In ancient times the Greeks held one of their most important festivals, The Olympic Games, in honor of the King of their gods, Zeus. Like our modern Olympics, athletes traveled from distant lands, including Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt and Sicily, to compete in the games. The Olympics were first started in 776 B.C. The statue of the Greek god Zeus at Olympia was one of the world's greatest statues. It was created in about 450 BC by the renowned Greek sculptor Phidias, the same artist who created the famed statue of the goddess Athena for the Parthenon in Athens. The shrine to Zeus was simple in the early years, but as time went by and the games increased in importance, it became obvious that a new, larger temple, one worthy of the King of the gods, was needed. Between 470 and 460 B.C., construction on a new temple was started. The designer was Lisbon of Elis and his masterpiece, The Temple of Zeus, was completed in 456 B.C. The statue's head nearly scraped the ceiling of the Temple of Zeus. Phidias wanted to emphasize Zeus's mightiness. The games, held every four years, helped to unify the Greek city-states. Sacred truce was declared during the games and wars were stopped. Safe passage was given to all traveling to the site, called Olympia, for the season of the games.