Discovery of the Venus de Milo
- When
- 1820
- Where
- Island of Milos
- Episodes
- 1
The Venus de Milo, an ancient Greek marble sculpture from the Hellenistic period, was discovered on the island of Milos in April 1820. A Greek farmer found the statue, which was subsequently acquired by French authorities. The discovery occurred while Milos was part of the Ottoman Empire, and a French naval officer arrived shortly after to document local inscriptions.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. The Venus de Milo is an ancient Greek marble sculpture created during the Hellenistic period. It was discovered in 1820 on the island of Milos, Greece. At the time of the discovery, the island was still part of the Ottoman Empire. The statue has been displayed at the Louvre in Paris since 1821, following its acquisition by French authorities.
Discovery. The statue was discovered on 8 April 1820 by a Greek farmer on the island of Milos. Shortly after the discovery, Dumont D'Urville, a French naval officer, arrived on the island. He transcribed an inscription commemorating a dedication by Bakchios, son of Satios, the assistant gymnasiarch. This event occurred while the island was under Ottoman control.
People involved
- Greek farmer · Discoverer
- Dumont D'Urville · French naval officer
Sources
- Venus de Milo Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-30
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.