Artemision Zeus or Poseidon

                                                                       

                                                    View of Artemision Zeus or Poseidon in gallery, c. 460 B.C.E. 

Artemision Zeus or Poseidon, c. 460 B.C.E., bronze, 2.09 m high, Early Classical (Severe Style), recovered from a shipwreck off Cape Artemision, Greece in 1928 (National Archaeological Museum, Athens)

    Artemision Zeus or Poseidon (https://smarthistory.org/artemision-zeus-or-poseidon/) is a bronze sculpture that was recovered in 1928. This statue was found at the site of a shipwreck off the coast of Cape Artemision in Greece.  He was incredibly well preserved because he was underwater. The fact is that rust only occurs when exposed to both water and air saving him for a millennia. Another interesting fact to this piece is that it is missing its attribute so, he could be either Zeus the king of the gods or Poseidon the god of the sea. He could have been holding either a thunderbolt which would have made him Zeus or trident making him Poseidon in his right hand.  This godly statue stands over 6 ft tall, and was created around 460 B.C.E. It's an excellent example on how the art evolved from the Archaic period. In the Archaic period the statues were square and less animated. This piece is more naturalistic, one can see the movement in his muscles, from the stretch in his arm muscle to the arch in his feet. He is able to stand without struts or bridges because he was created out of bronze, this gives him more of an animation. They also believed that the eye-sockets were set in silver making his face vibrant. The bronze would have also glimmer in the light making him more transcendent, truly a godly figure. This gives us some insight to how gods were viewed, in that time.


                                    Artemision Zeus or Poseidon (detail with right arm), c. 460 B.C.E.

  

                           

Comments

  1. David FloresSeptember 12, 2020 at 10:42 AM

    Wow, that's really interesting I didn't think this statue was discovered under a body of water, in which protected it from rusting; and when you think about it makes sense, why they thought this was either Zeus or Poseidon. But also because of his dynamic pose, I can see why it's hard to tell between the Gods, because he could have been holding a thunder bolt or a trident. I think my favorite part of this statue is how the eyes are left with a dark hollow shadow, which makes me feel the presence a god and how powerful he is whether that be Zeus or Poseidon.

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  2. Bvigil7September 13, 2020 at 4:36 PM

    This is interesting to know that such a statue was found in the ocean. Even if we can not fully establish if the statue is of Poseidon or Zeus to have this statue still be around with little to no rust is incredible. I agree with David with the favorite part being the eyes. Giving that almost god like status just from the sight of his eyes. Are the eyes hollow or blacked out? Also, if this was found in the ocean, what other discoveries lie at the depths for us to still discover?

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  3. Kirstyn CraigSeptember 13, 2020 at 9:42 PM

    This is a really impressive piece Emerald! I didn’t see a lot of bronze pieces from the Greeks, it seems like they really enjoyed using white marble for a lot of their sculptures. It’s really interesting that it was recovered in the earlier twentieth century underwater and was as well preserved as it was after being in the ocean for centuries. The piece definitely holds a lot of power by the way his face was carved and the stance his arms are in.

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