Sometimes
it's hard to convince people of the truth. Try telling
a New Yorker that the "Statue of Liberty" is really
called "Liberty Enlightening The World" and you'll
understand the difficulty involved in telling people
this isn't Eros the pagan god of love. In reality,
the archer atop this bronze fountain is an archer
symbolizing the virtue charity. Appropriate enough,
since it is dedicated to Lord Shaftesbury, for whom
affordable housing was a pet cause. But Londoners
have adopted it as a symbolic link to their pre-Roman
Druidian past and keep calling it Eros.
1994
- A drunken tourist climbs up the fountain, damaging
the statue. Please don't climb the art.
Photograph
©