--- title: Priceless Greek Statue, Lost for Centuries, Resufraces on eBay description: $500,000, no shipping, buyer must collect from the Gaza Strip canonical: https://time.com/6523/priceless-greek-statue-lost-for-centuries-briefly-resurfaces-on-ebay/ author: Dan Kedmey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-02-11T09:11:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T06:22:24.636Z article:section: Science og:title: Priceless Greek Statue, Lost for Centuries, Resufraces on eBay og:description: $500,000, no shipping, buyer must collect from the Gaza Strip og:url: https://time.com/6523/priceless-greek-statue-lost-for-centuries-briefly-resurfaces-on-ebay/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaf0f4bd02e37da31/6986828a810bbb762ec90222/rtx18itg.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Palestinian fisherman Joudat Ghrab, who said he scooped a 500-kg bronze statue of the Greek God Apollo from the sea bed last August, prepares his fishing net in the central Gaza Strip og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Priceless Greek Statue, Lost for Centuries, Resufraces on eBay twitter:description: $500,000, no shipping, buyer must collect from the Gaza Strip twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaf0f4bd02e37da31/6986828a810bbb762ec90222/rtx18itg.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Priceless Greek Statue, Lost for Centuries, Briefly Resurfaces on eBay  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Feb 11, 2014 9:11 AM UTC  Palestinian fisherman Joudat Ghrab, who said he scooped a 500-kg bronze statue of the Greek God Apollo from the sea bed last August, prepares his fishing net on the beach of Deir El-Balah in the central Gaza Strip February 9, 2014. Palestinian fisherman Joudat Ghrab, who said he scooped a 500-kg bronze statue of the Greek God Apollo from the sea bed last August, prepares his fishing net on the beach of Deir El-Balah in the central Gaza Strip February 9, 2014.Ibraheem Abu Mustafa—REUTERS  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Feb 11, 2014 9:11 AM UTC Archaeologists were [stunned](http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/feb/10/priceless-bronze-statue-apollo-gaza-strip) to find a long lost statue of the Greek god Apollo resurface on eBay, selling at the bargain basement price of $500,000\. But buyer beware, the ownership could be in dispute. [According to](http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/feb/10/priceless-bronze-statue-apollo-gaza-strip) the U.K. _Guardian_, a fisherman in the Gaza Strip claims to have spotted the statue in shallow water, hauled it onto shore, loaded it into a donkey cart, showed it to his mother — who was appalled to find a 1,100 lb Greek nude at her doorstep — and finally notified local police. The officers in question, members of Gaza’s ruling party Hamas, reportedly then put the statue up for sale on eBay. Soon after, shocked archaeologists caught their first fuzzy glimpses of venerable Phoebus relaxing on a Smurfs-themed beach towel. (Although some have questioned whether it had ever been underwater, given his pristine condition.) As the statue’s true value came to light — one archaeologist [told](http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/feb/10/priceless-bronze-statue-apollo-gaza-strip) the _Guardian_ it was like putting a price on the Mona Lisa — the listing was pulled down and Hamas authorities whisked it into hiding, pending further investigation. When this may conclude, they won’t say, much to the chagrin of some very patient archaeologists. \[[_The Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/feb/10/priceless-bronze-statue-apollo-gaza-strip)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6523/priceless-greek-statue-lost-for-centuries-briefly-resurfaces-on-ebay/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6523/priceless-greek-statue-lost-for-centuries-briefly-resurfaces-on-ebay/"},"headline":"Priceless Greek Statue, Lost for Centuries, Briefly Resurfaces on eBay","datePublished":"2014-02-11T09:11:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:22:24.636Z","description":"$500,000, no shipping, buyer must collect from the Gaza Strip","url":"https://time.com/6523/priceless-greek-statue-lost-for-centuries-briefly-resurfaces-on-ebay/","keywords":["Archaeology","History","Greece","Gaza strip"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaf0f4bd02e37da31/6986828a810bbb762ec90222/rtx18itg.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaf0f4bd02e37da31/6986828a810bbb762ec90222/rtx18itg.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Palestinian fisherman Joudat Ghrab, who said he scooped a 500-kg bronze statue of the Greek God Apollo from the sea bed last August, prepares his fishing net in the central Gaza Strip","caption":"Palestinian fisherman Joudat Ghrab, who said he scooped a 500-kg bronze statue of the Greek God Apollo from the sea bed last August, prepares his fishing net in the central Gaza Strip","creditText":"Ibraheem Abu Mustafa—REUTERS","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/archaeology/","name":"Archaeology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6523/priceless-greek-statue-lost-for-centuries-briefly-resurfaces-on-ebay/","name":"Priceless Greek Statue, Lost for Centuries, Briefly Resurfaces on eBay"}}]}] ```