The Apotheosis of Washington is a fresco located at the top of the interior of the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. The painting, which depicts George Washington ascending to the heavens, sits 180 feet above the Capitol building's floor beneath a cast iron dome.http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/rotunda/apotheosis/Overview.cfm The painting on the ceiling, which spans a total of 4,664 square feet, was completed in 1865 by painter Constantino Brumidi. The Apotheosis of Washington, strongly resembles classical Renaissance paintings. The entire painting took a total of 11 years to complete.http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/rotunda/apotheosis/Overview.cfm

The central image shows Washington surrounded by 13 female figures and it depicts his "apotheosis," or transformation into becoming a God. The 13 figures are said to represent the original 13 states. To the left of Washington is the goddess Victory/Fame and on his right side is the goddess Liberty.

There are six other images (scenes) surrounding the central theme of Washington's apotheosis; going clockwise, they are: "War," "Science," Marine," "Commerce," Mechanics" and "Agriculture."http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/rotunda/apotheosis/Overview.cfm The figures in each scene are Gods and Goddess like Neptune, Mercury, Vulcan and Ceres and important historical figures of the time including Benjamin Franklin and Samuel F.B. Morse being taught by Minerva (Science) and Robert Morris (important financial figure in the American Revolution) in "Commerce".http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/rotunda/apotheosis/Overview.cfm

The entire painting underwent restoration in the mid-to-late 1980s.http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/rotunda/apotheosis/Overview.cfm

The Apotheosis of Washington was mentioned in Dan Brown's 2009 novel The Lost Symbol. The book also mentions the George Washington Zeus statue which stands today in on the second floor of the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. The marble statue was created by Horatio Greenough in 1832 and it was moved several times before its current home. The partially nude-statue of the first president was initially placed at the Capitol Rotunda but it was deemed offensive. Over the years it has been displayed at the Washington, D.C. Patent Office and the Smithsonian.http://www.smithsonianlegacies.si.edu/objectdescription.cfm?ID=66