Lion of Knidos
Lion of Knidos
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| Material | Marble |
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| Size | 2.89 m long by 1.82 m high |
| Created | c. 350-200 BC |
| Present location | British Museum, London |
| Registration | 1859,1226.24 |
The Lion of Knidos is the name for a colossal ancient Greek statue that was discovered in 1858 near the ancient port of Knidos, south-west Asia Minor (now near Datça in Turkey). Soon after its discovery, the statue was shipped to London where it became part of the British Museum's collection. Although there is some debate about the age of the sculpture, in general, scholarly opinion dates it to the 2nd century BC. Since 2000, it has been prominently displayed on a plinth under the roof of the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court.
This sculpture of a recumbent lion was quarried from Mount Pentelikon near Athens, the same marble used to build the Parthenon. The lion is substantially complete; only the lower jaw and front legs are missing; its eyes were probably once inlaid with glass. The statue is greater than life-size; it weighs six tonnes and measures 2.89 metres long and 1.82 metres high. In designing the body to be hollowed out from below, the weight of the statue was reduced.
The statue stood on top of a funerary monument that is of a style fashionable in 350 BC in Halikarnassos, a centre that was only a day away by boat. The monument is square with a stepped pyramidal top. It was hollow on a circular plan. This similarity has led to some experts dating the statue to 350 BC, but others think that the statue was above a cenotaph made to commemorate the nearby naval Battle of Cnidus of 394 BC, in which the Athenian general, Conon, commanding a joint Athenian and Persian fleet, was victorious over a Spartan fleet led by Peisander.
A third opinion is that the architecture of the monument is not typical of 250 BC, but is Doric and dates from 175 BC. This variation is summarised in the British Museum's estimate of 200-250 BC as its age. The rest of the monument is still in Turkey where it has been excavated by the British Museum. It was originally 12 metres square. Excavations at the site, and similar monuments nearby, have failed to find an artefact or inscription that would more definitely date the statue.
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