Liberty (goddess)

A goddess named for and representing the concept Liberty has existed in many cultures, including classical examples dating from the Roman Empire to those representing national symbols such as the American Columbia and its Statue of Liberty, an artwork created under the name Liberty Enlightening the World, and the French Marianne.

Classical examples

The ancient Roman goddess Libertas was honored during the second Punic War by a temple erected on the Aventine Hill in Rome by the father of Tiberius Gracchus. A statue in her honor also was raised by Clodius on the site of Marcus Tullius Cicero's house after it had been razed. The figure bears certain resemblances to Sol Invictus, the late Roman Republic sun deity and the crown often associated with that deity often appears in modern depictions of Liberty.

Neoclassical references

In 1793, during the French Revolution, the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral was turned into a "Cult of Reason" and, for a time, "Lady Liberty" replaced the Virgin Mary on several altars.

Replicas of the Statue of Liberty

Hundreds of smaller replicas of the Statue of Liberty have been created worldwide.

France

Paris

Musée d'Orsay

On the occasion of the Exposition Universelle of 1900, Bartholdi crafted a smaller version of the Statue of Liberty, which he subsequently gave to the Musée du Luxembourg. In 1905, the statue was placed outside the museum in the Jardin du Luxembourg, where it stood for over a century, until 2012. It currently stands at the entrance to the Musée d'Orsay; a newly constructed bronze replica stands in its place in the Jardin du Luxembourg. The date written on this statue's tablet (where the New York statue has "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI") is "15 novembre 1889" (November 15, 1889), the date at which the larger Parisian replica was inaugurated.

Pont de Grenelle

A second Statue of Liberty in Paris is near the Grenelle Bridge on the Île aux Cygnes, a man-made island in the Seine (48°51′0″N 2°16′47″E / 48.85000°N 2.27972°E / 48.85000; 2.27972), 11.50 metres (37 feet 9 inches) high. Inaugurated on July 4, 1889, it looks southwest, downriver along the Seine. Its tablet bears two dates: "IV JUILLET 1776" (July 4, 1776: the United States Declaration of Independence) like the New York statue, and "XIV JUILLET 1789" (July 14, 1789: the storming of the Bastille). This statue is shown in the movie National Treasure: Book of Secrets as one of the historic locations.

Lady Liberty

Lady Liberty may refer to:

See also