Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
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Damascus, SANA- Statue of Apollo, the God of music and literature for the Greeks which was discovered at Isriya, East of Salamia city, is considered as one of the most important statues of this god in the Orient.
The statue, which is existed now in Damascus National Museum, was depicted in a feature of a slim and handsome young man who was found along with a crashed harp by a German expedition that has excavated in Isriya Temple between 1991 and 1992.
Archaeological researcher , Khaled Kiwan, said that the statue, which is cleaned and showcased in one of the pavilions of Damascus National Museum, was made from bronze and is 53 cm length, referring that Apollo, which is equal to Palmyra’s Nabu God in ancient Syria, is also a god of prediction , a thing that explains dedicating Isriya Temple for prophecies.
The statue has a Roman feature from the Caesar era and has a Greek and Hellenistic influence but it lacks a wreath on the head.
Anyone can compare Isriya’s statue with another one of Apollo God which dates back to (320- 350) BC, and reserved at Vatican Museum and almost appears at the same movements of Isriya’s, but it is made from marble stone with its body heading forward in a standing up position with a head looking at the left side, and probably dates back to the same era of Isriya’s statue.
Isriya’s Temple dates back to the first century BC with new additions that also date back to the third century at the time of the Syrian emperor Caracalla who governed Rome between 211 and 217 A.D.
Baraa Ali / Mazen Eyon
