The Immortal Zeus
Of all the gods in Greek mythology
Zeus, the sky-god, father of gods, was the almighty
The statue of Zeus of Olympia, so said Phylos, a Byzantine
Was one of the Seven Wonders of his time
Sitting on his throne, a fatherly figure with majestic deity
In one hand a sceptre with an eagle, the other the Goddess of Victory
Hair of dazzling gold, skin of ivory with a fair and smooth complexion
Truly a great work of art by Phidias, reaching ultimate perfection
Enter Christianity, the sculptor’s workshop was changed into a church
Inside the temple, the statue disappeared from where it use to perch
Emporer Lowisis had taken the statue to Constantinople
For his people to see, both the common and the noble
For sixty years, visitors would always be amazed
Until one day, in a city riot, it was set ablaze
One thousand years later, in an old eastern church in Cora, Istanbul
Artists drew a portrait of Jesus, a detailed work of art so beautiful
If one were to gaze at the portrait imaginatively
A striking resemblance is there for you to see
This reincarnation of Zeus was not done intentionally
But it is surely proof of the sky-god’s immortality
Budiman Natadiningrat
Copyright ©Budiman Natadiningrat
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
