ENGLISH VERSION | Statue of Goddess Athena arrives in Sicily
On Wednesday 9th February, at 11:00 A.M, the statue of goddess Athena arrived in Sicily at the Antonio Salinas Archeological Regional Museum.
Partnership between Greece and Sicily
This statue will be given to the Salinas Museum for four years after a close cooperation agreement with the Greek authorities which was strongly desired by Alberto Samonà, Regional Councilor for Cultural Heritage and Sicilian identity.
Last month, the partnership between the sicilian museum and the Acropolis Museum of Athens had already allowed the return to Greece of a Parthenon frieze fragment (the so-called “Fagan Artifact”), which was conserved at the Salinas Museum. However, the arrival of this statue marks the first time that an artifact from the Athenian Museum comes to Sicily for a long-term exposure.
Accompanying the precious exhibit, which dates to the 5th century B.C., will be Lina Mendoni, Minister of Culture and Sport of Greece, and Nikolaos Stampolidis, director of the Athenese museum. They will entrust it to the Sicilian region, to the presence of Alberto Samonà and Caterina Greco, director of the Salinas Museum. For the important cultural occasion, senator Lucia Borgonzoni, Undersecretary of Culture, will also be present.
The Statue
This headless statue, made of pentelic marble, depicts the Goddess Athena: the 60 cm tall figure is dressed in a peplum, complete with a belt on the waist. The deity was probably adorned with a banner transversely placed on the chest which, likely during ancient times, was decorated in the center by a gorgon, which has been lost.
The figure puts the body weight on the right leg, while using the left arm, in a sort of synchrony, to lean on what was supposed to be a spear. The whole thing is sinuous and smooth thanks to the skillful use of clothing, which is typical of the attic style of the last quarter of the 5th century B.C.
