skill in carving and partly, of course, because the throne was easier to see in the shadows of the interior of the Temple."

Squinting his eyes, Edwinus whispered, "Although the building was roofed with marble tiles that would have been slightly translucent, the upper parts of the figure of Zeus were probably difficult to see--as is perfectly appropriate."

Edwinus went by the pool of olive oil. "Winged figures of Victory, placed back to back, decorated the legs of the throne, and figures of Theban children seized by sphinxes were set above each of the two front legs."

"The sphinx, the monster with the female head, lion's body, and the wings of an eagle, used to kill the young men of Thebes in central Greece who could not answer the riddle 'what creature is two-footed, three-footed, and four-footed, and is weakest when it has most feet.' Close examination of the statue of Zeus," Edwinus approaches the immense figure of the King of the Gods and extends his hand, "shows the arm rests are supported by the figure of a seated sphinx with its wings just below the elbow of Zeus."

source: "The Statue of Zeus at Olympia," by Martin J. Price in The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, pp. 68-69.