It was originally located in
Piraeus harbour of Athens. It was looted by Venetian naval commander
Francesco Morosini in 1687 as plunder taken in the Great war against the
Ottoman Empire, during which the Venetians
captured Athens and Morosini's cannons caused
damage to the Parthenon that was matched only by his subsequent sack of the city. Copies of the statue can also be seen at the
Piraeus Archaeological Museum and the
Swedish History Museum in
Stockholm. The lion was originally sculpted in about 360 BC, and became a famous landmark in Piraeus, Athens, having stood there since the 1st or 2nd century AD. Its prominence was such that the port eventually became referred to in Italian as ("Lion Port") as the port's original name ceased to be used. It is depicted in a sitting pose, with a hollow throat and the mark of a pipe (now lost) running down its back; this suggests that it was at some point used as a fountain. This is consistent with the description of the statue from the 1670s, which said that water flowed from the lion's mouth into a cistern at its feet. In the second half of the 11th century, two
runic inscriptions were carved onto the lion. The runes are carved in the shape of an elaborate
lindworm dragon-headed
scroll, in much the same style as on
runestones in
Scandinavia. According to
Erik Brate's translation of the runes, they state they were carved by "suiar", or the
Swedes. The
Vikings who carved the runes on the lion could have been
Varangians, mercenaries in the service of the
Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Emperor, or Vikings who travelled from Scandinavia around Europe’s Atlantic coastline. == Inscriptions and translations ==