2000Years old.. A statue of "Hercules" was found in Greece
The location of the discovery of the statue of Hercules - photo from CNN
A team of three professors and 24 students unearthed a second-century statue of Hercules in the ancient Greek city of Philippi. The large work depicts the naked body of a young Roman god and once included a lion, a club and a wreath, according to the Greek Ministry of Sports and Culture, which announced the discovery in mid September.
According to CNN, Professor Natalia Boulos of Aristotle University in Philippi led the excavation with the help of fellow professors Anastasios Tanzis and Aristotle Minzos and a group of undergraduate students, graduate students and doctoral candidates.
According to a statement from the Greek Ministry of Sports and Culture, the statue was found in a town square and decorated a building that may have been a public fountain.
However, this building was erected at least 700 years after the creation of the statue of Hercules, in the eighth or ninth centuries AD during the Byzantine period, and the ministry also reported that the practice of including classical sculptures in Byzantine architecture was seen in Constantinople.
It is noteworthy that Philippi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2016, was founded in 356 BC by King Philip II (father of Alexander the Great), and was a thriving ancient Greek city before the ancient Romans took it in 42 BC, but it continued to thrive for centuries. , becoming a cultural center during the rise of Christianity in the region, and the archaeological site features a Roman-era forum as well as examples of early Christian churches.
This summer, archaeologists found part of another colossal statue of Hercules, a giant marble head, in the wreck of the famous Antikythera ship off the Greek Mediterranean coast. Athens.
Legend has it that Hercules, son of Zeus, the Greek god and ruler of Mount Olympus, demonstrated superhuman strength and overcame 12 trials commissioned by King Eurystheus.
Experts identified the mythical hero based on the lion hanging from his left hand and a club that was found fragmented. According to legend, one of Heraclius' twelve acts was the slaughter of a Nemani lion, and his later skinning.
Source: websites