Venus de Milo

Second on our list was the Venus de Milo. This statue was better placed in the museum, but still had a lot of people gathered around it making it difficult to get a good photo. Here's the story: In 1820 a peasant named Yorgos found this statue in an underground cavern on the Aegean island of Melos. It was turned over to Turkish authorities who loaded it onto a Turkish vessel. Somehow it was turned over to a French frigate and the French said they legitimately purchased it (although there was some dispute over that). The 2nd century statue, representing the ideal of beauty, was named Venus de Milo by the French and it eventually ended up at the Louvre in Paris.