Mystery of Giant Hand of Hercules: what happens to the statue?
In the Jordanian capital, Amman is a unique, very ancient place – the Temple of Hercules. These ruins, inherited by the Arabs from the Romans, have a vibrant history, but the primary value of the temple is the gigantic hand. Instead, what remains of her are giant fingers and an elbow. The size of the entire statue can only be guessed at. But why was it created, and where did the rest of its parts go?
According to historians, the temple was built in the second century AD – during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. It was considered the city’s main sanctuary and, presumably, was erected in honour of Hercules. However, the local architects failed in completing it to the end because there were wars. In particular, only six 11-meter columns were fully completed at the sanctuary, although scientists assume that they were planned to be made at least ten to twelve. Researchers even managed to recreate the approximate appearance of this beautiful building.
By the way, the place where it was built was considered sacred even in more ancient times. Presumably, in BC, when the city was the capital of the Ammon kingdom, there was a temple of the Ammonites, which was later destroyed: new deities and new heroes appeared in subsequent generations.
The fact that the temple of the Romans is dedicated to the ancient demigod Hercules was explained to archaeologists by coins. These coins depicting this mythical hero was found in large numbers, as well as a fantastic find – fragments of a giant marble hand (part of the hand and elbow) discovered.
Against the background of these vast fingers, modern visitors look like tiny insects. Well, about how impressive the whole figure looked, one can only guess! Scientists calculated that the height of Hercules reached at least 12-13 meters, which means that he was almost the most prominent figure made