King Neptune Sundial - Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA. - Epic Beings and Creatures on Waymarking.com

Hilton Head Island, just off the coast of South Carolina, is in what’s called the Lowcountry. It’s got beaches, hotels, resorts, and lots and lots of golf. It’s also got a 12-foot bronze statue of Neptune, who claims to be not only the Roman God of the Seas, but the world’s largest figurative sundial.

The sculpture weighs more than a ton, is a twice life sized statue of Neptune, standing over 12 feet tall. Cast in bronze by Johnsons Atelier in Princeton, NJ.

Neptune - Mythological God of the Sea - Roman mythology.
(Greek mythology: Poseidon)
In modern culture Often called King Neptune.

The sundial is at the entrance to Shelter Cove Harbour on Hilton Head Island, at the corner of King Neptune Drive and Harbourside Lane.

"Standing guard at the entrance to Shelter Cove Harbour, Neptune is situated on top of a 26-foot diameter base that doubles as the timepiece. It’s definitely not the largest sundial in the world (at 12 feet, Neptune is tall, but not nearly as tall as the 88-foot sundial in Jaipur, India), but no other figurative sundial—Roman god or otherwise—has taken his crown.

Neptune and his trusty trident have been telling South Carolinians the time it is since 1983, when local artist and sculptor Wayne Edwards cast the god in bronze. In order to make sure he was an accurate time-keeper, the trident had to be secured to “true south” (or “solar south” as it’s also known) by lining it up using Polaris (the North Star) and the constellation Ursa Major (that’s the Big Dipper). The result is the perfect angle to cast a timely shadow, as long as the Carolina sun is shining."

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Time Period: Ancient Epic Type: Mythical Exhibit Type: Figure, Statue, 3D Art Approximate Date of Epic Period: Not listed

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