St. Theodore of Amasea

Two large granite columns in the Square, thought to have been erected between 1172 – 1177 during the reign of Doge Sebastiano Ziani or about 1268, bearing ancient symbols of the two patron saints of Venice. The Lion sculpture has had a very long and obscure history, probably starting its existence as a winged lion-griffin statue on a monument to the god Sandon at Tarsus in Cilicia (Southern Turkey) about 300 BC. The figure, which stands on the eastern column, at some point came to represent the “Lion of Saint Mark”, traditional symbol of Saint Mark the evangelist. The figure standing on the western column is St. Theodore of Amasea, patron of the city before St Mark, who holds a spear and stands on a crocodile (to represent the dragon which he was said to have slain).