June 3, 2017: Father Nile, a long way from home

Paul Heymont 6/3/175:00 AM

This statue of the "Nile God" stands (or rather, lies) on a pedestal in the historic old quarter of Naples, near several churches. It's had a really hard life.

It was originally erected by Roman merchants in about 200 AD, copied from an original in Alexandria, Egypt. Some time later, no one knows when, it disappeared from sight and was unearthed in 1457, headless. Later that century, the bearded head was added; it may have been new, or come from another sculpture.

decapitated

Then, in the 1950s, and again no one is sure just when, the small sphinx accompanying the god and his cornucopia, was decapitated and the head stolen. It didn't turn up again until 2013, when it was found by Carabinieri. After a fund-raising campaign, it was re-installed.

The Vatican's version of the same original appears to have had an easier life...

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