Statue of Hera found at home of ancient gods

[Spartan]

IOL: Statue of Hera found at home of ancient gods

By Costas Kantouris

Thessaloniki - A 2 200-year-old statue of the goddess Hera has been found built into the walls of a city under Mount Olympus, home of Greece's ancient gods, archaeologists said on Thursday.

The headless marble statue was discovered last year during excavations in the ruins of ancient Dion, 85km south-west of Thessaloniki.

Archaeologist Dimitris Pantermalis said the life-sized - by human dimensions - statue had been used by the early Christian inhabitants of Dion as filling for a defensive wall.

He said the 2nd century BC find appeared to have originally stood in a temple of Zeus, head of the ancient Greek gods - whose statue was found in the building's ruins in 2003 and after whom Dion was named.

"We have reached the conclusion that the statue of Hera stood next to that of Zeus in the temple," said Pantermalis, a Thessaloniki University professor who has headed excavations at Dion for more than three decades.

Hera was the long-suffering wife of Zeus, a notorious philanderer, according to ancient mythology.

"The statue represents a female form seated on a throne, and is made of thick-grained marble like the one of Zeus," Pantermalis said. "It shows exactly the same technique and size, which led us to link the two statues beyond doubt."

Pantermalis said that, if confirmed, it would be the first time two statues of different gods have been located from a single temple in Greece. He said it was also possible that a statue of Athena, goddess of wisdom, could have stood in the temple of Zeus, and expressed hopes it might be discovered during future excavations.

Dion was a major religious centre of the ancient Macedonians. Alexander the Great offered sacrifices there before launching his victorious campaign against the Persian Empire in the 4th century BC.

Excavations so far have revealed temples, theatres and a stadium, city walls, a hotel, baths and streets with an elaborate drainage system, as well as many statues.

The area was first inhabited during the Iron Age, and survived into early Christian times when it was the seat of a bishop.

Pantermalis will present the find on Friday, during a three-day archaeological conference that opened in Thessaloniki on Thursday. - Sapa-AP

[Ehetlaios]

Nice.

[Israel]

It is amazing that people in Greece are not tripping over artefacts on their way to work and hurting themselves...

[akritas]

Isreal when a new building raise in Greece by bring down the older one, the bigest problem is the Archaelogical Agency!!!!
Even a small stone is a issue to stop the rise
Because in the old times no-body cares what was in the ground.

[Spartan]

Originally Posted by Israel

It is amazing that people in Greece are not tripping over artefacts on their way to work and hurting themselves...

What you stated is not an exageration! Almost every single time ground is broke for a construction project in Greece, archaeological remains are found. NO LIE.

Now the government requires an Archaeologist to be present when ground is broke for the construction project. If something is found then the construction work halts and archaeological excavations begin. Depending on what is found dictates what happens next. No matter what is found it ALL gets recorded, through photography, drawings and collecting of artifacts. If the find is something insignificant, such as a simple home, then the consruction can continue was the archaeological work is done.

On the other hand is something of significance is found, such as, a small temple, graves, intact 8th century B.C walls, etc, then the construction is stopped permanantly and the site remains protected. Now if the archaeological findings are so-so then the construction can continue once the archaeological work is done, BUT the ruins must be incorporated into the design of the house or building to preserve them.

Either way the construction crews get hired on as laborers by the government so that they don't lose their pay.

Now the first scenario is always the most preferable one for the construction company. The second scenario of the so-so findings is next and the 3rd scenario is the least favored, of course, by the construction crew and owner of the property.

The best case for all is the 2nd one in which construction can continue but the ancient finds must be incorporated into the design. The only problem is that most owners of the property do not have the funding to pay for the redesign of the project and unfortunately for them LOSE MONEY.

Buying property in Greece is a huge gamble and it is best done by doing research to see if there were any ruins found on adjacent properties. If there were, then don't purchase the property, if not then buy it.



I am quite certain the same occurs in Israel when it comes to ruins.