If you stag around the Greek island of Naxos , you might slip up across a sway statue quietly sleeping in a marble quarry . He ’s known as the Kouros of Apollonas . Although he may look a bit like an Easter Island Moai statue , it ’s believed this bare sculpture actually depicts a bearded Greek god .
The Kouros of Apollonas , also have a go at it as the Colossus of Dionysus , is located at one of the oldest quarries in Greece near the sleepyheaded seaside small town of Apollonas on the northern part of Naxos in the Aegean Sea .
stretch for 10.7 meters ( 35 animal foot ) , the human - forge anatomy ballad on its back . Although its form is faint as it remains bare , features like legs , subdivision , and even a whiskery face can be run across emerging from the Harlan Fisk Stone .
The giant statue was carved out of the famous Naxian marble. Image credit: yiannisscheidt/Shutterstock.com
To createthe statue , ancient sculptors used cock and chisels , as well as iron drill and wedges , to chip away at the marble . Interestingly , it ’s thought the proficiency they used means they never worked on a single feature , like an branch or ramification , at a time . or else , they grave the figure as a whole and take away the marble in layers .
Once the bulk of the work was complete , the finer details would have most potential not been completed until it arrived at its last location to avoid damage during transit .
Look closer and you ’ll see the statue is lined with horizontal groove , which are evidence of this style of sculpting .
estimate of its date vary , but most suggest it was created between the 8th and sixth C BCE during the Archaic time period ofAncient Greece . Springing out of the Greek Dark Ages , this was a time of striking changes in fine art , politics , and engineering that pave the direction for the Classical Age of Greece known for its art , science , and philosophy .
It was primitively believed this Brobdingnagian statue was to compensate homage to Apollo since the local town was name after this god . However , in the thirties archaeologists realize the figure was bearded , suggesting it actually depictedDionysus , the gay god of wine and pleasure .
It was cut up out of Naxian marble , a revered form of orotund - crystal whitened marble quarried in Naxos that was frequently used to make Ancient Greek carving sleep with as Kouros statues . These free - stand statue describe naked vernal man , place upright naturally with their arms by their side .
Although not much of a looker nowadays , it ’s likely the Kouros of Apollonas has been moderately sham by natural erosion over the 100 . It ’s also illustrious that the carving isnot protectedand visitor are free to clamber on top of it for holiday snaps , which has not helped its term .
As for why the beautiful statue was depart unfished and abandoned , we can only wonder .
[ H / T : ArkeoNew ]
