Athenian metal chess set 34 x 34 with bronze & gold chessmen

Inspiration: Claiming the protection of a promising ancient city, once became the cause of a conflict between Poseidon and Athena. On the hill of Acropolis, in front of the king and the people, Poseidon struck his trident and a huge spring of water was revealed. “You will never lack access to water and you will become rulers of the seas", he promised. Athena knelt, touched the earth and suddenly a new tree grew. She declared, “The leaves of this tree will never fall. Its fruits will feed you and your children in the centuries to come and its trunk will become a source of warmth and creation.” King Kekropas and the citizens wisely chose food, oil, wood and light, and the goddess as the holy protector of the city, named Athens. (However, Athenians have always honored Poseidon as well, from time immemorial and in this myth we witness a conversion of main religious beliefs in a specific period.)

Chessmen background: The theme of this chess set is inspired by the myth of naming the city of Athens. All pawns are miniatures of real statues. We used as king the large statue of Poseidon of Milos (120BC) from the National Archaeological Museum. As a queen, the bronze statuette (470BC) of “Athena Promachos” that means "Protector", from the Acropolis Museum. This bronze Hellenistic figurine (300BC) as the bishop, depicts a general - omenoscope, also from the National Archaeological Museum. The knight is inspired by the horseman of stone II, in the British Museum, from the west frieze of the Parthenon (438BC). The “Stele of Aristion'' or “Marathon Stele”, "Work of Aristokles''(510BC), is kept in the Archaeological Museum of Athens and inspired the castle. On the front line the pawn is the elite Athenian Hoplite (depicted here with shortsword), from a bronze statuette (540BC) belonging to the Berlin Antiquities Collection in Altes Museum.