''Teucer'' is a statue created by the Spanish sculptor Cándido Pazos, located in

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality wh ...

(Spain). It is located in Saint Joseph's Square above the clock of the central building of the former Provincial Savings Bank of Pontevedra and was inaugurated on 15 July 2006.

History

Teucer In Greek mythology, Teucer (), also Teucrus, Teucros or Teucris ( grc, Τεῦκρος, Teûkros), was the son of King Telamon of Salamis Island and his second wife Hesione, daughter of King Laomedon of Troy. He fought alongside his half-brot ...

is the mythical founder of the city of Pontevedra. Legend has it that the mythical archer Teucer, son of King Telamon (King of Salamis), followed a mermaid, Leucoiña, in exile to the

Ria de Pontevedra The Ria de Pontevedra is located in the Province of Pontevedra, in Galicia, Spain. It is one of the three main maritime entrances of Galicia, the Rías Baixas, the most touristic area of the region. It is also the most regular of them and the ...

and then founded the city. Before the foundation of the city,

, together with his brother

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

and his cousin

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...

, had gone to the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ha ...

. But when this long war was over and they returned to their country, the heroes were not well received, even by their own families. Teucer, rejected by his father, went in search of a new homeland in the West and arrived in

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a la ...

, travelled along the coast of

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: His ...

, crossed the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaism, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and founded a Greek colony called ''Hellenes'', which would become

Description

The sculpture is made of bronze and is 6 metres high. It weighs 2 tons and is anchored by means of a steel spike to the small clock pavilion in the upper part of the Savings Bank of Pontevedra building. The sculpture gives a sensation of lightness that suggests it is floating in the air in a vacuum. Teucer is depicted as a young naked athlete with a modernist bow and the expression of having reached his destination.

Teucer in the city

The city named the oldest square in the old town centre Teucer in 1843, which had previously been called Town Square or Bread Square. On the façade of the

Pontevedra City Hall The Pontevedra City Hall in Pontevedra, Spain, is the seat of the city council of this Galician city. It is located at the eastern end of the Alameda de Pontevedra, on the edge of the old town. To the west it opens onto the pedestrian España ...

(1880) there is an inscription about the foundation of the town by the Greek archer Teucer. In the

Basilica of Saint Mary Major The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

there is a statue of Teucer carrying the

cudgel A club (also known as a cudgel, baton, bludgeon, truncheon, cosh, nightstick, or impact weapon) is a short staff or stick, usually made of wood, wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times. There are several examples of blunt-force trauma cause ...

at the top of the right

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

of its main façade.Durán Villa, Francisco, 2000, Provincia de Pontevedra, Madrid, Editorial Mediterráneo, p. 76 In 1956, a

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies und ...

statue of Teucer breaking the jaws of the Nemean lion with a cross behind it was added to the arch of the fountain that closes the square of the Pilgrim Virgin Church.

Gallery

File:Pontevedra - Sede Afundación Pontevedra 6.JPG, Statue of Teucer File:Pontevedra 57-01a, Casa do Concello.jpg, Inscription on the façade of the city hall. File:Pontevedra 57-01c, Casa do Concello.jpg, Inscription on the façade of the city hall (continued). File:Pontevedra-Escolares en la plaza del Teucro (15163637876).jpg, Teucer Square File:Pontevedra Galicia Estatua.jpg, Statue of Teucer on the square of the church of the Pilgrim Virgin File:Teucrope.jpg

References

Bibliography

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History

Description

Teucer in the city

Gallery

References

Bibliography

See also

Related articles

External links