When architect Elijah E. Myers submitted his winning design for the Texas State Capitol in 1881, the drawings included a female statue crowning the dome. Of Greco-Roman classical design, she was likely inspired by similar contemporary architectural figures, including the Statue of Freedom atop the U.S. Capitol and New York’s Statue of Liberty. Myers’ Goddess stands 16 feet tall and weighs over 2,000 pounds. Intended to represent justice, truth, and art, she poses with a downturned sword in her right hand and a gilded, lone star held aloft in her…
