August the 11th, 2026 – An ancient Greek treasure over 2,000 years old was discovered by change in an attic in Trogir. Meet the Trogir Kairos.
Have you heard of the Trogir Kairos? It is a beautiful ancient Greek marble relief from the 4th or 3rd century BC depicting the god Kairos. The work is considered an exceptional artistic achievement and one of the rare surviving sculptural representations of this Greek deity.
this fascinating relief ended up in an attic in trogir, but how?!
Even today, almost 100 after its discovery, debates continue about its journey and just how it ended up sitting in an attic in a Dalmatian coastal town. Poslovni reports that the ancient artwork, created by Lysippos, one of the greatest sculptors of antiquity, was found in the attic of a house belonging to a prominent Trogir family. According to multiple experts, it was brought from Greece up to nearby Croatia during the Renaissance period. Whether those who brought it knew its true value remains an open question and will never be answered.
The precious relief was discovered in the attic of a house that once belonged to the Statilić (Statileo) family, which produced several notable figures — diplomats, artists connected to the Hungarian-Croatian court, and world travellers. Historians therefore believe that one of the family members found the relief while travelling and brought it back to Trogir. It was discovered there in 1928 by the Trogir art historian Don Ivan Delalle.
who is the greek god kairos?
In Greek mythology, Kairos was the youngest son of Zeus, known as the god of the fleeting, brief moment. According to the myth, Kairos, who symbolises the right and decisive moment, must be seized by the lock of hair on his forehead before he flies away. The young god, depicted by Lysippos with wings on his feet and back, barely ever touches the ground, conveying his sheer speed. He reminds mere mortals that the right moment passes quickly and that opportunities do not return.
Kairos has no hair on the back of his head, symbolising the transience of chances: once he has passed by, he can no longer be grasped, and a missed moment cannot ever be recovered. This utterly remarkable relief from Trogir is regarded as one of the best-preserved and rarest depictions of the Greek god Kairos in the entire world.
