A big fragment of an ancient Greek statue of a kouros that belongs to the Archaic period was exposed by waves in the coastal area of Kusadasi in Turkey.
The kouros statue was found near a Byzantine-era wall on the western side of the Kusadasi peninsula on Thursday,
The waves that have eroded the ground on the coast brought to the surface the piece of the kouros statue that is at least 2,500 years old, as the Archaic period was from c. 650 to 480 BCE. The kouros fragment was spotted by a local resident, who notified the authorities.
Kuşadası’nda dalgaların aşındırdığı duvardan heykel çıktı. 📸 pic.twitter.com/6FLhbRKOoT
— arkeolojihaber ® (@arkeolojihaber) February 14, 2025
According to a Turkiye Today report, officials from the Ecosystem Protection and Nature Lovers Association visited the site for further investigation. Their findings verify that the statue fragment was exposed due to erosion from the waves along the coast of Cape Yilanci.
It is estimated that the finding was not in its original location and was identified as a piece of a statue that had been repurposed during the time of building of the Byzantine period wall. Experts confirmed that the statue had been scraped and used as construction material during that time.
Modern day Kusadasi was an outpost of the ancient Greek city of Ephesus in Ionia, known as Pygela.
The kouros statues
Kouros was an archaic Greek statue representing a young standing male. These large stone figures sometimes were taller that 3 meters and began to appear in Greece about 615–590 BCE. These ancient Greek statues often resemble human proportions, such as the Dipylon Kouros (2.5 meters), the Sunion Kouros (3.05 meters), and the Kleobis-Biton Kouroi (2.16 meters).
It is estimated that the type of kouroi (plural) statues was influenced by Egyptian statues -especially in proportions – but gradually took on distinctly Greek characteristics. They were broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted.
Kouroi sometimes represented the god Apollo, but they also depicted local heroes, such as athletes. They were often found in agoras and temples. They didn’t have religious purpose as they mostly glorified mortals for their achievements.
As Greek understanding of human anatomy increased, the kouroi became gradually naturalistic. By the end of the kouros period, the figures were no longer frontal, nor were the arms and legs rigid. Ancient Greek sculptors started carving statues depicting stance, gesture, movement and action.
Having mastered the anatomy of the human figure and the problem of balance, Greek sculptors turned their sights to gesture and the depiction of action.
Kouros statues were found in mainland Ancient Greece and in the Anatolia colonies. It is difficult to pinpoint their exact origin. It is possible that they were first made in the Peloponnese, considering that the Olympic games originated and held in Olympia every four years.