Athena Promachos
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The Athena Promachos was a colossal bronze statue of Athena sculpted by Pheidias, which stood between the Propylaea and the Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens. Athena was the tutelary deity of Athens and the goddess of wisdom and warriors. Pheidias also sculpted two other figures of Athena on the Acropolis, the huge gold and ivory ("chryselephantine") cult image of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon and the Lemnian Athena.
Idealised view of the Acropolis with the bronze Athena Promachos carrying a great spear in her right hand (rather than with an owl as indicated from copies and coins), by the painter Leo von Klenze in 1846, who portrayed the great statue of Athena Promachos as visible from far away, as reported in ancient texts.
Greek coin depicting the statue.
Similar Depictions. Athena Varvakeion, Roman copy of the chryselephantine Athena Parthenos by Pheidias.
Statue in situ
Phidias
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Phidias or Pheidias was an Ancient Greek sculptor, painter, and architect, active in the 5th century BC. His Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Phidias also designed the statues of the goddess Athena on the Athenian Acropolis, namely the Athena Parthenos inside the Parthenon, and the Athena Promachos, a colossal bronze which stood between it and the Propylaea, a monumental gateway that served as the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens. Phidias was the son of Charmides of Athens. The ancients believed that his masters were Hegias and Ageladas.
Phidias Showing the Frieze of the Parthenon to his Friends (1868) by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
In this painting by artist Paul Delaroche, Phidias is depicted enthroned on the right.
The Varvakeion Athena, a Roman-era statue of Athena Parthenos considered to be the most faithful reproduction of the chryselephantine statue made by Phidias and his assistants, as displayed in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens
A reconstruction of Phidias' Statue of Zeus at Olympia in an engraving made by Philippe Galle in 1572, from a drawing by Maarten van Heemskerck