Podalirius at The Palace of Versailles, France

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Nicolas Poussin created a marble sculpture between 1655-1656 depicting Podalyre, also known as Bacchus, the Roman name for Dionysus, the god of Wine. In Greek mythology, Podalirius was a son of Asclepius and led thirty ships from Tricca in Thessaly during the Trojan War on behalf of the Greeks. He traveled with his brother Machaon to Colophon after the war, where they met Amphimachus, Calchas, Leonteus, and Polypoetes. Unlike his brother, Podalirius survived the war and settled in Caria. Accounts differ as to how he ended up there. According to one account, he returned to Argos after the war but later sought the Delphian oracle's advice on where to live, and was instructed to stay at a place that would suffer no harm if the sky fell; thus he chose the Carian peninsula surrounded by mountains. Others claim that Podalirius' ship was blown off course while traveling back from Troy, landing him in Syrnus, Caria. Yet another version states that he got shipwrecked near the Carian coast but was rescued by a shepherd named Bybassus, who became the eponym of a city in Caria. Podalirius could be considered the founder of Syrnus after a series of events. He arrived at the court of King Damaethus and healed his daughter Syrna, who had fallen off a roof. In reward, Damaethus gave him Syrna in marriage and handed power over the peninsula to him. Podalirius founded two cities, one named Syrnus after his wife and the other Bybassus after the shepherd who saved his life. According to Strabo, a heroum of Podalirius was located in Daunia, Italy, on a hill known as Drium. A stream flowed nearby believed to cure animals of diseases. Lycophron writes that Podalirius was buried in Italy near Calchas' cenotaph. However, John Tzetzes accuses him of providing false information and defends the versions cited above. Podalyria, a plant genus in Fabaceae, was named for Podalirius. This sculpture is part of Scan The World, a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory to create a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks, and landmarks from across the globe for public access free of charge. Scan The World is an open source community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.