Artemision Bronze

Scholars still debate whether the statue depicts Zeus preparing to throw a thunderbolt or Poseidon throwing a trident. Because the bronze weapon it originally held was likely salvaged before the statue sank, there is no conclusive evidence to definitively settle the argument.

The statue was discovered in 1926 by fishermen in the sea near Cape Artemision, off the coast of Euboea, Greece. It was found alongside the famous Jockey of Artemision, another ancient bronze sculpture recovered from the same shipwreck.

The statue is prominently displayed at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Greece. It is considered one of the finest surviving original works of ancient Greek bronze sculpture from the Early Classical period.

The Artemision Bronze survived because it sank into the sea, where it was buried under sand and protected from the air. Most ancient bronze statues were melted down for their metal, making underwater shipwrecks one of the only ways these massive works survive today.