 Click Photo for Larger Version
|
Image ToolbarPlease read before you download
Images and/or text from holylandphotos.org are NOT TO BE USED ON OTHER WEB SITES, NOR COMMERCIALLY, without special permission. To request permission contact us at holylandphotos@gmail.com. |
View of a huge marble statue of Zeus that was discovered at Tell el-Ajjul—located about 4.5 miles southwest of Gaza City. It dates to the Second Century B.C.
The statue is about 10 feet 6 inches high(!). It depicts Zeus sitting on a throne, but the front portion of the statue has been cut off, that is, the lap and legs of Zeus are missing. In this regard, compare the statue of Hades/Pluto seated on a throne found at Hierapolis that, although much smaller, looks much like this statue.
For a "Small Zeus" on display in the Archaeology Museum in Istanbul see Here.
The statue was discovered in 1879 or 1880 by the inhabitants of Tell el-Ajjul. It originally was in a temple in, or to the east of, Roman Gaza, but was moved to the Tell el-Ajjul area at some time and repurposed there.
Zeus was the head of the Greek Pantheon.
