of Zeus or Poseidon, bottom of the sea off Cape Artemision, in north Euboea, Greek, Severe style, c. 460 B.C.E. Bronze, height: 209 cm. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.
Discovered off the coast of Cape Artemision in 1926, this statue (which is also referred to as the Artemision Bronze) is the subject of much speculation and debate, specifically, about whether the statue represents Zeus or Poseidon. The source of the confusion surrounds whether the missing object in the statue’s right hand is a trident (indicating Poseidon) or a lightening bolt (indicating Zeus).
Though it was found in the sea, and the pose is similar to that which is found on the Poseidonia coins, many scholars note that a trident would obscure the best view of the statue – its profile – and thus, it is more likely that the statue is a portrayal of Zeus, especially when one considers the numerous smaller bronzes which have been found wielding lightening bolts in the same fearsome pose.
58. Riace Warrior A, found in the sea off Riace, Italy. Greek, Severe style, c. 460 B.C.E. Bronze, height: 198 cm. Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia, Reggio Calabria.
59. Myron (active during the second half of the 5th century B.C.E.), Discobolus Palombara (Discus thrower), 1st century Roman copy after a Greek original, Severe style, 460–450 B.C.E. Marble, height: 148 cm. Museo Nazionale Romano, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome.
In Myron’s Discobolus, we see the human form freed from the standing, frontal pose of earlier statues. Here, the artist is clearly interested not only in the body of the athlete, but in the movement of the discus thrower. His muscles tense and strain in preparation for his throw, his face focused on his activity. While the pose, with the arms forming a wide arc, is revolutionary, the piece is still meant to be viewed from the front. It would not be until the following century that artists began to conceive of sculpture that could be viewed from all sides.
MYRON
(ACTIVE DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE 5th CENTURY B.C.E.)
Myron, was a Greek sculptor from the second half of the fifth century B.C.E who worked almost exclusively in bronze. Though he did create sculptures of both gods and heroes, his reputation rests essentially on his representations of athletes, a domain where he is considered to be revolutionary because of the audacious poses and rhythms of his subjects. His most famous pieces are of Ladas, the runner who died at the moment of his victory and the discus thrower, Discobolus.
60. Phidias (c. 480–430 B.C.E.), Apollo Parnopios, early 2nd century C.E. Roman copy of a Greek original, c. 450 B.C.E. Pentelic marble, height: 197 cm. Staatliche Museen, Kassel.
PHIDIAS
(ATHENS, c. 488 B.C.E. – OLYMPIA, c. 430 B.C.E.)
Phidias is universally known and considered as the most important Greek sculptor of his time. His oldest masterpieces were created in memory of the Battle of Marathon. He also erected a colossal bronze effigy of Athena on the Acropolis in Athens that was so high that it was visible at sea. It is because of his gold, bronze and ivory statues that he has been exceedingly praised since Antiquity. Art critics hold his work in high esteem particularly because of his aesthetic and the consistent moral content in his work.
61. Kresilas (c. 5th century B.C.E.), Bust of Pericles, Roman copy after a Greek original, Classical style, c. 430 B.C.E. Marble, height: 48 cm. Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican City.
62. Kresilas (c. 5th century B.C.E.), Munich Diomedes, Roman copy after a Greek original, Classical style, c. 440–430 B.C.E. Marble, height: 102 cm. Glyptothek, Munich.
63. Caryatid from the Erechtheion, second from the left on the front of the south porch, Athenian Acropolis, Greek, Classical style, c. 420 B.C.E. Marble, height: 231 cm. The British Museum, London.
In the caryatid, the column takes its most ornate form, replaced entirely by the statue of a woman. It decorates the porch of the Erechtheion, a temple to Athena on the Acropolis in Athens, built to replace one destroyed by the Persians. In its form and decoration, this temple deviates from tradition, including not only the unusual caryatids, but also an asymmetrical plan on varying ground levels, with two porches jutting out of the main building. This atypical plan was due to the multiple shrines incorporated into the temple, and also to its placement on an uneven rocky outcrop, home to the original olive tree given to the city by Athena. The six caryatids supported the south porch, one of the unusual additions to the regular temple plan. The caryatid figures have all the solidity of form we find in other fifth-century sculpture, and therefore seem up to the task of supporting a roof. The exaggerated shift in weight, and the clinginess of the drapery, are typical of sculpture of the end of the fifth century B.C.E.
64. Cinerary urn in shape of Mater Matuta, Pedata Necropolis, Chianciano, Etruscan, c. 430 B.C.E. Terracotta. National Archaeological Museum, Florence.
65. Mars of Todi, Todi, Etruscan, end of the 5th century B.C.E. Bronze, hollow-cast bronze, height: 141 cm. Gregorian Etruscan Museum, Vatican City.
The Mars of Todi (Marte de Todi) is one of the rare statues still existing from ancient Etruscan civilisation. It is a sculpture of a warrior, cast in bronze, wearing armour and, in principle, a helmet. He is preparing to perform a battle ritual by pouring liquid from a peculiar shaped cup or bowl from his extended right hand while his left hand leans on an iron spear. The style portrays strong influences from mid-fifth century Greek art and was found between two slabs of Travertine in Todi, a town located in the state of Umbria in Italy, perhaps after being struck by lightning. There is a dedicatory inscription written in the Etruscan alphabet which states that it was a gift given by a certain Ahal Trutitis.
66. Head of an Old Man, Belvedere Temple, Orvieto, Etruscan, late 5th-4th century B.C.E. Terracotta, height: 16 cm. National Archaeological Museum, Orvieto.
67. Mourning Woman from a funerary stele, Greek, Classical style, c. 400 B.C.E. Marble, height: 122 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
68. Polykleitus (active during the 5th century B.C.E.), Doryphoros (spear-holder), Classical style, 50-150 B.C.E. Roman copy of a Greek original, c. 450–440 B.C.E. Pentelic marble. Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis.
Polykleitos
(ACTIVE DURING THE 5TH CENTURY B.C.E.)
Polykleitos was a contemporary of Phidias, and in the opinion of the Greeks, his equal. He made a figure of an Amazon for Ephesus regarded as superior to the Amazon of Phidias made at the same time; and his colossal Hera of gold and ivory, which stood in the temple near Argos, was considered worthy to rank with the Zeus of Phidias.
The masterpiece of Polykleitos, his Hera of gold and ivory, has of course totally disappeared. Ancient critics reproached Polykleitos for the lack of variety in his works.
