Artemisium or Artemision (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Ἀρτεμίσιον) is a cape in northern

Euboea Euboea ( ; , ), also known by its modern spelling Evia ( ; , ), is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete, and the sixth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by ...

, Greece. The hollow cast bronze statue of

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

, known as the

Artemision Bronze The Artemision Bronze (often called the God from the Sea) is an ancient Greek sculpture that was recovered from the sea off Artemisium, Cape Artemision, in northern Euboea, Greece. According to most scholars, the bronze represents Zeus, the thunde ...

, was found off this cape in a sunken ship, as was the Jockey of Artemision, a bronze statue of a racehorse and its jockey. The

Battle of Artemisium The Battle of Artemisium or Artemision was a series of naval engagements over three days during the second Persian invasion of Greece. The battle took place simultaneously with the land battle at Thermopylae, in August or September 480 BC, off t ...

, a series of naval engagements over three days during the

second Persian invasion of Greece The second Persian invasion of Greece (480–479 BC) occurred during the Greco-Persian Wars, as King Xerxes I of Persia sought to conquer all of Greece. The invasion was a direct, if delayed, response to the defeat of the first Persian invasi ...

in 480 BC, simultaneously with the more famous land battle at

Thermopylae Thermopylae (; ; Ancient: , Katharevousa: ; ; "hot gates") is a narrow pass and modern town in Lamia (city), Lamia, Phthiotis, Greece. It derives its name from its Mineral spring, hot sulphur springs."Thermopylae" in: S. Hornblower & A. Spaw ...

, took place here. Part of the action of the film '' 300: Rise of an Empire'' was loosely based on this battle.

Archaeology

In 1928, an Ancient Greek shipwreck at the site was found containing artefacts including the

, a statue either of

, and the Jockey of Artemision, a bronze statue of a racehorse and its rider. In September 1952, the

American School of Classical Studies at Athens The American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA; ) is one of 19 foreign archaeological institutes in Athens, Greece. It is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC). CAORC is a private not-for-profit federat ...

made a return visit to the shipwreck, directed by George E. Mylonas, S. A. Dontas and

Christos Karouzos Christos Karouzos (Greek: Χρήστος Καρούζος; 14 March 1900 – 30 March 1967) was a Greek archaeologist. Born in Amfissa, he was educated at the University of Athens, where he was taught by Christos Tsountas. He joined the Greek ...

. The excavation employed five divers and a sailing boat, the ''Alkyone'', which was used to

dredge Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing ...

the sea floor between dives. The project succeeded in re-locating the shipwreck, but did not recover any notable finds.

References

Bibliography

* * * Euboea Headlands of Greece Landforms of Euboea (regional unit) Underwater archaeological sites {{CGreece-geo-stub

Archaeology

See also

References

Bibliography