I previously posted images and commentary on two of the very well–preserved bronze statues of Artemis that are in the Piraeus Museum (port of Athens). People often wonder “what did the statue of Athena in the Parthenon look like?” Well, one of the bronzes from Piraeus is a larger than life-size statue of Athena that was made when the one in the Parthenon was less that 100 years old!
This bronze(!) statue of Athena is larger than life size—almost 8 ft. [2.35 m.] tall. It may have originally been from Delos. Two owls and two griffins adorn her Corinthian helmet. The statue dates to ca. 360 B.C. — at that time the Athena statue in the Parthenon was less that 100 years old! She held a spear in her left hand and a libation bowl—or an owl or a Nike—in her right. Note the diagonal belt bordered by snakes that contains a Gorgon’s head.
Her weight is resting on her right foot and her left leg is slightly flexed. This statue, along with three others, was found in 1959 during building excavations in Piraeus. They were found as a group and although deposited at the same time, they were crafted at different periods. They were probably deposited in the first century B.C.
Compare the “Varvakeion Athena” (below) that is in the National Museum in Athens. This statuette is 1/12 the size of the Athena in the Parthenon. It dates to the third century A.D.!