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FOUR
Pindar, Athletes, and the Early Greek Statue HabitR. R. R. Surrn
Nlv subjcct is victor statues at Oh'mpia rrnd clseu4rcre in thc fifth ccnturT Bc) secn
as an earh' ancl important part of thc strltlrc hallit in antiqr.rin'. Thev arc a goocl
ex,rruple of hou' stiltues rnarkeci special prioritics, both b1' their numbers ancl bv
thcir visual sn,ling. Nakcci victor statues werc tcl thc fifth centurv u,hat honorilic
strltues u'caring the citizcn suit of himation and chiton were to the Hellcnistic
periocl-clefining components of their times. Pindar stands behincl the victor
stirtucs as a kcv text fbr thc rvholc phenomenon.l
Athletic contest rvas spccial for Pinclar's gcneration. Victory was fblt tcr
be cxquisitcl). sn'cet, attcl lt'as s.lvottrccl in extrayagant poenls a'd ;lubliclVmemorializecl in astonislting statues. Victorr, \\'as pcrsonrll, ir-rcliviciual, ancl in-
tcnseh'clcsirirblc l'rccrusc s() nrrln\'\\'rl'ltcd \\,hi.rt s() fcu' cotrlcl havc. Thc charisnrr'r
<>1'success lft lro,r) coulcl bc rrchicrcrl in this rcrrlnr. it urrs irrguccl bv Pinclrrr anrl
his customcrs, onll bv rrr-r ur.rrrsull conrbination of ur()rlc\, l tr ir ining, inborn
cxccllcncc (goocl Lrirth). clir.inc frrvonr. rrncl a s;pecial l<inc'l of su'agucring sclf:
i.rsscrti()n. This n'as a combination of attributes thrrt of course onlv thc r.en'bcst of
rurcu coukl asprirc to.
Mv pr.rrpose is to tn, to clescribe somc aspects of this tin'rc-s1'lccific prhcr.rornenon
throtrgh its stirtrid,i .rntl hrxv thc lrrst gcncration of Archiric privilctc rocic thc back
of the contcnlP()ri1r\ rc\ (.,ruil()u ilr strltuc-r'nJ.king. Afier rr ferv $'orcls On tlrc strrtue
hlbit irnc'l tl'ris ro'oh.rtion (Scctions r-z), u.,c r,r'ill look irt Olympia and its victor
stiltlles ancl rvhat \ve can sa\. of their appearance rrnci their rnakers (l-s). Finallv.
I fbcus on monurrlents for chariclt victories, the granclcst of atl-rletic dcclications,
ancl on tu'o survirring exlmples-the charioteer statlres fiom DelPhi '.rncl Mo6..r
(6). Pindar is the bcst u'av into the thought-u.,orld of fifth-cennr$' r'icror srarucs)
all tl-re morc so bccause his pocms sav so littlc explicitlv about them. The stanresg'erc, horvcver, a fbrcefirl irnd unirvoidablc part of his cnvironnlent.
' This p,rpcr was l rittcn fbr ts'o seminrrr serics ()f rrutumn zooz, thc oue ir.r L<xrrlon out o1- u,hich thisrrrlrrrne has c<ltne. org.rnizecl lry the turr criitors, arrd ilurther in Oxfirrrl orqrrnizecl [rt'lohn r\Ia rrr.rtl thc.ruthrrr on'Thc Stirtuc Hrrbit in Ancicr.rt Cileek Socictv'. I rnr gr'.)tetirl to tlrc IlrticiP.rrts of I'oth scnrir)rrrsfirr thcil corrstnrctivt'c,rmlrrcnts. I oflir u'lrnr thanks irlso t() Frru{ois Qucvrci .rncl r\l.rrcclkr IJrrrbrurcrrr firrhclp in .rcquiring photoqrlphs.
8 , 4 R . R , R . S M I T H
I . THE STATIJE HABIT
Statues \\'cre ever\/wl'rcre in the lrncient rvorlc'l rrnd reprcsct-tt a huge invesrurcut itr
uselcss public s),urbols. This hrbit is a strange phenomenon and r.vas ir distinctivc
fearurc of Greek and Roman culture. It had a definite beginning, around 600 BC,
and a dcfinite end, around AD 600. The staftrcs'unchangine fcarures c.ru be easill'
sunrm:rrizecl. Thev u'ere big lum;rs of bronzc or paintecl nrarble, fhshi<l-recl in
humirn form, rvearing real-looking clothcs ar-rcl hairsfl,les, standing in lifb-likc
posturcs (Figs. r, z).2 They \\rere sct up on separate inscribed bascs that gave tl'reir
identi$' arrd specified the rolc ilnd occasion thev markccl. A stanre u'ithout its
inscribecl base became ir piecc of anclnvmous 'Jrt. With its inscription, ir s'as l
functioning imagc in a particr.rlar setting. No other culture befbre or sincc
has cleplo,ved so many large, public, three-climensional figures of stoue and
metal--not even ancient Egvl'tt.-1 As a total phenomenon it certainh, bears little
resemblance to sculpfl.rre in the nrodenl eru.
Thc statues wcrc potent markers of rrarious interests. They had no practical
function and rvere n-rade for the most part of materials of lor.v intrinsic worth but
rvorkcd rvith detaileci elaboration that carriecl high aclclcd value. They u.ere both
expensir,elv u.orkecl toterrrs ancl highlv articulate figurecl iuri'rgcs. Grcek st;tntesr
free-stirnciing in rcal postures in the opcn, thus attempted a thoroughgoing
coincidence of subject and object, of tl-rc image and its support. Greek statlre
use arose from and served a displirr, culture closelv orientated around the persons
and bodies of thc'best' rnen ancl of thc gocls irnd herclcs u'ho hacl thc satne itumat-t
fbnn and character. In classical statLles, support and imirgc, object ;rnd subject,
signifier and signifie{ were collapsed before the vierver. Thc full extent of this
identificirtion is evident in the wav ancient u'riters talk of stltues as people: 'Near
I(leoger-res are Deinolochos, son of Pvrrhos, ancl Troilos son of Alkinoos', lvrites
Pausanias of a gror,rp of fourth-century victor monuments at Olvmpia (6. I. +).
The statue habit made a big impact on ancient consciousncss and generatcd a
large ancl diverse litcrature. Thcre was a lvhole catgeory of epigram clevotecl tcr
statLres, calledandriantopoiiko .+ There we re statuc histories written fi'om thc point
ofvicu'of the craft irnd lives of the statue-makers (Xer-rokrates, Antigonos, Duris).
And dcscriptive works rvere written from the point of view of the functiou
and subjects of thc statues (Heliodoros, Plnsenias).s In I'linv rhc Elcler's
universal nanrral histon'. nearlv two boolis out of forfl, rrre takcn up rvith statues
2 Aristoclikos: Klrouzcrs (r96r). Riace: Borrclli ancl Pchgatti (I9s4).'t Th.r. $'cre crucial clitl'erenccs in Egrptiar-r statue Pr.rctice. Egvirti.tn stollc stafues $,ere usr:r.llt'
attachcd ro l blck pillar, rnd functi<rncd likc r high rclief. c,rrn'ing in thcir tirrur irnd supp,rlt.r plonrittcttt
aspect olbeing 1n 6[jcct rrncl l nrorrument. Thcv *'crc rr]so n.tuch feuer irt lbsolutc 1111111$crs, antl rnore
oftcn hirlden insicle ter.nplc complcxcs out <>f yiew'of tl-re hitr'.* T l , i , i . . r hc . r J i r r gg i i . r r i n t l r . , , . * P , r . i c l i pp , , . p . l f t r us : AL rs t i r t r u r . l Bas r i . r r r r r r r ( zoo2 r 2 r .' Excellent introcluction to this ancient stiltllc litcratr.lrc still in Ier-Blrrkc ancl Scllcrs (1896) xiii kxxiil
br ic fcr , Pol l im (1974) 73-t i r .
#ffiffi
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T U E H A B I T 8 S
Frc. l. Grrrvc kouros of Aristorlikos. Youthfirl
naketl stltue l,ith latc Archrric hirirsfi,le rrnciinscl ibecl brrsc. '(sc. srza) of Aristodi l ios'. I 'er iutnrlrblc, H: r.9,s m. From rrear Mount Oh'm1-ros ir-r
SF. Atticir. r. \oo +8o BC. Athcus. tr--NI tqt8
Ftc. z. Ri:rcc B. Nlkccl belrt'lccl u'arior. r'r'ith l'rcL-r-rct,
spearl :lnd shiclcl (no*,missing). Broltzc staruc, H: r.97 r'n.
From scir r>lf Riacc lvlerina (S. It;rlv). c. +6o-Jo nc. I{cggi'
Ci-rl:rbria, M usco Nazion:rlc
8 6 R . R . R . S M I T H
as cxemplars of stones ancl nretals (1111 ;+ ancl 36). Their prart in his encvclopedi;ris rcvealiugoftl-re largc nlental spacc thirtstanres occupiccl inthe ancicnt imagination.
Nutmbet s, contents, nloay
It is both their character as re:rl-lookir-rg figures in dre round, standing in thc samespacc as thc viervcr, urd their huec quantities tl-rat make thc phenomenon sc,lsignificant, so pcculiirr. Extant numbers arlone are large: there sun'irre, forcx:rmple, o\rer 2oo marble kouroi from the slxth ccntlrn'BC arrtl ovcr r,irooo r.narbleportraits fiom the first ancl seconcl centuries eo.t'And r considerable prroportion ofthe sun'iving epigraphv oftl're later Greek rrnd Rornan pre riocls consists of inscribedstrlnlc bascs. Guesses rrt real totals prclducc.lT rrrcan less thln dcnsitics \\'e can graspat oue site or in one locale. For example. on l)clos, thc clromos that leads fionl theharbour to thc sanctlltlrv of APollo hacl about ninetl, statuc monlurlents(third-second ccnturics BC) set up in front of tl're flanking stoas; and the fcrrumof Djemila in Tunisia (irncient Cuicul) displaved about ser,'entv statuc monuments(seconcl-fbr-rrth cenruries eu;.u Thc norm \\'as f<rr slou' clcnse rrccretions of statlresirr highlr s igrr i f icant locrrt ions.
Each stirtue l-rad a specific fi.rnction trncl sctting-ir.r :t sancnrary, cenetcryr orpublic sprace. Each stoocl at thc ccntrc of a sct of rclatior-rships ancl ncgotiirtionsbenvecn (r) tl-re pcrson or collcctive initilting and plving fbr the statue, (z) thegod, hero, or notable person rcpresented, (l) dre statue-maker and his rvorkshop,and (+) the section of public aimed at in that setting. We can recluce thcscparticipallts to their modcrn equivelents-patron, subject, artist, viewcr-but u,emiss lsomething of the ancient historical situatiorr in doing so ancl can casilvmisconstme thc character, balance, and nature of the ncgotiatiorls involvecl. Inantiquitv the initiator(s) ancl subject of a stafile n'erc priman': thc initiator-truverhad to be identifiecl clearlv in an accompanving inscription, and the subject coulclalso be namecl and/or might be iclentifiec'l by the statue's iconographr,. Adcling thcmrrker's nal11e \\'as alu'ays o1'rtional. Thc presentetion or stl,ling of the figr.rre r,vasshaped bv thc irltercsts of the initiating buvcr anc'l his public, n,ho u'erc informedboth bv carlier imagcs and by thc real ar-rd expectecl appearance of the subject.Tlrc makcr's techtlE, his art, was not a goal in itself but rrther the means to achiever,r.hat patron, subject, and public u.anted-a collectivc visior-r of excellence.
The colouring and rcal-looking character of rrncient statucs neccls emphasis.For us, ancient nrarbles bleached r.l hite r,vithout cyes and hair colour are easill'pnt
6 I(ouroi: Ricl'rter 1l97o). but rvithor-rt r-r-lrch of the irirgmentillt 'm.rterirrl. lirr cxlnrple fiom the Ptoiorrsilllcftran'. Rontrrn portrrrits: Fittschcn (r996) 7jr fbr irt rrr.r.rccl rcccnt cstimatc of r5,ooo zo,ooo firr thcimncrial ocriocl.
: F()r-crrrnrplc, S:rodgrass (1983) zr 2 estim:rtes zo,ooo tirr totirl Archaic liouros productior.t. ForAugr.rstus akne. Pfirnner (r9s9) rTli estimatcs;rn cnrpire-\\.iclc total of z{,ooo jo.ooo portraits procluccd.
" L)c los c l rorros: Brunetr .urc l I )ucrr t ( r98t) l r : - r8, I ig. r ; . Djenr i l r r f<rr t rnr : Z inrrrer ( r9s9) r7 l l , l ig .J.Scc rrlsc'r c()r.]tcxtr.rirl rlatcrill grthered in Stentrrrcr (r99;) rrncl Boschung (zooz).
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T U E H A B I T 8 :
into the categor\''art/sculptLlre'. With their originll colour (pirinted clothes, c1'es,
ancl hair for mirrbles, polishecl flesh, inlaicl e\res, copper lips fbr bronzes) thcr,
u,ere intenclccl as rerrl functiclning prescnces or snbstitutcs." A primlrv encient
responsc to strltues was as rerrl pcrsor]s: thcv cr'u-l speak, s\\/eat, moYe, be tied up,
floggccl, prosecutccl, ancl exccuted. t0 F-o. an ancient viclver, r'r4ritc rnarble statlles
u'ithour painted evcs rvor.rlc-l bc blincl. Thc sti-rtlles irrc of coursc also I'righh'
str-Llcturecl anci rrrtfirl cor-npositions. but thesc aspects, so prominent ilt our
cves, would be strongl-v unclercut br,' realistic colouring.
The stltues embodiecl a creativc tcnsion bcnveen reprcsentation of real-litb
lbrms alrcl por.r'crhll ideological sfi,ling that cannor bc rectrcecl irlr.l'avs to ternls of
artistic artifice. The statues wcre so clccplv involrrecl as active plavcrs in ancicnt
socictv that r.r'c might irlso see the c'liflcrent kincls of stylecl hurnan fiqure as thc
\\/av those real subjects n'erc acruallv visuerlizecl bv :rncient socictv. Changing
sn'les in this perspcctive reprcsent chtrnging ancient perccptions. Thev are
nurkcrs ot' rell historicll-rncrrt.rl shifts.I I
I,'ictot' sttttucs, J()tt BC-AD .100
Atl"rlctic col'l'lpctiti()ns r'urd fbsti\,r'rls rcrririnccl a centrirl fcrrturc of Grcck citv lifc
n cll into thc firurth ccrrtrrr\/ AD,l2 r'rncl strrtues of victoriorrs :rthletes \\,crc it rcqll l irr
prlrt ()f thc str'rtue habit Lrp t() i.rt lerrst et:l 3oo. l3 For cr;rmplc. out of r.z5o bases fbr
public starllc honours set Lrp i'rt Aphroclisiirs in Caritr in tlte Roman periocl, c.z5
rverc for lthletic victors;Ia fbrv in ovcrall proportion. bLrt still a substantiirl
presclrce. The stanres \\'crc set ofl fir>rn those of ci6. 11.rrl61.s in the phrasirrg
anc-fconvcntions of the texts on their bases, and theli 11,s1g also immediatelrt
recognizable trs rrthletes, not n'rerely in tcrms of :ltl-rletic postLlrcs ancl attribr.rtes
but in terrns of their pcrsonal sn'ling, ph-vsiognomli and boclv definition.ls
This u,as true of later Hcllenistic irnd Roman representations of athletes more
generallt'. from thc Terme Borcr to the rnosaics fiom the Baths of C;rracalla.In
Wc see and fccl in this ciifl-erence hon' ir-r tl-re Hcllenistic ar-rd Roman pcriocl
competiti\.c atl-rletics bccame a separate spherc of life govcrned b1, ifs ou'n mles
and associ;rtions, sorner,r'hat ,rpart fionr that of cin'lcaclers lnd societ\.'s notablcs.
' ' Pt>lvchrornt: Rcurcrs\\'.ird iru,i8); Manzelli (rc9+); Brinkmann (lqSz); Ilrinhnrml.r ilnd l\()ch-
Brinkr-r-ranr.t (zooz).t t ' M,. r . l r metcr i i r l in : Poulscrr ( r9+s); F,r r ronc 1r<792); S. l ) . t rkrr r is ( r992) ch.8, 'Magic;urc l sculpture ' ;
Steincr (zoor) ch. 3, 'Thc
Quick rrncl thc Deatl'.
" Sinrlrrr tl 'roughts nrorc ttrlh'clrrboratccl in Snrith (zooz).
" Inrp1r l1n1 stuclv s i th krng v ie*: Plckct ( r9-a) . Scc nou l (onig (zoot) .' ' ' Last at C)lr,mpia ir.r tl.re r.nicl-;rd cent.: 1r'O z+1. r,ith HcrLmann (T988) r2o. Ncri'br'(zooj) is a ncu'
u'icle-rlnqi ng stuclr,.tn Tcrts in Ror.recl r r : ( r991).l5 Tso borcr statucs: Lrllr ancl Alfitlcli-Roscnbirum (r979) nos. r9o-r, pls. r43 ,4.lt' T".,.'-,e Boxcr: Srnith (rqqr) :+, fig. 62. Mosaics fionr Baths of (leracall;r: l)unbabin (rqqq) 68, fis. rr.
ii ' ith firnhcr rcfi. See.rlso thc renurklblc athletic moslic fiorn a bath builtling et llattcn Zlrnolrr ncrr(llt!rr, Tunisi;r: lll:rncher.l-Lcnric, Enn.rifc'r. Slinr. and Slim (rqqrr) 19o-6, tigs. r-i' 42.
8 8 R . R . R . S M I T H
This is useful background to understanding the diflbrent role played b), athletesand their statLles in the earll'period with which we are here principally concerned.
In the slrth and early lifth centuries nc, the wealthy, the aristocratic, and the classthat competed for political leadership also prized athletic contests as one of thcirdefining activities. Athletic victories were among the highest s),mbols of prcstige.The victor's charisma imbued other areas of activiq,-something peculiar to thisearlv period. The use of stafues (and praisc song) to give this concrcte cxprcssioncame late, in the late slrtl-r and ear\ fifth century, a period that aiso sar.v major shiftsin the statue habit. The earl1, victor statues need to be located within the context ofthese far-rcacl-ring changes. Athletic victors in search of the highcst symbolicexpression of their achievemcnt wcrc as e group both a beneficiary and a catal),stof these changes. New modes of representation made the atl-rletic statllefully possible-starlles that reprcsented at the same time personal excellcnce andan athletic bodv. The victors'commissions acted as rnultipliers in the proccss.
2 . S E M A T O E I K O N : T H E F I F T H - C E N T U R Y R E V O L U T I O N I N
STATUE-MAKING
The radical changes in statues in the early fifth century were part of a wide anddeep-seated revolution in Grcek visual experience and history. The phenonlenonhas a lot of differer-rt aspects, a lot of different opinions arouncl it, and noconvincing total theory that u,ill fullv explain it.r7 I outline in bricf a fbrvnecessary/ pasic points with some of my orvn thoughrs ancl opinions.
Important changes occurred in discrete sphcrcs-in the externals of real life(clothes, hairsq4es, beard styles), in the way human figures werc seen andrepresented in irnages (sq,le, modcs of representation), in the technologies andmaterials of starue-making, and in the functions and contexts of statue displav.Some of these changes were connected, but not in obvious or causal lvavs, ancleach affected athletic statues in diflbrent wavs.
Real-life changn
The real-lifc changes tl'ere dramatic and amounted to a revolution of sclcial moresancl Hellenic identity. On statues of women, the elaborate hairstvles, osrentatiousjervellery, and brightlv patterncd and revealing nvin-set suits of the later si-rthcentury korai rvere replaced abruptly bv plain austere hairsryles, little or nojeu'elle n,, and thick sack-like rvooller-r dresses that concealed evervthing. tt Stut.t.t
tt C.rmp,rre, fbr cxarnple-irll withPollitt (1972) ch. z; Robcnsor-r (r97s)Holscher ( r998).
r8 Korai' Richter (1968); Schr.reicier
good things ancl cliftcring perspectives: Gornbrich (196o.7 cr-r. 4;r7r 97; Boul ter ( ro8-s) ; Hal lc t t ( rq80); S. P. Morr is (19921 ch. n;
(1975). 'Peplos ' s tatues: Tol lc-Kastenbein (r98o) ancl ( r98o7.
P I N f ) A R , A T H L E T E S l A N I ) T H E S T A T U E H A I ] I T 6 9
()f rncn stop \\je'.1ring thc thir-r chiton unelcr thc hirn.rtion (tl'rc chiton \\ rrs no\\'
consiclerecl cffemirrirtc), end sto;r stvling their lr;'rir ancl insterd cut it short: no
more thin silkv shirts. no r-nore tislrtlv crin-rpccl lrcl long-florving Hclmcric
locks.te Thcre ,u.r",o bc no nrorc chitons \\()m on public sti l ft les of n-ren unti l
the Iater fburth century, ancl no more xrtificiirl male hlirstt'ling until thc latcr first
cenftin,AD, anci thcn first at l{omc. under Ncro ar.rci Hirclrian.20 If thesc chirngcs,
thilt stixrcl ollt s() pron'rincntlv in thc strltucsi clicl r-rot also rc;rrescnt rcirl-lifi:
chrngcs in the pcrsonrrl stt,ling of (lrcck men rrncl \\'omcn of thc lifth centurr,,
then thc exprcnclitnrc olr stiltucs \\,1'ls \\'irstcd.
Sryls ,rd theory: yisuol truth
Thc strrtlrcs u'cre also rlrrclc u.irh l chlrnqecl rnoclc of rcprcscutrrtion. Thcr.n,crc
meant to be rcal-looking in sh:r;re. pc)stllrc. ancl proportions. Tcchnicalh., the
cl"range wils slight br-rt in conccptual terns it wils vast r-urcl crtr.nc u'ith rrr.r
cxprlicit thcon, rvhosc ferms \\'e knor.r' in ()utline. Its hev terms \\.erc as fbllou's.
Ntythmos refcrrecl to shape, cornposition, rrncl pclsturcs. S|mruett"la, 'c<xrrmensLlr-
irbilitrr, rct-errecl to consistent ovcrall p[()porti()ns. A,ncl nlatltcia, 'truth', \r'irs
obscn'ecl rcrlitr,, lifblikencss.2l Tl're trern athletic str-rtues u'erc shol'pieccs of
thc thcorr'.
Statr-res matle in rrccorchncc u'ith the ncrv iclcas stirrrd in rcrrl cot'rtit'tgcnt
postures_. rathcr thirn thc irbstract srrlh<llic postLlrcs of tlte kouros. fhcv ()ccup\'
ir cor-ltinlrons spac<: n.ith thc r.icu'er. ancl ostensiblr. thcv obev thc same mlcs clf
tinrc, prlacc, ancl motion as thc r,ic\lrcr's. Rhytltruos refbrrecl to this scnsc of
idrrnanent potential mo\.cn'rcnt, to tl-re qualin'of a lif.:lil<e posturc u4rether static
or action. Not onh. c1o thc figurcs havc lifblikc incliviclual boclv prams as kouroi
clicl, thcr- arc now corrp'roscci u,ith ir collsistent ovcrirll pr()portionrrlin' or
s),trnnctria 'of all thc Parts to irll the (othcr) parts'.12 This pro;'rortionalitv()r con.rllcrlsurirL'rilifi' r,r'rrs birsccl on rlccuriltc r>bscrvrrtion ancl ;rrccisc lnc;'tsurc-
n\cffi (ahl"ibela, mcluring ilccumcv rrntl prccisiol)) \\'ils :rlso '.r liev ternr) as o1't1:rosecl
to the ertritrilrv icleologicrrl nrrulipLlh.tions sccn in kor.rros pr<l;lortions (huge
thighs ancl shotrlclers. smrrll arrrrs. tint' u'rists aucl ankles ). -fhc
moclcrrr
n,orcl 's\.mmctrrt clcscribes thc goveming princi;-rle clf k<luroi u'ell. lrr.rt in fifth-
ccltlrr\r r.isuirl theont sytametrin u.irs prcciscl), 1.h,rt houroi s<-r consl-ricr_r<-rtrslt,
r ' l I - ; r tc Arch;r ic nr . r lc st . r tuc \ \ 'c i r r ing chi ton. f i>r cr .urplg; P.rvnc.rncl YoLrng (r916) p l . ro: . . I le i r ' :Stc i r r ingcr ( r9r2) ln9. . rnr l bc lorr ' , n. lJr . Geclc les (r98-t | rcscl l ts tc l l t l . rc I i tcr . rn . rn. l l r is tor ie.r l rv i t lcrrecfirr these vcstimentrrr\' !rn(l s()cirl chlngcs.
r( ' H,r i rs tv l ing l t l lor .nc. ̂t , ,o ,oo' C.r in l ruut) i8--- , 80 roo.'' Esscntirrl: Pollitt (r9-1) r+ z;. ri irh tc\ts rlu()trcl .rrrd .rrr;rh'scr'l s.tv. nl,tltrin-t'tt' itns, t'lL.t'tltutos,
s\,luilutrid.22 Ovelbcck (r | i ( ,8) 9 j9 (Ohrvsippos, . rp. C.r1cn; ; Po) l i t t ( r9 '41 r4-rs; Slct . r r r ( re9o) 26s, ' .1- 69.
9 0 R . R . R . S M I T H
lacl<ed-the rclationsl-rip of cach part to thc r.r,hole . From this pcrspecti\re, houroi
\\.ere prc-theoretical tigurcs, rvilfirl svmbolic constructions.
Tlre touchstone of thc u.hole thcory tvl.s alithgin. rvhicl'r in this context \\'ils not
some grirncl metirphvsical notion btrt thc nrore concrete iclca of truth to olrscrr.ecl
reali[,, lifblikeness, visual tmth. It refcrs both to realitv itself i'rnc'l its truc or
frrithful reprcsentatior-r.2t St"t.,.s produced in accordrrncc tvith rl-rcsc iclem rvill
hat'e hnllos (fir-rc anrl handson'rc appeariurce, thc lrcst tlppc]arance. bcrr-rn').24
If nlctbeia ancl knllos are translatccl as thor.rgh the_v u.cre philosophical irbsolutes,
trlrth ancl beau6,, then of coursc an entirch'cliffercnt kincl of interpretation ci-rn be
pursuccl.
l-he iclca thtrt inrages should trv to look like r.r4rirt therr reprcsent, that thev
shoulcl hirr.e a verifiable relatior-rship to rheir subjects-rirther than the open-cnded
mlr-tipulatccl svrlbolic rel,rtior-r of A'ch'.ric art-wlls of course deeply radicil. Tocr
raclical, somc fclt. Colrtcmporrln' rexctiou ma-v be alh.rclcd to brieflr'ir-r conscna-
tir,c praise song: 'Not every precise trxth is bcttcr fcrr shorving its face', wrote
Pinclar (N. s. 16-17). Thc ruetryhor is visual, irnd picks Llp t\\/o of the kcr.idcrr.s or
temrs-accurrlcy and truth-fron'l contenporan'visurrl theorv. 'Ihe
statucs ma\r
not look ven. real to us (rve arc l-r-lore impressed bv their codecl stucnrrcs) but that
is our {irih.rre of l-ristoricirl imtrgination. This visual sr.stem wils not mcrch' thc
result of artistic artificc, it was the rvav the earlv fifih centun saw thc best rcal
boclies. In the gap betr.r'een thc aim, lifclikeness, ancl the reslrlt, architecturarl
boclies, lies contemporxn' social icleologv, n,hlt r,r'as historicalh' specific to the
tinre. In this period, tl-re girpr u'as r.r,ide.
T'hefinterpretation of this remarkable shift in wirvs of seeing ernd representing
has ill kinds of inte restirls l-ristoricrr.l ramifications that need hcrc to be lcft to onc
sic1e. The nc'iv visual mocle and thc changed clothes zrncl hairstt'les werc clriven
peuthr bv the Persian Wars experience and thc consecluent re-cvallration of r,r4rat a
Hellcne rvas-clifferent ilnd better. The nerv rnodc u'as recognizlblv clistinct and
Hcllenic in the rvav the Arch:ric mellncr hacl not becn. Arcl-raic Grcck art hlci been
cssentialh, a fiactious subsprecies of the lirrger fhmilv of Ncar Eastcrn r.isual
languages. As a conternporJrv rvritcr put it: 'One could point to manv other
instlnccs u,here the manners of the ancient Hcllenic u'orlcl are vcnr simil.rr to the
m:lnners of tl-re bnrbaroi (eirsterners) toda1," (Thuc. r. 6. 6). Art and visual
represcntatiolr was onc of thosc instanccs. The fifth cennrry invented a stt,le
thar rc;rresentccl i1t its bcginnins rur exclnsivc Grcck iclentitr'. And if aletheia u'ls
2't lrollitt (rgl+) s.r'. aL,thcia-tu4tas hrs rhe mrin rc\ts. \\'ith go(xl inah'sis of thc rrain possiblcnrcrrrirrqs. but I clo not undcrsrirld thc tertr.r;rl basis fbr.r tilurth nrc.tning of aLatlttitt (D: thc <xrc it isargrrecl Grcck scrr lptors het l in nr incl ) es ' ;1 r l lc() ret ic i l l cr i tcr iorr ofcxccl lcncc ' ( r ;8) . ' l conccpturr l rc l l i tvirr rilrich scnsc cxperiencc is controllccl bv intcllccturrl principles' (zl). On al,tltcin fi<tn'r ir ilifterent
| ( r s l cL f ; \ c : ( i c r r r i l i r t uE8 ) r++ i .rrs go.rl: (ihn'sippos. rrp. (lirlen, rrbove, n. zz.
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T U E H A B I T 9 I
an agreed benchmark, thcn the new statues as r.vell as being cliffcrent rvere alsoobvioush' better. Once irrticttla.tecl anci rcalized, feu' Greeks rvoulcl oppose it.\M-ro cor.rld bc against trllth and Hcllcnic iclentityl
Thc charrge lvas rclativeh, suddcrr, though some peoplc ancl places hclcl outagaiust it, especially those r,r'ith nothing invcsted in its Par-rhellenic clairns-fbrexample, Etruscans, Lycians, Cvpriots, Persins.2s It is lstonishing horv casv it isto recognize tl-rc products of drese clccacles, r.+9o-+5o, horv tir-ne-specific therrare . In this pcriocl the brasl-r ner,v st\rlc ir-rformecl statues of gods, heroes, and merrirncl rvomen alike. The str,le itself r.r,as the ntessagc. It significcl ancl defined a nervconccption of Hcllenic iclentit,v, of r.r4rat u,as fblt to bc Hellenic supcrioritr'.
Thc cssential lifblike qualiw that informs all later Greck ancl Roman statues wtrsconscioush' fblt in this earlv periocl as something ne\v and c-lifferent. Tr,r,oexatrrples n'ill suflice . First is the fiagn-rent of a saq'r pla,v, thc Theoroi or Isthmias-rai bv Aeschrdus, that is bv nor,r' r,r,cll knorvn in this context.26 A choms of stltvrsrvonders aloucl at thc lifblike clualitv of their orvn portraits thar dre\, are taking fbrcleclication to thc Temple of Poseiclon irt the Isthmus. The text is perneatecl by a'shock ofthc nerv'expericnced by the satyrs.
Second, i'tt it r-nore basic and generirlized level, there r,r'as a striking shift in statuevocabnlan' tha.t has beeu lcss r'vell notecl. One of the most comnton rvords fbr'statue' in usc ir-r the slrth ccntury tvas sEtnn. a'marher', 'sign', or's).mbol', rvhichsubseqtteutly goes quickll' or.rt of use ." It r,vas a r,vorcl that privilegecl functionoYer rcpresentation. From thc fifth century rve find rcgular use of the tvord eikOn,'likeucss', fbr statues, u'hich dcnotes onlv the character of the rcpresentation.2SNhon .ras of course also used rvidcly to refer to other kinds of represcntetioll(such as paintings ancl, later, busts), but it is remtrrkable thtrt it rcmained onc oftlre rcgular rvords for 'statue'-still, fbr cxarnple, in Peusanias. The shift from seruato eikan. from'sigt-r'to'likencss', capturcs much of thc essence of the rer.olution instatues in the earlr'fifth centurr,.
Technology
Separatclv, there rvas also a major shift in materials for prestige declications, fiomr-nirrble to bronzc, ancl a revolution in tl-re technologv of lifc-size bronzcmanufhcrure. Largc-scale bronze statuary hacl been available fion-r rhe n-ricl-sixtl-rcenrunr br-rt hacl remaincd lumpv and thick-u'alled. Thin-r,r,allec1 bronzcs wereperfbctecl u.ith great speed in the generirtion trfter c.5oo. Thev were big,real-looking figures, rvid-r bright polished tan surfaces, thar imitate skin, tendons,
2s Bo,rrtlntlut (I99.p) chs. z lucl 7 hrs l gr>ocl overvicu'of somc of tl.rc matcrirrl, though lionr l clifRrentpcrspectivc.-
2rr- 1.t,, Sr.nvth lncl Llotcl-Joncs (1963) .t+t ,s6 (fi. zSe 6,zr Radt); u,ell cliscrrssecl fbr cxamplc bl'Sorbonr ( r966) +r- j l i Hal let t ( r980) zs s; s. P. Morr is ( r992) zr7 zr ; s t ieber ( r994); stc iner (2oor) + j jo.
27 Frrll ciiscussior.r of Archrric :'se ol senra: Sourr,ir.ror.r Inurrocl (rqqs) ro8 +2.28 LSI s.r,. rllrol.
9 2 R . I T . R . S M I T H
veitts, ltttlsclcs, inliricl u.ith rcalist colour for evcs, lips, tecth. niprples, ancl finecolc'l-u'ot'lietl cngravir.ru for cvcbrou's, bcrrrc'ls, hair, toenrrils, fingernails (Fiu. z;.2ellrotrzc techrtologr,\\ri'ts r"rot tlte cause of thc revolution, but it rcspondccl cluicldr,to thc irnpctns of thc neu, iciea, to thc ncn, I,r'av of sceing.
Thc glcaming tauuccl ligures werc leaclccl straight onto thc top of stone pcclcstalsto look likc real figurcs stlncliug on platfbrnrs. Statllc bascs rrnd reirllife pltrtfirrmslookccl nruch l ike cnch other.'1()The con.rbinirrion of t l 'rc hard-hitt ing l if-cli l<e boclvsn'ling ru.rcl tl're shccr tcclnicll brilliance of the ncr.r' big bronzes gave thcsc figuresall extraorc'liuan' inrpact. We sec this nou, in thc power rrncl bold eflbct of thetu'o Ri:--tcc bronzes, ottr first top-lcvel brclnze st.rtues of thc first reyoluticlpan,gcncr i r t i ( ) r r r F ig. z t .3 l
Wc irls<l fccl thc prescncc iurd power of thc nerv stiltr.lcs rs r public rncclir.rm ir.rsomc fhur<>rts ancl clcarlv h<>stilc retnerks of Pinclar (N. s. I rutcl ,1. z. +6): hc is not astlttue-ulrrher, becilllse, uDlil<c his songs, st:.1tllcs canltot l-l-lovc arouncl ancl cannotreirch a u'iclespreacl auclicnce. In u'hat later became a u,ell-u.orn literarv iclca,Pinclar claiurccl to() that pririse poems wcrc cternal in a u,ilv bv implicatioll thatll]()llltlllel1ts \\'erc ltot (P. O. Io. the pocm is irn inclcstruLctiblc 'treasure housc ofItvrt-tll." P. 3. tr+, \rerscs col.rstructed bY u'ise craftsnten, tcktones slphli. elclure-rvhercas ultstatecl tl-rosc of nol-slf)hls crafistlen c1o not). A starue-ntaker ntighthavc saicl, trnlil<e songs, stiltucs \\rcre on permi-ulcl]t clis;rlay rvherc it matterec-l andto a much Llrger auclicncc. itucl ir"r firct lasted as u'ell ;rs poems. Praisc pocts likcPindar clcrrrlv f.:lt thc con.lpctition. Statuc-nrirking even aplrcirrs snciclenlv at thistime rrs a subject fbr ilttcrcstecl cliscussion oD svmposiolt 1]e11qt,'-^ntoltg othcrs,for\sxan-rplc, on the u'cll-knou,r'r ' tbunclrr" cr-rp in Berlin 1rig. l).32 Thc ncrvst r t r - rcs l re. l . r I r ig contcnl l ) ( ) r r l ,a r . . , , , ra , r .a.
Function
TI'ie Bcrlirt cup (Fig. i) shrtn's a largc stirftre of I stricling u'arrior-hcro-a \'()rivcaqalwn-ltncl a snallerst;rtue rcPrcscnting rr 1-1611111ldetc (ir,urrPerordiscus-throu.'er).It picks thc nvo leacling catcgories ofcontcurporar\.brolzc sfi.lrllan/: big votives andvictors' stitfttes. Tl-ret' reprcscutccl ncu. trcncls in the statuc habit, ancl r.r,ere pr:rrt of
2" O,r [ r , , , , r rc sr . r t ] . rc tcchr() l ( )gr ' : l3ol 1r i , l - l l ) ; Mattusch (rqSl i ) ; Z inrurcr . ( r99o) i H.uncs {r9,_rz; .: i " ( i , r , . l i l lustr . r r i r>r . rs ot th is in .Sh.rp i r ( ) (1992).3r lJon'c l l i . rnt l l )c laget t i ( l9S+) i nt( , \ t t , ' r ' rc f i r l I rhotos n() \ \ ' iu N{ol .cn() ( t ( r9 l i ) ." ' Frrr t t r t ln cup: Nci ls (zooo): Necr ' (2oo2) 77 t is , . r sr inr l r l l t ing l 'eccnt . lcc()unt . br . r t I sec hcr.e lcss'pcnrtsivc fitcctiottstrcss llrout fhc creti of nraking irnrrges'th.rrr irrren.c t,rreirr.rtr()n (()f printer] buver. ancl
uscr') u ith thc ncri big rrction bronzcs. Sculptinu .utcl st.rtuc nirrking on othcr. p()ts: Ilecl<. Bol, lli ickling(1990) i l i I - . l1()s. ls l - . Uscf i r l col lcct ion Ofrcprcscntrr r ious () fs t i l tucs () l l l ( ) ts : I )c Ccsrrre ( ry9l) . ( )nPi 'c l i l ' i1 l rd st . . r tuc-rnrr l<cLs. scc l l ( ) \ \ ' rhc thoLrght t i r l c .ntr ib l r t ion of ( ) 'sul l i r ' . rn ( :oos). on o. r . so r .c() l lcc l l l l l lg t l lc sf . r t t tc t t t . r l icrs OfI lhodcs: t l )c i r s t i r tucs I rok.rs t l roLrgl t thcV I i |c i . l r ) ( l l ) . tovc brr t thcr , . t rctlltirllrrtcit ticccptilc. O'Srrllii en tl' i lr)slirfcs the cnrcill lines rrs firllou,s: 'Thcn tl.rc {t.c\'-eyctl go.l.lcs. l.rt r..cligrrvc thcttt crct'r'kitrcl of skill to strr'p.rss nrortals u'ith thcir supcrlrrtivc hanciicrrrfi. Thcir strccts borc uorksof ;ut ilt thc lilicrlcss of lrcings that lir cd rurcl nrovecl; .rntl higli u;rs tlrcir firrnc. l]ut to onc u ho knol,s (on:in tlrc hlnrls ofonc sliillccl) undecclrtive rrrt is cvcn grcirtcr (()lr: .rrt thrrt is c\.elt grctter is uncleccptivc).'
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S . A N D T H E S T A T U E H A R I T 9 3Ftc. 3. Founcln 'cup: rnorta l
rntl divinc u'cirkshops.
Ertcrior hirs sccnes fiortr
bror.rzc firuncln,. Abovc, note
hc;rcllcss statuc of arhlctic
victor urtc]er construction itt
risht, in ection posc (probablv
of cliskobolos rathcr rh:rr-rjunrper). Bclos', nvo clients.
or clicnt ancl nt;tster sculptor,
b<>th u'cirring citizcrr costume.
in u'orkshol-r lclnr iring r-rcarlr.
cor npletctl u'arrior bronze
Itcirtg sr'rrr[rc.l oli'.rficr c.l\ting.
Lrtcrior. Thctis, clivinc
custon)cr, r'isits He;rhlisto",
divinc cratisman, in his
ri orkshop. Atheniart recl-
figtrrccl cup, \V: to.J cnr. Fror.rr
\rulci r.soo .18o tc. Bcrlin.
Stratlichcmusc cr1 zzg +
9 + R . R . R . S M r T H
u'idcr cl-ranges at this time in the hrnctions, scttings, ancl clcdication of statues.
Thcsc r.r'cre bv no me:rns exclusive changes bnt drere u'erc markcci trenc-ls.
At Athens, for exar-nple, the late Archaic pcriod had seen huge invcstrncnts in
big uistocrirtic marble statues on clan gravcs ancl in manl, 5111allcr middle-level
mirrble dcclicatious on the lcropolis by' erger new mone\,.33 Thc acropolis
sancfLrarY in the late slrth cenrury rvas tr forest of small marblc korai on pillars,
each ir personal votive to thc gocldess for a private or busincss intercst. Aftcr the
Persian Wirrs gravc statLres rvcre eithcr siDrply bannecl as part of Packagcs of
firneran' legislation (at Atl-rens irnd clseu4rcre) or they voluntarilv declir-red or
clislppeared in a collcctive atmosPhcre of restraint thitt urarlis fiurcrarl, .rrchae-
ologv irr t lrc f ifrh certrun'. ' t{ Alter 48o. srrr.rl l rn.rrbk' \ 'otivcs irr rhc rn:rin su'lcnl-
aries rvere ovcrshadorved bv colossal brorrze statues. that is, state rurcl intcrstate
dct l icat ior ts paid f i r r f iom s. t r l ' rootr ' . rn t l Pr l f r l i ( ' fur rds.3s Thcsc h ig s t , rnres ucrc
strident markers of locirl ancl Hcllcnic iclentitv and its protectors-Athen:r at
Athens, Apollo at Delphi. Zcus at Olvmpil.
Stafilan' investmcnt bv the aristocracl, (self-pron-rotion ancl sclf-r'alida.tion
through figured monument) l-rad bcen conccntrated in thc latc Archaic pcriocl
on the great famih'graves lt the DiPl.lon lnd in the rich nresogci.r of Atticrr.36
Herc funerals, s1-rccches, ancl marblc sewfttn had cclebratcci and justifiecl naturirl
\snPrernrc\'. Lr the fifth ccurun,, s'hen this pirrt of thc olcl strrtue hrbit hacl gone,
outlru.ed or outmodecl, irristocratic staftte invcstment scents to have becn
rcclirectecl to thc sanctllar\r sphere u,hcre thc r.ictor strtue canre fbr a Lrrief pcriocl,
sav -soq4-so ancl esprcciall), after +8o, rl ner'r'fr.rvourecl object of persorr:rl clisplav bv
the rich and pou'erfoil. It is not necessar\r to colltect tltese two things ci-tttsalh'-thc
cncl of gnve stiltues utcl thc rise of victor strtucs. It nrrri,be enough to <>bsen'c thlt
ther,happenec-l a.t thc same tirre ancl that the e arlt'\,ictor stiltllcs nccc-l to be seen in
thc pcrspectivc of u'icler chrrttges in stiltllc prrtctice iu thc eirrlt' fifth ccrttttrr'.
3 . V ICTOR STATUES AT OLYMPIA
The fierce contests of the cro\\rn gal-nest especially trt Oh,mpia, hircl long bcen a
frrr<rurccl sphcre ofacrivitt,fbr dre intcrstrte tlristocracv ofthe Archaic pcriocl. Victon'
at the games \\ras something of ancl fbr itself. It clemonstratcrl persoual erccllencc
ancl suprerioriq. in a trrutallv clcar manner ancl brought immcirsurable satisfhction
irurl prestigc. I{cgular gvlrxrrrsillm fitness nrlde a. gooc'l hoplitc, but the kind <>f
pLuiisl'ring bodl'c'eftion that iur aspiring contest chirmprion neeclccl \\'as something
altogctl-rer cliffcrcnt. A chtrm;'rion n-rigqlrt of c<lursc nrd<e a gootl u,arri<'rr, br.rt thrt
33 (llan grilve nronumcr.rts: D'C)nofiio (r9918). Aclopolis: Rrrubitschcli (1949y; I(ccsling (zooi).' '* Ft'om thc n ide litcl'irturc on this subjcct, c()urparc the dii,ersc viervs ;rntl .rlrpr()ircl]cs of rcccnt l'orli:
G. t r l . rut l ( rq89); I . Nlorr is ( r992d).r : r . l i r99z&) chs.4-5; Enscls ( r ( rq8); Stc. t rs ( ]ooo).' ' - I 'c r r i . r r r \ \ ' . r l i lc t l ic . r t iorr \ ( r ' l ]c( t ( r l : a- , , . 'c t - 1 r r )oS ) .' :o 1) 'Onot i ' io ( r988) ancl ( r998).
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T U E H A R I T 9 5
was not rvhr. he trained. Working to$.arcls and being a cro\vn galles contestantwere an indepcndent part of thc life and culturc of thc rvealt\', prob:rbly prizedpreciselv because thc average hoplite farmer could normalh, have little part in it.37
Dolr'lt to the later slrth century, victors haci mostlv contented thcmselvesr'vith declications of simple objects such as a cliscus or jur-nping .r.r,eights irnd rvitl-rthe Prestigc pror,'icied by collectivc mernor1,.38 From the late sirrh century,, some ofthc rvealdriest and most ambitious victors commissicxrccl thc high\. elilboratcArchaic-s6'le victon' songs (epinikiarn odcs) of the kind u,e hirve in Pinclar anc-lBacchYlides. Or-rtsturcling or porvcrful victors migl-rt receivc or set Llp statues oftherlsel'es in a sancruary or the agora of thcir hometorvn.39 Ancl arlr rri.1,r., nrt-r,,coulcl afford it might declicatc statucs of themselr,'es at thc conresr sancruilrr-espcciallv at Olvn-rpia, thc top sanctuary l-rosting thc top championships. There$'ere victon'statues at thc other championsl-rip sites-Isthmia, Ncrnea, irnd cspe-cialh' Delphiao-but nothing likc the extr,rordinarv clensiw at Olrmpia. For thesr.mt-nlic catpital realized by a victor, Olvmpia was rhc central bank.
I'n t rsn t t i ns n t Oll,r t tpia
Olvmpia also gives us the Lrest fcel of the context ancl settirrg of victor statLles(Figs. 4, ,s). We arc r,vell infbrmecl textualll. ancl archaeologically. Pi'rusanias sau,that thc victor statue phenomenon at Olvmpia lva$ important ancl devotec-l au4role long scctiott to it (nvo-thirds of his book 6), scparating ollt rhc r.ictorsttlttlcs ftom trll the others, even though thev r.vcre clcarlv interspersed r,r,ith otherr{edications.*t H. clescribes ucarh, zoo victor statucs, r.r,l'rich he sirys is a rvilfulselection, as against tu'entv-fivc statlles of Zeus rvhich he boasts u,as all ofthem.a2Bv tl-re seconcl centurv AD victor statllcs \vcre clcarll, an or,crw4relming prescnce inthe sirnctttary. Exctrvation h;rs brougl'rt abont roo inscriptions fbr bascs of victorstatlles of r,rfiich t.+o arc among drose mentionecl br, Paqsanias and c.6o arcadclitional (Figs. 6, z).a3 victo, starues rvere clearll, somcrhing special ar ollrrrrpi1.
Pausanias r'vas botl'r right ancl \\,rong that tl're Victor statucs constitlrtccl a specialcategonr of strrue. FIc trics famously to make a clistinction betwcen rcal religior-rsvoti\/cs as on the acropolis irt Adrcr-rs ancl thc victor statlres at Ol1'mpia as somethingclifferent in principle,'grantccl as a kincl ofprize' (paus. 5. zr. r). He rvas looking backfiom the later honorific culture of the Itoman Emprire urcl salv the vicror statLrcs irs
37 Firnl clef-errcc of rhis vies': I'lckct (r992). Thc fi'u supposccllv lon-cr-cless char.r.r1-rigr.rs of the clrlr,pcriocl, sttch;1s Glilll(os thc Ertboicrrn ploughn.rrrn (P;rus. o. ro. r +). \\,cre cxceptronal. plckct (r992) rsorightlv susl-rccts lcgcncl-bLrilcling rrspccts irr Clhukos'storr,. (lontrast firr cxamplc Stcphcl Millcr (zooo).Fr-rfther on Glaukos: bclon. at n. +9.
38 Gtxxl sct of cxrrmplcs gathcrccl bv Rrurs;l (r99,p) 79 8o'" Herrntlnn (r988) rzo n. z. Full ;rncl usetul list ctf thirtt,t " R. l r r . . r { rqa+ ) s2 () r , S. l t l lcr \ t l te cr i r lcrr r .c .
n l l . r5 - r6 .
three cxrr.nplcs in I{itrsl (r9g+) 66 73.
' ' Hcrrnrarltl (lsrs) is thc inclispcnsablc stuclt,. I{eccntlv on Pausrrnias: Alcoclt, Chcrrv, Elsper (zoor)* l I [ . . . r r r r . r r l r r r , , r8 i { / l is ts l9- r i r . lor st . i l r rcs.4'l Hcrrrnann (r98tt) rz2-+ n. r9. r:7-8j. l.ras thc cletails.
TI! . i
{\
, 1
tr; i .arf
W:,q5**Frc ; ' s . ( ) l r ' n l p i : i . r \ { r l c l e l o fA l t i s ' l ' i c r r . f l . o t t tS \ \ . . s l r c l r r ' i r r gc r t l r r ' t l c t ]
picturc). s he rc rrthletic dcclic:rtions jostlctl s'ith rrrtivcs of rrll l<intls
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T U E H A B I T 9 7
public honours r.r'hich, of course. was one of tl-reir effects.na But they clearly were
not nortn;rllt'arvarded to dre rthletes bv third Parties (onlV occasiouirlll, 11'sIc ths1,
sct up by dre Victor's home cirv). The statues were gencrallv set up as privatc
cledications like ury other dedications to dre gocls, bv the adrletes thernselves
(Figs. 6, 7). The,v were votivcs. like odrcrs, thart happen to take the form of the
dedicator, and in the fifth centurv that became ostensibly a highly lifblikc form.
Victor statlles be gtrn then as rcgular \'()tives of the pions, but soon took or-r a life
of their own that required tl-re controls that Pausanias and others mention
(controls of sizc. numbcr. rppearrncc).as Pcrmission or thc right ro ser up ir. sraruc
thercfore camc to be seen as part of the prize. \'ictor starues stoocl, uncomfortablv
mtrny fblt, bctween votivcs to the gods and public honours. In terms of the later
norms of the stanre habit, thev rvere indcecl unusnal: the cleciicator u'as usuallv the
same as the honorand.
Pausrnias clcscribes some eighty statues of victors dou,n to +oo BC (given in
the List appcnded below, whose running numbers are usecl in r.vhat follorvs).
Sevcral of the slrth-cennrry victors probably rcceived their statues only in the fifth
ccnrury. end it is clear the practice takes offonlv lfter r.ioo BC. At the encl of his
scction on victor staflJcs, Pausanias describes last of all tu,o wooden statucs whicl'r
he says rvere thc earliest victor statues at Olympirr. those of Praric'lamas of Aegina
and Rhexibios of Opous (r-z), u'inncrs in s++ and 536 respectively. lVe shoulcl
bclier,'e this explicit statement) placed in a prominent place in Pausanias'text. Two
statues that he mentionecl earlier in I'ris tc-xt fbr victors at the games in thc eighthq and scventh centuries, Eutelidas (6. 15. s) and Tisanclros (6. 13. 8), rvere probablv
set up much lirtcr.46
As thc earlv statue of thc athletc Anachion that Pausanias mentiolls at Phigalia
(s. +o. r), these first r,'ictor statucs, of Praridamas and Rhexibios, were doubdess
kouros-shapccl. The dates irre strikingh.late , and the next victors listcd as winning in
the slrth Ceotu6, mosdv had d-reir statues made by sculptors known to have beelr
rvorking onlv from the er-rd of the slxth century urd into the fifth (Glaukias,
Agelaclas: i, 4, 6,8). Thc victor statue phenomenon therefore began late ancl
intensified during thc generatior-r of the big changes sketcl-red earlier.
Pausrrnias' rollte arouncl the victor statues can be establishecl rvith somc
conficlcnce.aT It took lrim fron-r the south-east corner of the Heraion to thc
front of thc Temple of Zeus, \vhere therc was a major concentration of victor
and other statncs) along the south wall of the Altis, u4rere two in situ bases
44 H"rrn.rann (1988) 13+ n. 7J. fbr this pcrspective .*' Corrtrols: l{errntamr (1988) rz9 n. .io. The impor-tant tcxt is Lucian, Pro Imag. rr, on the sci.Lle of the
st.rtucs (not lrigger than lifcsiz-c-ivhich is bornc out bv thc bases at Olvnrpia: tbr crirrnplc, Figs. 6, 7), antlr>n controls implcmentecl bJ. thc Hcllanoclikiri. cf-. Paus. 6. 3. 6: 'the Eleans allorvccl him to set up [a stanrcof ] his traincr as ri.'ell'.
*" Thc possibilitv of earlier victor st:rtues at Olvrlpi:r (befbrc thc nricl-6th cent.) is discusscd bvHerrnrann (r988) rzo nd R.rusr ( rSc+) - ' -Sl .
' ' Folkxving Herrmann (19,38) r3z-4, tith skctch rnap of route.
9 8 R . R . R . S M r T r l
\f'-:fnj'72'::-*'$* ,,W:
{
o,.7
i 1 < li l x.1i + iil.- |
i l ' ri h J
l,.do* t t
t * - l - ' . - - :
8 l ' " ' t
.Jfr..w-*/ t
- 4 r I' : - . I
Ct
]popan,r
i tu.r t [ :atr . I ' # r ' D A
i _ J - - - . 1 -& -_ _
Frc;. o. At Olt'mpiir, strnrc brlscs shon' r'ictor nr()nulncuts
u,crc nxrstlr- of just life-siz.c scirlc, of brortzc, ancl scf lou'
elou'n u'ith thcir inscril'rtions oftcn on thcir uppcr, horizontrl
surfircc. Uppcr fircc of ir-rscri[.cc] basc fbr st.rnre of l(r'niskos of
Nl.urtinea, [roi'lroxer, r'ictol in 4oo u<; (List t-). bv Polrtlci-
f( )s) sccn []\' P;lusrurils (6. -p. r r ). The tcxt is ;rn cpigrrrm, u ritten
rnti-ckrclcvisc, starting et thc botton-r (front) lefi: 'lVinning in
[crring. I{tttisltos from Mu.rtincl. *'ho h,rs thc nmre of his
tiunous fhthcr. set this up' (10 r+9). The signiltrrrc ()f
Polvklcitos. recorclccl br' flusiuriirs as urrrkcr, u'as lrrob,rblv(tirr examplc) on rr missirrg seconrl, loircr step of the bese.
N{rrb le W: 6r , H: r7 crr
i
1n
FIt ; . l . Froutrrnt l up1.ersurf ; rccof inscr i l ' rc t lb. rse f i r rst ; t t r - rcof l ' r ' thol i lesofL, l is . r ' ic tor inpc)r t i r th l (nr
ir'tlsr sc (List a3), signccl bv Polyklcitos, sccn try Pirrrsr.tr.rirs ((r.z.ro).'I'hc brrsc hrrrl tu,o pluses of use
that shon'intcllse carc for (encl r.nlnipuhtior.r of) krcal sti-rtuc heritr.rgc. (l) The originrl nrid-fifth-
ccnftrn'statuc ircccl the short irtscribecl frrcc tbet clrrics thc tlemirgcrl n.rme of thc vicror', 'Pi thoklLe s ]',* hilc its nlilkcr's nilrnc rlrns on top bcsiclc thc cuttiuq tirr rhc rishr firot, Polvklcitos [ ... ]. to t c rcirtl
f r-om the lctt. (z; In tl-rc li rst ce ntrlr\r RC ,/ ao, eficr drc t>riginal stlnr e lrrrcl bccn cllnr;rgccl, rcmovcrl, or
stolcn (b1'Ncrof ), a scconcl strltLlc, \\'ith rr clifllrcnt fix)t posturc, \\'i1s sct on the brrsc fi-rcine the long
right siclc s'ith ncrr fcet cuttings mcl ir rc-inscrip-rtion of thc nou,chni.rsccl texts of thc originll on thc
r.rirlrersurfice : 'l 'r'rhoklcs. L,leen. Polvklciros r.r'nclc (it1 Argivc' (IvO rtrt l). Thc nvo inscribccl lcttcrs
ir thc (top) back, lB (- ru ), tr> be rcircl fionr bcl-rincl t.he [r;rsc, lrc prob;rblv iut invt'r.rtorv numbcl trlthc
sirmc pcrioLl irs the rc-inscribcc'l tcxt. Bllcl< limcstonc, l{: 2.1, \V: ;o, I): s8 cr.r.r
proviclc fixed points, thcn bacli fiom thc Lconiclaion rrcr()ss the brrck of the tcnrplemd along its northern siclc to the colnmn of Oinomaos (Fig. +). Victor starucs\\'ere set up irl a continuous L)roccss of accretion ancl t()ok on ne\\'point iurd nc\vmeaninq in rcl:rtion to othcr strrrucs. \Ve ncccl to rccol'lstlnct t.urrl in-raginc hou'their boc1ics, poscs, rrnd inscriptions rcspc>ndccl to rucl clial()guecl u,id-r othcrstiltlres. Starues that u'oulcl havc rr tedious sllnlencss when vic$.ccl in the pictnrcsof ir catalogue hacl a scfting in sptrcc :lncl timc lncl a chtrngillg rclirtionshi;'r to <lthcrilllc-l ne\\' stetucs that grrve each one the aprpcarance of rr-r inclivicluirl monument.
{I
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D ] ' H E S T A T U E H A B I T 9 9
Groups, dinlogue , response
Fronr Pausitrrir.rs u cc;.'u-r rcconstr.trct in mcnt.rloudine s<lmc 1'lotentgroupings, bt'citr'.
f rurilr', political rrihliirtion. Thcrc u'r'ts rr tlcr-rsc grouping ol tlcrlicrrtions [rr'fir,c Sprrrtru-r
chrrriot victors near thc strrt of Pr.rsrurirrs' routc closc t<> the nor-th-c:rst'.rnglc of thc
Hcrrr io t . l (6 . t .6 : ' . ; ) . - fher ,bcganrv idr thcy ic torof448.urc l ,p44(Arkesi las,49)a 'c l
cnclcci u.'ith tl-re chariot mol-lluncnt of thc Splr-tur qucen I(trriska. r.ictor in 396.'tuThe tl'rree strrtues represcnting Damerctos of Hcraia, his son iurd granclson,
conlnlemorating Victories fiom 52o to ,p36 (l)i'rn-rlretos 5r TheoPompcls 18,
Theopompos i4), \\'cre ir fhnrilr. grolrp. as werc drc live statlres of the grelt
Rhocliirtr rrristocrrrt Diagorirs anci his sons, all great charnpions in thc hcavv
c()ntcsts. boring rrncl pankrrrtion, fiorr +6+ to ,po4 (l)iagoras 3+, Damagetos -1-,1-.
Akottsiliros -p6. I)orieus .59, Peisiroc'los 73). Thcv rvere ;rolitical-military hearl-
u.eights too, appcil'ing in rtrainstrcrrrrr Ather-ria.n-Sprrtan historv of tl're fifth
cer.rturl ' (Dorieus: Thr.rc. 8. 1s. r and 8.p. z; Xen. Hell r. t. r9). Pinclar composcc.l
tor Dilgorirs hirr-rself (O.:), aucl the oclc rvas later nrrlcle pernlrulent in ir gilclcd
inscrip'rtion in the templc at Linc-los (Gorgon of Rhoclcs, FGrH,sr,s F 18).
A more polirical grollp can be reconstrlrcted aronncl thc famous chariot
nronurlrent of Gclorr of +88 (16) li'hich is c-lescribecl u'ith st'arr-res of thc boxer,
Cllrrrrkt>s (thc sltinmnchos) :.rncl his son Philor-r (l ancl r,p). GltrLrkos \\'ils the not()ri-
ouslv strong ploughman.of l('.rn'stos on Enboeir, much cited as au example of a
prroletarian chirmpion, but u'ho is knou,'n elservhcre as ir hcnchman of Gelon
(schol . toAesch. Ol ' . 3 . r89: govcrnor() f I ( i rnur i r r i r ) . S incc, ' . !1 lhr .e. 'sr i l rucs \ \ 'c rc( madc bv the srrnre fllmous Aeginctan sculptor, Glrruliias, thcy u.'ere prrobirbll'
i.l gr()r.rp, u'ith Cckrn thc r.noving ftrrcc bchind it.a')
Thcrc u'as irlso hostilc c-lialoguc. Vict<lr statlles coulcl resl-rond to ,rucl challcnge
tlre clirinrs <lf othcr sti'rtLlcs. Sclmctiure in thc pcriocl c. +7o 4so. the Sprrtlns
courn-tissionecl the sculptor Mvron to mrrkc a statlle of tl-reir long-cleacl champion
runner Chionis (+o), a sr.rpposecl trinstes of thc micl-sevcnth centun/ (trinstx
champious-lvinncrs in thrcc separatc cvcnts at the salnc ganes u,'ere rarc).
The sti.rtuc is me ntionecl imnrccliateh. rrftcr, ancl so stoor-l ncxt to or ncirr a statllc
of the grct trinst,s runner Asfl'los of I(roton (24), triple champion in tl-re 48os.The Sparti'u-t statlte tvas sureh' a claim to priorifi,, challenging tl-re claim ofAsfi'los'
st.ltuc. L-r the srrnre perioc'I. in ,p6o. thc Achaians set up i1 strrtlre clf thcir
eighth-centurv nlnner Oibotas of Plleiir (lq). Althouqh set up clscu,here, crrrl icr
on Pausaniirs'rolrte, this statuc u,i'rs probrrblv part of thc satrre contcst fbr carliest
ancl fastcst, clcsignecl to trlunp the Spartan ancl I(rotorrian claims.
Thcre u'ere irlso importurt lincs of conllcction benvccr-r ;r victor's sti-rtlle, his
pe[sol]) iu'rd his/rzfrui'. This atrstract connection \\/rls meirsurecl bt' rr Spartan victor,
+x The othcrs u'crc: Polvklcs. 5z; Anurrnrlros. s8; Lichrrs. 6r.a " SoR , rus . r ( r sc+ )+o ; , s r t h f i r r t hc r cv i c l cnccon ( i l au l< r s (bu t scc l bovc .p .4 rn . r ( r ( r ) .On t l r c s t i r f t l e -
mllicr Gllul<i;rs of\in;r: \Vrrlter-l(antli (rqsZ) :s ,).
I O O R . R . R . S M I T H
a rurlncr) $4ro set up tr\'o inscribecl stelai. one at Sparta, the other at Olympia
besiclc his statuc there, dcclarins the precise clistance (66o stades) to the other
stele (Paus. 6. 16. 8). Sirnilarly Acl-raian athletes sacrificcd on the tomb of Oibotas
of Paleia (39) beforc setting out f()r Olympia, and crorvned his statue there if thev
u'on (Paus.6. 3.8). In the casc of Astl ' los (24), the connection was clcliberatelv
scvered. He had a stafue at Olympia, but his statLre in his homctown IGoton was
pullecl dor,vn u.hen he ran as a Svracusan, for the tyrant Hicron. Charnpions
brought prestige to their cities u,l-ricl-r \\'ils concretelv cmboclieci in their statucs.
Politics a.nd cult
In our periocl. athletic chirnpions retainec'l a politicJ clin'rension. Thc cot'nr-t.runitt'
naturalh, r.vanted to crrpitalizc on their champions' prestigc, but their contest
prowcss rvas higl-rly indir,idual ancl could be difficult ancl au.ku'arcl to contain, tcr
incorporate.s0 The period of thc late sixth celltunr anc-l euly flfth cennrn,,
especialh, c.soo-+7o, $'irs the grcat age of rristocratic victors ancl titanic cham-
pions, such as Milon of I(roton (z), Theagenes of Thasos (25), ancl Euthvmos of
Lokroi (27), u,ho passccl r,vith tl-reir statues into legend and cult. Thcse champions
acquircd a levcl of public prestigc that without trtrclitiona.l leaclcrsl-rip outlcts was
dangerous fbr thc clelici'rtc organisms of politicirl orclcr ir-r thc polis.sl One
rcsponse ,uYas cnlt honours u'ith attenclant m\.th-making so ftillr, attestccl
for Euthymos and Theagcnes.sz Another resporrse of course was statue hon-
ours--brilliant bronzes of the champions bv the top statue-nrakers of the dav,
asuch as Pythagoras of lUregion, set up in the agora. It u'as later a clemocratic
boast at Athens that no on<:, except the T,vrannicicles, had a statue in their agora
(until I(onon in thc agos).s3 Onc founh-centLrry orator makes the point explicit:
other cities ha'i,e statues of athlctes in their agoras, the Athenians havc gencrals.5+
In the late slxth century, Milon of I(roton had led a u,hole citizen armv in u,ar,
dressecl as F{er:rklcs (Dioc1. Sic. rz. 9. i-6), and some champions were still also
actir,e in politics ir-r the earlv anc-l mid-fifth centur1,-such as Thcagenes (25) ancl
Ditrgoras (l+), both rnonstrous-size men. Such figures were equallv athletic
charnprions ancl politicalh' active aristocrirts. Lesser known cramples are the
pankratiast Tin-rasitheos of De$hi (8), u,inncr at Olympia in 516 and -slz,lvhornlve find fighting at Athens on the wrong side of the revolution thcre in sro (Hdt.
s.72). rnd Ergoteles of Himera (3r), a champion rLlnner in the 47os iurd 46oshvmned bv Pindar (O. tz), who rvas a political exile from I(rbssos on Crete.ss
50 R...,.rt stud\, ()f tension bctu,een chumpion ancl comnrunifr': tr{:urr.r (zoor).sl Importrnt siudv of politics of chlr.npir>ns'cults: Bol.rringcr (r.)79).
" Nar" cesc-studv of Euthvmos: Currie (zooz).:3 l )cnr , rs l l rcr tc, ,o. -o, n ' r 'e l rcr lv { t9s-) no. zot .tn Lt'k,r.,.g.rs, Ltoht'ates 5r; Wvcherlv (r95:) no. 268.ss The borcr Gl;rukos of I(arystos (:). ,rbovc n. +9, rvho governed Krmarinl ior Clelon in the +8os, is
urother cxlmple. For O. rz. scc Silk (this rrrlume).
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T U E H A B I T I O I
This was also the period r.vhen grcat adiletes of earlier days-like tl're eighd-r-centLln/ Oibotas (ls) and the seventh-century Chionis (4o) already mentioncd-rvere first hououred in stafttes. The contemporary nryth-rnaking aronnd earlierchrrmpious is vividlv expressed on the statLle b'JSe for Por-rlrd'.rm'.rs of Skotoussa inThessalt', 'r'ictor in +o8 (6q), honoured l'n,his pan is in drc mid-fburdr ccntun' -,vidr
a stiltlle macle by Lysippos. Pausanias (6. s. r-q) describes fantastic episodes fiomhis lifb, incluc{ng nvo that are featured in the reliefs on thc base found at Olvm-pia.s6 Tl-re gi:urt champion kills a lion with l'ris bare hands ancl defeats members ofthe Persiur liing's In-rmortirl Guards, .ir.hile the Great I(ng and his coLln womenlook on in dismay. For contemporaries, these r.vere rcal events, and we shoulclimagine the same for the furtastic activities earlier of Euthymes or The,rgenes.sz
+. STATUE-MAKERS
Pausanias and the extant bases give the stafi-re-makers great prominence. Themost fashionable Archaic starue-makers, such as Aristion of Paros, had beenloudlv advertised on statuc bases.s8 The greatest fifth-cennrry bronze-u,orkersstoocl even higher. No less than 6o per cent of the fitil'r-centur1. r'ictor sraruesat Olvmpia rvcre signed (see Appendix). Thcy lr'ere big names: Onatas ofAegina,Polvldeitos of Argos; I(alamis and Myron of Athens; Pythagoras of Rhcgion.Most of these made several statues at Oli'mpia. P),thagor,rs of Rhegion made notless than eight. The quality of the new bronzes and thc steeplv rising demancl forthem in the carlv fifth century (the colossal state votives as rvcll as victor statues)raised the profile of thc best statue-makers.
The difference between au adequate brclnze statue and a magnificent one rvithstrong impact (like that of'thc Riace statues: Fig. z) u'irs wide.se There r,vas asharp and forceflil technical/aesthetic effect tl'rat the big names provirlecl, and tl-risaclded value above the cost of the materials and labour rvas surelv exoensive.
Prires, wzrl?s It 0[)s, enh/epret teul/s
Competition to sccure onc of tl-re hanclfirl of big-nirr-ne sculptors, sr-rch asPt'thagoras and Myron, r'itlr their wonclcr-workingtecbna, probabh.clrove theirf-ees up. We har,e a fcw statue prices-and drey are high-but not enough to makcuseful relative comparisons. A scholion to Pindar (N. s. r, Drachmann rrr. 89)gives 3,ooo drachmas as the price fbr a bronze statue in Pindar's day. f'his is the
5" Relief b;rsc: Smidr (r99r) sz, fig. +0. For r rcccnrlv iclcntified inscribed fragmer.rt ti 'onr tl-re basc:TIuber ( r997).
57 En'rphasiz-ecl bv Currie (zooz) t9. Their real porvers lix:d on. Staflres of Poulrdarnas, Lxrti at Oll,mpia anclelsen'here, ;.ts of-Theagcncs, \'ere kmol u latcr for dreirhcalirrgpou'crs:I ttci;in,C,ouncilofthe Gofu n;Prls. 6. rr. 9.
'd Rccent srudv of Archaic'sign:ltures': Viviers (r992).5" A,n cx,rnrple of .r tvpical
"dJqu,,t" bronzc of this l.criocl migl'rt bc the statuc froni I(rcusis in Boiotitr
( tbc port of Plr r t r r ia) of r .48o, t ros in Athcns: Mattusch (r988) 79-8r, f ig . +.zo; I (a l ts ls ( :oor) no. r+6.
,
I O 2 R . R . R . S M I T H
same L)rice, horvever, as that given fbr a stanclard honorific bronze statue in
the Hellenistic perioc1.60 We rnav suspect then that the scholiast simply took
tl-ris later staudarcl pricc. At a time of gretrtlv incrcasccl prociuction, the Hellenistic
price n,as probablv lower tltan that of d-re first generirtion of thc grcat bronze-
casters. Thc rearl interest of thc scholiast's evidence is not so much the sum
mentioncd irs the clear assumption that the sums needecl fbr a bronzc statLle
ar-rd fbr a Pinclar ocle rvere large ancl thc sarnc.6l
Better aucl contcmporanr evicience fbr this carlv period (but litde noticecl) is
the implicit but precisc minirnum pricc given for a bronze chariot group that rvas
set up on the Athenian acropolis to comr-nemorate thc grcat clouble r.ictory over
thc Boiotitrn arm\, irnd ovcr Cl-ralkis in c.5o6, as recordcd bv Herodotus (s. z6).Thc bronze chariot rcprcscnted a teuth of the amount rcccir.ecl from ransoming
the prisoners fiom the campaign at 2oo drachmas a hcac1. Tl-rcre \\/ere 7ooBoiotiar-r prisoners anci irn unknorvrr nnmber of Chalkiciian prisoners. If u.e
asslrmt: for dre sake of a minimum calculation that thcrc wcrc no Chalkidian
prisoners, the sum (d-re tithe) r,rrorks out to bc r4,ooo drachmirs or 2.3 talcnts. If
\\/e assllme an equal (anc1 more likely) figurc of 7oo Chalkiclian prrisoners, thcn the
tithe-price u.ould be z8,ooo drachmas or 4.6 tirlents. If fbur horscs ancl a chariot
cost betweell r+,ooo and z8,ooo, then 3,ooo for a single statlle is a littlc lor,r' but
in tl-re right orclcr of rnagnitude.
These are largc sums, and high cost shoulcl explain rvhv so manv clcarly chose
nzt to take up the right to clcdicate a victory statuc at Olvmpiar. Pre-indr.rstrialI prices make little serlsc compared to prices toc1a1,, blrt on any calculation thesc
irncient statlle priccs seem high comparcd to bronzes toda\,.62 The rirnge of 2.3 to
4.6 talents fbr a chariot group r.5oo Bc is a large md solid figr.rre. If ir chariot
group included the charioteer, the ownerr and grooms, then probably the pricc
u,oulcl be considerablv higher.
BehinA drc big-narne signaftrrcs lav large, u'ell-organizcd u.orkshops. Pl.thag-
oras of Rl-region, fbr cxample, made statues fbr fbur champions of the gamcs of
+8+, a boxer, two runners, alld an armed r-Lrnner-though not necessarilv in the
sarne Olvmpiad.63 The clcnsitv of attesteci $,orks, holvcver, far from complete,
clemaucls a large u'orkshop.
t"' 1('- ttt.ssJ; Diogencs Llcrtios 6. ls; Ste\\';1lt (r979) ro9; urtl most reccntlv Cauthier (zooo) +8 ;1ncl n. 3r,s ith ntorc sortrccs ancl earlier schol;rrship on Hellenistic stlftre prices (a rctcrcncc I o\\'e t() Angelos Chaniotis).
t" Contr,rst Gcntili (1988) 16z-5. cmphasizing ciisparitv of renruncratior.r.62 A finishecl bror.tzc statuc toLlav costs r.60.000 (stcrling), and taking firr fbunrlry w orkcrs a lon' chily
u'rgc rucl e real clailr, u'rlgc of 8o rncl 3oo, thcn toclat' thc statuc cost is zoo-7so lllr.r/cllvs (I th;rnk thcscrtlptor Trcxrr Proudfbot of Clivcclcn (lonscn,atior.r fbr the moclcrn priccs). Trrking r or z drachmas ls theclailv s'rrgc rn tl-re Grcck u'orlcl, the Hellenistic starllc cost is r,,soo 3,ooo ml.r/clavs. Stet,ert (r99o) oo 7does intercsting rrncl clctailecl calculations to sr.rggcst that the materixls iucl lirbour cost of rr Grcek lrronzestilflrc \\'ls r.r,ooo clrs, iutcl r.z,ooo drs u'as prolit to thc u.orkshop.
ut Litt to, 21,. z+j 27. Thc rtuncr l)romeus of Sflnrphalos (21) rxxr ilso in 48o; the rurrner fun'los ofI(roton (z.p), *'ou rrlso in 488; iucl thc boxcr Eutlrvmos of Lokroi (z;) uon ;reain i1476 .rnJ -p-:, .urd wc' l<ltt'sfiom its bme thet F,uthul]os'strrfi.lc \\'i.s set up irfter his thirci Yicton'. On Prthagoras: Ste$'art (r99o) z,s+ ,s.
P I N D A I { , A T H L E T D S , A N D T H E S T A T U E H A R I T I O 3
Clcarlv thcse u-orkshop-ou'ners \\'ere also succcsstul entreprenclrrs. Probablv
the1. 11,s1'. on hand irt the gamcs, like Pinclirr, re acl\'to be coLlrtccl br,t thc r,r'ealthiest
victors. Wc shoulcl think of prcliminirrr. cliscnssions ar-rd engagemcnt at thc
gilmes, follou'ecl. as irttcsted latcr for Macerloni:ut princcs (Plinr., NH 35. 85
urcl ro5), by visits to the u,orkshops fbr details, poses, attriblrtes, prices,:rncl
contracts. Such a visit is probably what is reprcscntecl b). the citizen qentlemcn
sturcling on cither sidc of the u,arrior st;ttue on the 'founclr,v' cup in Berlin
nteltt ionerl carlier (Fig. l).Their r. isit and the u'orkshop are compilred on thc
insic-le of thc cllp to the visit of Thetis to Hephaistos'Olyrnpian founc'lrv.
The promitrcnce of the statuc-rnakcrs is striking ancl important rs :1 socill rrncl
cultural pltenomenou, but thcir precisc role*the technictrl rcirlization of a c1cfir-r-
ing palpable image of the strbject in his most rccognizal'rle anci chirractcristic
fbrrn-rvas both clifl-ercnt fronr rvhat u'e expcct fiom artists ancl in rrs far rrs
it might be cliflcrent fiorl another contemporarv sculptor's u'ork an\\\'rl)'
unrccovcrlblc among strn'ivirrg st{rtucs.
5 . SURVIV ING STATUES: BODY STYLES AND CONTEST ACTION
Tlte inscribctl brse si'rccified b.rldlv the victor's ll:'ullc) far-nil1', citv, rucl the cvcrrt
l'rc had rvon (for example, Fig. 6), sometimes also victories won elscu,'here on the
crown circuit.6a Thc statue bodv reprcscnted other and u.iclcr conccrns. In :.r
victon' song, the fhcts of family itnd contests \\'on rrrc clealt rvith in rr f-ew lincs,
lclr.ing dre main parts of thc poem for jr-rxtaposition u'ith tl're exploits of heroes
ancl ele."'ated elitist rloralizing about good birth, thc favour of the g<xls, and lifb
at the top.t'o Like the poems, the statr.res dcscribe the pcrsonal excellcncc ancl
superioritv that achievecl victorv and justified a permanent rnemorial.
What sun ives of the stafues irt Olymplx and elservhere to set besicle the clctailed
rccorcl of Pirusanias irncl thc inscribed bascsf On the one hand, fi:u, or no surviving
statucs mrrtch recorc-led monunlents at the great sanctuaries, On the other hancl,
tve have so many statues from precisely d-re chan-rpionsl-rip environmcnt evokecl
bv thc bases. bv Paus:luias. anci Lr1' Pinclirr, that ;lrecise ()nc-to-one mirtches of
sun iving statues rvith recorcled monumcr-rts are a luxun, we call do u'ithout.
Erid.ence : f'a.g?nents, sncall bronzes, ruarble copies
Of the stanles frorl Olr,r-r-tpia, lve havc thousllncls of bronzc splintcrs and frag-
mcnts-ears, fingcrs, eYc cases rvith lashes, bits of hirir ar-rcl gcnitals (Figs. 8-rr)-
thc remnanrs of stirtucs later choppccl Lrp on thc spot for rent<tval ancl
melting.66 Even in tinv bits, earl-v fifth-ccntun, ;-ricces stanci out, recognizable [r1,
"* IrO r4z.-zqi; Ebert (r97:,).('5
Stimuhting rcccnt studv crf praise p()ctr1, ;urcl stittr.rc epigrants: I(r,rrlic (1998)"" F\ccllcnt c;rtrrlr>gr,rc rrrtl strrtlv of tlris nrrrcriil: Bol (r978).
r o + R . R . R . S M I T H
Frcs. 8-rr Bronze statue fiagmentsfiorn Olvmpia. Tvpical remains ofvictor bronzes. All earlv lifth cennrrv
Frc. 8. Eve-casings x'ith serratedcyclmhcs, W: 2.7-+.9 cm. Bol (1978)no. 428-f. For rhcir rrsc antl cffcct,see bclou', Fig. 3r
Ftc. q. l ,c f t c l r , H: 9.5 cm.
Bol (1978) no. r3r
Frc. ro. Bor/s ger-r i tals, W: rz cm. Bol (1978)
lro. r32. Note closelv obsen'ed median seam anclslight asvmmetry in scrotum of prc-pubescentage
Frc;. rr. Lorvcr right lcg, L: 16 cnt.Bol (1978) no.rz9. Thin casting \\'ith remrrins of
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T U E H A t s I T I 0 5
tl-reir bold fbrmal stvlc and precise techniqr-re. Thev irrc ir por,r,erftil reminder of the
tirne-specific naturc of the phenorlenon uncler discr.rssion. There are a ferv contcm-
porar\r marble figures from elser,rrhere of this pcriod, sacllv battcred torsos mostl"y,
but rccognizable as athletic statucs by their action posturcs fbr exarnple, ftom
Thasos ancl Delos (Figs. rz-r3;.67 Thcsc torsos too are remarkably tin're-specific.
The main evidence. holcver. consists of bronze statucttes ancl later marble
copies of thc Roruan period. Thev irrc from very diflbrent contcxts but their
evidence is complementarv.
Thc srnall bronzes \\'erc sarlctlrrn, r'otives like the big bronzcs, set up instead of
or in addition to a f-ull statue .68 Thev are often, morc oftcn than the later marble
copies, complete figr.rres ancl give a goocl iclea of thc range of posrures, acrions,
and attributes of ',.ictor statues. Their period of greettest densiqv anc-l highcst
qualitv fhlls in the carlv fifth cennrn,. This wa.s tbe periocl of small fine vicror
bronzes. Tl'rev replace thc kouros and r,r'arrior bronzcs of tl-re sixtl-r centun'anc'l
decline in numbers aftcr the mid-fifth centurv.
The later marbles belong to ltoman culture and stood in entircly different
contexts-villas, baths, gardens-r'r,hcrc classic atl-rletic statLles stoocl for tirste, edu-
cation, and the gt'mnasium.69 M,url,ofthe marbles are morc or lcss loose essavs after
earlier statLrcs or statue ideas, but somc arc clcarrly scale-replicas madc r,vith tl-re
intention ofloohing like close marble vcrsiorrs offifth-cennrry bronzcs. These latter
marbles can bc usecl fbr understanding much about the Greek stanrcs on lvhich thev
u,ere based and r.l4rich arc entirehr lost-Pror.idecl that cxpectations of tvhat thev calt
give are not set too high. B), comparing the diflbrcnt m.trble versions of the samc
figure, rve leam irbout its scale, iconograph.y, posc, attributes, turd something of its
broac'l effect. Wc can then tn' mentallv to trallslatc the figure into bronze in thc
miurner of the Olympiir fiagmcrrts (Figs. 8 rr) ancl thc statues from fuacc (Fig. z).
More problematic fbr us than the stiltlrs of thc Roman ntarbles as later copics
aud r.ersions (tl-rere is a goocl methoc'l fbr controlling that status) is tl-rcir select-
iviw-the prefbrences in Grcch subjects and figures choscrr for reproduction. The
sclection uras fhr from rcpresentative. A,rnong athlctic figures chosen, a largc
proportiou r'vere based on u'orks of fiftl-r-century/ lnasters such as Polr.kleitos.T0
And somc recognizable reproduction of their 'classic' stvlc rvl" clcarlr, fblt to be
important. So, for extrmple, not onlv tl-rc pose but also the distir-rctivc formal
maltner of Poh'klcitos' spear-carrier lr.as translatcd in sorne degree in surviving
marbles made aficr it. Tl'ris bias, tou'arcls carlr, figures ancl tou'irrcls reproclucirrg
t't Tlt.". torsos fi-or.n I)ckrs (inclrrcling Figs. rz, r3): Hermen,(losa) 8 t9! ltos. i l. pls..1-2. Tl-rrcctorsos fronr Thasos: Gr;utcljcrlt:utcl Sdviet (zooo) 2+8 9. lt()s.6 8, figs. 176 8.
od Full collcction of mrterial: Tlror.r.rrrs (r98r). Lamb (r929) is still usefirl. F,rlnrplcs bclos': Fiss. rz, r8,2 \ 2 2 .
6" Somc clifli 'rcl)t:rpproilches to thc Roman contcxt: Zr'urlier (1924);Verntculc (rqzt); Riclgrvav (r9ll4);Neuclecker ( r988); Gazda (zooz). Exar.r . rp lcs bckxr ' : F igs. r9, z3 s.
70 Zankcr ( r9: . ; ) ; I ( re ikcnbom (r99o); I lcck, Bol , Bi ick l ing (r99o).
I 0 6 R . R . R . S M I T H
Ftt;s. rz-r3. NI.rrblc torsos fionr athlctic stetlrcs.
Fxrnr Dclos, t.+9o-;o BC. ll()th hn'c crrrclirlll obscn'cd
ne$ sn'lc nruscle con'rposrtions ;rncl olcl-sn'lc Ptrbic'nrousr:rchcs', fi nclr,-trir.rrr-nccl ucl sh.rpccl
Ftc. rz. Figr.rre stoocl lt rcst holclir)g. firr ex;u.nplc, a
Iibltior-r borr l or cliscus, H: 8o cr-n. Dclos MLrscum A +277
Ftr ; . r i . F igurc l ' rs in ; rct ior t posc, pr()b i rb lv throl ' inq javel in,
H: 77 cnr. I)clos tr'luscur-n A .pz7s
their distinctive classic stvle rnore carefulh,, of course slrits orlr purposc hcre. But
\\,ithin that broacl choicc, drcrc u,irs a clcar prcfcrcnce fbr artrlctivc bot's lnd
vouths over men (more collgerlirrl t() thc ncecls of the Itoman c'lorncstic envir-
onrnnent) and for obviouslrr recognizabltr rthlctic anc.l gvmnirsium poses. So
therc is 11 mirior bias tou,arcls easilv recognizcd cliscus-throrvers rlncl oil-scra;lers
o\.cr anrccl runncrs ancl chariot groups (therc arc nonc of thcsc in thc co;'rv
recorcl). An'lrc of rhis, wc can restolr thc balrrncc of cliflbrcnt liinds clf victor
stanles Dentrrlhr, using the slnall bronzes, the bases, rrncl Pausanirrs.
More clilJicult to or,crcome is thc loss of the Greck context. A few sfatues in the
co;r\, recorcl can be sccLrrclv identified rs \rcrsions offhmous monLlmcnts recordccl bv
Itonrirn u.ritcrs such irs Plirw the Elcler. but in thcir Ronran crlvironn'rcnt thcv bccrnc
gencric icons ofgreirt n-li-rstcrs: the disliolrolos ofMvron, insteacl of. fbr cxample. the
pcntldrletc Pr.tholdes of F,lis sct r.rp at Oh.rr"rpria in .4sz (Appcnrlix, 43). The specific
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T U R I { A R I T I O 7
subtcct i'rnc'l occasion, u4rich rvere primar\. in the fiIth-centun'bronze, are elicied ir-r
favour of the big-name amist mecliirtecl through a no\\/ generic representation of
adrlctic irctivit\,. As thc Mona Lisa fbr Lrs represents Leonardo da Vinci, so the
Donphoros representecl for Romc (and nor,r, for us) Polvklcitos. Flcrc lve have to
keep the list of llames irnd victories in mincl beside the corrtcxt-lcss copics tu'o
parallel bociies of er.icience r,r'hose precise intcrscctions cscapc us cntirch'.
Nurl.it1,
Probabh, thc most striking and most porvcrful aspcct of the statues is their
nuclit\,." The\. \\rorc no clothes fcrr tlr,o reasous) (r) kouroi rvere nakecl, (z)
beciuse the cclntests u'ere entered naked. Tl-rat is, nudin'rvas both rcal for athlctcs
irnd a s\rmbolic metaphor that hacl been central to Greek represeutation from tl're
beginning. These nvo tl-rirrgs-nakccl contcsts in lifc, and nakcc-l statucs-wcre
separate, ar-rcl both u,ere peculiar on an ar-rthropological lcr.cl. Evcn fbr irthlctics
the Greeks themselves hacl no idea r.r,hat nuditr. signifiecl or rvhcr-r it bcgarr
(fbr example, Thuc. r. 6. s). Ancl concerning the signilicance of nudiw in statues
ancl art, no ancicnt rvritcr oflbrs anl,commcnt or cxplanation u,hatsoever.
Nudiw had not onc mcaning, but a sct of changing, ovcrlapping, and different
mcirnirrgs in cliffcrcnt contcxts anc-l periods. It ncver lapsed into an eas\r collven-
tion but rctainccl its impract clespite constart use. It retirined impact because the
Grccks dicl not go arouncl nakcc'l. On thc onc hirnd, nuciity in stafllcs c'lic1 not ref-er
to and \\ras not clerir.ed fiom the nuclifi. of gods ancl heroes: gods ancl heroes rvorc
no clothes because thev u.ere modelled after the best of men. On the other hancl,
horvcvcr, it cscapccl no onc's nttcntion that thc boclies of the best of men looked
like those of gods and heroes.
There u'as probably a shift in meaning in the nudi6' of victor statues in the
fifth centr-rn, (male nuclity had existed since the tenth or ninth centuries in
Greek representation as the syrnbol first of gencler).72 For male starLlcs of thc
sixth century, nudiw hacl been part of their elaborate slurbolic qualin'. Repre-
sentations of athletic -vouths on stelai carry discuses irnd oil bottles and shor,v that
kouros nudifi'was not refbrred ciirectlt, to athletics: thev carry no attributes n.ing
them to anv particular context bevond their aristocratic hairsndes.T3 Thev occllpv
an nnreal and elevated Position-more sEtna than eikan. They havc no nilrrative.
Thcir nuclit), significd malc Hcllcne and actcd as a metaphorical fbrmat in r.r'hich
their sn.leci bodies representeci personal strengthl powerl ancl potcntial irt thc agc
betr.l'een vouth and manhood.
7l Fr,,,.r-, .r lruge literature, the firlloii' ing rccent items rcprescnt u'ell the main strancls of intcrprctltiorrlncl approach (hcroic. irthlctic, crotic): Bonfiutc (rq8q); Himnrclnr;rnn (r99o); Hiilscher (1993)i Ste*'art( r99r) ch. z; Osbomc (1997); Golc lcn (r99s) 6 j -9; Stcphen Mi l lcr (zooo); Scankrr . r (zooz) zos-ro.
" Early nuclitr': Stes'lrt (ry91) l+ 9.7 ' r Stc la ianclkouroi infuchtcr i rotr r ; inLl ( re-o) .For. rc l i f lc ' rcntv ic* , : Sor. r rv inor. r - Inu,oocl( rgqs)zsz-7s.
I O 8 R . R . R . S M I T H
Sir-rcc loincloths u,ere an crlrrrious option ancl sincc thev rvould not aflbct mostinterprctirtions of nrrkeclness in Greek statues, it rvas the cliffbrence and poteno, ofgcnittrl displav that u,as :rt thc heart of the matter.74 A L-rricf glance irt thcrvidesprcrd arrcl dceplv pccr.rliar hinds of genit;rl displav in Archaic lrt shorvsthere is sol'nething here rnore thirn eroticism-fbr examplc, in tl-re large categoryof u'arrior bronzes that shou' fig3rres in a contradictory costume of breastplaten'ith nakcd groin belos'.7s or thc rcvcalinq cxample of a bronze horscman f'romsollth Itah' (Grumcntunr), in r,vhich thc ricler \\'ears a hnce-length runic but rvithprolnincnt genitrrls aclded ol'r top of the tLrnic.it' Gcnital displal' was clcarly arecognized badgc of bclonging to thc sprecial Hellenic club.
Fifth-cer-rtun'statues eliminated onl1, 1[. trrore frrrouchc Archaic visuil contrrr-dictions. Tl-rcy corr-rbinecl the synrbolic rcsollilrfce carriecl ovcr fronr sixth-centun'practice u'ith nuclit,v nacle real and immcdiatc bv thc lictivc narrative of anerthletic evcnt-throwing, running, pril\/ing. crorvning. The athletcs ancl the nervstetues demonstrrrtecl a parador. that of shorving well rvhat should not be shownat all (ta aidoin). Outside tl-re appropriatc and tightll'circnrnscriLrecl contexts,gcnitals clispl:ryecl in prublic remainecl sharneful ancl li'rughable. Such contexts\\rerc the brotherhood of the g)/mnasium, the ritual placc of thcchampionships (sanctuaries of thc gocls). and of collrsc the immediatc scttingof a mirgnificent, pcrfectlv disciplinccl boclv. Thc ner,v statues shorv thc bc>dr'-perfbct r,ictor cxplicitlv in thc ritual uniform of :r Hcllene competing bcfore hisgods irncl his pccrs.
Real bodies anrl PindaPs body language
Unlike Heller-ristic and later rcprcscntrtions, fifth-century \'ictor starucs do nothave stronglv athlctic-specific boclv sn'les-citl-rer, for exrmple, as wrestler \/crsrrsrunneri or eYen as athlete \.ersus hero. Thcv tencl to have a monnmentalll.stmcturecl bodv architectllre thrr.t spexl$ to thc svmbolic icleological aspccts ofthe best botly: it is h'lrc1, disci;rlinecl, wcll-orc'lerecl, balancccl, strong. Tl'reseaspects strilic us as ar-tificial ancl 'ideal', irs artistic improverrrcnts on realitvclcsigncd to clrau. attention to themselvcs as beautiful compositions. Br.rt hereu'c shoulc'l kcep tl-rose incliviclual nalnes and spccific r.ictorics in rnincl: P,vthoklesof Elis, pcntlthletc in,;52, ovcr Nlyron's cliskobolos. Eacl:r staftie \r,as a record ofonc victor's personal aretE, end the art of the revolution was plrt to mahing his
;+ Loincloths cliscr.rssccl b1'puzzlccl (]reclt rrrircr(s) scel<ing oritins.1nd c\plrur.rti()ns: 'fhuc.
r. (r. s;N{cl )onncl l ( r99r) .-i
tr{anv errrnrplcs mroug the Lrronzcs collcctccl in Hcrfbrt I(och (1986).;" Llngkrtz- rurcl llinncr (r9r).s) 2J9, pl. 26, rr'hcre Lanqlotz collmcr)ts rr,ithout c-{plirration (;rncl ri,ith
s()nre sclic()ntrldictjon): Thc ricie r u cu's onlv rr chitort; ls rs treqnentlv thc casc in soudtcrn Itirlian ligLrrcsrhc pcnis is r.rlrustr.rllv pr>u'crlirl '. Rollu (lqq+) 1oz. lig. +:;, u'ith intcrcsting c()mnrcnt on possiblc regional.rtfilirrtiorrs of thc stirtllcttc's m;tkcr, but no rcnr;trk on this strmgc:rncl striking ft;rtul'c ()f its iconogr;rpht.
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T U E H A B I T I 0 9
bodv mor,e, breathe, anc'l stancl in a real spacc and to flex r,r'ith real vcins andsinelvs.
All fbrms of realism irre culturallv contingcnt-stvled, socially construlcted,
framed by'cliffercnt l-ristoricirl parameters-so too tl'ris first explicit, theoretically
based realism. This is fifth-century Grcck realism, differcnt from third-centlrryAlexandrian, first-centur1. Roman, or scventeenth-centun' Dutch realism, butconceived and vierved as such in its dat,-not as onc possible realism among scveral,
but as the onlv r,vay of sceing and reprresenting truthfilll,v that was irvirilirble. Theonlv alternative , the Archaic ruanner, lackecl visual truth. It is fbr us to u,ork hard tcr
imagine horv the fiftl'r-century public ancl its statue-makcrs visuallr. ancl mentallv
svnthesized thc fitrest, hard-trained athlctic bodies of thcir timc into these figr.ues.
These bodies mav look artificial, but r16s1l1f.,l male bodics in constant, all-rouncll-rarcl training do look errtificial. They are indced'made', and the bodilv perfbctionseen in contemporan'black-and-u'hite photographs ofmale mocicls fbrArrnani or
Boss, stripped to tl-rc r''i'aist in our colour supplements, is aftcr all not so far liom
that of our statues. Modern body-builclers of course look even more anificial.
Each statue bodr. rvas strivir-rg, as in lif-e, to look tl're best. But thc point ofrefcrcnce for 'best' was not art or sorne idea of bcaun' ir-r the skv but thc best reirl
trainccl ancl muscle-stylecl boclies. The ptrrticular constmction put on these
bodies, thc aspect that is historicallv contingent, ;rarticultrr to fifth-ccnnrn,
Grecce-their hard, brash, bold, elemental cluality-can perhaps bc approached
and understoocl bcst through the conccpts of contemporarv praise poetrrr. For all
their diflbrences and enmities, Pinclar and tl-re statue-makers sharecl one clear aim:
to memorialize tl're bodv porvcr of outrigl-rt s'inne rs.77
Pindar compares l-ris poems to a virriew of prestigious artefacts (palace,
treasuryr, phialc, krater, chariot, fillct, stcle), but it is striking that his only explicit
comparison to starlles, mentionecl carlier, is negative ar-rcl opp<tsite: his poemssound ever\,where, statucs stay silent in onc place (l/. 5. r). ltivahn and compe-
tition r'vidr the nerv bronzes \\'e sa\\' earlicr sl-rould explain this attitude. It is less
surprising that tl-rc athletes themselves arc ne\rer described bv Pindar in terms of
stafties: there ltras nothing that coulcl uscfully be said of statLres that coulcl not besaid better of the athlctes themselves.
In Pindar, r'ictors have inborn abiliw, something given b,v thc gods. There rvas
no contradiction betrveen divine gifts ancl inborn aristocratic character (to slggenes
ethos: O. r3.r3). Ther, ll,erc ir-r fhct closelv connectccl: 'r'i'hat comes bv nature is
altogctl-rer best. . . but r,r,hcn god tal<es no partr cach deecl is no rvorsc for being
77 C,,lt.tpa.e Stcincr (1998), like other rcccnt u,ork. placing the mrir.r cr.ngrh;rsis on croric aspects ofthc poems ancl stiltlrcs. For Pincllr's celcbratior.r of lthlctic [rodr,' porr'er, scc, fbr crrrmplc, P. 8. t7. on'bolcl lirrrbcci victoni, O. 8. rg, g. o,s, N. 3. 19, L 7. zz. ;rll uith virriltions on the icleir of r.ictors' boclicsmirtchiug dreir achcivcmcnts. lncl the pilss;1gcs collcctccl bclol,.
I I O R . R . R . S M I T H
lcft in silcnce' (O. 9. roo, rol-+).A prerson'born to arcti can rrchicve ft lras u'ith
practice and r.vith the l-rclp of theos (O. ro. zo). A t'ictor's abilitics are gocllr'.
dninnnioi aretai (l{ . r. 9). Inborn qualities carn, r.vcight; their opposite, lcarued or
rcquired abil itt ' . is shldorvv ancl ineflbcnral (N. l. +o; O. 2. 86; O. 9. roo-4).
As men of birth, r'ictors are propertiecl. Wealth atrd posscssions are assumed
;rncl n,ilrnrl\' ;rraisecl (P. z. s6 urrl 6. 4+). Theror-r fbr cxar-nplc has r.r'cllth'embel-
lislrecl n,itlr virtttes'. ploutls aretais d.edaidnlrueruos (O. z. ii). Onlv b)' sPending this
rvealtlr (.dapanni) crrn aspiring victr>rs clo'elop aurd hone thcir irbilities. Thct.
shoulcl 'rejoicc to spend moncv compctiltg u'ith Plnhellenes' (1. a. z9). With
no neecl to makc ntonc\/, thev can clcrrote themselves to disciplincd preparation.
The victor's boclr. is shilpccl bv hrrrd prirctict:, bv labour ar-rrl toil, ruocltthos c>r
ponos. Ponos u,as a kev tcrm fbr harci training, for cxertiolt, for pushine oneself to
tlrc limit. Feu, hirr.c u,on joy rvidrout plr'tls (nplruln cbanma: O. ro. zz). To be
rcmenrbcrecl. a noblc cleec| (kalon) nccds to be trccomplishccl rvith cxcrtion (O. 6.
rz) . True success tal<es ruakros ponos (P. 8. 7), rnnkros mocltthos (I . S. sl) .Achieve -
r)re nt rcquires suff-ering, pntltciu (N.+. lz).Pozo.t lcarcls to dclight. tel'plu)n (N. Z. Z+),
to fbrcsiglrt, pt'oruntltein (1. r. ao). Harci training anci ulmtinting spendiug are
often l ir-rl iecl (I .1.ti ancl s. .s7). Ponos ancldapmmi strivc for at'etai (O.,s. t-s); tho''acconrplish clivinelr.fhshioned clcccls of cxcellencc'. tlrcodtuntous nreta.s (I .6. ro).
Tlre champion is constmcted ancl sha;recl by' thc trainer, u'ho is t tehfin c>f
;rthletcs-r-r craft metrphor: the trl iuer is l i tcrirl lr ' ' ir fhshioner'of bodics (N.S.+q).
Tlrc victor's $od1, (deruas) or 'phvsical nature' (phtc) is hanclsorue, bcautifirl
(lenlos). it l-ras fine lorm \tnotplte), it is fir-rclv shape cl.ruot,phaeis (L -. zz1. A tinc
boc'lv procluccs fine cleecls. kallista (.O. ().9+). Action rurcl charactcr irre saicl
rcpeeteclh' to corresponcl to irppcirrance. Bcir-rg lenlos. thc victor ;rerfbrt-ns cleecls
ro rrarch his [rcaun.. l,nrpba (N. l. rq). His cleeds (crgon) rrratch his loolis (eldo.c)
(O. s. 19); his nretEis equalto hisphl,c (1.7. zz). Boclr'fbrm and coutest-cxcelleucc
gualantec aucl '1'lrocluce' crtch othcr.
Fine boclies rrrc all'avs good to look at (to tltnetott dentas: N. rr. rt; O. 8. rq),
espcciallr. the boclies of vourrg victors, 'beaLrtiful iu fbrm, irnbneci lr'ith thc
vouthfi l lncss thilt once rvertcd l 'Lrthlcss cleirth fl 'om Gattvnteclc'(O. ro. lo3 6).
Thcv har.c 's;rlenclonr', nglaia (P. 6. +6). the 'r'ottthfil excellcnce', nenra nretE. of
Achilles (1. s . +z) . Thc irprp'carancc of r victor as he pirsscs tluongh a fcstir,al crcxvd
can c.rlrsc nstouishecl r.r 'ondcr: he is thatmtnsns (O. 9. 96).Victors'boclies arc
frrst, pon'crful, 'u.ith...nin-rblc lcgs'. dexionwios (O.9. rtr), aurd 'bolcl-l i tnltccl ',
thrns.ttrttt ios (P. 8. l:).The victors are l i l ic herocs,'resotirceft-t l ' ( l i t. 'bolc1-scl'rcrr-
ing''). thrasttnecl:tanos (O. 6.67), 'straigl'rt-fighting', euthi,ruacbos (O. 7. rs), :rncl'strrr.iglrt-tirlking', eutbvglossos (1'}. z. 86). Thev have eucllcss lut'tounts of fbrcc,
strcngth. bolclncss, ancl claring, ltin. sthenos. thrasos, tolrua.78
:s I ia: N. r r . t t . Sthnuts.rnr l t l r ' , r -vr- i : 1) . : . i6 r rnr l i . t ro. N. I . t s .ur t l ; . 19-Tohrtn ' .1. +. +s. N. : . sq.
-
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S ] A N D T H E S T A T U E H A B I T I I I
Victors arc cmphirticlllv goal-clircctccl: mcn har.e r.arious technai but champior-rs
go bv tlrc straight roacl (eutheiais hod.ois:}/. r. 2,5). Thev go straigl-rt for things, rvith
tolrua rnd d),nnuqis (O.s.8z). Victors take risks: no honour attends risk-fiee
achier.nent, akinrh,7uli aretni (O.6. 9). Thcv strir.c fbr and archio,c thc ultimatc,
bevoncl the common mcasurer thsl, push to thc limits. Pinclar is full of cxprcssions
of firrthest eclgcs ancl highcst pcirks. Onc victor famill, 'b), ift r.rltimate manlv
clcccis lras fror-r-r its horle graspcd the pillars of Heraklcs' (1. q. tz), irs too c-locs
Tlrcron <rf Akragas |O. 1. ++).Olvmpitr is the 'sumrnit of the ultimirte contcsts,
the higl'rest orclinancc of Herirkles' (N. ro. 33). Victors cmbarh on'utmost cleccls
of nankincl' (11. l. r9-zo), thct, 'tastecl of toils' and 'reachecl the sur-nrnit of
exccllcncc', nlu,'on nt"etEs (i1. 6. zi). Victors har,e gotte be1,en.1 norms, reirched
highcst ancl furthcst-thror.rgh their unique combinations of clir,ine far.our,
monev, birth, abilitvt cxcrtion, ancl bolcl claring. Tl-reir boclies rrchier.e ancl express
supremac\r.
It l'i'rs such culturallv spccific valllcs, conccptsr ancl r.r.orcls that infbrmecl tl're
pccr.rliitr character of-fifth-centun'r'ictor statlres: perf-ect anci rcal-looking figurcs,
prcscntecl ir-r a shtrrp, bold, in-t,olrr-firce st1,le. This u,as irn Archaic thought-u,orlc'l
in u.l-rich thc biggest, stron€icst, bolclcst, bluntcst n-tan \\rils'.rlso the best r-nan. The
fir-rits of thc r,isual rer,olution \\'ere co-optecl to make this messirge more vir,ic1,
i r r rnrc. l i r r tc , . r r r t l c l lbct i r c .
This Arcl-riric 11'orl6l-1,is1v irlso promotecl chirmprionship athlctics to ihc sar-r-rc
;rlane as fighting in u,'err. A he ro's u,ork can be called nthla (L 6. .48 P .4. zzo), and
Pinclar ficc-1r.rcntlr, cor.rplcs nthln xtcl polemos. nthla antl runchai, as cclual activities
(1. r. ,so; C). z. qt;11. r. 16;1'. 8. z5 and s. r9). This irbsr.rrd claim rcccir,eci scomful
cotttclttporar), criticisrl itr s<tt1c elttrtrtcrs,Te btrt it is iutcresting thirt thc
boclr-stvling of athlctcs in tl-ris c1ph, periocl rer-nirined \.er\r closc to, usnalll,
inclistinguishirblc fionr, tl-rlt of heroic u,arriors. Tl'ris is casilv demonstratecl b\/
thc countless torsos irncl er.en comPlete statllcs such as thc Poh,hlcitar-r
l)iskoprhoror ,11q-l l)sq,phoros ir-r u,hich it is still vigoroushr contestecl rvhether
athletes or hcrocs arc rcprcscntecl.so There is no neecl to rush to decicle: in
this context it is cnougl-r to olrsen,c the ar-r-rbivalence of these ancl rrilnv other
flfth-centtrn' figures. Hcrocs, r,r,arriors, and athletcs arc closclr. associirted
thronghont the poems, irncl the eclual status of garncs ancl u'ar prorr-rotccl br.the
sixth- ancl fifth-ccr-rrury ilrist()crircv n'as rr t'tremiss informinc the statucs.
:" \crr<,1rh,rncs fi'. z - Athcnrrcus ro. +rlc .pr4c; Etrripirlcs.Autolyhos: fi. z8u I(ltnicht.so Sce firr cr.urplc Stcu r.rrt (r99o) l6o-2; ll.;1usir (rqq+) ro6 8; \\'ith lnirtcl'ial collcctccl in Bcck, lirl,
l l i ic l i l ins ( r99o) r r r r : (P. (1. l i r l ) , rqs t l (H. xn Stcubcn). u ' i th sr8 28, I ros. r9- io (DiskoPhoros) ani l\ t t \ r . I ros. .pr 58 (Dorvphoros); l ( re ikcnbor.u ( r99o) 2r ++t j9 9+, p ls. r - r lnd ro.1- zo9. Pl l t icul l r 'iclcntifications (thc l)isl<ophoros sonrctinres as'l'hcsclrs. thc D<n-prphoros oftcn ;rs Achillcs) arc krgicirllvprcnrirturc u hile it rcnr;rins Lrnluros'n utcthcr rrthlctcs ol hcrocs rrrc re prcscnted.
I 1 2 R . R . R . S M I T H
Hairstyles, long ancl shott
Thc most obr.ions real-lifb compollcnts n,ins thc figurcs to tl'rcir imrnediatc tinreand society rvere thcir hairsn4es. Si.xth-centun, aristocratic \rollths hacl ll'orn long,
flor'vir-rg. artificiallr. sft'lec1 hair in a q'icle array of difl-erent firrr-nations. In the later
sl\th centun/, sorle startecl to wear it micl-length or shorter but still sndcd rvith
rou's of curls in fiont ancl behincl (Fig. r). After thc Persian W:rrs. r'r-rc-rst Hellencs
croppccl dreir hair shoft, somc rrggrcssiveh' sl-rort. Although some imirges of
sixth-ccnflln/ wrestlers ancl boxcrs clo shou' them rvith short hair, ir-r the gener-
ation attcr the Persian Wars, sl'rort hair rvas not alt'athletic'hairstvleSl but r,r.,rrs
u,iclesprcad ancl at first part of a social-political choice. It u,as part of a more
nrasculine, enti-eastern, i.urti-i.rristocrrltic conlportment. Sorne Clrceks m:rintainccl
lor-rg hairstvles-most conspicuc>r-rslv thc Spartirns and rrristocrats s\rmpathetic to
thc Sprartan rvay.82
Tl-rc political poir-rt a'urc1 cultural irnpc>rtance invested in hairsn'les is rcprcsentecl
in '.r rirnge of contenrporln' cvidence. For ex;rmprlc, prart of thc mvth-historrr
sr,rrrouncling the ancient'Battle of the Chlmpior-rs' betrvecr-r the Argives and the
Spaffans, recountec-l bv Hcrodonrs (r. 83), rvas surelv inventec-l to explain tl-re long
hlirstvlcs of thc Spartans, u'hich of course hacl bccn nornral at thc tinre of the
birttlc irncl had become Lulusual onlr, in thc fifth cenrLrr\'. The irristocratic signili-
cance of stvlecl long luir is also clear in thc monuments. ancl is represcnted on en
Athenian ostrakon against Megaldes son of Hipponikos, lr'ho is iclentified as
Megahles Hipponikou neas kowEs, that is. N{egaldcs 'of the fano' (lit. neu.), , . s ?hrurclo . ' '"
Short-cropped l-rair u'as vi'idespread but b1' r-ro mcans unive rsal, and of cotrrse
rvas acloprtecl quicldv across a r.vicle range of the social-political spectrum. The
portrait of Pinciar, for example, of perhaps the 45os shorvs him rvith a short plain
hairsn'le. Onlv lis cornplex bcard arrangement, nvisted in a tight knot undcr his
chin retains a personal sn4ecl ancl consen,rrtive/aristocratic aspcct.84
Sq,kd bor[, bair
As striking and infixmirtive, but little noticecl ancl littlc cliscussed b1' u,riters:rncicrrt or nroclem, is thc swlir-rg of pubic hair (Figs. t4-r6). Slrtl-r-centurv kouroic.rn look pre-pnbcsccnt but tl-reir pr-rbic htrir r.vrr.s canrcd in lorv reiicf or prainted on
sl So r ight lv Scnvint ( r98-) 2++ t t2. at 2 i r -2.nt S1r,.trt,,tt long hlir: Hclt. :. zo8; Xen. Lak. l'ol. tt. z,; Phrt. /,rLr. r ancl Zry'r. zz. r. ()thcrs. tbr ex:rnrple.
I(inrorr at Athens: Itrn of Clhios, F()rH 2,,:z F rz. cf. Stciningcr (r9rz) 2n9.3 ' t Bren,rc (19<12):r ,6 - r . f iqs.+-6.ui thth is lnr : {xnothcrc()utcr l rpor: r rvostr i l l<rnpictur inel long-h.r i rcr l
'portr;rit' heaci ancl $'ith gcxrcl ciiscr.rssion of coDtemporirn,rualc hairsn,linq.
"n Riclitcr and Sn.ritir (r9,!+) r76 8o, s.r'. I' intlar; iclcntificcl br'lirtc Icrsion front Aphroclisi.rs, .sntith(199o) riz-s. no. t, pls. o z. Intcrprct.rti<rrr of bcrr.l knclt rrs clcsignecl to kccp kurg be.rrtl-h;rir out ollvrcclurinu pcrlormrrrcc lrv Hin.nrclrnan (r99+) 7l-+ sccnts to llle n()t convincing; cf. Bcrgenr:u.rn (199r).
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T L T t s H A B I T I I 3
Ftc. 14. Arcl'raic bodr-l-rair str,lc.Pubis fiagmer-rt from largc kouros,rr'itl'r llat-trinlr-rec.l hair sn'lccl rvithrazor in shapc of urvil. Marblc, \\r:16 ctn. From Silmos (fbur-rcl 1984), nricl-
l.iter slxtl-r centun'nc. Sulos P r41
Frc. 15. Torso frapJmcnt fion-r
\()Llthful malc staftie. Merblc,
H: i2 cnr. From Athcniln Acropolis.
r.+8o BC. Probablr'fioln sxntc stitruc
irs'Bloncl Boy' l'rcircl. Athens.
Acnrpolis Muscum 6478
,t
r r + R . R . R . S M I T H
Ftc;. r6. Pubic hair sri'lir-rg, sixth ,-urclearlv fiftl-r ccntur\': (r) ischcs korrros,Samos: I(r.rieleis (1996). (z) I(roisoskouros, Athens: Ilicl-rtcr (r9ro)no. rt6. (3) I(ouros fiagn-rcnt.S : r r r ros : Kr r i c lc is r rgvo) z l - F ig . l - .(+) I(ouros torso, Slnros: Frcver-Schaucnburg (rqZ+) no. rtq. (,s)Aristot l ikos l iorrros. Athcrrs l- ig. r.{6 ) Br ( )nzc Apo l lo , I ' i rac t rs :MltfLlsch (rq8tl) Z+-q. (7) Wrrrior,Agrigcnto: B:rrbiurcrr (rqS,s). (8)Torso, I)clos - Fig rs. (9) Torso.Athens Acrol-rolis : Fig. 18. (ro)Milctos tors(), Lollvre: Iticl-rtcr( r a - o ) n ( ) . r e z ( n ) [ . u ( l ( ) \ i s icliskotrolos - Fig. z+. (rz) Riacc R -
Fig. z. (r) (r): eerlv to latcr sixt l .rccntlrr\'. (+)-(e) : lirtc sixtl-r/carlvf i f th ccntun,. (z)-(c): eerlr ' f i f thccntun'. ( ro)-(rz) : carlv/ micl-littliccnrun.
/ \
"=={7/}-\
3
vV-\J6
i+>A/S =*=
1 1
ir-r a rvide rtrngc of cliflbrent, sometimcs claborlte artificial fbrms. Thcsc rrrc
Llsllalh. cousiderecl, if ir.t all, tcl be sculptors' str4izatior.rs lvhich help in cllting
the stafttes. This scems to me unlikclt,. Thev surehr reDrcscnt st\,lcs of b<lclr.hirir
fiom rcal lifb.
Christos l(arouzos in his classic \\.ork orl thc Aristoclikos kouros (Fig. r), in an
a;rpctrclir u,'itl-r thc elcvatccl ancl untranslatecl titlc Tnedea lnchno\ntn (it ntcrrnscl1ni6, geuitals'), gave an ehboratc phlse bv phase clevelopmcntal chronologr,of
late Archaic pubic sn.lizirtions.ss Follou.ir-rg hints fiom Emst Langlotz rur('l i.1n
ltnnamcc-l 'Frcnchman of hiqh socirl rank'. an earh, r,icncr of tl'rc Aristoclikos
\ j .
t z
x./
' ' ' l \ . 1 1 1 ) t l 7 ( ) \ ( t 9 h t ) - ' S '
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N I ) T H E S T A T U E H A B I T I I J
statue, hc lvrls a\\'arc thirt this phenomenon might have to do r.vith somethillg
morc than stltuesr but dismissed the mrtter quicldl, as too complicetccl.S6
I cannot {incl othcr scholarship that has pursuecl the subject.
In later Archaic representation, €ireat libcrties were tal(en in manipulatiug
narrati\.er costunc, ancl the proportional economy of the human figure, but the
inclividual con-rponellts of a bodrr-hancls, tocs, knees, ears-are irt least looscl1,,
and oflcn closel1,, based on their rcal-lifc colrnterparts. Thc paintecl pLrbic hair of
tl-re I(roisos houros (Fig. 16.z) or the can'ed pubic hair of the Aristodikos kouros
(Fig. 16.s) or that of a reccntl l 'discovcred fragment fiom samos (Fig. r+)87 conre
not even closc to a natural countcrpart. Instcrd of inr.okir-rg convcntion or amistic
sn'lization, u,c might rather think anthropologically.
If genital displar, \\'as the defining aspcct of the athlete's naked rurifbrm. such
ri'zor stvlir-rg (ufiat is sureiv represented) coulcl do sevcral things-in lifc and in
art. It enhirncccl rrnd clre\\' attention to a figure's genit,rl clisprlay. It prolonged ar-rcl
accentLrated the appeirrancc of bcing precisely at thc ;rrizcd age lrctu,cen youtl'r
and manlrood. at the acmc of bclclilv po\\'cr and beiruo'. Ancl in a uniform thrrt
allou.ecl room for varie{. onh, in muscle clcvelopment and hairswlcs. it becirmc a
locus of differcrrcc, of incliviclualizing elaboration (Fig. ro). This u,as an area of
stranger cornpetitive sclf-swling. Archilochos caprurcs the flavour in his lincs
about cleglnt gencrLls: 'I clo not likc a tall gcneral . . . proud of l'ris curlv locks
ancl ;r,rrtlv sh.rr.ec1 (hupcxut fruenon)'.88 This bocly-sq4ing phenomenon \\'as
rviclesprearl and highh, r.'aricc1. If its varietv u.as that of llshion :rnd of indiviclual
choice ir-r lif-e, rather than that of trrtistic periocl mannerism, it is less likelv to htrve
follou'ecl a chronc>logical pattern.
Most interesting in the present contcxt is perhaps that this distinctivc picce of
Archaic self--flsl-riclning \\,irs thc last to be clroprped. lt survive.l on thc athletic
fiqures we are consiclering through lncl aftcr the Pcrsian War ;reriod, long irftcr
thc other parts of Archaic sn'ling in lifc ancl rrt hrrcl bcen supcrseclecl. In tl're
prcriocl c.5oo-48o, the prubic shape is still highlv stvlizecl, narrow. and trimmed
close ancl short (Fig. 16.7-9), u'ith inclivicltral peaks and flourishcs, as on the torso
ti:rgmcr-rt fkrnr thc Athenian ircropolis broken from the same stiltue as thc Rlond
Bor' (Fig. r5).8" In thcse statlrcs, the hair \\/i1s cut so short that it is r-rot representcd
nt' I(,rrouz-os (.196r) 72-t t S", . r ' r , r , f i ' lgr lcnt : l ivr ic lc is (1996) r t n.5r , p l . l - . t .sx Arcl.rilochos ii. rr4 \\' : I)io Chrls. Or.. 33. r:. It is not clclr rl'hlt pirrt ()f r.l clcgirrrt gcncral's bocl'
t t , lset l t t t t . t . t t l l l l l ' .par t l r 'sh.r l 'c t1 ' . t r t t t l t thcct t t1t l f thcsl t l l lc t l r l r t i t l t l i t . toratiorr to drc peoplc of
'flrsrrs, upbraiclirrg thcnr firr tlrcir lorv urorlls). I)io calls on I Flclnrcl or ru.t
,f.cjlilrlcJtclsttlclct.ttlttttcepctr'asir'cim1rropl.icticsitlnrlrlcsclf]stvling.irrp;1rtict1l!us|]..|\-i1-1
\()ung irrld e lcqrrnt: 'Thc first innovrrtion corrsistccl in rrinrnring rhc bcrrrcl . . . tlrc r-rcxt stcp 11';15 t() shrvc (]s
frrr rs) thc chcelis.. . ne\t thev slrlvcrl thc lcgs lncl chest... thcn thev proqrcsseci as itl rrs thc lmrs; thctrsl-riftcr'l tr:r tl 'rc gcnitals. . .' (Or'. jl. 6l +). It is clcar iiorl thc colrtcxt th,rt tirr l)ir> thesc \\er!^ prlcticesoriginating in thc olcl d.tvs.
s" l l l , r ' r . l l i rv t r r rso: I { ichtcr ( r t )7o) uo. r t ) r .
1 1 6 R . R . R . S M I T H
in the rnarble : it is a plain rclief shape that would stancl our sharply u,hen paintecl.Aiter c.48o. thc sq'lcd pattcnls became morc unifbrm, u,ith the stanclarcl shrrpesof a horizontirl birr or a flattenecl cliamond, and they norv have a fuller grorvtli ofhair represcnted b-v hetrvier relief carved or engraved lvith small tight curls(Fig. 16.ro-rr).eo Then arouncl the micl-Iifth..n..,.u the arrificial,nrn."Jp"ar".n,r.vere abrupdv abancloned in farrour of an unsqder'l natural gro\\,thi irgain I mcanboth in art ancl life (Fig. 16.rz).
It is significalrt thirt this curious olcl-tashioned habit u,as r.l,idel1, representedon the first generation of statlres in the ltew manner. Since it y,as clcarh, aphenomenon of real life, not of sculptors'anificc. we can see that it was a1risibl.part of the olcl ;lristocratic cuiture of Pindar's generarion. In thc prcsenr contcxt,it u'as a striking real-life component, along r.vith the short-croppecl hairs$.Ie. tl-ratkept these magnificent-looking bocly slluclrlres tied to their real rvorld. to thcirprecise timc.
Statue artions nnd corutest ruart atives
A ner'r' rangc of actiorts arncl postures r.vas used for victor statues i1 the fifth centunr.Thcl' cel151lxctecl psettclo-narrati\/es or mental conrexts that charlcterizccl tlicvictors as diffbrent kinds of athletic champion. As mentionecl alread,v, distinctir.el),atl'rletic bodv stvles, ;lrominent in the Hellenistic and Romtrn periocls, irre absent
.. in the filth cennrry, ancl still ir-r the fourth celltun,the posthumous statues of 6,r,oflfth-cennrn'Thessaliirn athletes from the morlumcnt of Daochos at Delpl-ri rverelitde sfi'led bv the ueeds of a rllnner (Agelaos) ar-rd a pankratiast (Agias).elThere rvas already fiom the carly fifth cenrLlry a u.cl.l-developed Her:rkle, i.onog-raphv available for the heavv athlctcs, but its example \\.as not appealecl to as far aswe knorv in fifth-century victor statues.e2 Thc main clistinctions conveved by purebodv sq4e were age-groups, ;lrincipirllt, bovs yerslls meni the nvo championshipcatesorics rt Olvmpia.
Other distinctions lvere made bv narrative pose and by attribr.rtes, or not at all.Specification of the contest could bc lcft entirelv to the inscribed base, and 4restatuc posecl as tl-rough praving or sircrificing before thc gamcs or arljustilg thecro\\/n on his he:rd after r.icton'. Praving, libation-pouring, and crou,n-acljustingwcre probably common starue motifs (Figs. 17, rg1.e3 Thev might havc beenuseful choiccs for runncrs, who hircl no ad-rletic attributes to clisrrlarr. Runners
"'r The boclrhirir stvlc of thc '\thcnian Tvrar-rnicide strrtues, clareci 4t716, is of this kinrl: Ilrulnsjkcr( t a - t ) .')l
Bcst illusrrarior.rs: Dolrrn ( r96g) pls. ro-ts.e2
The Hc rak l cs - l i k c ' bo rc r ' r , . r . , " * . ' o f r hcc . r r l v s rhcen t . i n t heBr i t i shMuseun ) ( l hou r ; r s ( r qs r ) su , c ,
; r ls .z3.z 14) hclc lsourethi t tq{pr t rh.rh l r ' . rhos1irr i isor . l tsrretchecl 'boxing'h;rnd,andisthcrcfbrcprotrabl 'not a borer bur ;r Hemklcs: so rightlr, \\'altcr-I(andi (r9sz) lo S, figs. rz_0.
- . "3 Thonras (198r) 97, p l . sr . r : lNcr i ' york. pr"r ' ing, Fig. rz) ; r14, pr . 5o.r (Sl , r lcuse, r ibat ion-pour ipg.
F i s . r t ) .
Ftc. r7. Atl'rlete u'ith right hancl raisecl in ltti-
tuclc of prar.cr. Bronzc statllettci H: 29.8 cnr.
Fronr lrt markct in Smvntl. r.+7os Rc. Ne\\,
York, Mctrol-roliten Muscur.r-r 08.2,5S.ro
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T U E H A B I T I I 7
Frc. 18. Athlcte pouring libation. Phiale rvould har,c bccn helcl in righth;rncl. Note ir-rhid er.es (urissing) ancl short-cropped hair. Rronzc sriltucttc,H: 19.5 cr-n. Front Adr:rno, Sicill', r.47os Bc. Svracusc, Museo NuionirleArchcolosico rr8tl8
I I 8 R . R . R . S M I T H
coulci be posecl in actiol-l. likc Mvron's ftrmous Laclas or hter thc bronze rulnncr
fron-r I(vmc.ea or thev coulcl concentrtrte ol1 thc intense monlcnts before ancl irficr
thc event isacrificing, crorvning).
Attributcs might spccifv. One remarliable statuc of tlre mid-fifth cenrurv, of
l-rard perfbct bodl'form, brilliantlv put together in thc copv registcr by Walter
Arnelnng, tt'ears ancphoticles or scrum-cap-like ear-guarc-ls tl-rirt identify thc subject
as a wrestler (Fig. 19).es Thc ear-guirrds arc here probirblv i'r gcnre rnotif alluciing
to hirrcl training rather thrrn a contest narrative. The genrc motif of oiling and
scraping also alluded as n-luch to gymnirsium trrriniug es to cortests. It is rvell
knorvn ir-r fifth-centurv athletic rcpresentations (fbr example, on vases and on the
scrapcr grave stelc at Delphi),e6 but not in st,ltucs Lrntil the tburtl-r century. Oiling
prrobablv becrrmc a contest-spccific narrativc for statues of champions in thc'hear\t contestsl in r,vrestling and the pankrirtion.eT
Boxers rright be characterized bv their bitnantes (boxing leathcrs) or bv pose,
as in the earlv statue of Glaukos of I(arystos (3) tliat shor,ved him sl-rador.r'-fighting
or sparring (skiamacbos), that is, in a narrirtive r,vhere the vierver supplicc'l the
.rppou.t'rt.eo The kind of prhvsiclgnomical charilcterization of :r heaw boxcr seen
ir-r tl-re u'ell-known beartlccl fclurth-cennrn' bronze hcarl fi'om Oh'mpia is absent
from the fifth ccnnrry.ee
The race in armour, in r.vhich competitors wore a helmct and carried a shicld, u'as
a prestigior.rs running contcst but added onlv late to thc Olvmpic pr6rg1"nlrrrc. in
-szo.loo It w,as the last race on the l'ast clav of the grnres at Olvmpirr.. Few statlres irrc
recordec'l comnemorating hoplite victors, ancl to avoici visual confusion widr
statues ofu'arrior heroes (such as the Riacc heroes), r.vho irlso r,vore helmet, shield,
and nudiw as their uniform, they needecl to have a runnirrg narrative. Sucl-r
a narrative is seen in the eirrlv fifth centurv on \/asesl in ir bronze statuetre in
Ttibingen, ancl probably in a u,ell-known fragmentan'marble statLre fronr Splrt.r
( 'Leoniclas') (Figs. zo, ,r)."" Hoplitc mrlncrs are non-cxistent in the copv record,
both becar,rse thcy would be difhcult to distinguish in a stanre programme fron-r
rvarriors and perhaps too bccause the connection betlvccr-r atl-rletics and good
soldiers that thev emboclied u'as generally clenicd in Roman culturc.l02
'n Lacla.s: ()r'crbeck (r868) nos. J+:-1. I(t,me runner: U5lnkuf (rqSq).
"' Amelung rthlctc: Rausa (r994) ro3-4, r78-8o, no. .5, pl. s.
"o Vrscr, Boarclman (rgzs) zzo. tigs.4 mcl 2,p.3. Delphi stclc'. Guide rte Delpba,04, fig. z4; Rollcr.( ree4) 358-9, f ig. :2.s.
'" C)ilcr starues: Rlusl (rqq+) l+.
e8 On the'borcr 's taf l rc f tc in thc Br\1. : rbove rr . sz.u 'O l vn r l r i abo rc rheac l : Bo l ( r 9 -8 ;+o - i , r + r J ! no . r i 9 , p l s . 3o z ; LL r l l i c san r lH i r n r c r ( r g ;g )p l s . : 28 g .
100 Fi.rt victor \\,.1s l)amaretos of Hcraia (Per-rs. o. ro. +): List s.lol I-olr.'rc;rmphora: Hauscr (1887) roo. C)thcrvases: Iloarcimlu (1975) zzo, figs.;9. su, z3o. Tiibingen
bronzc: l{irusnramr (rglz). Sprrtir stirtr.rc. nakeci tvith hclmct, greirves. encl shieltl: Tzacl.rou-Alexanclri(1989) no. zr;, ri' ith rcftrcnces.
r02 Tlc. Ann. r1. zo is l classic p.rssrqe for this attitutle. (ioocl ;lccount in Frictlllncler (r96i) tr- r.:,:-
I ' I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T U E H A R I T I I 9
Ftc. I9. ArlelLrng Athlctc. \'ictor in rririning ptrrs ()n c:rr gulrcls (atnph,tidcs).
rlotif indicirtcs hclvv rrthlctc (r.'rcstlcr or purkratirrst). Plastcr rccc,rrsrructi(xr by\\'ilter Aniclung conrbining cilsts ()f t\\'() scpirrrltc llomeu nrerblcs: (l) hcrcl instoclih.lm. Nrrti<>nrrl Nlusc'nr \9; (2) tors(). rcstorcd ri'ith alicn hcerl .f L.Vcnrs. in Vrrticu'r, Ilrrrccio Nuoio. zzr-. After bronze lictor st:rtuc of micl-fitthcennrn. Hcight of reconstruction. he:rcl to kncss: r.rro l)r. llonrc. Llnivcrsiti ciiRomrr'l -e .S.rpicnze'. II Ltseo dcll'Arte Ollssice, (i i1-rsotecl z(r9
Frc;. zo. Hoplitoclron-ros. Armecl runller tt
stan, u,ith helmct, shiclcl, lnci greavcs. Singlc
figurc on one sicle of Athcniar-r rccl-figure
arnphora, tttributccl to tl-rc 'Bcrlir-r Pirintcr',
t.,soo-+8o RC. Peris, Lour,re Ci zt4
Frc. zr. Hoplitoclromos. Arntccl runncr tt
stirrtl \\'crrs hclmet ancl l:rte Archlic hair ancl
l re.r r , l snlc. Sl t ic ld orr lc f i . r rnr is r r r iss i r rg.
Bronzc statucttc, H: r6.+ cnt, r.joo-+8o
tt t : . T i ib i r rgcn. U niversrr . i tsr . r rnrrr l tnrg
I 2 O R . R . R . S M I T H
Pentathlete figures arc abundant. They rvere rnade immediately recognizablebr. characteristic actions ancl irttributes, especiallt' jai'elin-thror.ving and discus-throrving. Thev ilrc casily identified in small bronzes, in later copies, and inbattered action torsos of the early fifth..ut.try.to3 None of the other contestsof tl-re pentathlon rvere sr,ritable. The long jump is obviously not statue-friendly,u,hilc mnning and u.restling lvere shared with othcr contests, so nnsuitableto characterize a champior-r pentathlete's statue. Both javelin-throwing anddiscr-rs-throrving. hor,vever, are visually striking and statue-friendly in terms ofpose ancl composition. A vigorous discus-throrving figure rvas cven chosen tosvmbcrlize local games on coins of I(os (Fig. zz).
Discus-throwers are the most rccognizable ancl abundant in bodr the smallbronzes and the copics. Thev begin in tl-re bronzes in the late Archaic periodand continue r,vith several striking, bold, ancl geruche figures in the early fifthcclrtur\/-slrch as tl're statllette in Neu'York (Fig. t3)."tn
The earliest full-scale, fifth-cenrurv r'ictor stafi-re we have is a pentathletediscus-throurer knorvn in several marbles of the Roman period: the Ludovisiciiskobolos. A headless version from Sicle in Pamphvlia givcs the full pose; theLr-rdovisi hcrm (Figs. 2+,25) presenres the posture of the hcad on the body andgives something of the power of the torso; and a head in the Vatican is a rvcaker,smoother, but morc complete version of the'portrait'(Fig. zo).ros The figurehelcl the discus up abor,e tl-re head rvith both hands, poised at thc top of the firstsrving, a remarkable momerltarv pose, rvhicl-r exposes and stretches the pou'erftiltorso muscles. This rvas clcarlv an extraorclinary harsh ancl hard-hitting figure,u'ith cropped hair, lorv Neanderthal brolv, and jutting chin.l06 The statuc shotrldbc of the +7os ;rnd among the first brash avatars of the revolution-that is, it is ofthe time and str,le of the statucs of the Atl-renian Tr.rannicides and of Pythagorasof N-region. t t't Thir shoulc'l be rvhat the statues of legendary r,ictors of the 47osr'r'ere like-such as Eudrvmos of Lokroi and Theagcncs ofThasos (List z5 andzT).This stanrc's raw, ungainlv display' of discus-action and fierce poros is anessential backclrop to thc flucnt singing action of M,vron's discus-throlrrer,a clecaclc or so later. 108
l o ; -" l o f r o s : . l l ) r r \ c . F l q . I t . l n ( l r ' t . 6 - .t t 'n N". . .York d iskobolos: Thonras (rq8r) +o r , p l . r5.r z .tos Side st;ltlrc: Ll;rn (rq;s). rl 18. rro. r. flr. r,--. I-uclor,isi hcrn: Raus;r (rcc+) qx 9, t7r 2, rx). tr
pl. r. \ratican hcad: Lippolcl (r9j6) +6i .1, no. 23, pl. zor.tt"' Tl-r. resemblauce of thc jutting chin urrl heacl-shepe of tl.re I-r,rclor,isi hcrnr (Fig. zs) to thosc of thc
brilliant vor-rng English footballcr Wavnc Rooner' (plaving at tir.nc of u'riting lcrr Evcrton) dcm()nstrrtcsclcarh' that cven the most sinrplificcl. artificial-looking'iclcal' Classical in-rage nright have its r.nain points ofrefercncc ilnci mcirning in rcllitr'.
' " I vr l l r r r rerr lcs: l l r r r r t l rsr tkcr ( r9-r ) .
"'t .N{r'r,r,,', ciiskobokrs: Rohcrtsot.t (ra-i) t+o r. I.l. rr+a; Llllics ancl Flirmcr (1979) pl. Iz;.
P I N D A R , A T H I , E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T U E H A B I T
Frc. uz. Youth throu'ing cliscus, n,itl-r tripoclprize to left, stancls fbr prestigious locrlgamcs. Obvcrse of sih'cr tridrachr.r-r of I(os.I)iar.r-r: c.2.,1 cnl1 r.+jo gc. I(rarrt'rrncl Hirmer( r966) no . 6 j9
Ftc. 23. Athlctc s'ith cliscus in rrisecl hanc1.
Bronze statllcttc, H: z3.s cnr. Supposeclh'fion-r
Iteloponnese. r.+7os Bc. Ncu, York.
Metropolitar-r Museum, 07.286. 87
R . R . R . S } I I T H
Ftc. 24. Ludovisi cliskobolos. Youthfirl
pcntilfli letc s'itlr close-croppctl l 'rair rlisinq tliscus
ab<>r'e hcacl l' ith botl-r hlrncls, rrt top of lirst su ing.
The musclcs are ut agercssivc clisphv of hertl
atlrlctic traininq ( ponos) i't thc rtr.rnner of thc.l;os.
The pubic lriril is netunllr,'firll ', lrLrt still sn'lcc] in .r
ll;rt cli;u-r-ronrl shape . Hi;r l-rcrnr (th.rt is, thc sr.rpport
bclol'thc groin is ir hem-r pillrr.) of seconcl lirst
ccntlln'rc, aftcr bronze ofr.48o-7o nc. Pcntelic
rurerblc. Ftrll H: r.96n'r. H hcrcl to groir.r: c.9o cnr.
Fronr Rortre (r.tcrluirccl r6zr), Ronrc, N{usccr
Nlz io:r r lc 8639 ( I -ucl t> i is i col lcct ion)
Ftc. z i . Detei l of F ig. 2.1
Ftc. : . r , . Hcrrd of 'Lt r t | r r is i c l iskolro l rs: sccour l r crs ion. .Sm<xrthcr .
le;rDcr. $ cll<c| i ntcrPrct;.ttion, cDrPh,rsrzi nu [r[onzc chitrtrctcr of'
or ig inel (espccia l lv in evel ic ls) . ' l 'he
ple in, ckrse croppccl c lp of hrr i r
u'ls Iro cloubt prrintccl. Fronr H.rdrir.ur's villrr rrt -fivoli,
secontl
cclrtur\r AD. M()untcrl olr n]oclcrrr lrcrm. Also rcstorcrl: both c.rrs.
cut l of -nosc. l l . r r l r lc , l rc ig l r t of r rncient p. l r t rS cnr. Height of hcar l ,
chin to crou n: 2t cnr. \ j i r t icru. ( i l l lcr ie Gerrqrrr l ica 28866
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T U t s H A B I T 1 2 3
6 . H o R S E S , c H A R r o r s , C H A R I O T E E R S
The racchorse and chariot cvents (the single flat racc, two-horse chariot, mule-
cart, i.rncl fonr-horsc chirriot), thougll not'athlctic'in our scnse, wcre of course
fullv part of the silme grlmLrs programmc and the sanrc intense contcst environ-
ment. Singlc r;rcehorsc victories arc pronrinent in our minds becausc both Pindar
(O. r) and Bacchvlicles (s) wrote \.ictorv songs to celcbrate in grand terms the
racehorse victory of Hieron of Syracnse, at Olympia in 476 u'id'r Phcrenikos, the'storm-paced horse'(Racchvl. 5. 39). But single racehorse nonuments werc not
comnron) rurcl u'hat Hicron rerrlly u'urtecl x'rs a chariot r.r,in.
As todtry, dre rvcalthy o\vner and thc horse rvere the winners and the objects of
admirrrtiot-t, nc)t the jockev, anc-l in il rircehorse monllnrent the owner r-night bc
irrcluclecl standing br, thc h<;rse (Paus . 6. t+. rz), just :1s the owner r.'i as rcgularlv
includcd in cl-rariot groLlps (belolv). Wc havc one bronze racehorse later, an
astonishing lvclrk from Cape Artcmision norv in Athcns, ir fast ancl noblc lrorse
u,ith a boy-slavc jockcv.loe A Phercnikos statlre rvould probably have lookcd
more like thc r,vell-knor,r'n bronzc sti.ltuctte of a horse of r. 48o-+6o from
Olvr-npi,r. l lo In the carlv pcriod, the boy jockel'wr1s optional but usual. At least
that secms thc implication of thc riderlcss horse monument of Pheidolas of
Corinth (5o8 nc, Paus. 6. rl. 9-ro). fbr r,r 'hich an explanation rvas later fclt
nccessar\/-thet tl-re horse had rvon rvithout its ric'lcr.
Choriot grottps ilt Pn t rsartins
Tl-re fbur-horsc chariot racc \vas thc Formula r cvent, held first at Olyrnpitr on the
first d:rv of the s:lmes, and victon'carriecl thc biggcst presrige ofrrll. Sincc rrs many xs
4r chariots (accorcling to Pindar, P. s.+s) coulcl contpetc at oncc) victon'was realll'
worth har.ing. Cl-rariot monuments were the grandest, most contest-specific vic-
tor sr,urbols at Olvmpia ancl Del;rhi. Thcy s'erc expensir,e (between 2.3 and 4.6talents lve sarv earlicr for ir chariotgroup in c.5oo), and thcre were not man_v ofthem.
Altltclugh Pattsanias srrys he u'as selcctive in his accotttrt ofvictor monunlents et
Olvmpia ancl onitted lesser and latcr exirmples, he secms to have bcen vcry
intercsted in the chariot victors. The earlv monuments of chariot victors that he
rnentions mav rvell inclucle .rll of thenr. Befbre +oo, Pausal-rias gir.es onl1, ten
chariot rrictors (d-rat is, o\vllcrs and breedcrs of d-re horses) u'ho set Llp statllcs
at Olvmpia. irnd of tl'rese cledications onlv four r,r,ere lifc-size groups r,vidr
full chariot-tcams ancl personnel.l lr All four rvere nraclc bt,big-nanre bronze-
r.vorkers. Thev are irs follolvs.
l0e ,\rtcrnision hr>rse: ]irrltsrrs (zoor) r.ro. 60l, \\'ith crrlier litcrrture.1l{) C)h,n.rpi" horse: Mrrlhvitz lnd Hcrrn'rlnn (r98o) no. rrr-though it has:r chariot harness.l l l ( - ) f theothcrs i r , four* 'erctheclccl icat ionsofcar lvSpertanchlr iots imrcrsthr tstoodncir r rhcl i tcr
cluriot r.ttoutuleut of Qtrccn I{r'niskl, .rncl it is clc.rr r>r inrplicd fronr Plusrrnias' rvorcling that thcvl'erc single statues of thc owncrs: (l) fu'kesilas (+q), iictor in 448 ar.rcl +++! strtuc not spccificd; (z)
I 2 4 R . R . R . S M I T H
r. Thenonumcntofl(leosthencsofEpidrmnos (6),r ' ictorin5l6 (Paus.6. ro.6).
The chariot group rvas nrircic bv Agclirclas of Argos (teacher, accorcling
to sol-Ile) of Polykleitos), active into dre early lifth cenrurv. It included
the fbur-horse chariot team. I(leosthencs himself, aucl a nameless charioteer.
Pausanitrs saYs cxplicitll'111i5 11'n5 rhe first stante (eikan) of a chariclt-o\\1rer at
Olvmpia. Thc chariot itsclf carricci a vcrse epitrrarn qr.rotcd bv Pausanias. and
the name of each of the four horses rvas inscriberl separately on the base
(Phoinix, I(orax, inner; I(rakias, onter right; Samos, outcr left).
z. The nonument of the Sicil ian fl/rant Gclon (16), r ' ictor in 488 (Paus.6. g.+).
It r,r,as marlc by the prizecl Aeginctan bronze-rvorker Gltu,rkias, and
consistecl of a chariot team and Clelon l-rimsclf-. Three inscribccl blocks
sunivc fronr its base (Fig. z7), nhich mal. (or mav not) go on top of the
sclllare fbnnclation for a chariot group in situ in front of tl-re Tcmple of
Zeus (F ig . 18 ) . t t tq. Thc monllment of Flieron t\rrilnt of Srrracr.rse (3o), r,ictor in +68 (Paus.
6. n. r). This was probabll, the granciest of the chariot grolrps. It rvas
comurissioued frorn Onirtrs of Aegina ancl l(alamis of Athens, irnci rv:.rs set
trp bv Hieroll's son in +6l.In irc-lciition to thc chariot ancl four-horse ternr,
the groul'r includcc'l nvo strrnles of racehorses,uvith bol. jockevs on thern that
rcprescntecl Hieron's kel,s victories (sinele racchorsc) rvitl-r his stallion Pher-
cnikos in +i6 and q7z. Onirtas macle thc chariot team, u,'hile I(alarnis madc
- the nvo (presurnablr,flanking) horses. Thcse victorics of Hieron irt Ol,vnipia
ancl thosc at De$hi too \\'erc heirvily publicizecl also in victorv poems
commissionccl from Pinclar (O. r and P. r) ancl Baccl-r14idc" (3-5;.
+. Thc l'llorfunrent of I(ratisthencs of Cyrenc (16), u.ho rvon in 464 (Paus. 6.
18. r). Hc cornmissioned Pvthagoras of Rhegiorr to make it. and the group
consistecl of a chariot :rncl tean.r carn'ing figurcs of Nilie and the o\\/ner
l'rimself.
Ptrusanias recorcls no othcr ftrll chtrriot groups until thc famous monurncnt of the
Spamlu quccn I(r'niska, r'ictor in lg6. u,l-rich rvas madc bv one Apclleas ;rr-rcl
consistecl of a chirriot, fbur-horse tearn, chariotccr, and the qucen herself (Paus.
6. r. 6). Full chariclt groups arc e\.en less commorr thcretrftcr.
Polvlilcs (.sz). r'ictor in ++o. his stltuc holds a nbbon in thc right hlnd; (l) AnrrxancL'os (-s8), vrctor in -pz8: isreprcscntecl pravine to the gocl; end (4) Lichls (or). (controYcrsill) victor in 4zo: sct ttyt tttt eihonn. Thercur.rin ing t\\'o ;lrc: (s ) l ' inron of Elis (:r ), r'ictor in 1oo. s'ho set uP ir stxtuc ()f hintsclf and onc of his sonon i1 horse thc son bcing i racchorse 1ftr'lir; rr'irrncr lncl ot'ner jockcv: tlrc dlozrs u cre mrrc]c bv l)arrl,rlos;encl (o) Polvpeithcs of .Sprrrta. r'ictor in 48.p, ii,lro sct Llp rr1 cxprcsslv smrrll-scirlc chariot group, r-nenticlncdbr- P.rrts.rnias lirrcr .urd scp.rrrtcli' florl the nrlirr groupir.rg of Sprrrtln churir>t victorv tlcdications (6. t6. 6),l hich incluclctl ol1 the s;tmc basc (.rret) ir strtlrctte of his f athcr I(rrllitclcs (zz), l victorious n lcstler.
r r2 For ' : Eckstc in ( r96e) 5+. Against : Nla l lu ' i tz ( r9zz) oo r . W.r l tcr- I (arvcl i ( r ( r8;) :s , p l . s B shous thefi>ltnrl;rtiou in situ u ith thc thlcc blocks ol;rcccl on it.
' ' j ' i ' t ' I l n ' " t u
Ftc;. z-. Ciclon at Olr.mpra. Thrcc sun'ivir.rg inscribccl blocks fionr thc lrasc of Gckrn's
ch:rricrt mortturent (I-ist r6). scen bv Pausaniirs (6.9. +); te\t crn lre rcstored l,ith certirinfi'
fiom Paus:rnias :urc1 translarccl as: '[Ciclon son of l)cinomer-rcs Celc]os (i.e. tiorn Geh)
clcdicirtcr'l (sc. this monunrent). Cilitrki,rs. Acginctan, made (it)' (lrO 43).Illocks z irnd iu'crc clearli. consecutivc, blocks r urcl 2 not nccessarilr'. Wl-rcther or not thev trclong to the
Iarge scluere lbunc1ltiorr in front of thc Tetlplc of Zcus (Fig. z8). thcv s'crc ftonr ..r
rnonlurcr.lt of thc same kinrl. For,urtl in or ne;rr thc p:rlacstrl lt Olvrnpir-1. Prrriln nurble,
H: z6 crn, !\r: 8z-+ cr-n. Combinccl W: z.so n.r
FIc;. 28. Chariot lrorument irt Ol1'nrpia. Fourclatior-r in situ in fiont of SE, conrcr r>f Tenrple ofZ-e us (scc Figs. a-5). IGrcl of b:rsc ar-rc-l position occlrpiecl by chtriot gror.rP of Gelon (ApPer-rclix r(rrurd Fig. :-) rurd Hicron (List to). Uppcrcoursc is rnlrblc. lou'crcolrrsc [iurestonc, \\': z.:4 nr
H A R A O i
L . i . - / - , . ' : . ' - . . . . : . '. > ; - . . . 4 . ' . . . - . .
1 i : _ . . \ * ' . , . : . :
^Hi,r(i& u 6 c x a
1 2 6 R . R . R . S r v { I T H
Sicilinn ch &riot gt'oups
\M-rat do rvc hawe of such chariot monunentsf Thc east peclimcr-rt of the Templcof Zeus at Olvmpia, featuring the prelimin:rries to the racc befil'een Pclops andOiuomaos, shou's nyo fbur-horse chariot tclms rvith their drivers, gr'()oms,
and their ou'ncr-hero.r.l '3 Tl',. groups arc of thc tirnc and stvlc of Hieron's
nlonllment (46os).
Victorious four-horse chariots, as r,r,cll as mule-carts, are also f-eaturecl on the
cclius of several Sicilian cities. In the periocl .soo-4Jor thc ch:rriots are alu,ays static
or \\'irlking qr.rictly fonvarcl. clriven bv real-looking charioteers. u'irh Nike
sometimes in attenclancc (Fig. tr)."n In contrirst to the bcttcr knor,vn d),narnic
racing chariots driven by Nikai on the coins of these citics in the later fiftl-r
cellturv, these earh, coin depictions probablv clrerv on thc form anc-l sfl4c of tl're
big brclnze monunlents, such as thosc of Gelon ancl Hicron lt Olvrrrpia. incleccl
thet' may rvcll commemorrtte srrch grouprs. For or,r,ners to be incluclecl, rrs urc n'ill
see, the chariot grollps had to be static.
The cities ancl t-vrants of Sicily lvere passiorratelv engagecl in the crowll games
in old Greece, ilncl especiallv in the prestigioLls chlriot cvcrlts. Like Sptrrta,
Svrrrcuse \\'anted to be lurou,n fbr its charir>t victorics.l's Tl't. tvfilr]tsl.vc>rkeci
the games l-rarcl in practice anc-l in the public rreclia (stanrcs, coins, pocms) for the
stancling and legitimac\. thev brought. Wc heve t\\'o vcn' diflbrent, top-c1ualiq,
st:rtues frorn Sicilian chariot uronllments of precisely this time. thc Delphi urd thc
Motvrl charioteers, both of the +:os and both perhaps connected to victories
hvrnned or refbrred to bl'the poets.
Polyzalos' chnriot mznuruent nt Delphi
Thc l)elphi chariotecr (Figs. to-,s) I1(' has thc secc>ncl half of a nvo-line inscriprtion
ou the onc snn'ivirrg iirnestone bloch f}onr thc monument's base. The scconcl line
\\'as a cledicatior-r to Apollo. The first line. mentioning a rulcr of Gell as thc
cleclicator, was crased ancl re-inscribeci narning Polvzalos (brothcr of Hieron) as
the cleclicirtor. The argunents rrbout dre intcntion of thc first version iurd the
reason fbr its erilsllre ancl rc-inscribing irrc complicatccl ancl controversial. On
thc r-t-tost r,viclclv acceptecl 11l,1-rothesis (of F. Chiuroux). l'oh,zalo" u,as rrlso thc
unnirmed rr.rler of Gela in tl're first versior-r, anc'l thc tcxt was acljr-rstccl later in morc
clemocratic tir-ncs at Gclar to removc objectionable rnention of his overlorclship of
l l i Ashmoic iurd ) ' ; r lour is (196-) r+. p ls. z8 3o.l la Olur iotgrouPsor-rc<:r i r . rs . \oo +{c- : hrr 'L. r r lnr l l ln 'nrcr(rg66) l l ( )s . r j r6( l -cont inoi) ;3o(C- l t i rn;r ) ;7o
(H i r r e re ) ; 72 8 ,81 .8s ,93 (Sv lac r . r se ) ; r 57 t l (Ge la ) . N Iu l c b i g r r s : I ( r ea r ' ; r nc l H i rme r ( r 9oo ; nos . s r(Mcssrna), z8r (Rhcgion).
rL- Prusirni;rs 6. 2. r notcs intcnsc Splrtln intclcst in hippon'ophia ancl cheriot rlcing lftcr tlrc Pcrsi;rlr\\'lrs.
r ro N{()st t rscf i r l dct . r i lcd studics r r rc: Ch.unour ( ry l i ) t Rol lcr ' (199o) i F. ( ihrrnrour i r }Jonrnrc l lcr ; rnciI - . r r r ;chc (r99r) . r l i0-6.
F tc r . : o . l ) c l ph i
ch:rriotcer. +-os BC. \\'e.rrs
hish-bcl ted. lons chi ton.
antl lil let lrouncl lfi,rcl.
Stcxrtl in thc chrrriot
nlonru)tcnt ricdicetccl .tt
Dclphi . f i rs t bv i r ru lcr of( ic la (Hiero: t in -182 or
+- l i i ) . thcr t rc- inscr ibct l r ts
.r dcdicrrtion of Polvzrrkrs
(Hic lon's brot i tcr) in - ; :8
or - ; -4. l3ronzc. I l : r .8o r . t r .
l )c lphi I lusctul l+ i i+,j \2o. l j+o
I ) I N D A R , A T H L E T E S ,
FIc;. 2.9. Sicili;rn chariot coin. Fotrr-hor.se chlriot terrnris clrivcn lt prilncing ri'alk. Tl-rc finc-linrtrccl,throughbrecl chirrirctcr of the horscs is entphasizcd inthcir long. thin, ntir6le rccl legs. Thcv filyc finclytnnu.nccl. crcstccl mrurcs, rrrcl thcir hc:lcis lrc hclc.l in lnclhigh. The chitriotccr l cars :r short-cro1-r1.rctl hlirstvlc iurdrr ch:rriotccr's rrnklc-lcngtl-r chiton. Hc lcrrns firnr,;rrcl inrlrii irrg posturc, rrrcl Victon' llies rrbovc: this is rrnirrrilttVe sccne, cktsc t() but lt()t ir trlDscril-rtion of lstiltLrc nx)nlulteut. OtrYersc of silYcr tctratlrachnt, cliartr:2.ii cnr. Svrlcusc. L:.+7a-+6o lrc. I(rriv rrncl Hin.ner(1996 ) n ( ) . 83
A N D T H E S T A T U E H A R I T 1 2 7
Ftc;. tr. I)ctail of Fig. 3o. Uppcr fiont tectlt ar-rclmciltlcler pirmcnt ilt fillet u-crc inleic-l n'ith sih,cr. Fortltc scrrirtecl bronzc er.clirshcs, conrparc Fig. g
r 2 8 R . R . R , S M I T H
FIc. tz . Delphi c lur iot
lnolllulcnt. Fragurent of
horse's tail, l'ith shirrp
cold-s'ork n'picel of cirrlv{ i f i l . , - . "n" . . . 1, . ' r . r
ovcrliricl strirncls of hlir,
fi nclv chiscllccl,-u-rcl
cngraved. The tril
projcctcd slighth' fbnn
the horse's rump,
sho'n'ing its cirrcful ly
renderecl, tlpcrinq tlil
nrLrsclc unclerneeth.
Bronze, H: 29.8 cm.
I)elpl'ri Muscurn 35.1r
F rc . 33 . Dc lph i
chlriot rnontrment.
Tn'o rerrr lcgs fron-r
thoroughbrccl tclr-r.r :
elcglnt lncl closclv
obscn'cd u'itlr
scpirrirtclt' acldccl
bronzc 'chcstnrtts'.
l3ronze, H: 7r cnr
( lef i ) , aq.s cm (r ight) .
l)elphi M usctu-n i.1ll-s
ancl 3s38
the ci6,. Tl-ris is fiagile on se\rerall points, but it is cnough to obsen/c that
Polvzirlos' namc is unlikely to ha\.e becn crased in one paft of the line onlv to
bc re-inscribed in anothcr.IlT Contran'to thc most tlcceptccl vierv, theretbrc,
Poh.zalo" is unlikelv to havc becn also the first cledicator (he is in fact nou4rere
att6ted as rulcr of Gela). The rnost likclv candiclate, as argued most recelttl), "tt.l
convincingl,v by H. Mirehler, is Hieron, lr,ho ruled Gela fiom 48i to 478 beforc
taking ovcr S\,,racuse. This \. icton,cotl lcl ha\re been in +82 or +78.1l8Tl-rc re-declicatiot-t of tl-re l-nonLlment b,v Pol,vzalos woLllcl havc involved,
Maehler suggcsts, a cecling of tl-re r,ictorv b,v Hieron to his brother (as I(irnon
thc Elcler had ceciecl his Olympic victon, of 528 to Peisistratos: Hdt. o. ro3. z).
Altcrnatir,eh'and less clrasticalll', ure might suggcst that it might havc bcen oul\.
thc womuruent. not tl-re r.icton, itself, that was cedccl bv Hieror-r, in orclcr to allolv
Polvzalos to comrnemoratc il \,ictory he (Polyzalos) had won himsclf. Polvzalos'
victon. could har.c bccn in either +78 or +7+. For Hicron, his brother's r-reed fbr
thc monument at a particlllar juncture n-right harre been urorc Llrgent than his
own: he had plcntv sllch n'Ionuments, pocms, and prestigc, and he could nahc,
or nA\r alreaclt, har.c hac'l macle another, mavbe grancier filonlrment for l"rimsclf.
1t; Tl.ris is an .rcutc obscn,:rtion of Llbcrt (]giz) oz.ll8 i\Iachler (zooz). Rollcv (r99o) rrlso rrrgucd firr Flieron ou cliflerent groutids ancl nith I less
cortvincing lrvpothctical rec()llstrllction tlrat puts thc originirl monllmcl)t lirtcr ;1 declic:ttior-r of Ilicron
set up in 16:/6, cor.t.tr.nerr.rorating his r:rcchorsc iictories et Dclphi in +82 and 4r8 rtrcl his chlriot
victon'therc in .pr6. 11L"t.r ovcr lirtcr b\.P()lvzlkrs lficr the irll of thc Dcinorrenids-on u'hich, sce Mlehle r(zoo: . ) zr .
P I N D A R , A T H L E T B S ] A N D T H E S T A T U E H A B I T I 2 9
"} , i l : t ' l
' tf -;:4
Frc. 3,1. Dclphi chrrriot monument. Olcl rcconstruction (R. Hampe) that shou's rvell thc scalc and
ellbct of sucl-r r monument, set on a lou'basc in thc s:1mc space rs its vier.vers. Son-re details arc \\,rong:
the separate racehorse ancl groom should be on the same birse as thc chariot (see Fig. :s), ar-rd the
rvholc monument was probablv set up on thc tcrrace above the polvgonal l'all, not as hcrc on the
templc tcrrace belorv it
Flc. 35. Delphi chariot monument. Rcccnt reconstruction (C. Rollev, r99o), bascd on ncw sruclv oftl-re fragmcnts, restoring nl'o flankir-rg rircchorscs and groon"rs
r 3 0 R . R . t t . s M I ' r H
The chariot grolrp probablv stoocl on thc tall tcrrace overlooking th€ tcmple
fior-r-r tirc north where the birsc block, the chariotcer, fragmcnts of the hc>rscs ancl
chariot, and a bor.ls arm were found buriecl. It u,as once an clirbclrate grollp.
inch-rding bcsicie the u'ell-preservec{ driver rt lcrlst thc chrrriot, f<rur horses, ancl
one or more groons (Figs. 3+, 3i). We come closc here to Flierorr's famous
group lt Olvmpia in timc ancl cffect. Tl-re chariotcer is beurtifullv lvorkecl, u'itl'r
inlaid eyes, fine lashcs, a fillet r,vith a meancier paftern inlirid in sih'er, sih,er teetl'r
(nou,.clifficult to sce), anc'l astonishinglv realistic feet (Figs. 30, 3r).Tilc horscs, of u'hich wc have some lcgs and ar tail, rvcre, hou'ever, c\,erl fincr,
more elcgant. more closely obsen'ed (Figs. lz, 33). In relation to the charioteer
thev u'e re the rcarl subjcct. Thc horscs are rt'.r standstill or gcntlc mrrnnered rvalli-
like thc bronzc statuctte fron'r Olvmpia (n. r ro), thc templc east pcdiment (n. rr3).
ancl the carll. fiftl-r-centorlr 66i1-r imirgcs (n. rr4 ancl Fig. 29). This rvas l fictivc
rnolr-lent before or after the racc. a moment above all at u'hich the orvner coulcl bc
Prcsent.None of the morlern rcconstr-Lrctions of the uroup shovrs rur orvncr figurc
(Figs. t+, is), but all four of thc chariot groups clescribed earlicr, set up befir,ccrr
sr6 anr-l +6+, and Kvniska's sct up ;rfter hcr victorv irr 396. irrcluclccl horscs,
chariot, and r>u'ncr. (For tl're follorving, see thc refercnces givcn abovc.) It u,as
the chirriotccr n'ho seetlrs to hirvc been opltional, llot thc o\\/ncr. Thc orvncrs
ICeosthenes, Gelon, I(rirtisthencs, ancl I(t,niska were all inclLrclccl. Thc figure of rr
man s:rid b). Pausani,rs (6. rz. r) to be stanclirrg in Hieron's chariot should als<r
har.e becn thc orvner, rather dran a chariotccr, r,r,hor-n Pirnsitnias allvrl\,s sccms to:.
spccif\'as slLch. This figurc (Hieror-r?), I(rltisthencs, anc'l I(r,niska are furthermorc
sirid to be on <>r in their chariots. For I(leosthencs rrnrl Gelorr, Pausirnias is
not clcar r,vhcther they i'11c in or besiclc tl'reir chariots. Therc is thcrcfore a
prrestunption both thirt Polvz.rlos thc r.ictor-orvncr shor.rlcl be incluclecl rrncl that
l-re sl'rould bc in thc chariot u'ith the survir,ing chariotcer. Thc chariotcer's n'ilful
blankness takes on. therefirrc, more significancc: he is expressionless. stifl.
motionlcss, ancl u,ottlc'l probarblv bc slightlv smallcr thirn ln o\\'ncr figurc. Hc
c-lcfbrs visuallv to his emplovcr.
Mohrn cha.rilteer: st),le) clstunoe, rubject
The seconcl strlrue. fi'om Mon.a in u'est Sicilr,, founcl in 1979. cilrne as ir greirt
surprise: an cxtraorclin,rrt'. r'igor()us, top-()f--thc-line Grcek-stt,le marblc statuc
ftom l Prnic colonv (Figs. i6-s).t le But it is harcllv the pr.zzle that marl havc
fbr-rnc1 it to bc. Punic identificatior-rs of thc unusual figr,rrc (as l ;rriest of Nlelklrt, rr
Punic cr.rlt official, or a leirclcr such irs Harnilcar) har.e becn drivcn bv thc rational
I l" Bo,.t,rcas,r .rntl l3lrttitte (r9u8) firr thc basic docurr.rcntrtion. s ith r l itlc rrrngc of more tlrrtn t*-crrtrditlerent lcarnccl opinior.rs rcprescr.rtccl thlt iclcntif\,thc stiltl-rc rrs: .r Punic pricst. l cult official, Hiurilc:ll ',lk:rros. :r slingcr. .rrtd vrrriorrs chrrriotccls. l' lrc bcst rurti nr()st c:rrcfirl ofurorc rcccnt stuelics is l-icll (rqqsl.
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T U E H A B I T
t ii ii/STRADA
IJ DI BIRGIli
.r\
.,}
QUARTIIRI .,(,'DI ABITAZIONE ,j/ \
v ,.: r\.v. . , \
,i; " i],
".:1'+ r"'iii" t
. : ! ' ' \ \
i \'\ ': ' 1- '-ir! r i
' ' r ' , - . - ' - r'tu
,. ",--r) \1- i
I 3 I
..tt \\
! ;,''' " '"-'..'"''"d'$$\',:,€
' ' i lp/ ! ''corHoN
ilqt^sf.sFiFMOSAICI "
d- . *.ro rro\\
\ ,J\.\Flc;'^36. Motva, Plall (ltorth rrt top). The chariotccr st.rtuc \\,ils fb.rcl lt thc NE of thcislar-rcl, inn-rccliatclY to thc rtorth of thc oappiclclazzu complcx. Minimum maxrml' *.idt6 ofislaDcl: 6s9 9oo nt
dcsirc to nlatch thc figurc's meanirg r,r.ith thc punic co'tcxt, b't thcr, ha'c po.rsllPPort in the fortn, sr1.lc, and icor-rograprht, of the figr_rre.
With the fir-rd-place for thc moment Icft to one sicle, the thin high-beltedcostunlc is obviclush' thc abuudauth, xr,"r,".t foot-length chiton of a chariotcer(chiton poderos or xJ,stis: Fig. z9). Thc clatc is carlv in thc nerv mtlnner (c.47os): thchcacl hirs thc late-Archaic-sn'le snail curls on nape ancl bron, (a small cap or he;net$'as acidec-l scpilratchr in rnetal), anci pufh, evclicls ancl fbanrres like those of thefigures in thc olvnpi:r peclirnents. Thc prominent vcins stuck on the Llpper armslikc strips of taprc are grartr.rit<ttts, rudimentar\,, ancl carlr,. Veins were an cxcltillgtloveltt' it-t this periocl, saicl to hirve becn represcntccl i1 statr.res m6rcconYincirrglr,. diligentius, f<rr thc iirst timc bv pvthagoras of Rhegiol (plinr.,'A/Fl 34. 59). Thc su'inging ne\\/-st\4c Pose has ar cxaggcratcd su.aggcr, one footfotrYarcl' otle haucl otl hip'r, the othcr raisccl. Tl'rc airn \r,ils to shorv trt all costs thefbrnr ancl charactcr of the boclr. unclcr the thin chit<xr.
r 3 2 R . R . R . S M I T H
Ftc. 37-8. Morva chrriotccr, r. +7os rc. Figure \\,c:1rs thin, high-bcltccl chrrioteer's chitor.r thrt rcve:rls harcl-trainccl athlctic boclrrfbrn-rs bcncrth. Left hancl on hip. right hand r:rised probablvcrou'ning hcrcl. trIirrblc, H: l.8r rn. Marsah, Musco Archeologico
Fttl. 39. Dctail of Fig 37. Heircl w()rc crp or lisht helnret
attrched b\' 1-rr,rr-rr. pir-rs to rough surircc :rncl lrrte Archirrc
l'rlirswle of three rou's of tight snail curls rt fiont (nvcr
ro\\'s at blck), sin-rilar to l-rairstt'le of Fig. r. Lr contnst tcr
Delpl-ri cl-rariotccr (FipJ. 3r), ftrftrres har.e modulatecl fbrn-rs
ancl portrrit-like eflbct.
From this sq,ling of thc figrre, $'e might cleducc 6vo thilgs. (r) The figure r.r,as
a sclf-sufficient statue-monllr-nent-llot, as sometimcs restored, stancling in a
chariot.l20 The turn of tl-re statlre in its orvn rcal space-ftom all vier.vs-significs
an indepcndcnt figure . In terms of cl-rariot narrtltive, the sul-rjcct is or.rt of the
chariot, thc raised right hancl adjusting l-ris victory crown or hclmet. (z) Second,
the displal' of muscle cievelopmcnt ancl athletic body line (notc in proiile tl-re
swinging S-cun'c of the back ancl the hard prominent backside ) trre designcd to
shou.'that this charioteer is not merclv a driver but a vouthful, rvcll-n-ruscled,
l20 For exam;rlc in Bonrcml lnd Buttitta (rq88) pl. ++
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T U E H A B I T I 3 3
harcl-tririneci athlete u'ith all thc excellence (areti) of character ancl body of :r
champion c()ntestant: discipline" poisc, hard work, good brecding are all on
ciisplar,. The statue rvas of a sprecific person: this charioteer had a nafile.
Thc contrast u,ith the Delphi chariotcer (Figs. 3o, 3r) is not then betrvecn a
figure of the rr-rainlar-rd anc-l one of thc wcstern colonial frontier, nor is it onc of
date. It is in fhct not possible to be sure on our present eviclence rvhich is eirrlier
than the othcr. The contrast is to do r,vith the status of the subjects and the
character of tl-re ntonuments to rvhich thev belonged. The Motva statuc w.rs
a stancl-alonc figurc, a greilt champion in a chariotecr's costnme, lvith aristocrat-
icaliv swled hair. He \\,as the rvhole subject of his monument. The Delphi figurc
n'as er subsic-liary, part of a largc group, partlv concealed insicie the chariot, and
u'earing a plain short hairsq4e. The real subject in tl-re Delphi t-nonument was thc
horscs ancl prob:rbh/ too) as rrglled rrbove, the orvner. The Delphi chariotecr is
one of the nranv clrivers r.vho failccl to ilppeirr in Pindar's songs for chariot
victclrs-n.rmcless. gcncric. crpressiortlcss.
The Moq'a starLre might represcnt a chanrpion c'lriver of the kind rvho achieved
ir big namc, u'ealth, ancl mentions in praise poctllr-a nrarr like l(ilrrhotos, the
clriver for ICng Arkcsilas of Cvrene (P. s), or Nikornachos of Atheus, rvho drove
for tlre tvrants of Akragas (I . z. zz.). Alternativcly, it nright be the nronurncnr of
one of the rarer breed of aristocratic orvncr-clrivcrs-a mall like Herodorus of
Thcbes (1. r) or Tlrrls\.boulos of Akrlgas, nepheu'of thc tyrant Thcrot-t, hymned
lrotlv bv Pincltrr (1. z and fr. nqa. b). rvho is saicl by the Pindar scholia to h:rve
clriven fbr his father. 121 Thcrc is, horl,evcr, no neecl to choose ar precise name. The
stltue loucllv asserts l-rarcl-traincd athlcte and inc-lepcndcnt chtrmprion. It reprc-
scnts a champion from thc g:urres in Grccce founcl in Sicilv, and this is enough to
make it one of our n-lost il-nportant and closelv Pinclar-connectec'l monlrments.
Cotttext on Moh,a: booty ot, Iocnl monunaent?
\Mrat rvas this monumcnt cloirrg in a Punic stror-rgholdf One commor-r hvpotl'rcsis
is thi'rt it arrivccl as Lrootv fiom thc Carthaginian sack of one of thc Greck citics of
\\rcstenl Sicilv in 4o6 and +oJ BC. This hvpotiresis coulcl rvell be correct. Sclinus,
Hiurera, Akragas, ancl Geh u'cre all sackecl lnd grcat quantities of bootv taken
fi'onr tem;rles ancl homes ar-rd sl-rippccl to Calthrgc. Paintings and statues are
lnentioned in thc casc of Alir'.rgas, anc'l 'a large stattre ofApollo in thc casc of Gcla
(u.hich u'rs ship'rpcd to Tr.re).r22
Large marl-rle statues, horvever, recluire cr'.rnes) large crirtcs, and much careitl
packing to move them; therr nrake poor bootv. Thev arc as,kv,ard, intrinsicallv
n,orthless, and if brokcn. totallr' $'orthless. Bronzes rvere of collrse anothcr
l r t - . , . , . . .'- ' Full .lcr.rils tirr .r hi'Potheticrrl idcntific;rtiorr as Thmsvbor-rlos: Ilcll (rqqs).12 r D iod . S i c . r l . s : (Sc l i nus ) ; l t . oz (H imc r ; r ) i 13 .90 . + . 13 . 96 .5 j r t . r o8 .2 (Ak rag l s ) ; r 3 . r o8 .4 (Ge l ; r ) .
1 3 + n . R . R . S M r T H
mattLrr. Tl-re large Apollo statuc taken 1i'onr bcfore Gela anrl ship'rpecl to Tvre is
exprlicidr. said to have been a bronze. It migl-rt also be worth noting that thc
sculpnrred decorartion of tl-re tcmples at Akagas, rvhich lr,oulcl har,e been of marblc
or othcr stone, were not t irkcn but clelibertrtelv mutilatecl (Diocl. Sic. r3. ro8. z).
They u'oulcl har.e bccn troublesomc to lnove. \Mrat coulcl be one of thesc
brolien temple sculpturcs from Akragrrs sun'ives in a l-riglr-qualitv marble torso
of a rvirrrior of c.47o-q6o found in the citt 'near the Olvmpieion.r23
Although Lrootv from a Sicilian Greck cin. remtrins a possible explanatiorr.
others should not bc cxclucled and the context on Mot1.'a shourld pcrhaps not
be so quickl), rewritten. f'he stiltuc rvas fbuncl in the northern pir.rt of the fortrcss
islar-rcl. irt 'sector I( ' (Fig. 16).ttn It hacl been brokcn: there \\ 'rs no plinth, no fect,
irncl no arms. Thc statue hrrd thcrefore been movecl but not nccessarih'far. Closc
bv rvas a large open agora-like or semctuan.-likc sp.lce anc-l ir lirrgc religiclus-stvlc
builcling cornplex (its local ntrmc is the Cappiddazzn complex). This rvor.rld
make ir natural displav setting for such a figure-toppled (on ruyone's 1,ig11') in
thc terrible sack bl' Dionysios' armv in fqz (Diod. Sic. r+. +7-j3). Whv shoulcl
this not h'.rvc been its first and onh, contcxt!
The qucstion 'lr4rv l Greek chtrriotcer strrtue in a Punic settlementf is perhaps
posecl too starklr,. Both thc material record and the litcran' recorcl attcst to il
strong Greek presence on Mott'a in thc fifth century BC.l2s The residcr-rt Greeks
appear prominentlv in Dioclorus'accolrrlt of the 3,97 sack (Diod. Sic. r+. -53.+).Thev lvcre singlecl out lbr spccial punishmcut br. Dionr.sios-prrobalrlv thcir
lflOltLll-nellts too.
Suth statues set up au'ay frorn the victon,site generaily mrrrked the homctou'r.r
of the victor. Ard lve har,c sccn that in thc {ifth centllrv cven at Olr,'mpia chariot
victorics lvere oftcn conlnemorated by single-figure monuments. The easicst
reading then that combincs the information cxpressccl forcelirllv b1, ,1't. statllc
rvith its fir'rcl-pltrce on Mclfi'a niight be a nronnnlcnt of or fon local resident
(a Cirecl< nrore likelv than a Phocnician, lrut not certainll') u'ho acquirecl f;'urc.
forflrne, ancl aristocratic prctensions drivins in the gamcs in Greece. It ncccl not
be anyone lve havc heard of. Thc bronze runncr from I(1'11s nor,r. in Izmir and thc
bronzc irthlete crorvning himsclf from Fano nou. in Malibu lre probirbly latcr
exanplcs of far-flung victor monuments fi'onr the champion's hometor.vn.126
Examples lcss remote fror-n the sancnraries of thc cro\\'n grlncs but preciselr,
contemporan'u'ith thc Moq,a stanrc might be figures such as the marble youths
rvith hair tied up from thc acropolis at Athens ('I(ritian l,ef, 'Bloncl Bo1/) ancl thc
t" AL.",r". 1l,arrior: Barblnerl (ro95).l2a ()n rhc crclvation encl fincl c()lltc\t: G. Fllsonc in Ilon.lc;rsl ancl Blrttitta (r938) 9-:+.125 L) . . \s l rer i cst iu 'ntcs thrr t in thc i th ccnt . Grecl is ucrc h l l f the norrul l t ion of lv lotva: Ashcr i ( rqsl l )
; ++' t t ' I i , ' . , te, Ug:ur l iuq (rq8q). Frno: Frel ( r9:8) ; Rol lcr ' ( rqqq) 33r z. f igs.3.14-s.
P I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T U E H A B I T I 3 - 5
marble strtlre of au armccl rllnner fiom the acropolis at Sparta ('Lecxriclirs'), all
probablr. of t l-re 48os or +7os.\27
Moh,a charioteerr and Het oclotus of Thebes
Thcrc u.ere probablv f-erv chariotcer staftres like the Motva figure in tl-re
sanctttarics of the cr()wl gafircs Lrcciruse the chariot \rictor\r monuments there
\\rere generallv sct up b1,the orvners. Thcir monuments, r,ve have seen, fbaturcd
the named o\\/ncrs ancl their horses (also somctimcs namecl, I(leosthenes 6), and
clptiouirllr; an unuamecl chirrioteer. But if Hcroclotus of Thebes, the orvncr-drivcr
fbr n,lrorn Pinclar \\/rotc Isthwian r, hacl set up a statuc irt the sanctuary of
Posciclon at the Isthmos aftcr his victorv there, it coulcl rvcll have lookecl like this.
This poem, Istbruinn r, pror.icles some help in intcrpreting tl-re statue. The
rvinning ou,ner-drir.er, Pinclar says, achieved aretE through clapnnai ancl ponos.
excellencc througl-r spencling anc-l harcl training-three ke.v concepts, as
mentionecl earlier, often joinccl bv Pindar. We see the discipline of harcl training(ponos) in tlre boc11', r.r,cirlth ar-rcl expenditure (dapnnal) in the fine costume ancl in
the expensivclv trained rnuscle-clevelopmcnt. This kind of bodt,-fashioning tvas
costh/: it requirccl l lifb rvithor.rt other lvork. lVith its fine costLlme and perfcct
athletic plu,siquc, thc cl-rampion's body ancl statue take on the 'lu-ruriant
grancietrr', kud.os habron. $'on ir.r grrmes or \var, lvhicl-r praise-song was meant to
bring (1. r. 5o) anci u,hich a lif-e-size statuc marcle concrete. The srvaggcring rvhole
en'rbocliccl agonistic ntete as colrccir.ecl in the early fifth ccnturv.
7 . C O N C L U S I O N : V I C T O R S S T A T U E S , 5 o o - 4 5 o
The statue habit pen'aclecl Greek and cventnallv Rornan and Mccliterranean
socictr,. Statues markecl priorities (here, u'inning ir-r the games) and negotiatccl
it-r-tportar-rt reltrtionships (here, betu'een the victor ancl his communit\,). Thcy n ere
markers of diffbrent kincls of power (boclv porver as a svmbol of rvcalth irncl
personal disciplinc) and rhev define for us udrole periods of ancicnt culftrrc(hcrc 5oo-,1-5o BC).
Atl-rlctes maintdnecl a constant plirce in the stanre population of cities and
sanctuaries dor.r,n to the third centunl AD. FIowe\rer, both athlcte-s ar-rcl their
sti'ttues occttpied a particularly prominent place in the fifth ccntury.i especially in
the still-aristocratic generation of -soo-45o. In this periocl, aristocrats exploited
the lifelikc rcvolutiorr in strltue-mi'rking that occnrred at this timc anc-l maintained
a prourinent position in the st'tr. bolic cconomv of statues r,rrhen othcr avennes of
127'Kr i t i , rn l lorr : Prrvne lnr l Young (rs lo) p ls. ro9 r7; I {ur l , i t ( r989). ' l3kncl Bov' : Ric l r tcr ( r97o)tro. I9I r rnci here Fig. t j . ' l ,conic l r rs ' : Tzrrchou-Alexirncl r i ( r989) no. zrr .
1 3 6 R . R . R . S M I T H
self:promotiott lverc being denied to them. The neu'-sqvle statLles lvere able toexpress the twin ideas of real athletic champion in particular contesrs and the bestof men in mind and boc1v. Pindar gives the most direct rvav inro their strurgebackw'ard-looking thor-rght-worlcl. The Mowa statue, the home-rnonument of orto a champion driver, is a powerltl example that expresses loudlv both charioteerand aristocratic body sllpremacy.
Appendix: List of victors u,ith sratues at Olympia, ro 4oo BC
0l Nanre Conlcs l Maker Paus. (H) I lase
512
il6
520
516
508
504
500
496
t o l
488
480
* / o
472
L
: .-t.
4 .
5 .
6 .
7 .
o .
9.
1 0 .
I l .
t2.
13 .
1 4 .
l -5.
16 .
1 7 .
I lJ.
1 9 .
20.
2 t .
22.
l,l.
) 4
25 .
26.
27 .
l.s.
29.
30.
3 1 .
32.
33.
3.1.
35 .
16.
37.
Praxidamas (Aegina)
Rhexibios (Opou-s)
Glaukos (Karystos)
Anochos ( ' larentunt)
Damlretos (Heraia)
Kleosthenes ( Epidamnos)
Mi lon (Kroton)'f
imasitl.reos (Delphi)
Pheidol . rs (Cor inth )
lSons o f9 j
Philon (Corc,vra)
Agarnetor (Mant inea)
Meneptolemos ( i l lyr ia)
Philon ( Corcyra)
Hieronvmos (Andros)
Gelon (Gela/Syracuse)
Agiadis (Elis)
fheopompos (Heraia)
Epikradios (Mantinee)
l\'lnaseas (Cyrene t
Polypei thes (Sparta)
Kalliteles, father
Dromcus (Styrnphalos)
Astylos ( Kroton/Syrac)
Theagenes ('I'hasos)
Theognetos (Aegina)
Euthymos (Lokroi)
Kal l ias (Athcns)
Tellon (Arkadia)
Hieron (Sl.racuse)
Ergoteles ( Knss/ Hinrcra)
Protolaos (Mantinea)
Pl.tharchos ( N{antinea)
Diagor.rs (Rhodes)
Pher ias (Aegina)
Kratisthenes ( C1'rene)
Kyniskos (Mantinca)
boxer
pan krat)?st
boxer
rult ner
armecl runner (2)
(]HAI{IOT
u'restler (6)
pankrat iast (2)
horseracer
ho rseracer
bo1' runner
boy boxer
boy runner
boxer (2)
perrtathlc-te
CHARIoT
boy boxcr
pentat l r lc te
boy boxer
armed rur.tner
chariot
wrestler
runner ( 2 )
runner ( 3 )
pal.lkratiast
boy lr.restlcr
boxer (3)
irankratiast
bov boxer
C]FIARIoT
runner ( 2 )
boy boxer
boy runner
boxcr
boy rvrestJer
C H A R I o T
boy boxer
Glaukias (Aegina)
Ageladas (Argos)
Eutelidas (Argosi
Ageladas (Argos)
(a Krotonian)
Agelaclas (Argos)
(llauki;rs (Aegina)
Stornios {fiom ?)
Glaukias (Aegina)
Seranrbos (Aegina)
Ptol ichos (Aegina)
Pvthasorrs (Rhcgion)
Pl,tl.r.rgoras ( Rhegion)
Pythagoras (lLhegion)
Glaukias (Aegina)
Ptol ichos (Aegina)
Pvthagoras (l{hegion)
N{ ikon (Athens)
Onatits, Kalar.nis
Pythiigoras (Rhegion)
Kal l ik les (Megan)
Pytlueoras ( Rhegion)
Polykleitos (Argos)
6 . 1 8 . 7 ( l e 6 )
6 . 1 8 . 7 ( r 9 7 )
6 . 10 . r ( 96 )
6. t , t . 1 l i l . r0)
6 . 10 . 4 ( 97 )
6 . r 0 . 6 ( 1 0 2 )
6 . t 4 . 5 036 )
6 . 8 . 6 ( n5 )
r r . 1 3 . 9 ( 1 2 6 )
6 . 1 3 . 1 0 ( 1 2 7 )
6 . r 4 . r 3 ( 1 4 4 )
6 . 9 . 9 ( 95 )
6 . r 4 . l 3 ( r 4 - r )
6 . 9 . 9 ( 94 )
6 . 14 . 1 .3 ( 1 .15 )
tJ. 9. , l (93)
6 . 1 0 . 9 ( 1 0 6 )
6 . 10 . 4 ( 98 )
6 . 10 . 9 ( 104 )
6 . 1 3 . 7 ( r 2 - l )
6 . 1 6 . 6 ( r 7 0 )
6 . 1 6 . 6 ( 1 7 0 )
6 . 7 . l 0 ( 7 2 )
6 . r 3 . r ( l l - l )
6 . I t . 1 2 ( 1 0 7 )
6 . 9 . I ( 86 )
6 . 6 . 4 ( 59 )
6 . 6 . r ( 53 )
6 . 1 0 . 5 ( 1 0 s )
6 . 1 2 . 1 ( 1 0 8 )
6 . , 1 . l l ( - r 9 )
6 . 6 . I ( s 1 )
6 . 7 . l ( 60 )
6 . 7 . r ( 65 )
6 . 1 4 . l 2 ( 1 . r 1 )
6 . 1 8 . I ( 1 9 4 )
6 . 4 . 1 l ( . 1 8 )
3 base blocks: IvO r+;
signecl base: IvO
sigrred base: IvO
base: Ir.() r+z-8
fr'. brnz. plate: Ebert no. 20
fr . base: IvO rsr
ti. brnz. platc: Ebert no. 19
signed base: I r 'O r+g
484
t++
r+6
468
46'l
460
(Corttitrrrcdl
r 3 8 R . R . R . S M I T H
OI Nirme Contest Maker Prus . (F I ) Base
38. Sostrr tos (Pel lana)
-19. Oibotas 756 (Palei r )
40. Chionis 664/56 (Sparta)
,156 41. ' f inranthes (Kieonai)
452 42. l -eont iskos (W-Mcssana)
4-1. Pythoklcs (El is)
44lt .1.1. Damagetos (D, Rhoctes)
45. Lykinos ( f ionr ?)
46. Akousi laos (D, Rhodes)
.17. Cheinron (Argos)
444 .18. Alkerinetos (Lcpreon)
,19. Arkesilas ( Spirrta )
50. Charnr ides (L, l is)
51. Ikkos (- larentum)
4,10 52. Polvkles (Sparta)
51. Gnarthon (Dipaia-Arkadiir )
.116 5.1. ' fheopourpos (Heraia)
55. Phi l ippos (Pel lana.)
56. Pantarkes (El is)
-1 l l 57. t -_vkinos (L. l is)
428 58. Anaxandros (Spal ta)
421 59. L)or ieus (D, Rh. / Thur i i )
60. l le l l . ru ikos (Le1,rson)
420 61. I - ichas (Sparta)
62. Ar isteus (Argos)
6J. Xenonrbrotos (Kos)
6'1. Theantos (Lepreon)
65- Amertas (El is)
416 66. Androsthenes (Nlainalos)
67. Nikostratos (Heraia)
.108 68. F-ubot.rs t(iyrene)
69. Poulyclarnas (Skotoussa)
404 70. Promachos (Pellcnc)
7l . S,vn.rrrachos (F.Jis)
72. Eukles (Rhodes)
7-1. Peisircdos (D, Rhotles)
400 7.1. Xenodikos (Kos)
75. Baucis (Troizen)
76. Euthvrnenes (Nlainalos)
77. ' f imon (El is)
7 l l . Aigyptos (El is)
79. Ar.rtiochos ( l,epleon l
80. Damarchos (Parrhasia)
bo,v nrnner
runlter
runner ( -l )
pankrirtrirst
rvrcstler (2)
pankrat iast (2)
char iot
boxer
wrestler
L)OXer ( I l
chirr iot t2)
boy boxer
pentathlete
chariot
boy boxer
wrest ler (2)
boy boxcr
boy rvrestier
boy boxcr
char iot
pankrat iast (3)
boy bo-rcr
chariot
run n er
horseraccr
boy boxer
boy wrestlet
pankrat iast (2)
boy lvrestler
ru nller
pankratiast
rv rest ler
boxer
boy boxer
bov borer
rvrestler
l)oy wrcstlcr
char iot
horseracer
pankratrast
borer
i r lyron (Athens)
Mvron (Athens)
Pl.thagoras (Ilhcgion )
t\rlvkleitos (Argos)
Nlyron (Athens)
Nar-rkydcs (Argos)
Kallikles (Megara)
j\{yron (Athens)
Pant ias (( ,h ios)
Phi lot i r .nos (Aegina)
Phradnron (r \ rgos)
Nikodarnos (Mainalos)
Pant ias (Chios)
Lysippos ( Sikyon)
Naukydes lArgos)
Pant ias (Chios)
Naukydes (Argos)
Al .vpos (Sikyon)
Daidalos (Sikyon)
Daidalos (Sikyon)
Nikodi i r ros (Mainaios.)
signecl base: IvO ror-i
fr. basc: IvO rsz
fr. base: Ir,O rs6
fr. base: IvO ts3
basc: h C) rss
fr. basc': IvO r7o
signed base: IvO rs9
6 . 8 . r ( 74 )
6. 3. rJ (29)
6 . l l . 2 ( l 1 4 )
6 . 8 . 4 ( 79 )
6 . 4 . 3 ( 40 )
6 . 7 . l 0 ( 7 3 )
6. 7. I (64)
6 . 2 . l ( 1 2 )
(r . 7. I (62)
6 . 9 . 3 ( 9 1 )
6 . 7 . 8 ( 67 )
6 . l . r i r l )
6 . 7 . 1 ( 6 1 )
6 . 10 . 5 ( 100 )
6 . \ . 7 ( 9 )
6. 7. 9 (70)
6. 10. .1 (99)
6 . 8 . 5 ( 82 )
6 . 1 0 . 6 ( r 0 1 )
6 . 7 . 9 1 7 r )
6. l . 7 ( r . r )
6. 7. L (63)
6. 7. r i (6 lJ)
6 . 2 . r ( r , 1 )
6,. 9. -t (90)
6 . l . l . t 2 ( 1 4 r )
6 . 7 . t i ( 6 9 )
6 . 8 . l ( 75 )
6 . 6 . l ( 5 4 )
6 . 3 . u ( 3 2 )
6. 8. - l (7rr)
t r . 5. I (50)
6. t r . 5 (84)
6 . l . 3 ( 1 )
6 . 6 . 2 ( ss )
6. 7. 2 (66)
6 . r + . 1 2 ( 1 4 2 )
6. U. ; l (80)
6 . 8 . 5 ( S l )
6 . 2 . 8 ( 1 7 )
6 . 2 . n ( 1 8 )
6. -1. e (30)
6 . 8 . 2 ( 7 7 )
I ' I N D A R , A T H L E T E S , A N D T H E S T A T U E H A B I T I 3 9
Winners u,ith statues are listccl unclcr their victon, r,ear, ancl r.urc'ler thcir latcst
victon' I'elr if the\, u'on more than once (ir stirruc sct r.rp lfter thrcc victorics is
expressll,attestccl, tbr exanple, fbr Euthvmos (zr)). Ntu-nbers of rrictories are
gir.en in brackets aficr thc contcst. Victon' c|ltcs i.lrc tl'on Herrmmn (after
Morctti). Circuit-r ' ict<rs (periodottiftai) .rrc uncicrl irrcd. Oibotas (39) rrncl Chionis(,po) u'crc uitttters in thc ciglrth irnci sevcnth ccrrturics rcspectivcl\ ' .
-fhc clrrtc of
()i l ' ,ot.ts'st:ttttc is l ixecl (.;r. lo). that of Chionis is plrrcccl c.16o uith thc flortrit of
i ts r r r lhcr { , \ [ r ron1. ' Ihc st l t l rcs of Er , r tc l i rhs lnd ' f isr rnc] r<)s, \ r ' inucrs in the hte
scveltth rutLl carh/ sirth centun, (Flcrrlnann, nos. r-s7 ancl rz5), probablv set Llp
much latcr, irre onittccl. Othcr statucs (especiallv of sixth-ccntury u'inncrs-fbr
exiunple, no. +, hv Ghukilrs of Acgina) irre likclv to luve becn set up sollc tintc
lirtcr than the r,icton. vcar. Some fifih-centun,u'inners arc knorvn to hirve hacl
statrres set up only in the fburth ccntlrr\' (for exln-rple, Cheimon (,67), Poulyda-
mas (69)). Onll, e11. (prossible) \, ictol 'stirt l le of t l-re pcri<lcl clol 'rr to +oo BCr is
recorclcc.l outside Pausanias, br.a fragncntar\, bronze platc-fbr Pantares of Ciela,
victor (in chariot)) in _so8: IvO tqz; Ebert (1972) no.5; Herrn-rann (r988) t77,List
II. no. r. Chirriots arc all four-horsc. 'cHARIor' nrlrks a full chiiriot group 'uvith
horses anci l igr-rrc(s) of l i fe sizc.'Chariot'marks a victor in the four-horse chariot
rircc conmemorated l'ith a sinele figure or, in thc cirse of Polypeithes of Spirrta
(zr), an er1'rresslv srtrrrll chrrriot group. D = ir Diagoricl. H : Flcrrmann (1988)
15r-26, List l. Ebert : Ebert (rgzz).