The Piraeus Lion is one of four lion statues on display at the Venetian Arsenal, where it was displayed as a symbol of Venice's patron saint, Saint Mark. It was originally located in Piraeus, the ancient harbour of Athens. It was looted by Venetian naval commander Francesco Morosini in 1687 as plunder taken in the Great Turkish War against the Ottoman Empire, during which the Venetians besieged Athens and Morosini's cannons caused damage to the Parthenon only matched by his subsequent looting.[1] Copies of the statue can also be seen at the Piraeus Archaeological Museum and the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities in Stockholm.
The lion was a famous landmark in Piraeus, having stood there since the first or second century AD. Its prominence was such that the port was given the name Porto Leone ("Lion Port") by the Italians.[2] It is depicted in a sitting pose, with a hollow throat and the mark of a pipe (now lost) running down its back; this suggests that it was originally used as a fountain.[3]
The statue, which is made of white marble and stands some 3 m (9 ft) high, is particularly noteworthy for having been defaced some time in the second half of the 11th century by Scandinavians who carved two lengthy runic inscriptions into the shoulders and flanks of the lion.[4] The runes are carved in the shape of an elaborate lindworm dragon-headed scroll, in much the same style as on runestones in Scandinavia. [5] The carvers of the runes were almost certainly Varangians, Scandinavian mercenaries in the service of the Byzantine Emperor who had been sent to Greece to put down a revolt by the local people.
The inscriptions were not recognised as runes until the Swedish diplomat Johan David Åkerblad identified them at the end of the 18th century. They are in the shape of a lindworm (a flightless dragon with serpentine body and two or no legs) and were first translated in the mid-19th century by Carl Christian Rafn, the Secretary of the Kongelige Nordiske Oldskrift-Selskab (Royal Society of Nordic Antiquaries).[6] The inscriptions are heavily eroded due to weathering and air pollution, making many of the individual runes barely legible. This has required translators to reconstruct some of the runes, filling in the blanks to determine what words they represented.
There have been several attempts to decipher and translate the text. Below follow Hrafn's early attempt (1854) and lastly Eric Brate's (1914) which is considered to be the most successful one.[7]
Rafn's attempt are as follows, with the legible letters shown in bold and the reconstructed ones unbolded: [8]
Right side of the lion:
ASMUDR : HJU : RUNAR : ÞISAR : ÞAIR : ISKIR : AUK: ÞURLIFR : ÞURÞR : AUK : IVAR : AT : BON : HARADS : HAFA : ÞUAT : GRIKIAR : UF : HUGSAÞU : AUK : BANAÞU : Asmund cut these runes with Asgeir and Thorleif, Thord and Ivar, at the request of Harold the Tall, though the Greeks considered about and forbade it.Left side of the lion:
HAKUN : VAN: ÞIR : ULFR : AUK : ASMUDR : AUK : AURN : HAFN : ÞESA : ÞIR : MEN : LAGÞU : A : UK : HARADR : HAFI : UF IABUTA : UPRARSTAR : VEGNA : GRIKIAÞIÞS : VARÞ : DALKR : NAUÞUGR : I : FIARI : LAÞUM : EGIL : VAR : I : FARU : MIÞ : RAGNARR : TIL : RUMANIU . . . . AUK : ARMENIU : Hakon with Ulf and Asmund conquered this port. These men and Harold Hafi imposed a heavy fine on account of the revolt of the Greek people. Dalk is detained captive in far lands. Egil is gone on an expedition with Ragnar into Romania and Armenia.Some have tried to trace Harald Hardrade's name on the inscription, but the time it was carved does not coincide with his time in the service of the Emperor.[9]
Erik Brate's interpetation from 1914 is considered to be the most successful one.[7]
hiuku þir hilfninks milumhna en i hafn þesi þir mineoku runar at haursa buntakuþan a uahriþu suiar þita linufur raþum kul uan farin-tri(n)kiar ristu runar[a rikan strin]k hiukuþair isk[il-] [þu]rlifr-litu auka ui[i þir a]roþrslanti b[yku] -a sun iuk runar þisar.ufr uk - li st[intu]a[t haursa]kul] uan farn[7]They cut him down in the midst of hisforces. But in the harbor the men cutrunes by the sea in memory of Horsi, agood warrior.The Swedes set this on the lion.He went his way with good counsel, gold he won in his travels.The warriors cut runes,hewed them in an ornamental scroll.Æskell (Áskell) [and others] and ÞorlæifR (Þorleifr)had them well cut, they who livedin Roslagen. [N. N.] son of [N. N.]cut these runes.UlfR (Úlfr) and [N. N.] colored themin memory of Horsi.He won gold in his travels.[7]^ Encyclopedia Britannica, Athens, The Acropolis, p.6/20, 2008, O.Ed.^ Hans Rupprecht Goette, Athens, Attica and the Megarid: An Archaeological Guide, p. 141. Routledge, 2001. ISBN 041524370X^ Henry Ellis, The British museum. Elgin and Phigaleian marbles, p. 36. British Museum, 1833^ Thomas D. Kendrick, A History of the Vikings, p. 176. Courier Dover Publications, 2004. ISBN 048643396X^ "The Book of THoTH (Leaves of Wisdom) - Dragon" (notes), webpage: BT-Dragon.^ "En Nordisk Runeindskrift i Piræus, med Forklaring af C.C. Rafn", Antiquarisk Ridsskrift, 1855-57^ a b c d Pritsak, Omeljan. (1981). The origin of Rus'. Cambridge, Mass.: Distributed by Harvard University Press for the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute. ISBN 0-674-64465-4 p.348^ A. Craig Gibson, "Runic Inscriptions: Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian", in Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, p. 130. Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 1902^ Ian Heath, The Vikings Osprey Publishing; May 23 1985; 9780850455656Venetian ArsenalThe Venetian Arsenal (Italian: Arsenale di Venezia) is a shipyard and naval depot that played a leading role in Venetian empire-building. It was one of the most important areas of Venice, lying in the Castello sestiere.
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"Saint Mark" redirects here. For other uses, see Saint Mark (disambiguation).
Saint Mark the Evangelist
Coptic icon of Saint Mark
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Piraeus
?e??a???
View of Piraeus Harbour
Location
Coordinates
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Athens
????a
Acropolis of Athens
Location
Coordinates
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Francesco Morosini
Doge of Venice
Medal struck in Morosini's honour for his military exploits in the Morean War
Reign 3 April 1688 – 16 January 1694
Born 26 February 1619
Birthplace Venice
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16th century - 17th century - 18th century
1650s 1660s 1670s - 1680s - 1690s 1700s 1710s
1684 1685 1686 - 1687 - 1688 1689 1690
Year 1687 (
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Looting (Hindi lu?, akin to Sanskrit lu??hati, [he] steals; also Latin latro, latronis [Sp. ladrón], "thief"), to rob[1], sacking,
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The Great Turkish War refers to a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and contemporary European powers, then joined into a Holy League, during the second half of the 17th century.
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Ottoman Empire
Osmanli Imparatorlugu
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Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye
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Swedish Museum of National Antiquities (known in Swedish as Historiska museet or, more formally, Statens historiska museum
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City of Stockholm
Stockholms stad
Logo
Location of Stockholm in Europe
Coordinates:
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Marble is a nonfoliated metamorphic rock resulting from the metamorphism of limestone, composed mostly of calcite (a crystalline form of calcium carbonate, CaCO3).
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2nd millennium
10th century · 11th century · 12th century
1000s 1010s 1020s 1030s 1040s
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Runic
Type Alphabet
Spoken languages Germanic languages
Time period Elder Futhark from the 2nd century AD.
Parent systems Phoenician alphabet
?
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Lindworm (cognate with Old Norse linnormr 'constrictor snake', Norwegian lindorm 'serpent', German Lindwurm 'dragon') in British heraldry, is a technical term for a wingless bipedal dragon.
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A scroll is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper which has been written, drawn or painted upon for the purpose of transmitting information or using as a decoration.
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A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock.
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Scandinavia[1] is a historical and geographical region centred on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe which includes the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
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The Varangians or Varyags (Old Norse: Væringjar, Greek: ???a????, ?a??????, Várangi / Varyáyi
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Emperor of the Byzantine Empire
Coat of Arms of Byzantine Empire
Coin showing the face of Constantine I
First emperor Constantine I
Last emperor Constantine XI
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Lindworm (cognate with Old Norse linnormr 'constrictor snake', Norwegian lindorm 'serpent', German Lindwurm 'dragon') in British heraldry, is a technical term for a wingless bipedal dragon.
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2nd millennium
17th century · 18th century · 19th century
1700s 1710s 1720s 1730s 1740s
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Lindworm (cognate with Old Norse linnormr 'constrictor snake', Norwegian lindorm 'serpent', German Lindwurm 'dragon') in British heraldry, is a technical term for a wingless bipedal dragon.
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2nd millennium
18th century · 19th century · 20th century
1800s 1810s 1820s 1830s 1840s
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?as??e?a ??µa???
Vasilía Roméon
Roman Empire
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????????? ???????????????
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Harald III Sigurdsson (1015 – September 25, 1066), later surnamed Harald Hardråde (Old Norse: Haraldr harðráði
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Roslagen is the name of the coastal areas of Uppland province in Sweden, which also constitutes the northern part of the Stockholm archipelago.
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Runestones that mention expeditions outside of Scandinavia
Viking Runestones England Runestones Varangian Runestones
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Main article: Varangian Runestones
Runestones that mention expeditions outside of Scandinavia
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