The Colossus of Porto Raphti: New Finds from the Bays of East Attica Regional Survey (BEARS) Project

by Philip Sapirstein, Sarah C. Murray, and Joseph Frankl

Hesperia, Volume 95, Issue 1
Page(s): 103-141
Stable URL: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/985792
Year: 2026
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ABSTRACT:

The identity of the colossal Roman statue at the peak of Raphtis island in Porto Raphti Bay has been long debated. The Bays of East Attica Regional Survey (BEARS) project has advanced our understanding of the monument, beginning with a newly discovered fragment of one of the statue’s missing arms. Autopsy of the statue and pedestal blocks using 3D models indicates that most elements of the monument were not originally designed for the site. Surface collection by the project has also further clarified the occupational history in Porto Raphti, where there was a lack of substantial activity during the 1st millennium CE except in the Late Roman period. From the evidence, we conclude that the statue was acquired from a still unknown, defunct Attic sanctuary and repurposed as a naval marker sometime between the 4th and 7th centuries CE, when the bay was a thriving commercial center.