In the last episode of Season Two ("Live Together, Die Alone"), the crew aboard Desmond's sailboat -- Sayid, Jin and Sun -- sail around the island toward the Others camp. On the way they pass the ominous and mysterious four-toed statue on the beach. Sayid comments that he's not sure which is more disturbing - - that the rest of the statue is missing, or that it only has four toes.

Theories: The foot has a sandal on it, which gives a Roman or Greek feeling to it, which means it presumably predates any current life on the island. Perhaps it signifies a previous civilization on the island which was eventually destroyed, which means it is part of the "Palimpsest" nature of the island multiple layers, with different parts of different layers visible at the same time.

The four toed statue may represent the ancient history on the island and it could be related to Adam and Eve or other people of ancient texts. We don't know who built it or why it only has four toes but we should find out before the series ends.

One theory is that it is the actual Statue of Liberty foot. From the angle Sayid saw the foot he would have only seen the first 4 toes. The pinky toe on the Statue of Liberty for some reason or another is recessed. However this can be disclaimed because the The Statue of Liberty feet are almost covered by her robe; while there is no remnant of a robe here. Of course , there could be an as yet undiscovered amount of time to have weathered away the robe, so that may be irrelevant.

Some people believe the foot of the statue to be that of The Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. This is supported by the fact that the statue broke apart at the knees and fell into the water where it stood and may have had only four toes. No parts of the statue have ever been found, although some claim they found stones originally a part of the statue.

Significance of the numbers 4 and 8: Four toes on each foot equals eight. See reference to bagua in Dharma Initiative. Also the 4 toes may refer to the "4", which is the first number in the progression of numbers that won the lottery for Hurley and were on the Hatch and release the charge via the computer in the hatch.

Do the Others have 4 toes?
There have also been theories about the Others having 4 toes. There are some shots in "Live Together, Die Alone" that may prove that theory. If they do have 4 toes, did the others do experiments on themselves? Did they get "sick" or were they born with disfigured feet like that? 4 is also a "LOST number" and 4 + 4 (two feet) is 8 (another LOST number). Is the 4 toes a right of passage into adulthood where the new member of the tribe must cut off her own toe to become a full member?

Literary references: Some have suggested this statue looks Greek. Plato, a Greek philosopher, wrote about a lost civilization he called Atlantis. Could the island be Atlantis? (Atlantis was most likely an early civilization near Crete, not thousands of miles away in the unknown Pacific - a more likely proposition would be Mu, otherwise known as Lemuria) It also resembles the mythical "Colossus of Rhodes." Suggested reading: 'Headlong Hall' by Thomas Love Peacock for its mention of four-toed statue remnants (see Annonymous post below) and philosophers John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Read the novel "Headlong Hall" here.

The statue could also reference the famous poem "Ozymandias," by Percy Bysshe Shelley, which describes the ancient ruined monument of a forgotten king. The monument's huge legs remain, in addition to its head, which bears a look of scorn. "Ozymandias" ends with these lines:

And on the pedestal these words appear: "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.

The irony is obvious.Could The Others have destroyed the previous civilization or ruler? Maybe the foot is a clue to their roots.

The foot also has an Easter Island feel to it. Remember that some of the statues (Moai) on Easter Island are found very near the water, just like the Colossus of Rhodes as previously mentioned.

It may be a reference to the DELL comic book series TARZAN which had a character named KUNAH that had only four toes on his left foot. He was an albino reincarnated as an elephant - similar to the white polar bear. I found this reference at ERBzine.com in honor of the writer Edgar Burroughs. The two comic books that this character appeared in started with 15 and 16 (1575 & 1690.)

Other possibilities:

-There may not be a history to the statue. It may just be a large prop or partial statue that was brought to The Island to fool certain inhabitants or those arriving to the island into thinking The Island is something that it's not, like Atlantis.

-Perhaps it was a statue of Jacob, who may have 4 toes on his left foot. In which case Jacob has been around a long time. Perhaps he is immortal.

What does it mean? Share your theories!

• Is it linked to the Others?
• Or is it more related to "Adam and Eve"?
  

I think the statue is a ruse or trick. It was never any bigger than it is now -- it's always just been a foot. It's there to make people THINK there used to be a full statue. I'll say the Others created it for some psychological test.