This classical bronze statue is a replica of a classical sculpture of Poseidon (circa 460 B.C.E.).  The original sculpture (Hellenistic period) was discovered in 1926 and unearthed in 1928 from the bottom of the sea off the coast of the Cape of Artemision, Greece. The original resides in the National Archeological Museum, in Athens, Greece. 
 
There has long been dispute about whether the sculpture depicts the god Poseidon or his brother Zeus. The right hand would have held a thunderbolt if Zeus or a trident if Poseidon. This god is in motion and you can see that from the stance he takes, one arm and leg outstretched towards an enemy and the other bent as if in movement to strike.

This elegant and balanced figure is the embodiment of beauty, control, and strength. The figure is shown in full heroic nudity and is attributed to the work of a great sculptor, possibly Kalamis, of the 5th century B.C. 

At the time of the donation the Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations, Alexis Kyrou, said, “Greece is today unreservedly and devotedly attached to the principle of cooperation embodied in the United Nations.”

Upon the sculpture’s acceptance, Secretary-General Tryve Lie said, “The United Nations is indeed grateful to your government for the gift of this replica of one of the finest examples of the sculpture of ancient Greece. Our world consists of a diversity of great cultures, western and Asian, which must in time find a common basis of mutual understanding and respect.