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Four-toed statue

[[{{{Video}}}|Orientation Video]]

First seen

"Live Together, Die Alone"

Last seen

"Live Together, Die Alone"

Constructed by

Unknown

Controlled by

Unknown

Connection

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Number

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Purpose

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Status

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Discovered by

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DHARMA Initiative Stations
The Arrow • The Staff • The Swan
The Flame • The Pearl • The Orchid
The Hydra • The Tempest
The Looking Glass

The statue, seen by Jin, Sun and Sayid ("Live Together, Die Alone")

A statue of a four-toed left foot on the shore of the Island was seen from the sailboat by Sayid, Sun and Jin as they were sailing to the Others' camp. ("Live Together, Die Alone") Upon seeing the statue, Sayid remarked "I don't know what I find more disquieting: the fact that the rest of the statue is missing, or that it has four toes."

The statue consists of a four-toed left foot, wearing a sandal. It was apparently from a colossal statue that was never finished, or has crumbled, or has been destroyed. Considering Sayid, Jin and Sun see the statue on the starboard side of the ship, the statue must be located along the Western or Northern coastline of the Island (as the destination was the Other camp somewhere on the Northern shore).

We have learned the statue predates the arrival of the DHARMA Initiative on the Island in the late 1970s. It was also 'guessed' that the foot stood at about 35–40ft (10–12m). Based on this estimated height, it can be assumed that the completed statue would be roughly 240–250ft (75m) tall (about the height of a 30-story office building). (Official Lost Podcast/May 26, 2006)

The statue is chiseled from light-grey stone that is very atypical of volcanic islands, such as the one featuring in Lost (s. Cove)

In the Room 23 brainwashing video at 53 seconds, a picture of a statue appears.

Trivia

• In a teleconference with select fans held on April 17, 2008, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse slightly rectified a misquote[1] of an anecdote previously told by Damon at the 2008 Paley Festival. According to Carlton, the true story was that the statue was originally stated to have six toes in the script, but ABC executives mandated that it better have only four toes, which was considered less "weird" than six toes. According to their own words, Damon and Carlton didn't mind as long as the statue didn't have five toes.[2] However, sculptor Jim Van Houten gave yet another explanation in the May 9, 2008 video podcast, claiming that the statue's foot was changed from six to four toes because it was hard to tell that it wasn't a regular five-toed foot when it had six toes.

Literary References

• In the book The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, giant stone limbs suddenly appear from nowhere.
• The statue may be in reference to a story "Headlong Hall" by Thomas Love Peacock, chapter 4 notes:

"Here you see is the pedestal of a statue, with only half a leg and four toes remaining: there were many here once. When I was a boy, I used to sit every day on the shoulders of Hercules: what became of him I have never been able to ascertain.

• The statue may be in reference to the poem by Horace Smith. The poem begins "In Egypt's sandy silence, all alone, / Stands a gigantic Leg". The poem refers to the fallen Ramesses II colossus near Luxor, Egypt. The poems are about the irony of power--and the end of powerful civilizations.
• The statue may be an indirect reference to the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the wonders of the ancient world, which snapped off mid-leg in an earthquake not long after it was built.

Unanswered questions

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Four-toed statue/Theories

• What is the origin of the statue?
• Why does the statue only have four toes?
• Why is the rest of the statue missing?
• Where is the rest of the statue (if there ever was)?
• Is the statue contemporary with the Ruins or the Temple?
• What was the statue meant to be of, or represent?

External links

• The real-world Hawaii location of the statue's background in Makua