Inventory number
Ακρ. 625
Artist
Endoios
Category
Sculpture
Period
Archaic Period
Date
Around 525 BC
Dimensions
Height: 1.47 m
Material
Marble from Paros
Location
Archaic Acropolis Gallery
It was found in 1821 on the north slope of the Acropolis, just below the Erechtheion. The goddess, although seated on a throne, does not appear static. Her arms are bent, the neck tilted slightly forward and one leg drawn back, creating a sense that she is getting ready to stand up. She wears a chiton and over that the aegis decorated with a large Gorgon head in its centre. Around the aegis' edge, there are holes for the attachment of snakes made of marble or bronze. Athena's hair falls on her back and chest in long wavy strands. On her feet she wears thick-soled sandals, whose straps were shown in paint.
According to the account of the traveler Pausanias, this statue is thought to be the work of Endoios, one of the most important sculptors of the Archaic period. The "Endoios' Athena" is one of the few votive offerings not destroyed by the Persians, when they invaded the Acropolis in 480 BC and its weathered, worn out surface is because it remained exposed in the open air.
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