Existing comment:
Poseidon of Artemission
At the time of the donation, Alexis Kyrou, Permanent Representative of Greece said, "More than 2,000 years ago the Greek-philosophers, under the aegis of Zeus and his daughter Athena, the goddess of Wisdom, recognized as a fundamental truth that the freedom of the individual becomes a sterile concept, if not a destructive force, unless it is voluntarily placed at the service of an over-expanding community; the family, the city, the nation and finally the community of nations. The philosophical concepts they incarnated have however, been projected into our era. The need for an international cooperation based on the freedom of the individual and the independence of nations continue to be the mainstay of our modern civilization. The soul of Greece and its people remain unaffected by the passage of centuries. As in the age of the great philosophers, Greece is unreservedly and devoutly attached to the principal of cooperation embodied in the United Nations charter. In his remarks, Secretary General Trygve Lie said, "With other gifts to the Permanent Headquarters, it will also be a reminder of the fact that our world consists of a diversity of great cultures, Western and Asia - which must in time find a common basis of mutual understanding and respect. That is the goal to which the United Nations is dedicated and for which we work."
This classical (Hellenistic period) bronze statue is a replica of a classical sculpture of Poseidon (from C. 460 B.C.). The original sculpture was discovered in the 1920's at the bottom of the sea off the coast of the Cape of Artemision.
The original resides in the Archeological Museum of Athens. There has long been dispute about whether this is Poseidon or Zeus, and it has been thought it more likely the latter. Created in the beginning of the Classical Period of Greek sculpture (ca. 480–300 BCE), this elegant and balanced figure is the embodiment of beauty, control, and strength. Zeus is shown in full heroic nudity with his left arm and foot thrust dynamically forward in the direction of his foes, while his right leg and arm are raised and slightly bent, implying movement. Zeus is the militant protector ready for action and would have originally been holding a thunderbolt (or trident, in the case of Poseidon). |