Ancient Greek God Hermes bust found during Athens sewer work according to Greece’s culture ministry. Sculpture dated back to 300 B.C.
The head of ancient Greek god Hermes was unearthed in central Athens during sewer work, authorities at the culture ministry announced this weekend.
It was a bust that most likely dated back to around 300 B.C, the Associated Press reported. While most depictions of the ancient ‘winged messenger’ god are youthful, this one showed the god, who goes by Mercury in Roman mythology, at ‘a mature age,’ the culture ministry announced following Sunday’s discovery.
The Greek sculptor Alcamenes who flourished in the second half of fifth century B.C., was most likely the artist, the AP said, citing the ministry. Alcamenes according to Encyclopedia Britannica was renowned for his delicate and finessed details of his works.
According to mythology, Hermes is associated with the protection of cattle and sheep, though he became better known via ‘The Odyssey’ as the messenger of the gods (he is famously depicted with winged feet), and the deity who guided the dead to Hades. He was also credited with inventing the lyre.
The recovered bust is thought to have probably served as a street marker, the culture ministry said, and at some point was built into the wall of a drainage duct. And so it was ignominiously interred, until the sewage project brought it to light.
