 Lausus amassed this huge collection from eastern temples that were being sacked and emptied during the reign of Theodosius – and, as such, his collection was likely the most diverse to have existed in Constantinople at the time.Lausus' collection of pagan statues was the first that was dispassionately assembled on purely aesthetic and historical grounds, even though he was reportedly a devout Christian.Foremost amongst his collection was the statue of Zeus from Olympia carved by Phidias in circa 500 BC (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) and Praxiteles' Aphrodite of Cnidus.