Merenda Kouros

It was discovered alongside the Phrasikleia Kore in present-day Merenda, Greece in 1972, 25 miles Southeast of Athens.

[1][2] The kore and Phrasikleia laid in situ in a customized shallow pit facing each other, 11 inches from the surface, with a ring of poured lead between the feet of the statues.

One theory is that the statues were buried before the Greco-Persian Wars in order to prevent desecration, though they were found in much better shape than the Perserschutt.

[2][3] Scholars also speculate that the statues are that of brother and sister, carved by Aristion of Paros, whose name was found on the base of Phrasikleia discovered two centuries earlier in 1729-1730.

[3][6] The hair of the kouros is arranged with shell-like curls at the forehead and hangs down the back, with a diadem.