| Artemision Bronze | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Material | Bronze |
| Height | 2.09 meters |
| Created | c. 450 BC |
| Discovered | 1926 Aegean Sea, Mediterranean Sea |
| Present location | Athens, Attica, Greece |
The Artemision Bronze (often called the God from the Sea) is an ancient Greek sculpture that was recovered from the sea off Cape Artemision, in northern Euboea, Greece. According to most scholars, the bronze represents Zeus,[1][2] the thunder-god and king of gods, though it has also been suggested it might represent Poseidon. The statue is slightly over lifesize at 2.09 meters,[3] and would have held either a thunderbolt, if Zeus, or a trident if Poseidon.[4] The empty eye-sockets were originally inset, probably with bone, as well as the eyebrows (with silver), the lips, and the nipples (with copper). The sculptor is unknown.[3] The statue is a highlight of the collections in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.[5]
- ^ Identified as Zeus in, e.g. John Boardman, "Greek art and architecture", in John Boardman, J. Griffin and O. Murray, eds. Greece and the Hellenistic World (Oxford History of the Classical World, vol. I), 1988, illus. p. 284.
- ^ A cogent summary of technical and iconographic arguments for Zeus was presented by George E. Mylonas, "The Bronze Statue from Artemision", American Journal of Archaeology 48.2 (April 1944), pp. 143–160.
- ^ a b Susan. (1982) The Art of Greece and Rome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 15. ISBN 0521298733; Dafas, K. A., 2019. Greek Large-Scale Bronze Statuary: The Late Archaic and Classical Periods, Institute of Classical Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London, Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, Monograph, BICS Supplement 138 (London), pp. 36–50, pls 31–40.
- ^ The loosely held fingers of the right hand have been variously interpreted as suited for wielding a separately-cast lightning bolt or a separate trident.
- ^ Inv. no. 15161.