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The Discus Thrower
The discus thrower art is one of the marvellous pieces of art of the classical antiquity. The artwork was originally sculpted out of bronze by an Athenian artist known as Myron. Myron was born in a fortress city known as Eleutherae at around the fifth century BC. The Discus Thrower became known after several bronze and marble copies of the artwork were made by Roman artists. The Discus Thrower was a famous piece of art in ancient Greece and it is recorded that the Roman satirist and rhetorician by the name Luciana of Samosata mentioned the piece of art in his book, Philopseudes.
The Discus Thrower is a piece of art that features a physically fit young male athlete statue in a posing position before just launching his disc. The art depicts the young man as in a position of launching his disc that is usually characterized by lots of stress although the face of the athlete shows a relaxed individual ready to do what he does best. The artwork shows that the face of the statue faces the disc and many historians such as Clark have interpreted this posture to represent the desire for athlete perfectionism.
This piece of art was a source of inspiration for many lovers of the ancient art although the legacy of the discus thrower was damaged greatly in the 20th century. This is after it drew the attention of the Germany Nazis leader Adolf Hitler. Hitler acquired a copy of Discus Thrower art known as Discobolus Palombara/Discobolus Lancellotti in 1938 from Galeazzo Ciano who was a Foreign Minister in the Fascist Italy between the years 1936 to 1943.
Discobolos, Myron
A Centaur Fighting
A centaur in the ancient Greece was mythological creature that was considered to feature its upper body as human with horse body and legs on the lower body. According to the Greece mythology, centaurs creatures were born from Ixion and Nephele. In native Greek myths, the centaurs are considered to be very insipid as the wild horses. During the ancient Greek, were used to represent the various struggles that existed between civilization and lower appetites in the nature of humankind.
The art of a Centaur Fighting has been used in classical art and there exist in three unique forms. In ancient Greece, many Greeks believed that the Centaurs were born after a union of Nymph (Apollodorus) and Cronus (Saturn). The centaurs were not regarded as demigods but rather as divine beings. The story behind the contours goes that after birth, it was abandoned by its mother and the gods took care of it until maturity after Apollo and Artemis adopted it.
Although the Greek mythologies do not mention any positive attributes of the centaurs, they were known as being evasive assassins as referenced in the myth of Peleus. The Greek myths create a perception of creatures that were drunkards and their lust for wine was unmatched. There is a myth about how the lust for undiluted wine led to the centaur trying to rape a bride after an invitation into the wedding of a king. The king was angry about the actions of centaurs due to the violation of hospitality laws; guests who had attended the king’s wedding fought and killed a significant number of them and those who survived were exiled.
Centaurs are seen in the archaic arts and they depict the primitivism. For instance, human heroes in ancient Greece art were characterized with sculptures that had proper weapons while the centaurs are represented as using rocks and tree trunks as their weaponry. The sculptural art showed that people were struggling against the highbred forms as represented by the classical art.
A Centaur Fighting
The Head of a Horse
In ancient Greece, the horse played a central role in their culture as it was important in warfare, transportation, sporting activities and this is seen in Greek myth s and legends. In ancient Greece, horses were a sign of wealth and this formed a critical area for Greek artists to explore. Horses are depicted in both the Classical and Archaic art. There are over 80 pieces of art that comprise of both private and public collections that shows the central role of horses in ancient Greek culture. In Greek art, horses were used by artists as symbols of power, wealth and prestige and the Greek culture considered horses as cherished human companions, heroes and gods. A horse was a symbol of wealth because it was more often associated to those who were well-off in the society and could afford the high cost of purchasing one. The acquiring and use of horses in ancient Greece was limited to those who were wealthy in the society as they were costly to acquire and its use was very versatile.
The head of a horse has been used in ancient Greece has been used to depict the mythical imagery of horses in Greek mythology. Ancient Greek artists have depicted horses on chariots in different situations such as heading to battle, while racing although some artists choose to focus on horse races with an outline of the reins, bridles, bits and goads. Some of the ancient images of horses depict images of the feeding or the grooming of the horses. Horses in ancient Greece art are more often found on coins, vases and sculpture that dates back to the 4th century BC and they are often preserved in different museums across the globe.
The Horse in ancient Greek art
The Parthenon
The Parthenon is believed to have been built between the years 447 and 32 BCE and officially opened in 428 BCE. The structure was built during the Perikles building program and it was designed to be the jewel of the Greek capital Athens. The building was constructed of marble in honour of the initial Parthenon that had been destroyed. Many scholars believed that the new Parthenon reflected the exact old structure that had been destroyed. The Parthenon had a colossal statue in its inside representing the Athena. In ancient Greece, Athena were regarded as a patron goddess for the Athens city.
The Parthenon is known for having more sculptures within it more than any known temple in Greek history. It is known for its ninety two metopes artwork on its exterior, pedimental statues that are on its front and back, a 160-meter long frieze and a cella with a roof and it was initially used as a church and later as a mosque. Due to the structure’s changing functions, there were modifications made to it. The first modification was the construction of the structure’s apse to the east end while there was a second modification that involved the incorporation of a roof over the cella and later a minaret was added to the Parthenon to allow it be used as a mosque. All the modifications done on the Parthenon were minor and did not adversely affect its structure and stability.
The structure was greatly damaged in 1687 after an explosion that left the building in ruins and significantly damaged. After the explosions, there were efforts to restore the building to its initial status with great success. The Parthenon structure has been used as a reference to the classical Athens and city’s inhabitants.
The Parthenon
References
Cohen, Beth, ed. Not the classical ideal: Athens and the construction of the other in Greek art. Brill, 2000.Markman, Sidney David. The horse in Greek art. Biblo & Tannen Publishers, 1969.
Noble, Joseph V. “The forgery of our Greek bronze horse.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 26.6 (1968): 253-256.
Snodgrass, Anthony. Homer and the artists: text and picture in early Greek art. Cambridge University Press, 1998.Spivey, Nigel Jonathan. Understanding Greek sculpture: Ancient meanings, modern readings. Thames and Hudson, 1996.
