The Artemision Bronze, recovered from the sea, dates from which century BC?

The Artemision Bronze dates from the 5th century BC.

This monumental Greek bronze, also called the God from the Sea, was recovered from a shipwreck off Cape Artemision in northern Euboea. It is slightly larger than life-size, standing about 2.09 metres tall, and is now displayed in Athens’ National Archaeological Museum.

The figure strides forward with one arm extended and the other drawn back, apparently preparing to throw a weapon. Because the missing object could have been either Zeus’s thunderbolt or Poseidon’s trident, scholars still debate the god’s identity. The statue’s maker is also unknown, despite proposed links to artists such as Myron, Onatas, and the sculptors Kritios and Nesiotes.

Its powerful anatomy, balanced movement, and simplified facial features place it in the Early Classical or Severe Style, generally around 460–450 BC. The shipwreck itself occurred much later, no earlier than the middle of the 2nd century BC, so the recovery date does not indicate when the statue was made.