The Statue of Liberty is located in America, in New York. To be more precise, it stands on Liberty Island, a few kilometers from the southern tip of Manhattan Island.

An interesting nuance - formally, the statue is not in the state of New York, but in the state of New Jersey. The border between the states just runs along the Hudson River.

The Statue of Liberty is one of New York's most visited.

It has been featured in numerous films and is a place of pilgrimage for a huge number of visitors who want to look into the history of the United States.

Received as a gift to the United States from the French in 1876, the Statue of Liberty is for many, literally and figuratively, a beacon of hope and freedom, occupying a special place in American history and culture.

After all, not far from the island of Liberty, on which the statue is located, is located Ellis Island, known for its rich history. It was the first place where immigrants from Europe came to the New World in search of a better life.

Over 12 million European immigrants passed through this portal between 1892 and 1954. It is believed that over a quarter of all Americans have among their ancestors someone who came to America via Ellis Island.

Newly arrived immigrants were examined for health reasons, and some of them were sent back to their homeland. Ellis Island has often been called the Isle of Tears.

Therefore, many Americans visit Liberty Island and Ellis Island.

They want to learn something new, to stand in the same place where the new immigrants who came to this country for the first time so many years ago stood. There is an Immigration Museum on the island.

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Islands are accessible by ferry from Battery Park in New York (the southernmost tip of Manhattan Island).

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are open to visitors every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for.

Now you know where the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are located and what they meant to European immigrants who first set foot on American soil.

Liberty Island in New York will long be a favorite among the attractions of this city.

You can read more about the Statue of Liberty itself in the article.

The Statue of Liberty or, as it is also called, Lady Liberty, has symbolized the spread of freedom and democracy for many years. A striking symbol of liberation is the trampling of broken fetters by the statue. The impressive structure is located on the North American mainland in New York, invariably appears to the eyes of all its guests and gives the most unforgettable experience.

Creation of the Statue of Liberty

The monument went down in history as a gift to the United States from the French government. According to the official version, this event took place in honor of America's celebration of 100 years since independence, and also as a sign of friendship between the two states. The author of the project was the leader of the French anti-slavery movement Edouard Rene Lefebvre de Labuela.

Work on the creation of the statue began in 1875 in France and was completed in 1884. They were headed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, a talented French sculptor. It was this outstanding person who for 10 years created the future symbol of freedom on a global scale in his art studio.

The work was carried out in collaboration with the best minds of France. Gustave Eiffel, the developer of the Eiffel Tower project, was involved in the design of the inner steel frame of the famous statue. The work was continued by one of his assistants, engineer Maurice Kehlin.

The solemn ceremony of presenting the French gift to American colleagues was scheduled for July 1876. An obstacle to the implementation of the plan was a banal lack of funds. US President Grover Cleveland was able to accept in a solemn ceremony a gift from the French government only 10 years later. The date of the ceremonial handover of the Statue was October 1886. Bedloe Island has been designated as the location for the historic ceremony. After 70 years, it received the name "Island of Freedom".

Description of the legendary landmark

The Statue of Liberty is on the list of the world's most famous masterpieces. Her right hand proudly raises a torch, while her left hand displays a tablet with inscriptions. The inscription indicates the date of the most important event for the entire American people - Independence Day of the United States of America.

The dimensions of Lady Liberty are impressive. Its height from the ground to the top of the torch is 93 meters. Head size - 5.26 meters, nose length - 1.37 m, eyes - 0.76 m, arms - 12.8 meters, the length of each hand is 5 m. The size of the plate is 7.19 m.

Curious what the Statue of Liberty is made of. It took at least 31 tons of copper to cast her body. The entire steel structure weighs in total about 125 tons.

The 25 view windows located in the crown are a symbol of the wealth of the country. And the rays coming out of it in the amount of 7 pieces are a symbol of the seven continents and seas. In addition to this, they symbolize the expansion of freedom in all directions.

Traditionally, the location of the monument is reached by ferry. A favorite place to visit is the crown. To enjoy the local landscapes and views of the New York coast from a height, you need to climb a special platform inside it. To this end, visitors will have to overcome a large number of steps - 192 to the top of the pedestal, and then 356 already in the body itself.

As a reward for the most persistent visitors, extensive views of New York with its picturesque surroundings open up. No less interesting is the pedestal where the museum with historical expositions located in it is located.

Little known interesting facts about the Statue of Liberty

The period of creation and subsequent existence of the monument is filled with entertaining facts and stories. Some of them are not illuminated even when tourists visit New York City.

The first name of the Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty is the name by which the masterpiece is known throughout the world. At first it was known under the name "Liberty Enlightening the World" - "Freedom Enlightening the World." At first, instead of it, it was planned to erect a monument in the form of a farmer with a torch in his hand. The place of establishment was to be the territory of Egypt at the entrance to the Suez Canal. The drastically changed plans of the Egyptian government prevented this.

The prototype of the face of the Statue of Liberty

The information is widespread that the face of the Statue of Liberty is nothing more than a fiction of the author. However, two versions of its origin are known. According to the first, the face of the famous model of French origin, Isabella Boyer, became the prototype of the face. According to another, Frederick Bartholdi immortalized the face of his own mother in the monument.

Metamorphoses with color

Immediately after creation, the statue was distinguished by a bright golden-orange color. In St. Petersburg, visitors to the Hermitage can see a painting depicting it in its original form. Today, the monument has acquired a green color. This is due to patination, a process in which the metal acquires a blue-green hue when interacting with air. This transformation of the American symbol lasted for 25 years, which is captured in numerous photos. The copper coating of the statue naturally oxidized, which can be seen today.

"Journeys" of the head of Lady Liberty

A little-known fact: before all the pieces of the French gift were collected in New York, the Statue of Liberty had to travel around the country disassembled for some time. Her head was exhibited in one of the Philadelphia museums in 1878. The French also decided to enjoy the unprecedented spectacle before she left for her destination. In the same year, the head was put on public display at one of the Paris exhibitions.

Former record holder

In the 21st century, there are buildings that surpass the symbol of America in height and heaviness. However, during the development of the Statue project, its concrete base was the world's largest and largest concrete structure. Outstanding records soon ceased to be such, but the monument is still associated in the world consciousness with everything majestic and new.

Twins of the Statue of Liberty

Many copies of the American symbol have been created around the world, among which several dozen can be found in the United States itself. A couple of 9-meter copies can be seen in the vicinity of New York's National Liberty Bank. Another copy, reduced to 3 meters, holding the Bible, adorns the state of California.

The official twin copy of the monument appeared in the late 80s of the XX century. The Americans presented it to the French people as a token of friendship and gratitude. Today this gift can be seen in Paris on one of the islands of the Seine rivers. The copy is reduced, however, it is able to hit others with an 11-meter height.

Residents of Tokyo, Budapest, Lvov erected their own copies of the monument.

The authorship of a copy reduced to a minimum belongs to the inhabitants of western Ukraine - the sculptor Mikhail Kolodko and the architect Alexander Bezik. You can see this masterpiece of modern art in Uzhgorod, in Transcarpathia. The comic sculpture is made of bronze, is only 30 cm high and weighs about 4 kg. Today it symbolizes the desire of the local population for self-expression and is known as the smallest replica in the world.

Extreme "adventures" of the monument

The Statue of Liberty has gone through a lot in its lifetime. In July 1916, a brutal terrorist attack took place in America. On the island of Liberty located near the island of Black Tom Island, explosions were heard, comparable in strength to an earthquake of about 5.5 points. Their culprits were saboteurs from Germany. During these events, the monument received severe damage to some of its parts.

In 1983, in front of a large audience, illusionist David Copperfield conducted an unforgettable experiment in the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty. The original focus was a success. The huge statue really disappeared, and the stunned audience tried in vain to find a logical explanation for what they saw. In addition to performing miracles, Copperfield surprised with a ring of light around the Statue of Liberty and another next to it.

Today, the symbol of the United States still towers majestically in the sky over New York, retains its important global significance and is the pride of the American nation. For America itself and other states, it is associated with the spread of democratic values, freedom and independence throughout the world. Since 1984, the Statue has become part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On October 28, 1886, the most famous monument of the United States of America, the legendary Statue of Liberty, was opened under cannon shots, siren roars and incessant fireworks. From that day on, every ship entering the port of New York meets a stone statue of a woman with a torch of freedom in her hand, outstretched to the sky.

History of the Statue of Liberty

Oddly enough, the main symbol of the freedom of the United States is the brainchild of French masters. It was in Paris that the Statue was born. Then it was dismantled into parts and transported through. Here it was assembled again and installed on a powerful plinth, which the Americans themselves had built by Bedloe's Island, now Liberty Island. Liberty Island, on which the statue is located, is federal property in the state of New York. The island is located closer to the coast of New Jersey, which is why some mistakenly attribute it to the state of New Jersey.

The idea of ​​​​creating the Statue of Liberty appeared in 1865 with the academician Edouard de Laboulaye. The author of the Statue of Liberty itself is a sculptor from Alsace, Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, at that time still a young and unknown master. A few years earlier, Bartholdi had conceived the construction of a huge lighthouse on the Suez Canal. According to his plans, this lighthouse should be in the form of a female figure. In the hands of the sculpture was supposed to hold a torch, the light from which was supposed to illuminate the way for the sailors. But at one time, the idea with a lighthouse on the Suez Canal was rejected. That is why the young sculptor responded with great enthusiasm to the idea of ​​Edouard de Laboulaye.

When creating the sculpture, Bartholdi repeatedly turned to Delacroix's painting "Liberty Leading the People to the Barricades". It was the image of Liberty from this canvas that became the main prototype for the Statue of Liberty. According to one version, Bartholdi even had an American model: the beautiful, recently widowed Isabella Boyer, wife of Isaac Singer, a sewing machine entrepreneur. "...Being a beautiful, French widow of an American entrepreneur, she proved to be a suitable model for Bartholdi's Statue of Liberty." (Ruth Brandon, "The Singer and the Sewing Machine: A Capitalist Romance").

To create the statue, engineer Gustave Eiffel was invited, who would later become famous as the author of the famous. Eiffel developed an ingenious metal frame structure supported by a central support post. On this movable frame, the outer, that is, the visible shell of the statue, made of copper with a thickness of 2.4 millimeters, was strengthened. Bartholdi began by building a small figure, only 1.2 meters in size, and then made three more others, gradually making them larger. They were corrected and completed until the optimal variant was reached.

By mutual agreement, America was to build a pedestal, and - to create a statue and install it in the United States. To avoid financial difficulties, special funds were organized that were engaged in the search for funds. In France, funds were collected by arranging entertainment events and lotteries. They organized theatrical performances, art exhibitions, auctions and boxing fights. However, fundraising for the pedestal was slow, and Joseph Pulitzer (known as the founder of the Pulitzer Prize) launched an appeal in his World newspaper to support fundraising for the project's fund. This had an effect and contributed to an increase in donations from the Americans.

The statue was completed in France in July 1884 and delivered to New York Harbor on June 17, 1885 aboard the French frigate Ysere. For transportation, the statue was disassembled into 350 parts and packed in 214 boxes. The statue was assembled on its new base in four months. The grand opening of the Statue of Liberty, at which US President Grover Cleveland spoke, took place on October 28, 1886 in the presence of thousands of spectators.

In 1984, the Statue of Liberty was inscribed on the World Heritage List. In 1986, before the centennial anniversary, the monument was temporarily closed for a thorough restoration and reopened to visitors on July 5, 1986.

Features of the Statue of Liberty

Today, the Statue of Liberty is one of the national symbols of the United States. Rising at the mouth of the Hudson at the entrance to New York Harbor, a woman in elegant, flowing clothes, carrying a torch, personifies the freedom and opportunities of the country. On her head is a crown with seven prongs representing the seven seas and seven continents. At the feet of a woman are the broken bonds of tyranny. In the woman's left hand, she holds a slab with the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, inscribed on it.

The statue was made from thin sheets of copper minted in wooden moulds. The formed sheets were then mounted on a steel frame.

The height of the Statue (by the way, it was originally called more pompously - “Freedom, bringing light to the world”) is 46 meters, so if we also take into account the 47-meter pedestal, the top of the torch is at a height of 93 meters above the ground. The weight of the monument is 205 tons. The length of the right hand, in which the torch is in, is 12.8 meters, and the index finger alone is 2.4 meters long, the width of the mouth is 91 centimeters.

A spiral staircase inside the statue leads tourists to the top. The statue is usually open to visitors, who usually arrive by ferry. The crown, which can be reached by stairs, offers extensive views of New York Harbor.

In 1972, the Museum of American Settlement was opened inside the Statue itself, which can be reached by a special elevator. The whole history of the country is presented here: from the ancestors - the Indians, who inhabited the then unknown continent, and up to the mass migration in the current century.

Opinions about the Statue of Liberty are completely contradictory. Nothing like this was seen in America before the erection of this sculpture. Connoisseurs noted the high technique of execution, the clarity of proportions and the gracefulness of lines. But opponents of those who recognized the Liberty Monument as the eighth wonder of the world noted that the symbol of Liberty in the form of a statue is interpreted too coldly and dispassionately. It is no coincidence that the epithet appeared that Freedom is “blind”, and greatness is transmitted only by large sizes.

However, evil tongues are not a hindrance to Freedom. Around the world, the Statue is considered the Symbol of the United States, embodying the democratic principles that this country is so proud of.

It was a joint work of France and the United States, built to commemorate the long friendship between the peoples of these two countries. The French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi created the statue itself from sheets of hammered copper, while Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, the man who would later create the famous Eiffel Tower, designed the statue's steel structure.

It was given by the French to the United States and mounted on an American-designed pedestal on a small island in Upper New York Bay, now known as Liberty Island, and was presented by President Grover Cleveland in 1886. Over the years, the statue has watched millions of immigrants arrive in America via nearby Ellis Island. In 1986, the statue was extensively reconstructed in honor of the centennial anniversary of its discovery. Today, the Statue of Liberty remains an enduring symbol of freedom and democracy, and one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world.

Origin of the Statue of Liberty

Around 1865, as the American Civil War drew to a close, French historian Édouard de Laboulet suggested that France create a statue to give to the United States in celebration of that national success in building a viable democracy. The sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, known for large-scale sculptures, was given the task; the goal was to have the sculpture completed in time for the centenary of the Declaration of Independence in 1876. The project would be a joint project between the two countries - the French were responsible for the statue, while the Americans would build the pedestal on which it would stand - and symbolize the friendship between their peoples.

Due to the need to raise funds for the statue, work on the sculpture did not begin until 1875. Titled "The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World", Bartholdi's massive creation depicted a woman holding a torch in her right hand and a tablet in her left engraved with "July 4, 1776", the date of the Declaration of Independence. Bartholdi was said to have modeled the woman's face after his mother's, forging large copper sheets to create the statue's "skin" (using a technique called repousse).

To create a skeleton on which the skin would be assembled, he turned to Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, the designer of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Together with Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, Eiffel built a skeleton from an iron support and steel, which allowed the copper skin to move freely, a necessary condition for high winds in the New York harbor area.

Statue of Liberty: assembly and dedication

While work on the statue continued in France, fundraising efforts for the pedestal continued in the United States, including contests, performances, and exhibitions. Toward the end, New York World owner and editor-in-chief Joseph Pulitzer raised the last necessary funds through his campaign. Designed by American architect Richard Morris Hunt, the statue's pedestal was built in the courtyard of Fort Wood, a fortress built for the War of 1812 and located on Bedloe's Island at the southern tip of Manhattan in Upper New York Bay.

In 1885, Bartholdi completed the statue, which was dismantled, packed in over 200 crates, and shipped to New York aboard the French frigate Isère. Over the next four months, workers assembled the statue and placed it on a pedestal; its height reached 93 meters along with the pedestal. On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland officially unveiled the Statue of Liberty in front of thousands of spectators.

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

In 1892, the US government opened a federal immigration station on Ellis Island, located near Bedloe Island in Upper New York Bay. Between 1892 and 1954, approximately 12 million immigrants arrived on Ellis Island before being allowed to enter the United States. From 1900 to 1914, during the peak years of its operation, about 5,000 to 10,000 people passed each day.

Rising above New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty greeted majestically all who passed through Ellis Island. A plaque at the entrance to the statue's pedestal is engraved with a sonnet entitled "The New Colossus", written in 1883 by Emma Lazarus as part of a fundraising contest. His most famous passage speaks of the statue's role as a welcome symbol of freedom and democracy for the millions of immigrants who came to America in search of a new, better life:

Give me all those tired ones
who is oppressed by the cruelty of your tough temper, -
outcasts passionately thirsting for freedom.

Become a beacon of greatness and glory
my torch at the Golden Gate."

Statue of Liberty through the years

Until 1901, the American Lighthouse Board operated the Statue of Liberty as the statue's torch represented a navigational aid for sailors. After that, it was placed under the jurisdiction of the US War Department due to Fort Wood's status as another operational post for the Army. In 1924, the federal government made the statue a national monument, and it was transferred to the care of the National Park Service in 1933. In 1956, Bedloe Island was renamed Liberty Island, and in 1965, more than a decade after the closure of the Federal Migration Station, Ellis Island became part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument.

By the early 20th century, oxidization of the Statue of Liberty's copper skin from exposure to rain, wind and sun gave the statue its characteristic green color known as verdigris. In 1984, the statue was closed to the public and underwent a major restoration, just in time for its centennial celebration. Just as restoration began, the United Nations designated the Statue of Liberty as a World Heritage Site. Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Liberty Island closed for 100 days; the Statue of Liberty itself was closed to visitors until August 2004. In July 2009, the statue's crown reopened to the public, although visitors must pre-register to climb to the top of the pedestal or crown, The Statue of Liberty can only accommodate 240 people per day.

On the day of the celebration in the West of Satanic Halloween, we will talk about the statue that has become a symbol of the new Atlantis, as some of the United States of America are called. The Statue of Liberty was officially opened in New York on October 28, 1886. What is it dedicated to and who does it represent?

This is our article.

official history

The sculpture is a gift from France for the 1876 World's Fair and the centenary of American independence. The statue holds a torch in its right hand and a tablet in its left. The inscription on the tablet reads "eng. JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" (written in Roman numerals the date "July 4, 1776"), this date is the day the United States Declaration of Independence was adopted. With one foot, "freedom" stands on broken chains.

Visitors walk 356 steps to the crown of the Statue of Liberty or 192 steps to the top of the pedestal. There are 25 windows in the crown, which symbolize earthly gems and heavenly rays that illuminate the world. The seven rays on the crown of the statue symbolize the seven seas and seven continents (Western geographical tradition has exactly seven continents: Africa, Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Antarctica, Australia).

Statue of Liberty in numbers:

• Height from the top of the base to the torch 46.05 m


• Height from the ground to the top of the pedestal 46.94 m


• Height from the ground to the top of the torch 92.99 m


• The height of the statue is 33.86 m


• Hand length 5.00 m


• Index finger length 2.44 m


• Head from crown to chin 5.26 m


• Face width 3.05 m


• Eye length 0.76 m


• Nose length 1.37 m


• Right arm length 12.80 m


• Right arm thickness 3.66 m


• Waist thickness 10.67m


• Mouth width 0.91 m


• Plate height 7.19 m


• Plaque width 4.14 m


• Plate thickness 0.61 m


• The thickness of the copper coating of the statue is 2.57 mm.


• The total weight of the copper used to cast the statue is 31 tons


• The total weight of its steel structure is 125 tons.


• The total weight of the concrete base is 27,000 tons.

The statue was built from thin sheets of copper minted in wooden moulds. The formed sheets were then mounted on a steel frame.

Usually the statue is open to visitors, usually arriving by ferry. The crown, which can be reached by stairs, offers extensive views of New York Harbor. The museum, located in the pedestal, houses an exhibition of the history of the statue. The museum can be reached by lift.

The territory of Liberty Island (Freedom) originally belonged to the state of New Jersey, later was administered by New York, and is currently under federal administration. Until 1956, the island was called "Bedloe's Island", although it has also been called "Liberty Island" since the beginning of the 20th century.

In 1883, American poet Emma Lazarus wrote The New Colossus, a sonnet dedicated to the Statue of Liberty. 20 years later, in 1903, it was engraved on a bronze plate and affixed to the wall in the museum, located on the pedestal of the statue. The famous last lines of "Freedom":

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

In Russian translation by V. Lazaris:

“To you, ancient lands,” she cries, silent
Lips not parted - to live in empty luxury,
And give me from the bottomless depths
Your outcasts, your downtrodden people,
Send me the outcasts, the homeless,
I’ll light a golden candle for them at the door!”

In a translation closer to the text:

“Leave, ancient lands, the praise of the ages to yourself!”
Calls silently. "Give me your weary people,
All those who yearn to breathe freely, abandoned in need,
From the narrow shores of the persecuted, the poor and orphans.
So send them, homeless and exhausted, to me,
I raise my torch at the golden gate!

What does the Statue of Liberty really symbolize?

The Statue of Liberty (yes, with a small letter), if you look at it without propaganda tinsel - this giant woman in a crown with seven rays, with a book and a torch in her hand ... who is she? Another fairy tale about the American dream and the ideals of democracy, the national pride of the non-existent American nation?

It is not customary to talk about the true origin and ordeals of sculpture, about its origins, originating in incompatible cultures, or about the financial side of the existence of a “lady”. The fable about the gift in honor of the friendship between France and the United States travels the world as traditionally as the ruddy Santa Claus - another brainchild of commerce. But we still turn over a few pages of history back and see how it really happened.

The idea of ​​​​creating a statue belongs to Frederic Auguste Bartholdi - if you can call it an idea to create an unoriginal monument, boasting only fragments of classical art and gigantic dimensions. Bartholdi was born in 1834 into a wealthy Jewish family and studied with the famous masters of Paris - without much zeal, but full of ambitious plans. In order to get out into the people, Bartholdi resorted to the help of influential relatives who were directly related to the Freemasons.

Quite a lot is known about the influence of Freemasonry on the creation of the United States, from the founding fathers to the symbolism of the dollar. Pyramids, stelae, the all-seeing eye, etc. also decorate various government buildings in the US. Let us recall that on July 4, 1776, representatives of their brotherhood signed the Declaration of Independence, which opened the way to the creation of an independent state (we wrote about this in the article “What is the USA or why was this state created? (Part One)” http://inance.ru/ 2015/10/usa-01/).

“What is the USA or why was this state created? (Part One)" http://inance.ru/2015/10/usa-01/

However, about the most important symbol of the United States - the Statue of Liberty - as a rule, no connections are made with Freemasonry.

Egyptian sketches

In the 70s of the XIX century, under the control of Freemasons in Egypt, the construction of the Suez Canal took place. The young ambitious Bartholdi came here, and his imagination was struck by the majestic monuments of this region, which survived the millennia. So the idea was born in his head to create something as colossal and impressive that would forever perpetuate his name. Meeting with the head of construction, Ferdinand Lesseps, Frederick persuaded him to intercede about his plan. The proposal looked like this: to install a giant statue at the entrance to the future canal - it was supposed to be twice as high as the Great Sphinx and serve as a lighthouse.

Bartholdi decided not to wait for the muse, but to hastily make some kind of layout for consideration by the local government (it was he who was credited with the alleged financing of the project). Yes, and it was not necessary to invent anything - this was already done by the ancient Greeks, who created around 280 BC the Colossus of Rhodes - one of the seven wonders of the world. This huge statue of an athletic youth staring out to sea was erected at the entrance to the harbor of the island of Rhodes and subsequently partially destroyed by an earthquake.

Bartholdi “dressed up” the model in Egyptian clothes, placed an amphora in his hand, and crowned his head with a wreath. But Lesseps advised him to use the attributes of the ancient Iranian god Mithra - the god of peace, harmony, and later the sun.

marginal notes

Mithra is the Indo-Iranian god of light and the sun, close to the ancient Greek Helios. His usual attributes were a chariot and a golden throne. Over time, the cult of Mithra penetrated into Asia Minor and changed significantly. Mitra became the god of friendship, who united, reconciled, protected, enriched people. They depicted him as a young man in short, flowing clothes and a Phrygian cap. The cult of Mitra at the beginning of our era spread in the Roman Empire, enjoyed the patronage of emperors, and was later supplanted by Christianity.

A special photo of the head of the Statue of Liberty at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1878.

When the cult of the god Mithra spread in Ancient Rome, the following legends began to be told about the god of the Sun. He was born as a rock at sunrise. In one hand he held a sword, in the other hand a torch. Mithras fought the Sun, conquered it and thus became its ally. After that, he subdued the bull (a symbol of ancient civilization), dragged him into his cave and killed him there. The bull's blood fertilized the soil, and plants, fruits, and small animals flourished everywhere.

The Sun God was revered throughout the Roman Empire. Four hundred places of sacrifice that have survived from those times testify to this even today. The god Mithra was especially revered by ordinary people who performed religious rites in his honor. Thanks to the soldiers, Mithraism became known throughout the world of that time. The places of this cult known today exist mainly as altars in the rocks.

Miter with rays and an eagle, which later became the symbol of the United States

Along with numerous symbols, they are engraved with the signs of the zodiac. The god Mithra himself always takes the place of the Sun, the central constellation of the ancient Romans.

Thus the statue received a torch and a seven-pointed crown from the god Mithras, although there is another deity who looks similar. Have you started thinking about the title: "Progress Bringing Light to Asia"? Or replace "progress" with "Egypt"? And then they remembered the popular in France painting "Freedom on the Barricades" by the romantic painter Eugene Delacroix. The word "freedom" was already temptingly "glued" to the project of the statue, but the government refused to spend money on a gigantic idol - so Bartholdi returned to France without salt and slurp.

French incarnation

Eugene Delacroix "Freedom on the Barricades"

The time of the creation of the statue coincides with the entry of Bartholdi into the Masonic lodge (Alsace-Lorraine branch) - it was 1875.

And the year 1876 was approaching - the centenary of American independence. Hearing in the political circle complaints about the lack of genuine masterpieces of art dedicated to Freedom in America, the French senator and member of the same order of Freemasons, Edouard de Laboulet, decided to revive the failed project in Egypt. All this, of course, had to be properly presented to the masses: it was decided to “gift” the statue to the States “as a token of friendship between the peoples of the two countries.”

But the "gift" had to be paid - both to French and overseas ordinary citizens. A whole Franco-American Union, headed by Laboulet, was urgently established, and committees were organized in both states to organize fundraising. Moreover, none other than our old acquaintance, Ferdinand Lesseps, became the head of the French headquarters! The fundraising campaign in the United States was led by Joseph Pulitzer, later known as the creator of the most prestigious journalism award, and then still the publisher of the New York World newspaper. With an understanding of all the intricacies of influencing the masses, he criticized rednecks and moneybags, referring to ordinary Americans (the merchant was not a blunder - this significantly increased the circulation of his newspaper). No one will tell us exactly how much money the friendly gentlemen laundered in this good deed, but in the USA alone, 100,000 dollars were withdrawn from circulation in this way.

The main work on the creation of the statue was done by the famous French engineer Alexander Gustave Eiffel (Bonikhausen), then known for his adventure in embezzling huge funds for fictitious work during the construction of the Panama Canal, but who became famous thanks to the construction in the center of Paris.

Eiffel was also a member of the Masonic lodge, and another brother in the lodge, who at that time served as Prime Minister of France, helped him get out of the Panamanian scam.

French engineer Gustave Alexandre Eiffel (left) and Auguste Bartholdi (right)

Eiffel made all the calculations, and also designed the iron support of the monument and the supporting frame, which was then sheathed with metal sheets. Then Bartholdi got down to business again, and added a few modern details: at the feet of the statue, he placed “broken chains of tyranny”, more like the chains that bound the statue itself.

He put the Book of Laws (Declaration of Independence) into his left hand, dressed the now “lady” in Roman clothes.

Some believe that Bartholdi gave her the features of his mother, Charlotte Beiser, although the model was the recently widowed Isabella Boyer, wife of Isaac Singer, an entrepreneur in canal equipment and sewing machines, who sponsored Jewish socialists along with Rothschild.