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Shiva Vinadhara (Holder of the Lute)
Artist / Origin: Unknown artist, India
Region: South and Southeast Asia
Date: Chola Dynasty, ca. 950
Period: 500 CE – 1000 CE
Material: Bronze
Medium: Sculpture
Dimensions: H: 29 in. (73.6 cm.); W: 14 in. (35.8 cm.); D: 9 ¾ in. (24.9 cm.)
Location: Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Credit: Courtesy of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Zeus of Artemision (also called Poseidon)
Artist / Origin: Unknown Artist, Greece
Region: Europe
Date: ca. 460 BCE
Period: 500 BCE – 1 CE
Material: Bronze
Medium: Sculpture
Dimensions: H: approx. 7 ft. (2.1 m.)
Location: National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece
Credit: Courtesy of Vanni / Art Resource, NY
Ironically, while our gods have often been understood as artists sculpting the human form, it is humans, in turn, who give shape to the divine. People have chosen to represent the divine in all kinds of ways (including not at all). Whether we deem humankind created in the image of god or create god in the image of humans reveals a great deal about the way we understand and define our relationships to the divine.