Lost: The Four Toed Statue

The first time we saw this mysterious statue it came with a great line delivered by Sayid. "I don't know what is more disquieting; the fact that the rest of the statue is missing, or that it has four toes." Sadly not much is said about it, but we do get a glimpse of the statue later in the series to find out that it is a statue of Taweret, the Egyptian god of fertility and life. From behind we can see that the statue has lion like ears, a gold crown, long hair, an ankh in each hand, a inhuman face and wears an Egyptian dress. The statue stood tall and complete, up untill Jacob invited the Black Rock ship to the Island and a tidal wave knocked the ship high up in the air and knocked the statue down leaving only the one foot.

Women frequently had issues with giving birth on the Island, and coincidentally, after the statue of fertility had crumbled pregnant women have experienced problems with giving birth. Some women have died, some of the newborns just simply die. At the base of the statue is also the home of Jacob, the protector of the Island. Inside the chamber resides representations of each element such as fire, wind, water and earth. Painted on the ceiling is that of an Egyptian astronomical chart which refers to stars to the stars and planters and time. It is also the final resting spot of Jacob, as Ben Linus stabs him and lights him on fire effectively killing him.

The ankh that the statue is holding in both hands symbolizes eternal life in ancient Egyptian cultures. It is fitting that a statue holding a symbol of eternal life houses a man that seems to have lived forever. Jacob even seeks out Hurley during his time away from the Island and gives him a guitar case as he instructs him to never open it until the right moment. When the Jacob's candidates show up at the temple and are about to be executed, Hurley tells them that Jacob sent them with the guitar case. Inside the case was an ankh that revealed a list of names inside. The list of names included Jacob's candidates.