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A  HANDBOOK 

OF 

GREEK  SCULPTURE 


A  HANDBOOK 


OF 


GREEK    SCULPTURE 


BY 


ERNEST  AETHUR  GARDNER,  M.A. 

LATE    FELLOW    OF   GONVILLE   AND    CAIUS   COLLEGE,    CAMBRIDGE,    AND   FORMERLY 

DIRECTOR  OF  THE  BRITISH  SCHOOL  OF  ARCHAEOLOGY  AT   ATHENS  ; 

YATES   PROFESSOR   OF  ARCHAEOLOGY   IN   UNIVERSITY 

COLLEGE,    LONDON 


London 

MACMILLAN   AND    CO.,  LIMITED 

NEW  YORK  :  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 
1897 


All  rights  reserved 


*•    „ 


V.SL 


\ 


PREFACE 

IN  addition  to  the  authorities  quoted  in  the  preface  issued 
with  the  first  part  of  this  handbook,  one  other  calls  for  especial 
notice  here.  This/  it  need  hardly  be  said,  is  Professor  Furt- 
wangler's  Meisterwerke  der  griechischen  Plastik,  or,  in  its  English 
version  by  Miss  Eugenie  Sellers,  Masterpieces  of  Greek  Sculpture. 
I  had  occasion  to  quote  this  work  more  than  once  in  Part  L; 
but,  from  the  nature  of  the  subject)  it  has  been  far  more  fre- 
quently in  my  hands  while  I  was  writing  Part  II.,  and  I  have 
to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  Professor  Furtwangler's 
wonderful  knowledge  and  observation  in  many  instances  where 
I  have  not  felt  able  to  embody  his  conclusions  in  the  text  of  a 
handbook  for  students. 

In  dealing  with  the  later  portion  of  the  history  of  sculpture, 
I  have  endeavoured  to  follow  the  same  principles  as  in  the 
earlier  portion,  and  consequently  I  am  again  precluded  from 
the  discussion  of  many  interesting  problems  as  to  which  I  do 
not  feel  justified  in  expressing  a  dogmatic  opinion,  while  I  have 
not  space  to  give,  even  in  summary,  the  arguments  on  each 
side. 

I  regret  that  I  am  unable  to  fulfil  my  conditional  promise 
of  an  appendix  on  the  discoveries  of  the  French  excavators  at 
Delphi,  no  official  publication  having  as  yet  been  issued. 

It  is  only  fair  both  to  M.  Collignon  and  to  myself  to  state 


vi  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 

that  I  had  not  the  advantage  of  seeing  the  second  volume 
his  Histoire  de  la  Sculpture  Grecque  before  the  proof-sheets  of  t 
volume  were  out  of  my  hands. 

Arrangements  have  been  made  by  the  Teachers'  Guild 
placing  at  the  disposal  of  its  members  a  series  of  lantern-sli< 
to  illustrate  the  history  of  sculpture ;  these  slides  have  b( 
prepared  from  the  material  that  has  been  used  for  the  illust 
tions  of  this  handbook,  and  they  are  numbered  to  correspoi 
They  may  be  seen  at  the  Educational  Museum  of  the  Gui 
74  Gower    Street,    London,    W.C.,    where    inquiries    may 
addressed  to  the  Hon.  Curators. 

The   present   volume    contains  a  full   index,  compiled 
Mrs.  Ernest  Gardner,  to  both  parts  of  the  handbook. 

My  brother,  Professor  Percy  Gardner  of  Oxford,  has  agi 
read  the  proof-sheets,  and  I  have  to  thank  him  for  many  va 
able  corrections  and  suggestions. 


UNIVERSITY  COLLEGE,  LONDON, 

November  1896. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

SELECT  BIBLIOGRAPHY      .  xi 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS   .  .  .         xv 

XOTE  •     xviii 


CHAPTER  III— (continued) 
THE  FIFTH  CENTURY  (480-400  B.C.) — (continued] 

35.  SCULPTURE  OF  THE  PARTHENON  .  .  .       267 

36.  OTHER    ATHENIAN    SCULPTURES  —  THESEUM,    ERECHTHEUM, 

TEMPLE  OF  WINGLESS  VICTORY,  ETC.  .  .  .      294 

37.  SCHOLARS  OF  PHIDIAS — AGORACRITUS,  COLOTES,  THEOCOSMUS, 

ALCAMENES        .......       304 

38.  SCHOLARS  OF  CALAMIS  AND  MYRON,  AND  OTHER  ATTIC  SCULP- 

TORS       .....  313 

39.  ATTIC  INFLUENCE  OUTSIDE  ATHENS  ;  PHIGALIA  .  .       321 

40.  POLYCLITUS  ....  324 

41.  SCHOLARS  OF  POLYCLITUS  .....       337 

42.  OTHER  SCULPTORS  AND  WORKS  OF  THIS  PERIOD          .  .341 

43.  SUMMARY  .  347 


viii  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 

CHAPTER  IV 

THE  FOURTH  CENTURY  (400-320  B.C.) 

§  44.  CHARACTER  OF  THE  PERIOD 
45.  CEPHISODOTUS 
(46)  PRAXITELES 

47.  SlLANION   AND    ElJPHRANOR 

48.  TIMOTHEUS,  BRYAXIS,  LEOCHARES 

49.  SCOPAS       ....  .  . 

f§y  THE  MAUSOLEUM  . 

51.  ATTIC  TOMBSTONES  ..... 

52.  THRASYMEDES  AND  DAMOPHON  .... 

53.  LYSIPPUS   ...  ... 

54.  PUPILS  OF  LYSIPPUS        ..... 

55.  OTHER  SCULPTURES  OF  THE  PERIOD 

56.  SUMMARY  .  .... 

CHAPTER  Y 

THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE  (320-100  B.C.) 

§  57.  THE  INFLUENCE  OF  ALEXANDER 

(58.)CHiEF  CENTRES  OF  SCULPTURE  IN  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE 
/"5&-THE  PASTORAL  TENDENCY — HELLENISTIC  RELIEFS 

60T  BOETHUS,    AND    CHILDREN    IN   SCULPTURE 

61.  CHARES,  AND  THE  COLOSSUS  OF  RHODES 

62.  EUTYCHIDES  AND  THE  IMPERSONATION  OF  ClTIES 

63.  PORTRAITURE        ...... 

64.  HISTORY  OF  THE  DEDICATIONS  OF  THE  ATTALIDS 

65.  THE  DEDICATIONS  OF  ATTALUS  I. 


CONTENTS  ix 

PAGE 

§  66.  THE  DEDICATIONS  OF  EUMENES  II.                    .            .            .  459 

67.  THE  RHODIAX  SCHOOL — THE  LAOCOON  ....  468 
.68.  TRALLES — THE  FARNESE  BULL    .            .            .            .            .472 

69.  THE  EPHESIAN  SCHOOL — AGASIAS           ....  475 

70.  LATER  IDEALS  OF  THE  GODS  ;  APOLLO  BELVEDERE,  APHRODITE 

OF  MELOS,  ETC.             ......  477 

71.  OTHER  WORKS  OF  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE         .            .            .  485 

72.  SUMMARY  ........  490 

CHAPTER  VI 

GRAECO-ROMAN    AND    ROMAN    SCULPTURE 

§  73.  HISTORICAL  AND  SOCIAL  CHANGES          ....  493 

74.  THE  CARRYING  OFF  OF  MASTERPIECES  ....  495 

75.  CENTRES  OF  ART  AND  MIGRATION  OF  ARTISTS              .            .  496 

76.  STATUES  OF  THE  GODS     ......  497 

77.  WORKS  OF  THE  NEO-ATTIC  SCHOOL        .                        .            .  501 

78.  ARCESILAUS           .......  505 

79.  PASITELES  AND  HIS  SCHOOL         .....  508 

80.  PORTRAITURE        .......  512 

81.  HISTORICAL  MONUMENTS              .....  516 

82.  ANTINOUS  AND  THE  HADRIANIC  REVIVAL         .            .            .  517 

83.  SARCOPHAGI          .......  519 

84.  SUMMARY  ...                         ....  521 

INDEX  .........  523 

INDEX  OF  SCULPTORS  (for  Part  II.)  551 


SELECT  BIBLIOGKAPHY 

General  Histories 

BRUNN,  HEINRICH.     Geschichte  der  griechischen  Kiinstler.     Vol.  I.,  Bild- 
hauer,  1852.     (Eeprinted  Stuttgart,  1889.) 

Griechische  Kunstgeschichte.     Part  I.  (all  issued).     Munich,  1893. 
COLLIGNON,  MAXIME.     Histoire  de  la  Sculpture  grecque.    Vol.  I.  Paris,  1892. 

Vol.  II.  1896. 

MITCHELL,  LUCY.     History  of  Ancient  Sculpture.     London,  1883. 
MURRAY,   A.   S.     History  of  Greek  Sculpture.      London,   1880-1883.      2nd 

edition,  London,  1890. 
OVERBECK,  J.     Geschichte  der  griechischen  Plastik.     3rd  edition,  Leipzig, 

1881-82  ;  4th  edition,  Leipzig,  1895. 
PERROT  and  CHIPIEZ.     Histoire  de  1'Art  dans  FAntiquite'.     Paris,  1891 — . 

Vol.    I.   L'Egypte  ;   Vol.   II.  Chalde'e   et  Assyrie ;   Vol.    III.   Phenicie, 

Cypre ;  Vol.  IV.  Sardaigne,  Judee,  Asie  Mineure  ;  Vol.  V.  Perse,  etc. : 

Vol.  VI.  Grece  primitive.     (English  translation  also  issued.) 
PERRY.     Greek  and  Roman  Sculpture.     London,  1882. 
TARBELL.     A  History  of  Greek  Art.     Meadville,  1896. 
L.  E.  UPCOTT.     Introduction  to  Greek  Sculpture.     Oxford,  1887. 

Inscriptions  relating  to  Sculptors 
LO'WY.     Inschriften  griechischer  Bildhauer.     Leipzig,  1885. 

Ancient  Authorities 

OVERBECK,  J.      Die  antiken  Schriftquellen   zur   Geschichte   der  bildenden 

Kiinste  bei  den  Griechen.     Leipzig,  1868. 
JONES,  H.  STUART.     Select  passages  from  ancient  authors  illustrative  of  the 

history  of  Greek  Sculpture.     London,  1895. 


xii  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 

PAUSANIAS.    Descriptio  Graeciae.    Ed.  Hitzig  and  Bliimner.    Part  I.    Berlin, 

1896. 

PAUSANIAS.     Descriptio  Graeciae.     Ed.  Frazer. 
PLINY.    Bks.  xxxiv.  and  xxxvi.     Ed.  K.  Jex  Blake  and  E.  Sellers.     London, 

1896. 
LUCIAN.     Imagines,  Jupiter  Tragoedus,  etc. 

Coins  reproducing  Statues 

F.  IMHOOF-BLUMER  and  P.  GARDNER.     Numismatic  Commentary  on  Pau- 
sanias.  (Reprinted  from  the  Journal  of  Hellenic  Studies,  1885,  1886, 1887.) 
P.  GARDNER.     Types  of  Greek  Coins.     Cambridge,  1883. 

Books  dealing  with  portions  of  the  subject 

FURTW ANGLER,  A.     Meisterwcrke  der  griechisclien  Plastik.     Leipzig-Berlin, 
1893. 

Masterpieces  of  Greek  Sculpture,  transl.  E.  Sellers.     London,  1895. 
NEWTON,  Sir  C.  T.     Essays  on  Art  and  Archaeology.     London,  1880. 
BAUMEISTER.     Denkmaler  des  klassischen  Altertums  ;  Articles  on  Sculpture 

and  Sculptors.     Munich  and  Leipzig,  1884-88. 
OVERBECK.     Kunstmythologie.     Leipzig,  1871-1889. 
ROSCHER.     Lexikon  der  griechisclien  und  romischen  Mythologie  ;  Articles  on 

Artistic  Types  of  Gods.     Leipzig,  1884. 
BRUNN.     Griechische  Gb'tterideale.     Munich,  1893. 
SCHUCHHARDT.     Schliemann's  Ausgrabungen.    Leipzig,  1890.    Schliemann's 

Excavations,  transl.  E.  Sellers.     London,  1891. 

MILCHHOFER,  A.     Anfange  der  Kunst  in  Griechenland.     Leipzig,  1883. 
CURTIUS  and  ADLER.     Olympia  (official  publication).     Berlin,  1890 — .     Vol. 

III.  Die  Bildwerke  in  Stein  und  Marmor  (Treu).     Vol.  IV.  Die  Bronzen 

(Furtwangler). 

WALDSTEIN,  C.     Essays  on  the  Art  of  Pheidias.     Cambridge,  1885. 
PETERSEN.     Kunst  des  Phidias.     Berlin,  1873. 
COLLIGNON.     Phidias.     Paris,  1886. 
MICHAELIS.     Der  Parthenon.     Leipzig,  1871. 
BENNDORF.     Das  Herob'n  von  Gjolbaschi-Trysa.     Vienna,  1889. 
PARIS,  P.     Polyclete.     Paris,  1895. 
URLIOHS.     Skopas.     Greifswald,  1863. 
STARK.     Niobe  und  die  Niobiden.     Leipzig,  1863. 
HAMDY-BEY  and  TH.  REINACH.     Necropole  royale  a  Sidon.     Paris,  1896. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  xin 

SCHREIBER,  TII.     Die  hellenistischen  Eelietbilder.     Leipzig,  1889. 
FURTWANGLER,  A.    Der  Dornauszieher  und  der  Knabe  mit  der  Gans.     Berlin, 

1876. 

Der  Satyr  aus  Pergamon.     Berlin,  1880. 
HAUSER.     Die  neu-Attischen  Reliefs.     Stuttgart,  1889. 
ROBERT  C.     Die  antiken  Sarcophagreliefs.     Berlin,  1890 — . 

Technical 

BLUMNER,  H.     Technologic   und    Terminologie   der  Gewerbe   und   Kiinste. 

Leipzig,  1875. 
LEPSIUS,  R.     Griechische  Marmorstudien.     Berlin  1890. 

Illustrations,  apart  from  publications  of  particular  Collections  or  Museums 

BRUNN-BRUCKMANN.     Denkmaler  der  griechischen  und  rtimischen  Plastik. 

Munich,  1888—. 

RAYET,  0.     Monuments  de  1'Art  antique.     Paris,  1884. 
Monuments  grecs.     Publies  par  la  Socie'te  pour  1'encouragement  des  Etudes 

grecs.     Paris,  1872—. 

These  are  all  photographic — the  following,  having  only  outlines,  are 
useful  for  types  only,  but  not  for  style. 

MtJLLER-WiESELER.     Denkmaler  der  alten  Kunst.     Gottingen,  1854-77. 
CLARAC.     Muse'e  de  Sculpture.     Paris,  1841. 

Catalogue 

In  addition  to  the  official  catalogues  of  the  various  Museums  of 
antiquities  and  casts, 

FRIEDERICHS-WOLTERS.     Bausteine  zur  Geschichte  der  griechisch-romischen 
Plastik  ;  die  Gipsabgiisse  antiker  Bildwerke.     Berlin,  1885. 

Periodicals 

Journal  of  Hellenic  Studies.     London,  1880 — . 

American  Journal  of  Archaeology.     Boston  and  Baltimore,  1885 — . 

Bulletin  de  Correspondence  Hellenique.     Athens,  1877 — . 

Gazette  Archeologique.     Paris,  1875 — . 

Revue  Archeologique.     Paris,  1844 — . 

Gazette  des  Beaux-Arts.     Paris,  1859—. 


xiv  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 

/•Annali  e  Monument!  del  Institute  di  Corrispondenza  Archeologica.     Rome 

1829-1885. 
lArchaologische  Zeitung.     Berlin,  1843-1885. 

After  1885  continued  by 

Jahrbuch  des  k.  deutschen  archaologischen  Instituts.     Berlin,  1886 — . 
Antike  Denkmaler  des  k.   deutschen  archaologischen    Instituts.      Berlin, 

1886—. 

Mittheilungeu  des  k.  deutschen  archaologischen  Instituts.     Rome,  1886 — . 
„  ,,  ,,  :,  ,,  Athens,  1875 — . 

'E(f>T)[j,epis  'ApxaioXoyiKr/.     Athens,  1883—. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTEATIONS 

FIG.  PAGE 

56.  Metope  of  Parthenon  (British  Museum)       .  .  .  .271 

57.  Metope  of  Parthenon  (British  Museum)       ....  272 

58.  Carrey's  drawing  of  E.  pediment  of  Parthenon  (after  Berlin  Antike 

Denkmaler,  I.  6  and  6a)                     .             .             .             .  275 

59.  Carrey's  drawing  of  W.  pediment  of  Parthenon  (after  Berlin  Antike 

Denkmaler   I.  6a)     .  .  .  .  .275 

60.  De  Laborde  Head,  from  a  cast  (Paris,  private  collection)    .             .  283 

61.  "Theseus,"  from  E.  pediment  of  Parthenon  (British  Museum)      .  284 

62.  Cephisus  (Ilissus),  from  W.  pediment  of  Parthenon  (British  Museum)  285 

63.  "The  Fates,"  from  E.  pediment  of  Parthenon  (British  Museum)  .  286 

64.  Slab  from  N.  frieze  of  Parthenon  (Athens,  Acropolis  Museum)       .  290 

65.  Group  of  Gods  (Poseidon,  Dionysus,  Demeter  (?)),  from  E.  frieze 

of  Parthenon  (Athens,  Acropolis  Museum)  .                          .  291 

66.  Metope  of  Theseum  ;  Theseus  and  Cercyon  (after  Mon.  List. ,  X. 

xliv.  2)  .  .  .  .  .  .296 

67.  Metope  of  Theseum  ;  Theseus  and  Bull  (after  Mon.  Inst. ,  X.  xliii.  2  297 

68.  Victory  binding  sandal,  from  Balustrade  of  temple  of  Wingless 

Victory  (Athens,  Acropolis  Museum)            .             .             .  299 

69.  Caryatid,  from  Erechtheum  (British  Museum)         .  .  .301 

70.  "Mourning  Athena"  (Athens,  Acropolis  Museum)             .             .  302 

71.  Relief  from  Eleusis  (Athens,  National  Museum)      .             .             .  303 

72.  Portrait  of  Pericles,  probably  after  Cresilas  (British  Museum)        .  317 

73.  Slab  from  Phigalian  frieze  ;  Heracles  (British  Museum)      .             .  322 

74.  Doryphorus,  after  Polyclitus  (Naples)          ....  328 

75.  Diadumenus  from  Vaison,  after  Polyclitus  (British  Museum)          .  330 

76.  Amazon,  after  Polyclitus  (Rome,  Vatican)  ....  333 

77.  Amazon,  Capitoline  type  (Rome,  Vatican)  .                          :             .  334 

t 


xvi  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 

FIG.  PAGE 

78.  Amazon  Mattel  (Rome,  Vatican)      .....  335 

79.  Head  from  Heraeum,  near  Argos  (Athens,  National  Museum)         .  340 

80.  Victory  by  Paeonius  (Olympia)        .             .             .             .  342 

81.  Irene  and  Plutus,  after  Cephisodotus  (Munich)       .             .             .  353 

82.  Hermes  and  infant  Dionysus,  by  Praxiteles  (Olympia)        .             .  357 

83.  Head  of  Hermes,  by  Praxiteles  (Olympia)   ....  358 

84.  Aphrodite  of  Cnidus,   after  Praxiteles  (Rome,    Vatican).      From 

J.  H.  S.,  PI.  Ixxx.    .             .             .             .             .             .  361 

85.  Satyr,  after  Praxiteles  (Rome,  Capitol)         .  .  .  .365 

86.  Relief  from    Mantinean    basis ;    Apollo    and    Marsyas   (Athens, 

National  Museum)    ......  367 

87.  Amazon  from  pediment  at  Epidaurus  (Athens,  National  Museum)  373 

88.  Ganymede,  after  Leochares  (Rome,  Vatican)            .             .             .  375 

89.  Heads  from  pediment   at   Tegea  by   Scopas   (Athens,    National 

Museum).     After   Berlin  Antike  Denkmaler,  I.   35  (from 

cast)  ........  379 

90.  Portrait  of  Mausolus  (British  Museum)        ....  388 

91.  Slab   from   large   frieze   of    Mausoleum,    with   Amazons   (British 

Museum)        .......  390 

92.  Charioteer  from  small  frieze  of  Mausoleum  (British  Museum)          .  391 

93.  Tombstone  of  Hegeso  (Athens,  Ceramicus) ....  395 

94.  Tombstone  of  Dexileos  (Athens,  Ceramicus)             .             .             .  396 

95.  Asclepius,  from  Epidaurus,  probably  after  statue  by  Thrasymedes 

(Athens,  National  Museum)               ....  398 

96.  Heads  of  Anytus  and  Artemis,  from  group  by  Damophon  at  Lyco- 

sura  (Athens,  National  Museum)      ....  401 

97.  Drapery  from  group  by  Damophon  at  Lycosura  (Athens,  National 

Museum)       .......  402 

ft§.   Apoxyomenus,  after  Lysippus  (Rome,  Vatican)       .             .             .  407 

99.  Demeter,  from  Cnidus  (British  Museum)     ....  415 

100.  Head  of  Asclepius,  from  Melos  (British  Museum)              .             .  417 

101.  Head  from  S.  of  Acropolis  (Athens,  National  Museum)     .             .  418 

102.  Drum  of  column  from  Ephesus  (British  Museum)              .             .  420 

103.  Niobe  and  her  youngest  daughter  (Florence,  Uffizi)           .             .  422 

104.  Niobid  Chiaramonti  (Rome,  Vatican)         ....  424 

105.  Son  of  Niobe  (Florence,  Uffizi)       .  .  .  .  .425 

106.  N.    side    of    Alexander    Sarcophagus    (Constantinople).       After 

Hamdy-Bey  and  Reinach,  Necropole  de  Sidon,  PI.  xxix.      .  429 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  xvii 

FIG.  PAGE 

107.  Head  of  Alexander  (British  Museum)         .  .  .  .436 

108.  Hellenistic  relief ;   Dionysus  visiting   a   dramatic  poet  (British 

Museum)       .....  .439 

.*409.   Boy  and  goose,  after  Boethus  (Louvre)       ....       443 

1W?  Antioch,  after  Euty chides  (Rome,  Vatican)  .  .  .       447 

ti-1.  Dying  Gaul  (Rome,  Capitol)  .  .  .  .  .455 

14Q-.   Dead  Amazon  and  Giant,  after  Pergamene  group  on  Acropolis  at 

Athens  (Naples)        ......       459 

•tl£r  Fighting  Persian,  after  Pergamene  group  on  Acropolis  at  Athens 

(Rome,  Vatican)        ......       460 

114.  Group  from  Pergamene  Altar  ;  Zeus  and  Giants  (Berlin)  .  .       463 

.  115.  Group  from  Pergamene  Altar  ;  Athena,  Giants,  Earth  (Berlin)    .       465 
-«6.  Laocoon  (Rome,  Vatican)  .  .  .  .  .  .471 

117.  Farnese  Bull  (Naples)         ......       474 

118.  Borghese  Warrior,  by  Agasias  (Louvre)      .  .  .       476 

119.  Apollo  Belvedere  (Rome,  Vatican)  .  .  .  .479 
420.  Artemis  of  Versailles  (Louvre)        .             .             .             .  .481 
-421.  Aphrodite  from  Melos  (Louvre)      .             .  .483 
-132.  Victory  from  Samothrace  (Louvre)             ....       486 
123.  Head  from  Eleusis,  known  as  "Eubuleus"   (Athens,   National 

Museum)       .....  .488 

424.  Venus  dei  Medici  (Florence,  Uffizi)  .  .  .  .500 

125.  Farnese  Heracles,  by  Glycon  (Naples)        ....       503 

126.  Marble  Vase  with  relief,  by  Sosibius  (Louvre).    After  Bouillon  III. 

Vases  et  Urnes,  PL  8  .  .  .  .  ,       504 

127.  Venus  Genetrix,  probably  after  Arcesilaus  (Louvre)  .  ,       506 

128.  Orestes  and  Electra,  Pasitelean  group  (Naples)      .  .  ,511 

129.  Portrait  of  Julius  Caesar  (British  Museum)  .  .  .       514 

130.  Relief ;  portrait  of  Antinous  (Rome,  Villa  Albani)  .  ,       518 


NOTE 

Since  I  have  not  accepted,  as  conclusively  proved,  Professor 
Furtwangler's  identification  of  the  Lemnian  Athena  by  Phidias, 
I  regret  the  more  that  I  have,  in  my  desire  for  brevity,  made  a 
slightly  incorrect  statement  of  the  evidence  on  which  the 
identification  is  based.  On  page  265  I  stated  that  the  head  of 
the  Athena  at  Dresden  "  is  made  in  a  separate  piece,  and  the 
Bologna  head  exactly  fits  the  socket."  The  Bologna  head  fits 
the  socket  not  of  the  complete  Atnena  at  Dresden,  but  of  a 
headless  duplicate  of  the  same  statue,  also  at  Dresden.  My 
scepticism  as  to  the  identification  of  the  statue  as  the  Lemnian 
Athena  of  Phidias  has  met  with  some  criticism  both  here  and 
in  Germany ;  but  if  it  leads  my  readers  to  weigh  the  evidence 
more  carefully  for  themselves,  my  purpose  will  be  attained, 
even  though  they  may  differ  from  me  in  their  conclusion. 


CHAPTER   III— (continued) 
THE  FIFTH  CENTURY — 480-400  B.C. — (continued) 

§  35.  Sculpture  of  the  Parthenon. — It  probably  would  not  have 
occurred  to  any  Greek  to  quote  the  sculptures  of  the  Parthenon 
among  the  finest  examples  of  the  art  of  his  country,  still  less  to 
point  to  them  as  preserving  the  worthiest  record  of  the  genius 
of  Phidias.  While  such  works  as  the  Athena  Parthenos  and 
the  Olympian  Zeus  were  still  extant,  mere  architectural  sculp- 
tures, however  perfect  their  execution,  and  however  eminent  the 
master  to  whom  they  owed  their  design,  could  only  occupy  a 
secondary  position.  But  now  that  the  great  statues  from  the 
master's  own  hand,  of  which  every  Greek  thought  when  he 
mentioned  the  name  of  Phidias,  are  either  entirely  lost  to  us, 
or  only  preserved  in  copies  that  can  convey  but  a  poor  and 
inadequate  notion  of  the  originals,  sculptures  like  those  of 
the  Parthenon  have  acquired  for  us  a  value  which  they  did  not 
possess  in  classical  times.  Mutilated  and  fragmentary  as  they 
are,  they  yet  preserve  for  us  the  direct  impress  of  the  master's 
genius,  if  not  the  touch  of  his  hand.  They  are  no  late  copies, 
contaminating  the  character  of  the  highest  period  of  Greek 
sculpture  with  many  features  belonging  to  later  times,  but  were 
made  under  the  direct  supervision  of  the  designer,  although 
their  execution  may  in  some  cases  show  the  sign  of  other  handi- 
work ;  and  we  may  be  confident  that  any  peculiarities  which 
we  may  notice  in  them  are  due,  if  not  to  the  master  himself,  at 
least  to  the  group  of  pupils  and  craftsmen  who  lived  under  his 
influence  and  formed  his  immediate  surrounding. 

It  may  be  questioned  how  far  we  are  justified  in  claiming  for 
the  sculpture  of  the  Parthenon  so  direct  a  relation  to  Phidias 
himself.  We  shall  see  that  there  are,  in  different  parts  of  this 

T 


268  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

sculpture,  especially  the  metopes  and  some  portions  of  the 
frieze,  not  only  inequalities  of  execution,  but  actual  differences 
of  style  and  design,  such  as  imply  a  considerable  amount  of 
freedom  in  the  work  of  the  various  individual  sculptors  em- 
ployed. But,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  character  about  the 
whole  sculpture,  and  especially  about  the  more  conspicuous 
parts  of  it — such  as  the  pediments — which  has  impressed  all 
artists  and  critics  as  differing  essentially  from  everything  else 
which  we  possess,  and  as  worthy  of  attribution  to  the  greatest 
of  all  sculptors.  We  are  informed  that  Phidias  was  entrusted 
with  the  general  supervision  of  the  wonderful  artistic  activity 
which  marked  the  supremacy  of  Pericles  in  the  Athenian  state. 
The  crowning  work  of  all  was  the  Parthenon.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  it  was  intended  not  only  as  the  worthy  shrine  of 
Athena  in  the  midst  of  her  chosen  city,  but  also  as  the  monu- 
ment that  summed  up  and  contained  in  itself  all  the  glory  of 
Athens,  and  all  the  beauty,  moderation,  and  wisdom  of  life  of 
her  people.  The  gold  and  ivory  statue  within  the  temple  was 
made  by.  Phidias  himself.  It  is  hardly  conceivable  that  he 
should  have  left  entirely  to  others  the  design  of  the  sculptures 
which  decorated  the  building,  for  they  were  clearly  part  of  one 
harmonious  whole,  intended  to  prepare  the  mind  of  the  spec- 
tator, and  to  lead  up  to  the  final  contemplation  of  the  perfect 
embodiment  of  the  goddess  herself.1  Doubtless  the  great  size 
and  number  of  the  sculptural  figures  which  decorated  every 
available  space  upon  the  temple  precluded  the  possibility  of 
their  execution  by  a  single  hand,  especially  when  we  remember 
that  the  whole  building  was  ready  for  dedication  within  eight 
years  from  its  commencement.  Some  portions  of  the  work, 
especially  the  separate  metopes,  may  have  been  left  to  the 
sculptors  who  undertook  them,  after  some  general  conditions  as 
to  subject  and  treatment  had  been  laid  down  by  the  designer  of 
the  whole.  But  the  great  and  harmonious  designs  of  the 
eastern  and  western  pediments,  and  the  continuous  composition 
of  the  frieze,  must  have  been,  in  all  essential  features,  the  crea- 
tion of  a  single  artist ;  and  we  can  hardly  imagine  this  artist  to 
have  been  any  other  than  Phidias  himself. 

1  We  need  not  be  shaken  in  this  opinion  by  the  analogy  of  Olympia.  Phidias 
did  not  go  there  until  the  sculptural  decoration  of  the  temple  was  completed  ;  and 
although  he  and  his  associates  designed  all  accessories  within  the  cella  of  the 
temple,  he  had  to  leave  the  external  sculptures  as  he  found  them. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  269 

Even  after  the  removal  or  destruction  of  the  great  statue, 
and  the  conversion  of  the  Parthenon  into  a  Christian  church, 
most  of  its  external  sculpture  appears  to  have  remained  intact, 
with  the  exception  of  the  central  group  of  the  east  pediment, 
which  was  destroyed  in  building  the  apse  of  the  church.  It 
was  not  until  the  disastrous  explosion  of  the  Turkish  powder 
magazine  within  the  cella,  in  1687,  that  a  completer  destruction 
began ;  and  the  explosion  was  followed  by  the  even  more 
disastrous  attempt  of  the  victorious  Veneto-German  army  to 
carry  off  as  booty  some  portions  of  the  sculpture  that  their 
cannon  had  already  damaged.  Thus  the  chariot  and  horses  of 
Athena  in  the  west  pediment  appear  to  have  perished  in  a 
clumsy  attempt  to  lower  them  from  their  place.  What  was  left 
remained  exposed  to  weather,  vandalism,  or  neglect,  until  Lord 
Elgin,  in  1801-1802,  obtained  leave  to  carry  it  off  to  England. 
Though  it  is  possible  that  his  agents  may  not  in  every  case 
have  shown  all  the  care  and  discretion  of  which  their  task  was 
worthy,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  work  on  the  whole  was  very 
well  done,  that  we  owe  to  it,  in  a  great  measure,  the  degree  of 
preservation  in  which  the  sculptures  still  remain,  and  that  Lord 
Elgin's  action  deserves  the  gratitude,  rather  than  the  censure, 
of  all  who  have  learnt  to  appreciate  the  "  Elgin  Marbles." 1 
It  must  be  remembered  that  at  the  time  when  he  carried  them 
off  they  were  not  only  neglected  by  those  who  had  charge  of 
them,  but  were  in  constant  danger  of  being  carried  off  piecemeal 
by  less  scrupulous  travellers,  and  that  soon  afterwards,  in  the 
war  of  Greek  independence,  the  Acropolis  was  repeatedly  be- 
sieged and  bombarded,  and  its  buildings  suffered  severely.  He 
removed  for  the  most  part  only  such  portions  of  the  sculpture 
as,  from  their  position  in  the  building,  were  exposed  to  the 
weather  or  to  other  risks.  Indeed,  his  discretion  in  this  matter 
was  perhaps  carried  even  too  far,  as  we  may  easily  realise  by 
comparing  what  is  still  left  in  situ  in  its  present  state  with  the 

1  The  absurd  misrepresentations  and  the  abuse  showered  on  Lord  Elgin  by 
Byron  and  others  have  had  undue  influence.  They  are  now  discredited  by  all 
authorities — French,  German,  and  Italian,  as  well  as  English — who  have  investi- 
gated the  matter.  In  view  of  the  suggestion  that  these  marbles  ought  to  be  given 
back  to  Greece,  now  that  the  Greeks  appreciate  their  value  and  are  capable  of 
taking  care  of  them,  it  must  be  remembered  that  they  are  now  safely  housed  in 
a  place  where  they  are  easily  accessible.  If  they  were  returned,  they  could  not 
be  replaced  in  the  building  from  which  they  were  taken  unless  it  were  entirely 
restored  ;  and  it  is  hard  to  see  what  would  be  gained  by  placing  them  in  a  museum 
in  Athens. 


270  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

casts  which  he  had  made  at  the  time  of  all  that  he  left  behind. 
Owing  to  his  action,  the  bulk  of  this  sculpture  is  now  in  the 
British  Museum ;  a  few  pieces  are  in  the  Louvre,  and  a  few 
others  have  been  taken  elsewhere  by  earlier  marauders.  A 
good  deal,  especially  at  the  two  ends,  still  remains  on  the  build- 
ing itself. 

The  various  fields  to  which  the  sculptured  decoration  of  the 
temple  was  assigned  have  already  been  described  in  the  section 
of  the  Introduction  concerning  architectural  sculpture  (c).  It 
will  be  best  to  describe  them  in  the  order  which  is  probably  also 
the  order  of  their  execution — (1)  the  metopes,  (2)  the  pedi- 
ments, and  (3)  the  frieze. 

(1)  The  Metopes. — These  were  sculptured  all  round  the 
building,  32  on  each  of  the  sides,  and  14  on  each  of  the  fronts. 
Those  of  the  south  side  alone  are  preserved  sufficiently  to  offer 
any  material  for  our  study ;  the  rest  have  suffered  so  severely  from 
the  weather  and  from  the  vicissitudes  which  the  building  has 
undergone,  that  we  can  only  conjecture  their  subjects,  and  can 
form  hardly  any  opinion  as  to  their  style.  It  appears  that  the 
eastern  front  contained  scenes  from  the  battle  between  gods  and 
giants,  and  the  western,  combats  between  Greeks  and  Amazons  ; 
on  the  northern  side  even  the  subject  is  doubtful.  On  the 
southern  side  the  twelve l  metopes  at  either  end  represent  the 
assault  of  the  Centaurs  upon  the  Lapith  women  at  the  bridal  of 
Pirithous,  and  the  consequent  battle  between  Centaurs  and 
Lapiths.  This  subject  is  naturally  broken  up  into  scenes  of 
single  combat.  The  relief  is  very  high ;  the  figures  are  almost 
detached  from  the  ground,  and  are  practically  in  the  round,  a 
fact  which  may  account  for  the  completeness  with  which  so 
many  of  the  metopes  have  been  destroyed.  The  best  preserved 
metopes  are  nearly  all  in  the  British  Museum ;  the  most 
western  metope  of  the  south  side  is  still  in  situ  on  the 
Parthenon,  and  affords  an  opportunity  for  appreciating  the  effect 
of  the  high  relief  and  vigorous  design  of  the  metopes,  as  seen 
in  the  massive  architectural  frame  for  which  they  were  designed. 
The  metopes  vary  in  style  more  than  any  other  part  of  the 
sculptural  decoration  of  the  Parthenon.  In  some  cases  we  see 
a  comparatively  tame  and  lifeless  design,  or,  if  the  combat  is 
more  vigorous  in  conception,  yet  the  pose  of  the  combatants  is 

1  Only  eleven  at  the  east  end  have  Centaurs ;  but  the  twelfth  may  well  belong 
to  the  same  scene. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  271 

awkward  or  strained ;  some  of  the  metopes,  on  the  other  hand, 
are  unsurpassed  in  all  art  for  the  admirable  balance  of  their 
composition,  the  perfect  adaptation  of  design  to  field,  and,  above 
all,  for  the  wonderful  life  and  beauty  of  the  figures,  whether 
still  engaged  in  the  conflict  (Fig.  56),  or  exulting  in  triumph 
over  a  fallen  foe  (Fig.  57).  Nor  is  there  less  variety  in  the 
execution.  The  drapery  is  sometimes  stiff  and  archaic  in 


FIG.  56. — Metope  of  Parthenon  (British  Museum). 

character,  sometimes  it  approaches  that  unrivalled  treatment 
which  we  see  in  the  pediments  and  frieze  ;  sometimes  it  is 
entirely  absent,  or  is  treated  merely  as  a  subordinate  accessory  ; 
in  other  cases  we  can  see  already  that  tendency  to  use  it  to  fill 
vacant  spaces  in  the  field  with  the  rich  decorative  effect  char- 
acteristic of  later  Attic  relief.  The  modelling  of  the  figures 
varies  also,  from  a  hard  and  dry  treatment  like  that  of  the 
earlier  Attic  sculptors  of  athletic  subjects,  to  a  perfect 
mastery,  free  alike  from  softness  and  from  exaggeration.  The 


272  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

type  of  the  heads  is  light  and  Attic,  and  usually  shows  an 
archaic  character  in  the  eyes  and  the  hair.  The  bestial  faces 
of  the  Centaurs  are  not  really  more  advanced  in  style,  though 
their  deep  and  distorted  wrinkles  and  their  grimaces  of  pain 
make  them  appear  less  conventional — a  contrast  which  we  have 


FIG.  57. — Metope  of  Parthenon  (British  Museum). 

noticed  also  at  Olympia.  The  treatment  of  the  semi-bestial 
nature  of  the  Centaur  reaches  its  acme  in  these  metopes.  The 
human  body  joined  at  the  waist  to  the  horse's  neck  is,  in  itself, 
one  of  the  worst  of  the  mixed  forms  devised  by  fancy,  since  it 
implies  a  duplication  of  so  many  of  the  essential  organs.  How 
unnatural  and  unconvincing  such  a  combination  appears  may 
be  seen  by  a  glance  at  its  unskilful  rendering,  for  example 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  273 

on  the  relief  at  Assos.  Success  in  so  difficult  an  attempt  was 
not  attained  at  one  leap ;  we  see  elsewhere,  particularly  at 
Olympia,  the  various  advances  towards  a  more  harmonious  effect ; 
but  it  is  in  the  Parthenon  that  one  principle  is  first  fully 
grasped  and  consistently  carried  out ;  this  is  the  adoption  of  a 
familiar  device  of  archaic  art,  by  which  the  breast  is  seen  facing, 
the  lower  part  of  the  body  in  profile.  So  in  these  metopes  the 
human  upper  part  of  the  Centaurs  is  always  seen  either  from 
the  front  or  three-quarter  face ;  while  the  equine  body  is  seen 
in  profile  ;  the  breadth  thus  gained  for  the  upper  part,  and  the 
subtle  curves  of  the  transition  from  the  one  form  to  the  other, 
seen  only  in  front,  and  implied  at  the  back,  help  to  justify  and 
almost  to  make  credible  the  monstrous  combination. 

We  have  already  seen  reason  to  believe  that  Phidias,  while 
doubtless  supervising  the  whole  design,  was  obliged  to  leave 
many  details  to  his  assistants,  and  it  need  not  surprise  us  to 
find  that  these  assistants  worked  more  independently  in  the 
case  of  the  metopes.  From  structural  necessity,  the  metopes  had 
to  be  in  their  place  before  the  cornice  was  put  over  the  outer 
colonnade,  and  therefore  before  the  erection  of  the  pediments. 
At  so  early  a  stage  of  the  work,  it  may  well  be  supposed  that 
Phidias  had  not  yet  a  trained  body  of  assistants,  and  that  he 
was  more  dependent  on  the  Attic  artists  of  earlier  schools  for 
help  in  the  execution  of  his  designs.  The  hard  and  dry  work 
of  some  of  the  metopes  recalls  the  style  of  Critius  and  Nesiotes, 
and  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  Critius  founded  a  school  of 
athletic  sculpture  which  went  on  for  many  generations.1 
Myron  too  had  scholars ;  and  some  of  these  groups,  with  their 
even  poise  of  combat  and  their  choice  of  a  momentary  pause 
in  the  midst  of  violent  motion,  are  worthy  of  Myron  himself. 
Others  again,  in  their  violent  contortions,  their  tricks  of  the 
wrestling  school,  their  ungainly  and  unstable  position,  seem  to 
betray  the  hand  of  pupils  or  imitators  who,  in  their  admiration 
for  the  apparently  reckless  originality  and  variety  of  the  sculp- 
tor of  the  Discobolus,  failed  to  catch  his  fine  sense  of  appropri- 
ateness and  restraint.  There  is,  in  the  details  of  the  metopes, 
more  originality  and  less  perfection  of  finish  than  elsewhere  in 
the  sculpture  of  the  Parthenon.  In  them  we  may  see  more  of 
the  exuberance  of  Attic  art  of  the  period,  and  less  of  the  con- 
trolling genius  of  Phidias  himself. 

1  See  p.  190. 


274  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  in 

(2)  The  pediments  of  the  Parthenon  are  described  by  Pau- 
sanias  only  in  the  most  summary  manner  :  "  What  one  sees  on 
the  pediment  as  one  enters  the  temple,"  he  says,  "is  entirely 
concerned  with  the  birth  of  Athena ;  while  at  the  back  is  the 
strife  of  Poseidon  against  Athena  for  the  land."  If  we  were 
left  only  to  this  meagre  description,  and  to  the  scanty,  though 
precious  remains  that  still  survive,  we  should  have  considerable 
difficulty  in  getting  any  satisfactory  notion  of  the  composition 
as  a  whole.  For  the  eastern  or  front  pediment,  this  is  un- 
happily the  case.  Though  the  French  artist,  Carrey,  who  visited 
the  Parthenon  in  1674,  shortly  before  the  explosion  which 
destroyed  the  middle  of  the  building,  made  a  drawing  of  the 
eastern  pediment  as  he  then  saw  it,  he  could  record  even  less  than 
may  still  be  seen  in  the  galleries  of  the  British  Museum.  With 
the  western  pediment  it  is  otherwise.  Carrey's  drawing,  in 
spite  of  some  minor  errors  in  the  intervals  and  in  the  position 
of  the  figures,  which  may  well  have  been  shifted  slightly  from 
their  original  place,1  is  evidently  an  accurate  and  intelligent 
record  of  what  he  saw ;  and  it  shows  us  the  composition  of  the 
western  pediment  almost  complete.  It  is  best,  therefore,  to 
deal  first  with  this  pediment,  though  its  actual  remains,  in  the 
British  Museum  and  at  Athens,  are  even  more  scanty  than  those 
of  the  eastern. 

The  story  of  the  contest  of  Athena  and  Poseidon  for  the 
land  of  Attica  has  a  mythological  significance  which  cannot  be 
discussed  here ;  the  two  were  reconciled  in  the  Erechtheum, 
which  was  really  the  centre  of  the  old  state  religion  of  Athens, 
though  even  there  Poseidon  had  to  take  a  subordinate  position. 
But  in  the  Parthenon  Athena  was  supreme,  and  her  victory  over 
Poseidon,  as  recorded  in  the  western  pediment,  was  symbolical 
of  the  unrivalled  glory  of  her  worship  in  her  chosen  city.  The 
form  of  the  story  varied  in  details ;  that  which  appears  to  be 
adopted  by  the  designer  of  the  pediment  is  as  follows.  Posei- 
don and  Athena  both  laid  claim  to  the  land  of  Attica,  and 
Poseidon  produced  a  salt-spring  (OdXaa-a-a)  as  the  symbol  or 
pledge  of  his  occupation,  Athena  the  olive  tree ;  both  these 
symbols  were  preserved  and  revered  within  the  precincts  of 

1  For  the  sake  of  ascertaining  the  exact  position  of  the  figures,  Dr.  Sauer  has 
made  a  detailed  sketch  of  all  indications  of  clamps,  sockets,  weathering,  etc.,  re- 
maining on  the  base  and  field  of  the  pediments  ;  see  Mitth.  Ath.,  1891,  p.  59, 
Taf.  iii.,  and  Ant.  Denkmiiler  (Berlin),  I.  58. 


276  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

the  Erechtheum.  Zeus  referred  the  quarrel  to  the  decision  of 
Cecrops  and  other  heroes  of  the  Attic  land,  or,  according  to 
another  version,  to  the  twelve  gods ;  they  decided  in  favour  of 
Athena,  and  Poseidon  retired  in  wrath.  The  central  group  of 
the  pediment,  which  is  divided  from  the  subordinate  groups  at 
the  sides  by  the  chariot  and  horses  of  Athena  on  the  left,  and 
probably  by  those  of  Poseidon  on  the  right,  consists  of  two 
figures  only,  Athena  and  Poseidon.  Each  moves  with  the  whole 
impulse  of  body  and  limbs  away  from  the  central  point,  which 
each  slightly  overlaps ;  but  each  has  the  head  turned  back 
towards  the  centre.  Their  paths  seem  to  cross,  and  there  is  an 
opposing  balance  of  momentum  in  the  midst  of  impetuous  action 
which  is  peculiarly  happy  in  this  position,  and  at  once  gives 
the  combination  of  symmetry  and  variety,  so  essential  to  archi- 
tectural sculpture,  which  may  be  traced  also  through  all  the 
subordinate  parts  of  the  composition.  The  exact  motive  of  the 
two  figures  that  compose  this  central  group  has  given  rise  to 
many  discussions.  It  seems  clear  from  Carrey's  drawing,  which 
is  confirmed  by  the  extant  fragments  of  the  two  figures,  that 
Poseidon  has  been  advancing,  and  is  suddenly  starting  back,  . 

cos  6're  n's  re  dpdKovra  Id&v  waXlvopcros  a.iriaT't], 

as  Mr.  Watkiss  Lloyd  has  aptly  quoted.  His  resemblance  in 
position  to  Myron's  Marsyas  is  obvious  at  first  glance,  and  we 
can  hardly  be  wrong  in  assigning  a  similar  motive  :  indeed,  we 
may  perhaps  acknowledge  that  this  central  group  in  its  character 
and  subject  may  have  been  influenced  by  Myron's  Athena  and 
Marsyas.  However  that  may  be,  we  must  suppose  that  Posei- 
don is  starting  back  not  only  before  Athena's  advance,  but  also 
from  some  object  at  which  he  is  startled.  What  that  object 
was  we  may  infer  from  the  legend,  but  there  is  other  evidence 
also  to  take  into  account.  The  contest  of  Athena  and  Poseidon 
is  a  frequent  subject  in  minor  art ;  and  in  some  cases  we  may 
recognise  either  this  central  group,  or  a  part  of  it,  directly 
imitated  from  the  Parthenon  pediment.  On  some  Athenian 
coins l  we  may  probably  recognise  a  figure  of  Athena  derived 
from  this  pediment;  though  turned  the  other  way,  as  is 
natural  enough  in  the  die-sinker's  art,  she  resembles  very 

1  See  Imhoof  and  Gardner,  Numismatic  Commentary  on  Paiisanias,  pi.  Z. 
Some  confusion  is  caused  by  the  fact  that  other  coins  represent  a  quite  different 
treatment  of  the  theme. 


Ill 


THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  277 


strongly  the  goddess  as  represented  in  Carrey's  sketch.  In 
almost  all  cases  we  see  beside  Athena,  in  a  position  which 
would  correspond  to  the  centre  of  the  pediment,  an  olive 
tree,  usually  with  a  snake  twined  round ;  when  Poseidon 
is  present,  this  snake  seems  to  attack  him.  Another  valuable 
piece  of  evidence  is  a  vase  found  at  Kertch,  representing 
this  same  contest  of  Athena  and  Poseidon.1  Here  the  figure 
of  Athena  resembles  that  in  the  pediment,  but  in  Poseidon 
there  is  no  sign  of  the  sudden  retreat  so  clearly  indicated 
in  Carrey's  sketch ;  between  the  two  is  an  olive  tree ;  a 
snake  coiled  round  its  trunk  rises  against  Poseidon,  and  amidst 
its  branches  floats  a  Victory,  bringing  her  garland  to  crown 
Athena.  Several  subordinate  figures  are  present,  but  they  have 
little  in  common  with  the  subordinate  figures  on  the  pediment. 
It  may  be  doubted  how  far  we  are  justified  in  using  either  coins 
or  vase  as  material  for  the  restoration  of  the  Parthenon  pedi- 
ment. The  direct  relation  between  them  and  their  supposed 
original  can  in  no  case  be  proved  decisively ;  and  we  must  re- 
member that  there  was  on  the  Acropolis  another  group  repre- 
senting the  same  subject  as  the  pediment.  It  seems  likely, 
however,  that,  as  the  sea-creatures  (perhaps  dolphins)  visible 
on  Carrey's  drawing  of  the  pediment  behind  Poseidon  represent 
his  symbol,  the  salt-spring,  so  too  the  olive,  the  rival  symbol 
of  Athena,  in  right  of  which  she  claimed  possession  of  the 
land,  must  have  been  represented;  and  this  symbol  finds  its 
fitting  place  in  the  middle  of  the  pediment ;  its  sudden  appear- 
ance may  well  be  the  portent  from  which  Poseidon  starts 
back,  and  Athena's  triumphant  advance  suffices  to  indicate  her 
victory. 

The  two  central  figures  stand,  as  it  were,  in  a  space  by  them- 
selves; behind  Athena  was  her  chariot,  driven  probably  by  Victory, 
her  constant  attendant ;  the  chariot  of  Poseidon  is  also  held  in  by  a 
female  charioteer,  who  may  well  be  identified  as  his  consort  Amphi- 
trite.  His  chariot  and  its  team  were  destroyed  before  Carrey's 
sketch  was  made.  Another  figure  stands  just  in  front  of  the 
charioteer  on  either  side,  a  nude  male  on  Athena's  side,  a  draped 
female  on  that  of  Poseidon ;  it  has  been  suggested  that  these 
may  be  Hermes  and  Iris,  sent  to  declare  the  result  of  the  contest ; 
but  this  appears  superfluous,  when  its  decision  is  already  so 
obvious.  The  subordinate  figures  behind  the  charioteers  on 
1  Oompte  Rendu,  St.  Petersburg,  1872  ;  /.  H.  S.  1882,  p.  245. 


278  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

either  side  have  met  with  as  many  identifications  as  there  have 
been  writers  to  discuss  them,  if  we  reckon  all  the  combinations 
and  permutations  which  have  been  devised  by  the  ingenuity  of 
interpreters.  The  fact  is  that  Carrey's  sketches  afford  just 
enough  material  for  conjecture,  but  not  enough  to  lead  us  to 
any  certain  conclusion.  It  has,  for  example,  been  much  disputed 
whether  the  nude  figure  seated  on  the  knees  of  a  draped  woman 
in  the  middle  of  the  right  side  is  male  or  female,  and  varying 
conjectures  have  been  made  on  either  hypothesis.1  The  only 
clue  that  could  guide  us  safely  under  such  circumstances  would 
be  the  recognition  of  some  of  the  figures  or  groups  of  figures  as 
a  definite  type,  reproduced  on  other  monuments,  with  a  meaning 
that  can  be  identified ;  but  this  has  not  hitherto  been  done. 
The  woman  seated  with  two  children  behind  Amphitrite,  or  the 
child  between  the  standing  woman  and  the  seated  one  behind 
Athena's  chariot,  seems  at  first  sight  to  offer  a  clue  ;  but  a  glance 
at  the  long  list  of  varying  identifications  given  in  Michaelis' 
Parthenon  suffices  to  show  how  inadequate  it  is.  Apart  from 
isolated  guesses  about  individual  figures,  we  may  say  that  three 
different  systems  of  explanation  are  possible.  Either  the 
sculptor  intended  to  represent  those,  either  gods  or  heroes,  who 
were  actually  present  at  the  contest ;  or  he  represented  those 
special  heroes  and  local  divinities  of  Attica  who,  by  their 
presence,  symbolised  the  interest  of  the  Attic  people  in  the 
triumph  of  their  goddess  ;  or  else  he  added  in  the  subordinate 
positions  a  series  of  purely  local  personifications,  intended  to 
indicate  the  scene  of  the  action  in  which  the  principal  figures 
are  involved.  Against  the  first  theory  it  may  be  urged  that 
gods  or  heroes,  if  present,  were,  according  to  the  legend,  present 
as  judges.  And  there  is  nothing  of  the  character  of  judges 
about  the  assistant  figures;  they  certainly  are  not  the  twelve 
gods,  nor  can  we  regard  them  as  a  representative  body  of  Attic 
heroes,  who  would,  from  all  analogy,  be  a  set  of  dignified  and 
aged  men ;  it  has  been  suggested  that  they  were  present  as 
partisans  on  either  side,  but  this  again  does  not  seem  borne  out 
by  the  character  of  the  figures.  In  a  combination  of  the  second 
and  third  hypotheses  we  may  probably  find  the  truth  ;  probably 
the  sculptor  had  in  his  mind  some  definite  mythological  or  topo- 
graphical signification  for  each  figure ;  but,  whatever  it  was,  it 

1  Dr.  Saner  claims  to  have  settled  this  question  by  finding  a  male  knee  and 
breast  which  must  have  belonged  to  this  figure.     Mittheil.  Ath.  1891,  p.  80. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  279 

is  now  lost,  and  we  cannot  recover  it  unless  some  new  evidence 
should  be  found  to  show  his  meaning.  As  to  one  or  two  figures 
perhaps  a  more  definite  conclusion  is  possible ;  it  has  been 
generally  agreed  to  recognise  a  river-god  (Fig.  62)  and  a  nymph — 
probably  Cephisus  and  Callirhoe — in  the  recumbent  figures  at  the 
ends,  who  thus  give  the  topographical  boundaries  of  the  scene, 
an  interpretation  in  close  analogy  with  that  of  the  similar  figures 
on  the  east  pediment  at  Olympia,  which  were  traditionally  ex- 
plained as  river-gods  in  the  time  of  Pausanias ;  and  the  identi- 
fication is  confirmed  by  the  wonderfully  soft  and  flowing  model- 
ling of  the  body  and  limbs  of  the  Cephisus  (often  called  Ilissus) ; 
similarly  in  a  statue  of  the  Eurotas,  made  more  than  a  century 
later  by  Eutychides,1  the  texture  of  the  body  was  praised 
as  "more  liquid  than  water."  The  position  of  the  figures  on 
the  building  also  coincides,  as  at  Olympia,  with  the  actual  local 
conditions.  Cephisus,  probably  accompanied  by  an  attendant 
nymph,2  is  on  the  side  of  his  own  river,  and  Callirhoe,  beside 
whom  is  Ilissus,  is  towards  her  spring.  The  seated  bearded 
man,  near  the  left  end,  round  whose  neck  the  girl  beside  him 
puts  her  arm,  has  a  coil  of  a  large  snake  behind  him.  This 
has  been  quoted  to  prove  the  figures  are  either  Cecrops  and  one 
of  his  daughters,  or  Asclepius  and  Hygieia  ;  neither  theory  is  as 
yet  convincingly  proved. 

The  central  group  of  the  eastern  pediment  is  irretrievably 
lost ;  a  discussion  as  to  how  it  may  have  been  rendered  belongs 
rather  to  the  province  of  mythography  than  of  sculpture.  The 
birth  of  Athena  from  the  head  of  Zeus,  with  the  help  of  a  blow 
with  an  axe  given  by  Prometheus  or  Hephaestus,  is  a  common 
subject  on  early  Attic  vases,  where  the  goddess  is  seen  like  a 
little  armed  doll,  actually  emerging  from  the  crown  of  her  father's 
head.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  how  such  a  treatment  of  the 
subject  can  have  been  modified  even  by  Phidias  into  a  theme  fit 
for  monumental  sculpture ;  it  is  more  likely  that  he  discarded 
this  conventional  type  altogether,  and  represented  Athena  as 
standing  beside  her  father,  already,  as  in  the  legend,  full-grown 
and  armed,  while  the  attendant  figures,  such  as  Prometheus 
with  his  axe,  and  the  Ilithyiae  who  had  assisted  in  the  safe 

1  See  p.  448,  §  62. 

2  This  figure  is  not  present  on  Carrey's  drawing,  but  there  is  a  space  for  her  ; 
Sauer,  I.e.,  suggests  that  she  must  have  fallen  when  the  block  on  which  she  rested 
was  carried  away  by  a  falling  piece  of  the  cornice. 


280  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

delivery,  sufficed  to  indicate  that  her  birth  had  just  taken  place. 
Such  is  the  rendering  of  the  subject  on  a  marble  puteal  (or 
border  of  a  well)  in  Madrid,  where  Victory  also  floats  to  crown 
the  new-born  goddess ; l  and  this  puteal  may  reproduce  the  theme 
of  this  eastern  pediment.  It  must  be  acknowledged  that  the 
figures  of  Athena  and  Victory  on  the  puteal  bear  a  remarkable 
resemblance  to  those  of  the  same  two  figures,  perhaps  from  the 
western  pediment,  on  the  Kertch  vase ;  and  while  this  resem- 
blance is  in  favour  of  the  view  that  both  vase  and  puteal  are 
derived  from  a  common  source  in  the  Parthenon,  we  may  well 
hesitate  to  admit  the  probability  of  so  strong  a  resemblance 
between  the  central  groups  of  the  two  pediments.  However 
this  may  be,  the  indications  on  the  ground  of  the  pediment  and 
the  supports  provided  seem  to  show  that  there  was  no  figure  in 
the  centre  of  the  pediment,  but  that  here,  as  in  the  west  pedi- 
ment, two  figures  only  formed  the  central  group,  Athena  on 
the  right,  and  Zeus,  seated  on  his  throne  and  facing  her,  on  the 
left. 

The  subordinate  figures  of  the  eastern  pediment  are  still  in 
great  measure  preserved,  and  are,  perhaps,  the  most  perfect 
works  of  sculpture  that  exist.  Just  as,  in  the  west  pediment, 
a  local  setting  is  provided  for  the  scene  of  contest,  which  took 
place  in  Attica,  so  here  the  birth  of  Athena  is  framed  with 
appropriate  circumstance ;  the  scene  is  in  heaven,  the  time 
sunrise,  and  so,  while  Selene,  the  Moon,  descends  with  her 
chariot 2  at  the  right  corner  of  the  pediment,  Helios  rises  with 
his  team  from  the  sea  at  its  left  corner.  Facing  the  rising 
horses  of  the  Sun  is  the  noble  reclining  figure  familiarly  known 
as  Theseus,  a  name  that  has  little  beyond  its  familiarity  to 
commend  it.  Here  too  the  true  identification  has  been  much 
disputed ;  the  suggestion  of  Brunn  that  the  figure  represents 
Mount  Olympus,  illuminated  by  the  rays  of  the  rising  sun,  and 
serving  to  indicate  more  definitely  the  locality,  has  much  in  its 
favour.  Such  reclining  figures  are  not  uncommon  as  personi- 
fications of  mountains ;  and  the  suggestion  is  thoroughly  in 
harmony  with  the  conventions  of  Greek  art.  The  identification 
of  the  remaining  figures  in  this  pediment  is  as  problematic 

1  Baumeister,  Fig.  172. 

2  One  horse  is  in  the  British  Museum,  and  the  remains  of  three  others  are  still 
on  the  pediment ;  the  sxiggestions  that  Selene  was  riding  on  one  horse,  or  driving 
a  pair,  must  therefore  be  set  aside. 


ni  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  281 

as  in  the  western ;  though  we  can  still  study  the  originals, 
their  distinctive  attributes  are  gone ;  but  here  also  two 
systems  are  possible ;  we  may  either  regard  them  as  strictly 
mythological  personages,  present  at  the  event,  or  as  more 
or  less  fanciful  personifications  to  give  it,  as  it  were,  a  cosmic 
setting,  since  no  local  surroundings  would  suffice.  Here,  how- 
ever, the  two  systems  are  not  mutually  exclusive  as  in  the 
west  pediment ;  thus  Brunn's  suggestion  that  the  two  seated 
figures  next  his  Olympus  are  the  Horae,  to  whom  the  gate  of 
Olympus  is  entrusted,  and  past  whom  Iris  is  hastening  out  to 
bear  the  message  to  the  world,  may  find  their  place  in  either. 
Corresponding  to  Iris,  on  the  other  side,  most  authorities 
restore  another  figure  in  rapid  motion,  sent  to  tell  abroad  the 
news  of  the  birth  of  Athena ;  this  figure,  which  may  be  Victory 
(NiKr)),  does  not  however  hasten  to  the  right  as  Iris  to  the  left, 
but  seems  rather  to  be  advancing  straight  forward.1  Next  to 
her  is  a  seated  figure,  who,  as  Carrey's  sketch  shows,  turned 
her  head  toward  the  middle  of  the  pediment.  She  may  or 
may  not  form  part  of  a  single  group  with  the  two  that  are 
between  her  and  Selene.  One  of  these  sits  on  the  end  of  a 
couch,  along  which  the  other  is  reclined  leaning  on  her  com- 
panion's lap.  The  three  have  been  called  the  Fates,2  or  the  three 
Attic  Horae ;  in  the  absence  of  attributes,  no  such  identification 
can  be  proved  :  others  have  suggested  a  more  fanciful  meaning, 
drawn  from  the  marvellous  delicacy  and  richness  of  the.  drapery, 
especially  of  the  reclining  figure,3  and  interpret  them  as 
personifications,  not  indeed  of  places  or  rivers,  but  of  nature 
in  a  more  general  aspect  (Fig.  63). 

But  it  is  time  to  turn  from  the  meaning  of  the  artist  to  the 
composition  of  the  groups,  and  the  execution  by  which  their 
splendid  conception  has  found  a  worthy  expression.  We  have 
already  noticed  the  subtlety  in  the  balance  of  composition 
shown  by  the  central  group  of  the  western  pediment ;  as  to  the 
eastern,  unfortunately,  we  can  say  but  little.  Here  we  can 

1  Sauer's   investigations   have  proved  that  this  figure  cannot,   as  had  been 
suggested,  be  Victory  crowning  Athena  in  the  middle  of  the  pediment. 

2  It  is  true  the  Fates  are  present  in  the  Madrid  puteal ;  but  they  have  no 
resemblance  to  these  figures,  and  such  subordinate  additions  were  often  made  in 
decorative  work  from  other  sources  than  that  from  which  the  main  subject  was 
drawn. 

3  Thus   Brunn    calls   them   clouds ;    Professor  Waldstein    suggests   Thalassa 
(Sea)  in  the  lap  of  Gaia  (Earth). 


282  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

best  realise  the  great  attainment  of  the  designer  of  the 
Parthenon  sculptures  by  a  comparison  with  his  predecessors 
in  the  same  field.  In  the  east  pediment  at  Olympia  there  is 
also  a  balance,  but  of  simple  and  even  monotonous  rest ;  in  the 
western  Olympian  pediment  there  is  motion  enough,  and  motion 
symmetrically  balanced ;  but  it  is  motion  either  directly  towards 
or  directly  away  from  the  centre,  where  a  single  colossal  figure 
offers  a  fixed  mass  amidst  the  struggling  figures,  puynae 
nodumque  moramque.  The  abolition  of  this  central  figure  in 
the  Parthenon  pediments  makes  the  balance  more  delicate  and 
more  subtly  felt.  And  in  the  subordinate  figures  too  there  is 
more  variety  and  elasticity  in  the  symmetry  which,  in  an 
architectural  composition,  can  never  be  lost  sight  of.  The  two 
sides  still  correspond,  figure  to  figure;  but  their  grouping 
varies  in  detail.  Thus  the  three  "  Fates  "  of  the  eastern  pediment 
correspond  to  three  figures  in  very  similar  attitudes  on  the  left 
side  of  the  same  pediment ;  but  while  the  reclining  figure  and 
the  companion  in  whose  lap  she  rests  form  a  closely -united 
group,  from  which  the  other  seated  figure  is  slightly  separated, 
the  two. seated  figures  on  the  other  side  are  closely  united,  and 
the  reclining  male  figure  is  separated  from  them.  This  is  a 
simple  and  obvious  instance  of  a  refinement  of  composition  that 
may  be  traced  throughout.  Again,  though  the  attendant  figures 
are  all  present  as  spectators  of  the  central  action,  on  which 
their  interest  is  fixed,  they  do  not  all  turn  towards  it  with  a 
monotonous  iteration.  It  may  almost  seem  at  first  as  if  the 
artist,  in  his  desire  to  avoid  this  iteration,  had  gone  too  far  in 
turning  some  figures  away  from  the  scene  they  are  present  to 
witness.  But  it  is  the  moment  just  after  the  culminating  event 
that  is  rendered  in  each  case ;  and  a  consciousness  of  it  seems 
to  pervade  the  whole  without  the  need  for  further  concentration 
of  attention.  Thus  the  perception  of  the  spectator,  in  travelling 
from  either  extremity  towards  the  centre,  is  not  led  on  by  a 
continually -increasing  strain,  but  is,  as  it  were,  borne  on  a 
succession  of  waves.  So  much  we  can  guess  from  the  scanty 
remains  that  are  left ;  but,  when  so  much  is  lost,  it  must 
always  be  difficult  to  realise  adequately  what  must  have  been 
the  effect  of  the  whole. 

To  study  the  •execution  of  the  Parthenon  pediments  is  the 
liberal  education  of  artists,  to  imitate  it  the  despair  of  sculptors. 
It  is  impossible  to  speak  of  it  here  except,  in  the  briefest  way ; 


Ill 


THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C. 


all  we  can  do  is  to  notice  a  few  of  the  characteristics  that  seem 
to  distinguish  it  from  that  of  other  masterpieces  of  Greek 
sculpture.  No  heads  are  left  on  the  figures,  excepting  that  of 
the  so-called  Theseus ;  and  its  surface  is  so  damaged  that  we 


FIG.  60.— De  Laborde  Head,  from  a  cast  (Paris,  private  collection). 

can  judge  of  little  but  its  proportions.     In  the  treatment  of 
hair  and  of  eyelids  there  is  still  a  trace  of  archaic  convention. 
A  female  head  (Fig.  60),  now  in  Paris,1  was  brought  to  Venice 

1  Called  the  Weber  head,  from  a  former  possessor,  who  suggested  its  belonging 
to  the  Parthenon  ;  it  is  now  in  the  De  Laborde  collection. 

U 


284  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP 

by  Morosini's  secretary,  and  so  there  is  every  external  probability 
in  favour  of  its  belonging  to  some  figure  from  the  Parthenor 
pediments,  to  which  its  style  seems  appropriate.  In  spite  of  iti 
restored  nose  and  chin,  we  can  recognise  in  this  head  a  nobl< 
and  intellectual  type,  a  breadth  and  simplicity  of  modelling 
coupled  with  the  most  delicate  play  of  surface,  and  perfec 
skill  in  the  treatment  of  marble,  which  can  only  be  matched  bj 
the  similar  qualities  that  we  may  recognise  in  the  drape( 
figures,  to  one  of  which  it  must  probably  belong. 


FIG.  61.— "Theseus,"  from  E.  pediment  of  Parthenon  (British  Museum). 

For  the  modelling  of  the  nude  male  form  we  have  again  thi 
Theseus  and  the  Cephisus.  The  wonderfully  soft  and  flowing 
surface  of  the  latter  has  already  been  referred  to.  The  Theseu 
(Fig.  61)  on  the  other  hand  presents,  as  it  were,  the  sum  of  al 
that  Greek  sculpture  had  hitherto  attained  in  the  rendering  of  thi 
male  figure.  There  is  nothing  about  him  of  the  dry  and  somewha 
meagre  forms  that  characterise  the  athletic  art  of  early  masters 
nor  of  that  unduly  square  and  massive  build  that  was  chosen  bj 
the  sculptors  of  the  Peloponnese.  It  -is  an  absolute  freedon 


Ill 


THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C. 


285 


from  exaggeration  of  any  sort  that  marks  in  him  the  perfection 
of  sculptural  technique.  His  muscles  are  correctly  felt  and 
closely  indicated,  yet  not  in  such  a  way  as  to  suggest  that  there 
is  no  interposing  layer  of  flesh  between  them  and  the  skin ;  his 
figure  shows  in  every  detail,  as  well  as  in  its  general  character, 
the  most  powerful  build  and  the  height  of  physical  condition  • 
yet  it  is  that  of  a  perfectly-developed  man  rather  than  that  of  a 
successful  athlete.  Above  all,  in  his  pose,  with  its  combination 
of  grace  and  dignity,  we  see  that  Attic  art  has  lost  none  of  its 
feeling  for  beauty  of  composition  and  pleasantness  of  effect, 
while  acquiring  the  more  vigorous  and  severe  excellence  of  other 
schools.  But  it  is  in  the  treatment  of  the  draped  female  figure 
(Fig.  63)  that  the  art  of  Athens  reaches  the  most  marvellous 


FIG.  62.— Cephisus  (Ilissus),  from  W.  pediment  of  Parthenon  (British  Museum). 

attainments  of  its  prime,  as  it  had  devoted  to  the  same  subject 
the  most  quaint  and  careful  devotion  of  its  youth.  Here  the 
mastery  over  the  material  is  so  perfect  as  to  make  us  forget  the 
slow  and  laborious  process  by  which  it  has  been  attained.  The 
marvellous  rendering  of  the  texture  of  the  drapery  and  the 
almost  infinite  multiplicity  of  its  folds  does  not  obscure  or  even 
modify  the  dignity  and  breadth  of  the  whole  conception,  but 
only  adds  to  it  a  new  delicacy  and  grace.  And  this  seems  to 
be  mainly  due  to  two  causes — the  perfect  harmony  of  the  drapery 
with  the  forms  which  it  covers,  and  the  studied  and  elaborate 
system  of  the  drapery  itself,  in  which  every  fold,  however 
apparently  accidental  or  even  realistic  in  itself,  has  a  relation  to 
the  effect  of  the  whole.  We  can  see  those  characteristics  most 
clearly  in  the  group  of  the  "three  Fates,"  especially  in  the 


286  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

reclining  figure,  which,  perhaps  more  than  any  other,  even  among 
these  Parthenon  sculptures,  shows  the  most  marvellous  transla- 
tion into  marble  of  flesh  and  of  drapery.  The  nobility  and 
breadth  are  of  course  in  great  measure  due  to  the  proportions  of 
the  figure,  which  are  very  different  from  those  of  later  Greek  art ; 
to  realise  this  one  has  only  to  contrast  them  with  those  of  the 
Aphrodite  of  Praxiteles,1  in  which  we  see  the  most  perfect 
expression  of  the  more  usual,  perhaps  more  human,  ideal  of  the 
female  form.  There  is  nothing  hard  or  unwomanly  about  these 
Parthenon  figures;  only  in  their  combination  of  grace  with 
majesty  they  seem  to  imply  a  higher  ideal  of  womanhood  than 


FIG.  63. — "The  Fates,"  from  E.  pediment  of  Parthenon  (British  Museum). 

we  find  elsewhere  in  Greek  art.  The  drapery  reveals,  by  its 
modelling  and  by  the  flow  of  its  folds,  the  limbs  which  it  seems 
to  hide ;  yet  it  never  clings  to  them  so  as  to  lose  its  own  essential 
character.  And  its  folds,  however  minute  in  themselves,  are 
always  divided  into  clear  and  definite  masses,  which  save  it  from 
the  crumpled  confusion  one  often  sees  in  an  attempt  to  paint  or 
carve  so  delicate  a  texture.  Compare  the  drapery  of  the 
Aphrodite  of  Melos,  where  these  broad  masses  only  are  given, 
the  sculptor,  in  his  desire  to  escape  from  his  own  time  and  to 
recover  the  style  of  the  fifth  century,  not  daring  to  add  the 
multitudinous  detail  which  here,  and  here  alone,  does  not  mar 
the  simplicity  and  breadth  of  the  impression  produced.  For  a 
1  See  p.  361. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  287 

different  effect,  a  study  of  the  bold  curves  of  wind-swept  drapery, 
we  may  turn  to  the  Iris  of  the  east  pediment.  Here  the  drapery, 
stretched  by  the  rapid  motion  of  the  goddess,  does  not  fall  into 
such  minute  folds  as  in  the  figures  at  rest ;  the  contrast  is  such 
that  some  have  seen  in  it  the  work  of  a  different  artist.  But 
the  explanation  is  rather  to  be  sought  in  the  thicker  material  of 
the  simpler  Doric  chiton  worn  by  Iris,  while  the  drapery  of 
"the  Fates"  is  Ionic  in  its  richness  of  folds  and  fineness  of  tex- 
ture. With  the  Iris  we  may  compare  the  Chiaramonti  Niobid,1 
a  figure  unsurpassed  for  realism  in  floating  drapery.  There  is 
again  more  system,  more  subordination  of  detail  to  the  effect  of 
the  whole,  than  in  the  later  work.  Of  course  we  cannot  fail  to 
recognise  that  the  sculptor,  in  works  like  these,  transcends  his 
surroundings ;  yet  the  conventions  and  restraint  of  his  prede- 
cessors and  their  elaborate  study  of  systems  of  drapery  which 
we  see  in  the  earlier  works  of  Attic  art,  are  not  without  their 
influence  even  on  the  artists  of  the  Parthenon,  and  afford,  as  it 
were,  a  solid  framework  without  which  all  this  spontaneous 
exuberance  of  beauty  might  well  have  exceeded  the  strict  limits 
of  sculptural  perfection. 

Many  other  things  call  for  notice  which  must  be  briefly 
mentioned ;  for  example  the  spirited  modelling  of  the  horses 
of  Helios  and  Selene,  and  their  contrast; — his  horses  inhale  with 
distended  nostrils  the  air  of  the  morning  as  they  spring  from 
the  sea,  and  hers,  tired  with  their  nightly  course,  still  show  their 
mettle  as  they  near  the  goal.  This  need  not  surprise  us  when 
we  remember  that  Myron  and  Calamis  were  even  more  famous 
for  their  sculpture  of  animals  than  of  men,  and  that  a  series  of 
horses  from  the  Acropolis  show  the  studies  of  earlier  Attic 
artists  in  this  line,  in  contrast  to  the  comparatively  tame  horses 
of  Olympia. 

It  has  often  been  remarked  that  these  pedimental  sculptures 
are  finished  almost  as  carefully  behind  as  in  front,  and  this  has 
been  quoted  to  show  the  love  of  the  Greek  artist  for  his  work 
in  itself,  and  his  wish  to  make  it  beautiful  even  where  it  could 
never  be  seen.  Perhaps  another  explanation  may  be  found, 
more  reasonable  and  more  in  accordance  with  what  we  know  of 
Greek  art,  which  was  never  given  to  spending  labour  for  no 
purpose.  We  know  that  a  Greek  vase-painter — like  a  modern 

1  See  p.  424.     Of  course  allowance  imist  be  made  for  this  Niobid  being  a  copy, 
though  a  good  copy. 


288  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

artist — was  in  the  habit  of  drawing  the  whole  of  a  figure  of  which 
the  greater  part  was  concealed  behind  another,  in  order  to  make 
sure  that  the  relations  of  the  visible  parts  were  correctly  drawn, 
and  afterwards  of  erasing  or  omitting  the  parts  concealed. 
May  we  not  imagine  that  the  artists  who  made  these  pedimental 
figures  had  their  sculptural  instinct  so  strongly  developed  that 
to  them  a  figure  in  the  round  sculptured  only  in  front  was  like 
a  figure  drawn  of  which  only  some  portions  showed,  and  that  in 
order  to  assure  themselves  of  the  correctness  of  the  visible  parts, 
they  felt  it  necessary  to  complete  the  whole  figures,  at  least  in 
the  rough  ?  The  labour  thus  expended  offers  no  less  strong  a 
testimony  to  the  devotion  of  the  sculptors  and  their  determina- 
tion to  leave  nothing  undone  that  might  add  to  the  perfection 
of  their  work,  and  it  seems  to  proceed  from  a  less  sentimental 
and  more  rational  motive. 

In  speaking  of  these  sculptures  of  the  Parthenon  pediments, 
it  has  been  assumed  so  far  that  they  are  a  product  of  Attic  art ; 
and  the  evidence  in  favour  of  this  view  is  so  strong  that  it  can 
hardly  be  contested.  How  far  we  may  consider  them  to  be  the 
work  of  Phidias  himself  it  is  a  difficult  matter  to  decide.  In 
the  case  of  the  metopes  we  saw  reason  to  believe  that  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  latitude  in  matters  of  detail  and  execution 
must  have  been  left  to  his  assistants,  even  if  he  superintended 
the  distribution  of  the  scenes  and  their  general  design.  But  in 
the  pediments,  which  were  doubtless  regarded  as  the  culmination 
of  the  sculptural  decoration,  we  cannot  imagine  him  to  have  left 
the  design  to  any  other  hand.  It  would  indeed  have  been 
impossible  for  Phidias  to  have  carved  with  his  own  hand  so 
many  large  figures  in  marble  during  the  short  time  in  which  the 
Parthenon  was  completed, — a  time  too  during  which  he  had  to 
make  the  colossal  gold  and  ivory  statue  of  Athena,  as  well  as  to 
superintend  the  whole  artistic  administration  of  Pericles.  But 
we  may  well  suppose  that  he  supervised  the  execution  of  the 
pediments  in  person,  that  he  even  gave  a  finishing  touch  to 
some  portions,  and  that  he  had  as  his  assistants  in  this  work  a 
band  of  sculptors  whom  he  had  trained  so  completely  in  his 
methods  that  their  hand  could  hardly  be  distinguished  from 
his  own.  We  may  thus  best  understand  the  wonderfully  even 
excellence  in  execution  which  we  recognise,  in  spite  of  some 
varieties  in  style,  in  the  pediments,  as  contrasted  with  the  very 
uneven  quality  of  work  which  we  see  in  the  metopes,  and  some- 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  289 

times  also  in  the  frieze.  And,  without  the  direct  personal 
influence  and  supervision  of  Phidias,  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
understand  the  marvellous  excellence  of  the  pediments  in 
execution  as  well  as  in  design,  and  the  vast  interval  which  we 
see  between  them  and  other  almost  contemporary  examples  of 
architectural  sculpture. 

(3)  The  frieze  of  the  Parthenon1  consists  of  a  band  of  low 
relief,  going  all  round  the  outside  of  the  cella,  within  the 
peristyle ;  it  is  about  3  ft.  4  in.  high,  and  the  depth  of  the 
relief  averages  only  about  an  inch  and  a  half.  The  greater  part 
of  the  frieze  is  now  in  the  British  Museum ;  that  on  the  west 
end  is  still  in  situ  on  the  building,  and  a  few  other  slabs  are  in 
Athens  ;  there  are  also  some  fragments  in  the  Louvre  and 
elsewhere. 

The  subject  of  the  frieze  is  the  Panathenaic  procession,  the 
most  brilliant  ceremony  of  the  great  Panathenaic  games,  which 
were  held  every  fourth  year  in  honour  of  Athena.  This  pro- 
cession, which  led  beasts  for  sacrifice  to  the  Acropolis,  and  also 
carried  the  Peplos  or  sacred  robe  of  the  goddess,  woven  for  her 
by  chosen  Athenian  matrons  and  maids,  was  representative  of 
all  that  was  best  and  noblest  in  the  Athenian  state  and  society  ; 
the  magistrates  of  the  city,  bands  of  men  and  youths  chosen 
for  their  dignity  and  beauty,  maidens  of  the  noblest  families, 
the  representatives  of  allied  and  tributary  states,  the  resident 
aliens  in  the  city,  all  had  their  place  in  the  festal  procession, 
which  was  escorted  by  chariots  and  by  the  Athenian  knights 
in  military  pomp.  Such  a  subject  was  fittingly  chosen  to 
adorn  the  temple,  as  the  most  brilliant  and  characteristic  act  of 
worship  in  which  Athena  was  honoured  by  her  chosen  city.  On 
the  western  end  of  the  cella,  over  the  columns  of  the  opistho- 
domus,  are  represented  the  knights  equipping  themselves  and 
their  horses  for  the  festal  parade.  On  either  side,  north  and 
south,  we  see  the  procession  advancing  towards  the  eastern  front. 
At  the  back  are  the  knights,  riding  in  a  throng  (Fig.  64),  in  front 
of  them  come  the  chariots,  each  accompanied  by  a  marshal  and 
an  armed  warrior  (apobates)  as  well  as  the  charioteer.  In  front 
of  them  again  come  bands  of  men,  and,  on  the  north  side  attend- 
ants and  musicians ;  nearest  in  approaching  the  east  front  are 
the  beasts  for  sacrifice,  cows  only  on  the  south  side,  cows  and 
sheep  on  the  north.  On  the  east  side  we  see  the  head  of  the 
1  For  its  position  in  the  building,  see  p.  41. 


290  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

procession  turning  the  corner  at  either  extremity ;  here  are  the 
maidens  with  sacrificial  vessels  and  implements,  advancing  to 
meet  a  group  of  men,  who  are  probably  the  nine  archons  and 
other  high  functionaries.  Then,  in  the  centre  of  the  eastern 
side,  over  the  main  door  of  entrance  of  the  temple,  we  see  the 
gods,  seated  in  assembly  as  guests  of  Athena  at  her  high 
festival.  They  are  divided  into  two  groups.  Nearest  the 


FIG.  64. — Slab  from  N.  frieze  of  Parthenon  (Athens,  Acropolis  Museum). 

centre,  in  the  right  group  is  Athena  ;  next  her  come  Hephaestus, 
Poseidon,  Dionysus,  Demeter  (Fig.  65),  and  Aphrodite,1  with 
Eros  leaning  against  her  knee.  On  the  other  side  the  place  of 
honour  is  held  by  Zeus,  and  beyond  him  are  Hera,  attended  by 
Iris,  Ares,  Artemis,  Apollo,  and  Hermes.  Zeus  and  Athena  are 
separated  by  a  space  in  which  is  represented  what  one  would 
expect  to  be,  in  meaning  as  in  position,  the  central  point 

1  This  list  of  gods  is  not  beyond  dispute  as  to  some  of  the  identifications  ;  but 
the  possible  differences  cannot  be  profitably  discussed  in  the  space  that  can  here 
be  afforded. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  291 

of  the  whole  ceremony.  In  the  midst  stand  a  priest,  probably 
the  Archon  Basileus,  and  the  priestess  of  Athena,  back  to 
back ;  he  is  occupied,  with  the  assistance  of  a  boy,  in  folding 
a  large  piece  of  cloth  or  drapery,  while  she  is  taking  from 
two  attendant  maidens  the  stools  which  they  carry.  Since 
the  offering  of  the  Peplos,  or  sacred  robe  of  Athena,  was  the 
essential  feature  of  the  Panathenaic  procession,  and  the  Pep- 
los, if  not  represented  here,  is  not  to  be  found  anywhere 


FIG.  65.— Group  of  Gods  (Poseidon,  Dionysus,  Demeter  (?)),  from  E.  frieze  of 
Parthenon  (Athens,  Acropolis  Museum). 

else  in  the  frieze,  it  is  generally  agreed  that  we  must  recognise 
it  in  the  piece  of  drapery  which  the  priest  holds  ;  but  his  action 
certainly  does  not  seem  to  suggest  that  he  is  taking  charge  of 
the  new  peplos  brought  to  Athena  by  the  procession,  from 
which,  moreover,  he  is  separated  by  the  whole  group  of  the 
gods.1  Both  he  and  the  priestess  appear  to  be  employed  in  pre- 

1  This  has  been  so  strongly  felt  by  some  that  they  maintain  the  priest  is  only 
taking  off  his  own  himation  in  preparation  for  the  sacrifice  ;  he  is  dressed  only  in  a 
long  chiton.  For  such  a  prominence  given  to  vestments  we  have  no  authority  in 
Greek  ritual.  The  stools  taken  by  the  priestess  are  also  a  puzzle  ;  it  is  hard 
to  find  a  motive  for  them  adequate  to  the  position  they  occupy. 


292  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

paration  for  the  great  ceremony  rather  than  in  its  performance  ; 
and  we  may  perhaps  find  a  more  probable  explanation  of  this 
central  group  if  we  suppose  the  priest  to  be  folding  up  and  putting 
away  the  old  peplos  of  Athena  to  make  place  for  the  new  one 
which  was  to  be  brought  her.  Thus  the  offering  of  the  new 
peplos  is  implied  by  the  folding  up  of  the  old  one,  and  an  ade- 
quate motive  is  provided  for  the  group  over  the  east  door ; 
though  it  is  still  hard  to  explain  why  the  new  peplos  is  not 
represented  anywhere  on  the  frieze.1  The  group  of  gods  on 
either  side  turn  their  backs  on  the  priest  and  priestess,  and 
fix  their  attention  on  the  procession,  which  advances  towards 
them  from  either  side. 

The  frieze  is  distinguished  at  once  by  its  unity  and  its 
variety  of  design.  Each  element  in  the  procession  occupies  a 
long  enough  portion  of  the  field  to  attract  and  to  satisfy  the 
attention  of  a  spectator  who  sees  it  between  the  columns  as  he 
walks  along  the  building ;  yet  no  two  figures  are  alike ;  and  a 
principle  of  contrasts  marks  the  different  parts — the  majestic 
repose  of  the  gods  and  their  subtle  characterisation  in  pose  and 
feature,  the  slow  and  stately  advance  of  the  maidens  and 
of  the  men,  and  the  impetuous  rush  of  the  cavalry,  again 
moderated  by  the  graceful  seat  and  perfect  ease  of  the  riders. 
In  adaptation  of  technical  treatment  to  the  circumstances 
and  position  probably  no  work  of  sculpture  shows  so  careful 
calculation  as  this  frieze — again  a  proof  of  its  unity  of  design, 
under  the  control  of  one  supervising  master,  amidst  all  varia- 
tions of  the  excellence  and  style  of  the  execution  in  details. 
So  little  is  this  sometimes  understood,  that  it  has  been  stated 
that  the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon  was  placed  where  it  could 
not  be  seen.  Set  in  the  outer  wall  of  the  cella,  in  the  narrow 
space  between  it  and  the  entablature  over  the  peristyle,  high 
relief  would  have  been  difficult  to  see,  and  its  deep  shadows 
would  have  prevented  a  satisfactory  lighting.  For  the  lighting 
came  entirely  from  below,  reflected  from  the  white  marbk 
pavement.  This  is  the  explanation  of  the  fact  that  the  relief  is 
higher — that  is  to  say  is  cut  in  deeper — in  the  upper  part  oi 
the  slabs  than  in  the  lower.2  The  light  coming  from  below, 

1  The  peplos  was  carried  as  the  sail  of  a  ship  in  late  times  ;    but  this   has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  custom  of  the  time  of  Phidias. 

2  Their  depth  is  given  in  the  Brit.  Mus.  Catalogue  as  1|  in.  at  the  bottom,  2^ 
at  the  top,  with  an  average  of  1^  in. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  293 

made  it  necessary  to  avoid  deep  cutting,  and  consequently  deep 
shadows,  in  the  lower  part ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  lower 
contours  of  the  figures  are  often  cut  more  clearly,  and  even 
surrounded  with  a  groove  cut  into  the  ground,  to  make  them 
show,  while  the  upper  contours  are  weaker — so  weak  in  some 
cases  as  to  be  almost  invisible  when  lit  from  above,  and  to 
cause  confusion  in  some  of  the  finest  blocks  of  the  frieze  when 
now  seen  in  a  museum.  All  these  details  in  execution  must 
proceed  from  a  consideration  of  the  lighting.  The  point  of 
view  of  the  spectator  below  would  not  explain  all  of  them ;  and 
of  course  the  frieze  was  not  meant  to  be  seen  from  the  narrower 
passage  of  the  peristyle,  but  from  outside  it,  where  the  advance  of 
the  moving  procession,  as  seen  between  the  columns,  would  give 
a  peculiarly  lifelike  appearance  as  its  scenes  opened  themselves, 
one  after  another,  to  the  view.  Another  characteristic  of  the 
frieze  is  the  wonderfully  skilful  manipulation  of  the  low  relief, 
so  as  to  give  an  impression  of  roundness  to  the. figures,  and 
even  to  show  them,  apparently  one  behind  another,  in  masses  of 
considerable  depth ;  this  is  especially  the  case  with  the  troops 
of  cavalry.  The  result  is  obtained  partly  by  extraordinary 
skill  and  delicacy  in  the  modelling  of  the  surface  of  marble,  a 
peculiarly  Attic  virtue  of  which  we  saw  some  anticipation  in  a 
work  like  the  stela  of  Aristocles,  partly  by  another  device,  also 
known  in  other  Attic  reliefs.  Where  one  figure  overlaps  another 
at  one  side,  and  is  in  its  turn  overlapped  by  another,  apparently 
in  front  of  it,  the  surface  of  this  intermediate  figure  is  not,  as 
it  appears  to  be,  a  plane  parallel  to  the  normal  surface  of  the 
relief,  but  is  slightly  inclined  to  it.  This  inclination  is  so  slight 
as  not  to  be  visible,  and  consequently  the  three  figures,  though 
all  perhaps  cut  an  equal  depth  into  the  marble,  appear  to  be 
one  behind  another  in  three  different  planes.  In  style  the 
frieze  is  the  most  perfect  example  of  Attic  grace  and  refine- 
ment— more  human  and  less  exalted  in  conception  than  the  pedi- 
ments, as  befits  its  subject — it  embodies  the  ideal  representation 
of  the  people  of  Athens,  uniting  in  the  honour  of  the  goddess 
whose  birth  and  exploits  were  celebrated  in  those  more  con- 
spicuous groups.  In  design  it  is  not  unworthy  of  the  same 
master,  and  the  unity  of  decorative  effect  as  well  as  of  religious 
conception  which  distinguishes  all  the  sculpture  of  the  Parthe- 
non seems  to  claim  as  its  author  Phidias,  whom  we  know  to 
have  been  in  control  of  the  whole  artistic  activity  of  Athens  at 


294  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

the  time.  And  the  assistants  that  helped  him  in  the  execution, 
though  not  all  equally  skilful,  were  such  a  band  as  Phidias 
alone  could  have  trained  and  influenced.  So  complete  and  so 
successful  was  their  co-operation  that  the  sculpture  of  the 
Parthenon  stands  in  a  connected  series  as  the  most  perfect 
example  of  the  art  of  Greece. 

§  36.  Other  Athenian  Sculptures — Theseum,  Erechtheum,  Temple 
of  Wingless  Victory,  etc. — If  the  sculptures  of  the  Parthenon 
are  of  supreme  importance  to  us,  as  showing  the  work  done  in 
Athens  under  the  direct  supervision  of  Phidias  himself,  those 
which  ornamented  other  Athenian  temples  are  hardly  less  in- 
structive. Though  some  of  them  probably  belong  to  a  time 
considerably  removed  from  that  of  his  artistic  activity,  they 
must  all  of  them  be  regarded  as  the  products  of  the  school  oi 
which  he  was  the  acknowledged  head ;  some  of  them  may  show 
us  the  character  of  that  school  before  his  genius  had  become 
predominant ;  in  others  we  can  still  trace  his  influence  after  his 
disappearance  from  the  scene ;  and  we  can  also  distinguish 
here  arid  there  the  characteristics  which  we  have  reason  tc 
associate  with  other  leading  Attic  sculptors  and  their  pupils, 
In  the  Parthenon  we  may  indeed  see  the  highest  attainment  ol 
the  Attic  school;  but  we  must  supplement  our  study  of  its 
sculpture  by  an  observation  of  the  remains  of  other  Attic  build- 
ings, if  we  would  form  a  complete  notion  of  the  varied  artistic 
activity  which  marked  the  Athens  of  the  fifth  century. 

Second  only  to  the  Parthenon  in  the  style  and  preservation 
of  its  sculpture — though  a  long  way  removed  from  it — comes 
the  Theseum.  It  is  impossible  to  discuss  here  the  question 
whether  the  Theseum  is  actually  the  temple  built  to  hold  the 
bones  of  Theseus,  which  Cimon  brought  back  from  Scyros  in 
469  B.C.  Some  valid  arguments  have  been  adduced  against 
this  identification ;  the  strongest  are  those  which  point  to  the 
forms  both  of  architecture  and  sculpture  as  impossible  at  such 
a  date.  But  on  the  other  hand  no  other  identification  can  be 
regarded  as  attaining  a  high  degree  of  probability,  much  less 
certainty.  Under  these  circumstances  nothing  is  gained  by 
giving  up  the  accepted  tradition ;  but  in  retaining  it,  though 
we  have  advantage  of  a  name  which  readily  associates  itseli 
with  the  sculpture,  we  must  not  draw  any  inference  as  to  the 
actual  date  of  the  architecture  and  sculpture  of  the  temple,  but 
must  rather  acknowledge  that,  if  it  is  the  Theseum,  it  cannot 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  295 

have  been  completed  until  some  time  after  Cimon's  bringing 
the  bones  of  Theseus  from  Scyros.  It  appears  to  be  nearly 
contemporary  with  the  Parthenon ;  and  the  sculpture  of  the 
Theseum  shows  most  affinity  with  the  metopes  of  that  building, 
which  were,  as  we  have  seen,  among  its  earlier  portions. 

The  external  sculpture  of  the  Theseum  is  confined  to  the 
ten  metopes  on  the  east  front  of  the  temple,  and  the  four 
adjoining  metopes  on  the  north  and  south  sides — eighteen  in 
all.  The  rest  of  the  metopes  were  never  sculptured ;  it  is 
impossible  to  tell  whether  they  were  decorated  with  painting. 
There  are  also  said  to  be  indications  that  the  pediments  once 
contained  sculpture ;  but  this  has  now  completely  disappeared. 
The  metopes  are  in  Parian  marble,  not  Pentelic — an  indication 
that  they  belong  to  a  time  before  the  completion  of  the 
Parthenon  had  indicated  the  native  material  as  worthy  of  the 
highest  use  in  sculpture  as  well  as  architecture.  They  have 
unfortunately  suffered  so  severely  from  the  weather  that  in 
many  cases  it  is  barely  possible  to  make  out  the  subject  and 
composition :  Stuart's  drawings,  made  towards  the  end  of  the 
last  century  before  the  damage  had  gone  so  far,  are  a  great  help 
in  this.  The  ten  metopes  of  the  east  front  are  devoted  to  nine 
of  the  labours  of  Heracles,  that  against  Geryon  being  divided 
between  two  metopes  in  a  single  composition — a  probably 
unique  and  not  very  successful  experiment ;  those  omitted  are 
the  Stymphalian  birds,  the  stables  of  Augeas,  and  the  bull — the 
first  two  doubtless  because  of  the  difficulty  of  their  adequate 
representation,  the  third  because  its  subject  is  practically 
repeated  among  the  eight  labours  of  Theseus,  which  are  repre- 
sented on  the  metopes  of  the  north  and  south  sides.  Of  these 
Stuart's  drawings  give  us  a  fair  notion,  though  they  also  have 
suffered  much  since  his  day.  The  contests  between  Theseus 
and  the  various  robbers  or  monsters  against  whom  he  fought 
showed  him  as  a  skilled  athlete,  making  use  of  all  the  devices 
of  the  palaestra  in  his  struggles  with  the  brute  force  of  his  adver- 
saries (Fig.  66).  It  is  most  instructive,  for  example,  to  compare 
the  skilful  way  in  which  Theseus  here  masters  the  Marathonian 
bull  (Fig.  67)  with  the  treatment  of  the  similar  subject  in  the 
Olympian  metope,  where  Heracles  simply  throws  his  weight 
against  the  bull's  and  overpowers  it.  The  execution  seems 
to  have  the  dry  and  somewhat  hard  technique  that  we  have 
learnt  to  associate  with  the  schools  of  Critius  and  of  Myron,  and 


296  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP 

which  we  recognised  in  some  of  the  Parthenon  metopes  also 
and  the  Theseum  metopes  resemble  the  less  advanced  among  th( 
metopes  of  the  Parthenon  in  their  extraordinary  boldness  oi 
composition,  sometimes  almost  transgressing  the  bounds  o: 
sculptural  fitness  in  the  pursuit  of  life  and  vigour. 

The  continuous  friezes  of  the  Theseum  are  over  the  pro 
domus  and  opisthodomus,  within  the  peristyle,  in  the  positior 
occupied  by  the  corresponding  portions  of  the  continuous  friez< 
of  the  Parthenon ;  but,  unlike  that  frieze,  they  are  in  higl 
relief.  The  western,  which  stretches  only  across  the  breadtl: 


FIG.  66.— Metope  of  Theseum  ;  Theseus  and  Cercyon  (after  Man.  Inst.,  X.  xliv.  2). 

of  the  temple,  not  that  of  the  peristyle  also,  represents  i 
combat  of  Greeks  and  centaurs.  The  composition  of  thi 
frieze  is  obviously  due  to  an  artist  who  is  used  to  the  designing 
of  metopes,  and  who  repeats  the  concentrated  groups  of  tw< 
combatants  adapted  to  the  metope  form,  only  connecting  then 
loosely  by  the  aid  of  additional  figures  who  often  seem  super 
fluous  to  the  action.  Here  again  the  resemblance  to  th< 
Parthenon  metopes  is  obvious ;  it  is  not,  however,  necessary  t< 
infer,  as  some  have  done,  that  the  Theseum  frieze  was  made  ir 
imitation  of  those  metopes ;  it  seems  a  sufficient  explanation,  i 
we  suppose  the  sculptor  to  have  drawn  on  a  conventional  stor< 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  297 

of  subjects  adapted  to  treatment  in  the  metope  form.  In  some 
cases,  however,  he  introduces  a  type  unsuited  to  so  limited  a 
field ;  for  instance,  the  invulnerable  Caeneus,  half  buried  by 
the  huge  stones  which  a  centaur  on  either  side  piles  over  him, 
while  other  Lapiths,  advancing  to  his  relief,  extend  the  scene 
in  a  manner  more  adapted  to  continuous  treatment. 

The  eastern  frieze  stretches  across  the  breadth  of  peristyle 
as  well  as  cella,  and  we  have  already  noticed  l  how  the  archi- 
tectural conditions  thus  produced  have  influenced  the  composi- 


FIG.  67.— Metope  of  Theseum  ;  Theseus  and  Bull  (after  Mon.  Inst.,  X.  xliii.  2). 

tion  of  the  frieze,  a  seated  group  of  divinities  being  placed  over 
each  of  the  antae,  as  if  to  continue  upwards  the  supporting 
member  by  a  solid  and  restful  effect.  Outside  these  groups, 
over  the  peristyle,  is  a  group  in  comparatively  gentle  action, 
such  as  the  binding  of  a  prisoner ;  while  in  the  middle  portion 
of  the  frieze  is  a  wild  scene  of  combat,  Greek  warriors  fighting 
opponents  who  hurl  huge  stones  against  them.  The  combat 
cannot  be  identified  with  certainty ;  a  probable  suggestion 
identifies  it  as  the  fight  between  the  Athenians  and  the  wild 
inhabitants  of  Pallene.  If  so,  both  the  friezes,  as  well  as  the 
metopes,  would  represent  combats  in  which  the  Attic  hero 

1  P.  41. 


298  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

Theseus  was  distinguished.  Here  again  we  see  the  same 
vigorous,  almost  exaggerated  and  distorted,  action  that  char- 
acterises all  the  sculpture  of  the  Theseum,  and  marks  it  as  the 
product  of  that  school  of  Attic  artists  which  was  especially 
devoted  to  athletic  subjects ;  but  in  this  eastern  frieze  we  also 
see  bold  foreshortenings,  especially  in  the  fallen  figures,  which 
are  avoided  in  the  Parthenon,  but  recur  on  the  frieze  of  the 
temple  of  the  Wingless  Victory. 

The  frieze  of  this  little  temple  has  some  resemblance  in 
subject  also  to  the  west  frieze  of  the  Theseum.  It  is  less  than 
eighteen  inches  in  height ;  some  blocks  of  it  are  in  situ  in  the 
rebuilt  temple ;  others  were  brought  by  Lord  Elgin  to  England. 
On  the  east  front  is  an  assembly  of  gods,  on  the  other  three 
sides  battle  scenes,  Greeks  against  Persians  on  the  north  and 
south  sides,  and  Greeks  against  Greeks  on  the  west ;  in  this 
last  scene  most  authorities  see  a  reference  to  the  battle  of 
Plataea,  in  which  the  Athenians  were  engaged  mostly  with  the 
Thebans  and  other  Greek  allies  of  Persia.  The  age  of  the 
temple  is  not  exactly  known,  but  it  is  probably  not  far 
removed  in  date  from  the  Parthenon;  the  style  of  the  sculptures 
seems  rather  later,  with  its  effective  use  of  floating  drapery 
to  fill  the  vacant  spaces  of  the  field. 

The  temple  stands  on  a  little  platform,  around  which  was 
placed  a  balustrade,  probably,  to  judge  from  the  style  of  the 
sculptures  which  ornament  it,  not  long  before  the  end  of  the  fifth 
century.  On  each  of  the  three  principal  sides  of  this  balustrade 
was  a  seated  figure  of  Athena,  and  the.  rest  of  the  field  is  occupied 
with  winged  Victories,  who  are  mostly  employed  in  erecting 
and  decking  trophies,  leading  cows  to  sacrifice,  or  performing 
other  tasks  in  honour  of  their  mistress.  Those  figures  are 
wonderfully  graceful  in  proportions  and  in  attitude ;  but  it  is 
above  all  in  the  marvellous  study  of  the  texture  and  folds  of 
almost  transparent  drapery,  now  clinging  to  the  beautiful 
figures  of  the  Victories,  now  floating  in  rich  folds  across  the  field 
of  the  relief,  that  the  character  of  the  work  is  seen  (Fig.  68). 
We  have  already  seen  the  perfect  skill  and  delicacy  with  which 
such  drapery  was  rendered  in  the  Parthenon  pediments :  here 
the  sculptor  has  gone  even  beyond  that  perfection,  and  however 
much  we  may  wonder  at  his  skill  and  at  the  beauty  of  the 
figures  he  has  made,  we  can  perhaps  recognise  in  his  work  the 
germs  of  that  over -elaboration  and  even  affectation  in  the 


Ill 


THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C. 


299 


treatment  of  drapery  to  which  Attic  work  had  always  a  tend- 
ency unless  it  was  checked  by  severer  influence.  We  shall  see 
a  further  development  of  this  tendency  in  the  often  graceful, 


FIG.  68.— Victory  binding  sandal,  from  Balustrade  (Athens,  Acropolis  Museum). 

but   conventional    and    imitative   character   of    the    Neo- Attic 
reliefs.1 

The  Erechtheum  was,  next  to  the  Parthenon,  the  most  con- 
spicuous temple  of  Athens,  and  was  even  more  than  the  Par- 
thenon the  centre  of  Athenian  worship.  With  the  delicate 

1  See  §  77. 


300  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

refinement  of  its  architectural  ornament  we  are  not  here  con- 
cerned. Two  kinds  of  sculptural  decoration  were  employed 
on  it,  in  the  Ionic  frieze  over  the  north  and  east  porticoes, 
and  in  the  Caryatids  which  carried  the  Pandroseum  in  its  south- 
western corner.  The  frieze  is  mainly  interesting  as  a  curious 
experiment  in  the  technique  of  relief.  The  figures,  which  are 
carved  in  moderate  relief  in  Pentelic  marble,  were  affixed  to  a 
background  of  black  Eleusinian  stone,  which  thus  served  as  a 
substitute  for  the  coloured  ground  often  used  in  reliefs.  As 
a  natural  result,  though  many  of  the  figures  are  preserved,  their 
order  and  arrangement  are  lost,  and  even  the  subject  that  they 
represented  can  no  longer  be  identified.  We  do  not  know  their 
exact  date ;  all  we  know  is  that  the  Erechtheum  was  begun,  and 
was  left  in  an  unfinished  state  for  many  years ;  and  that  in  the 
year  409  B.C.  it  was  again  taken  in  hand  and  completed.  The 
Caryatids  (Fig.  69),  or,  as  they  are  called  in  the  official  terminology 
of  the  Erechtheum  inscriptions,  the  Maidens,  are  the  best-known 
example  in  Greek  architecture  of  the  substitution  of  the  human 
figure,  for  a  column  as  the  support  of  an  entablature,  which, 
howeA^er,  is  here  specially  lightened  by  the  omission  of  the 
frieze,  so  that  the  burden  may  not  appear  too  heavy  for  its 
bearers.  The  neck,  too,  which  is  in  appearance  the  weakest 
portion  of  the  human  figure,  is  strengthened  by  closely-fitting 
bands  of  hair,  and  a  light,  basket-like  capital  is  placed  upon  the 
heads  of  the  figures.  These  maidens  are  really  like  Canephori, 
basket-bearers,  who  had  a  place  in  the  sacrificial  procession,  and 
delighted  in  the  task  that  did  honour  alike  to  themselves  and 
to  the  goddess.  Their  rich  festal  drapery  and  the  simple 
severity  with  which  it  is  treated  fit  them  peculiarly  for  the 
place  they  occupy ;  and  the  elasticity  of  their  pose  obviates  the 
impression  that  their  burden  is  heavy,  and  gives  an  apparent 
stability  to  the  whole  composition,  as  each  has  the  knee  nearest 
to  the  middle  of  the  structure  bent,  and  thus  there  is  an  appa- 
rent inward  thrust  throughout.  One  can  at  once  realise  the 
value  of  this  arrangement  if  one  imagines  any  one  of  the  Cary- 
atids on  the  right  side  to  change  places  with  the  corresponding 
figure  on  the  left.  One  of  these  Caryatids  is  now  in  the  British 
Museum  ;  the  rest — some  of  them  in  a  fragmentary  state — are 
in  situ  in  the  restored  Pandroseum.1  The  question  whether  it 

1  The   Erechtheum  was  greatly   damaged  during  the  siege   of  1827.       The 
Paudroseum  was  restored  to  its  present  state  in  1845. 


THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C. 


301 


is  fitting  to  substitute  a  human  figure  for  an  architectural 
support  is  open  to  difference 
of  opinion  ;  but  there  is  no 
doubt  that,  if  it  is  done, 
the  effect  depends  on  the 
artistic  skill  and  feeling 
with  which  the  figure  is 
treated,  and  the  modifica- 
tion of  the  architectural 
surroundings  to  harmonise 
with  the  new  conditions.  In 
this  respect  the  Caryatids 
of  the  Erechtheum  com- 
pare most  favourably  with 
other  examples,  ancient  and 
modern,  of  the  same  bold 
experiment. 

The  great  public  build- 
ings executed  under  the 
administration  of  Pericles 
and  the  artistic  direction 
of  Phidias  must  have 
gathered  together  a  great 
body  of  artists  and  crafts- 
men in  Athens ;  and  we 
find  their  work  not  only  in 
great  public  monuments 
like  those  we  have  so  far 
considered,  but  in  state 
documents  and  inscriptions, 
which  at  this  period  are 
often  furnished  with  a  sym- 
bolical relief  at  their  head, 
and  even  on  minor  dedica- 
tions and  memorials  set 
up  by  private  individuals. 
Of  these  last  the  largest 
and  most  interesting  class 

Consists       of       the       funeral  FIG.  69.— Caryatid,  from  Erechtheum 

,  .   ,          M1    ,  (British  Museum). 

monuments,  which  will  be 

considered    later,    since    they    mostly    belong    to    the    fourth 


302 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


CHAP.  Ill 


century.1  But  all  combine  to  show  how  wide -spread  was 
the  artistic  influence  which  found  its  highest  expression 
in  the  sculpture  decorating  the  public  buildings  of  Athens. 
Thus,  if  the  inscription  recorded  a  treaty  between  Samos 


FIG.  70.— "Mourning  Athena"  (Athens,  Acropolis  Museum). 

and  Athens,  the  tutelary  deities  of  the  two  states,  Hera  and 
Athena,  were  represented  greeting  one  another  in  the  relief  at  the 
top.  Numerous  examples  of  such  symbolism  could  be  quoted. 
Among  the  most  interesting  of  these  minor  reliefs  is  one  (Fig. 
70)  recently  found  built  into  a  wall  on  the  Acropolis,  which 
represents  Athena  standing  with  her  head  bent  down,  and  lean- 

1  See  §  51. 


Fio.  71.— Relief  from  Elensis  (Athens,  National  Museum). 


304  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

ing  on  her  spear,  as  if  in  mourning,  while  in  front  of  her  is  a 
plain  slab  like  a  stela,  on  which  a  decree  or  a  list  of  names 
might  be  inscribed.  It  has  been  suggested  with  much  plausi- 
bility that  the  goddess  is  represented  as  mourning  over  a  list 
of  some  of  her  chosen  warriors  who  have  fallen  in  battle.  The 
period  of  this  relief  is  probably  about  the  beginning  of  the 
Peloponnesian  war.  Its  severe  style  and  the  stiffness  of  the  folds 
of  the  lower  part  of  the  drapery  may  seem  earlier.  But  we 
must  always  expect  such  productions  of  minor  art  to  be  behind 
the  attainments  of  the  greater  masters  of  the  same  age.  There 
is  a  simplicity  and  directness  about  this  figure  and  its  apparent 
significance  which  rarely  fail  to  impress  and  to  delight  all  who  see 
it.  Another  (Fig.  71),  perhaps  the  most  noble  of  all  dedicatory 
tablets,  is  a  great  relief  from  Eleusis,  representing  the  great 
goddesses  Demeter  and  Persephone,  with  a  boy,  probably 
Triptolemus.  The  simple  and  severe  style  of  this  relief  perhaps 
implies  that  it  is  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century,  but 
it  may  well  be  somewhat  later.  So  much  restraint  and 
simplicity,  especially  in  the  treatment  of  drapery,  show  us  how 
completely  the  graceful  and  ornate  tendency,  which  we  saw  in 
early  Attic  art,  and  which  we  recognised  again  in  a  work  like 
the  balustrade  of  the  Victories,  was  sometimes  overpowered  by 
a  reaction  towards  a  severer  and  nobler  style.  A  study  of  these 
two  extremes  leads  us  to  a  better  appreciation  of  that  golden 
mean  which  we  see  realised,  above  all,  in  the  sculpture  of  the 
Parthenon. 

§  37.  Scholars  of  Phidias — Agoracritus,  Colotes,  Theocosmus, 
Alcamenes. — We  have  already  seen  something  of  the  architectu- 
ral sculptures  which  were  executed  under  the  supervision  of 
Phidias,  and  which  now  serve  better  than  anything  else  to  give 
us  some  notion  of  his  style.  The  works  which  are  attributed 
to  his  associates  or  pupils  by  ancient  writers  are  for  the  most 
part  of  a  different  nature,  and  resemble  the  great  statues  from 
Phidias'  own  hand,  of  which  we  could  only  infer  the  character 
from  inadequate  copies  or  descriptions.  The  resemblance  in 
some  cases  appears  to  have  been  so  close  that  the  attribution 
was  actually  disputed,  and  we  more  than  once  find  a  statue  re- 
corded by  some  authorities  as  the  work  of  one  of  the  pupils  of 
Phidias,  by  others  assigned  to  the  hand,  of  the  master  himself. 

Agoracritus  of  Paros  is  said  to  have  been  the  favourite 
pupil  of  Phidias.  His  fame  depended  chiefly  on  his  reputed 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  305 

authorship  of  the  great  marble  Nemesis  at  Rhamnus,  one 
of  the  best-known  statues  in  the  ancient  world.  Many  strange 
and  incredible  stories  are  told  about  this  work,  some  of  which 
need  only  be  mentioned,  while  others  require  careful  criticism. 
It  was  said  that  the  Persians  brought  with  them  a  block  of 
Parian  marble  to  Marathon,  in  order  to  make  from  it  a  trophy 
for  their  victory  over  the  Athenians ;  and  that  after  the  battle 
the  Athenians  made  from  this  block  a  statue  of  Nemesis,  as  a 
warning  against  the  "pride  that  goeth  before  a  fall."  The 
proximity  of  Marathon  to  Rhamnus,  and  the  obvious  appropri- 
ateness of  this  story,  are  probably  responsible  for  its  invention 
by  some  seeker  after  a  subject  for  an  epigram.  An  even  more 
absurd  story  is  that  the  statue  was  originally  sent  in  by  Agora- 
critus  in  a  competition  with  Alcamenes  for  the  statue  of  Aphro- 
dite in  the  Gardens  at  Athens,  and  that  after  his  defeat  he 
disposed  of  it  to  Rhamnus  as  Nemesis.  We  must  give  more 
weight  to  the  statement,  quoted  from  Antigonus  of  Carystus, 
that  the  inscription  J 'Ayo/xxK/nros  ttdptos  eTroi'r/o-e  was  inscribed  on 
a  tablet  attached  to  the  statue,  though  Pausanias,  who  gives  a 
detailed  description  of  the  Nemesis,  knows  nothing  of  this, 
and  simply  attributes  the  statue  to  Phidias  himself.  Nor 
can  we  ignore  the  tradition,  repeated  on  many  sides,  that 
Phidias  really  made  the  statue,  but  conceded  to  his  favourite 
pupil  Agoracritus  the  credit  of  its  design.  The  simplest  in- 
ference is  that  Agoracritus  adhered  so  closely  to  the  manner 
of  his  master,  and  copied  his  style  with  so  great  success,  that 
ancient  critics  had  great  difficulty  in  distinguishing  his  work 
from  that  of  Phidias  himself.  It  is,  indeed,  probable  enough 
that  Phidias  may  have  assisted  his  pupil  in  the  design  of  so 
great  a  work ;  but  the  inscription  recorded  by  Antigonus  can 
hardly  be  apocryphal,  and  would  certainly  imply  that  the 
statue  was  really  made  by  Agoracritus.  The  officials  at 
Rhamnus  may  well  have  destroyed  or  concealed  such  a  record, 
in  their  wish  to  claim  a  more  distinguished  authorship  for  the 
statue  that  was  the  chief  pride  of  their  town. 

Although  this  statue,  from  the  less  precious  nature  of  its 
material,  had  more  chance  of  preservation  than  most  of  the 
other  great  works  of  Phidias  and  his  associates,  it  has  been 
destroyed,  with  the  exception  of  some  insignificant  fragments 
now  in  the  British  Museum,1  and  the  remains  of  the  relief  which 

l.  Ath.  1890,  p.  64, 


306  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

decorated  its  pedestal,  now  in  the  National  Museum  at  Athens.1 
We  are  therefore  again  mainly  dependent  on  the  description 
of  Pausanias.  The  goddess  was  represented  as  standing,  of 
colossal  size,  about  1 5  feet  high ;  on  her  head  was  a  crown 
decorated  with  what  Pausanias  describes  as  small  Victories  and 
stags — evidently  representations  of  the  oriental  winged  Artemis, 
holding  stags  in  her  hands  as  irorvia  07?/>c3v,2  who  was  prob- 
ably identified  by  the  Greeks  with  the  goddess  of  Rhamnus. 
In  her  left  hand  she  holds  a  branch  of  apple,  in  her  right  a 
bowl  wrought  with  figures  of  Ethiopians.  On  the  pedestal 
was  represented  a  subject  from  the  myth  of  Helen,  who  was 
said  to  be  the  daughter  of  Nemesis,  Leda  being  only  her  foster- 
mother  ;  the  principal  figures  were  these  three,  surrounded  by 
Tyndareus  and  various  heroes  of  the  Trojan  war.  The  style  of 
the  portions  of  this  relief  which  have  been  found  shows  a  grace 
of  design  and  delicacy  of  execution  not  unworthy  of  the  highest 
period  of  Attic  art ;  but  they  seem  to  lack  the  breadth  and 
simplic.ity  which  distinguish  the  sculpture  of  the  Parthenon. 
Another  work  attributed  to  Agoracritus  by  some  authorities, 
the  statue  of  the  Mother  of  the  Gods  at  Athens,  was  by  others 
assigned  to  Phidias.  This  statue  apparently  established  the 
type  under  which  the  goddess  was  worshipped,  at  least  at 
Athens ;  she  was  seated,  with  a  cymbal  in  her  hand,  and  lions 
beneath  her  throne ;  but  late  reliefs,3  which  repeat  this  type, 
cannot  give  much  notion  of  the  statue.  Another  work  of 
Agoracritus,  in  bronze,  was  the  statue  of  Athena  Itonia  set  up 
in  the  common  meeting-place  of  the  Boeotians  at  Coronea ;  be- 
side this  was  also  a  statue  described  by  Pausanias  as  Zeus,  but 
identified  as  Hades  by  Strabo,  who  is  apparently  better  in- 
formed, and  knows  of  some  mystical  reason  for  the  association. 
Colotes  was  another  of  the  most  intimate  associates  of  Phidias ; 
he  was  apparently  not  an  Athenian,  though  the  country  of  his 
origin  was  disputed.  He  is  said  to  have  assisted  Phidias  in 
making  the  great  statue  of  the  Olympian  Zeus.  He  also  made 
a  table  of  gold  and  ivory  at  Olympia,  on  which  the  wreaths  for 
the  victors  used  to  be  laid ;  this  table  was  decorated  with  reliefs 

1  Jahrb.  1894,  PI.  i.-vii.  (Pallat). 

2  According  to  the  ingenious  explanation  of  Diimmler  in  Studniczka,  Kyrene, 
p.  106,  n.  102. 

8  See  Harrison  and  Verrall,  Mythology  and  Monuments  of  Ancient  Athens, 
pp.  45-48. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY—  480-400  B.C.  307 

like  those  that  ornamented  the  pedestals  of  Phidias'  great 
statues  ;  on  the  front  was  an  assembly  of  gods,  extending  round 
to  the  two  sides,  on  which  were  minor  deities  ;  at  the  back  was 
represented  the  ordering  of  the  festival.  The  same  precious 
materials  were  used  in  a  statue  of  Athena  at  Elis,  attributed 
by  Pliny  to  Colotes,  by  Pausanias  to  Phidias  ;  the  inside  of  the 
shield  was  painted  by  Panaenus,  the  brother  of  Phidias,  who 
also  contributed  the  paintings  to  the  throne  of  the  Olympian 
Zeus;  and  in  Cyllene,  a  port  of  Elis,  was  an  Asclepius  by 
Colotes,  again  of  gold  and  ivory.1  Colotes  also  appears  in 
Pliny's  miscellaneous  list  at  the  end  of  the  bronze-workers  as 
one  of  those  who  made  "  philosophers,"  probably  a  cant  term  for 
portrait  statues  in  civil  garb. 

Theocosmus  of  Megara  does  not  appear  to  have  been  so  closely 
associated  with  Phidias  as  the  two  sculptors  we  have  just  con- 
sidered. He  was  employed  to  make  the  statue  of  Zeus  in  the 
Olympieum  at  Megara,  which  has  already  been  quoted  in  the 
Introduction  (b,  1)  as  giving  us  useful  information  about  the  tech- 
nique of  gold  and  ivory  statues.  The  statue  was  left  unfinished, 
owing  to  the  straits  into  which  the  city  fell  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  Peloponnesian  war  (432  B.C.)  ;  the  head  only  was  completed 
in  gold  and  ivory  ;  the  rest  was  in  clay  and  plaster  ;  and  behind 
the  temple  lay  the  half-finished  wooden  framework  intended  to 
be  covered  with  gold  and  ivory  for  the  completion  of  the  statue. 
No  doubt  the  artist  made  first  his  full-sized  model  in  clay  and 
plaster,  and  when  the  work  had  to  be  abandoned  after  the  head 
only  was  finished,  this  model  itself  was  substituted  for  the 
precious  materials  which  it  was  found  impossible  to  provide. 
Phidias  was  said  to  have  assisted  Theocosmus  in  the  design  of 
this  statue  ;  whether  this  be  true  or  not,  it  certainly  appears 
from  its  character  to  have  belonged  to  the  series  of  great  temple 
statues  made  under  the  direct  influence  of  Phidias,  if  not  by 
his  pupils.  Above  the  head  of  Zeus,  presumably  on  the  back 
of  his  throne,  were  the  Hours  and  the  Fates  ;  the  same  position 
was  occupied  by  the  Hours  and  the  Graces  on  the  Olympian 
throne.  If  Theocosmus,  when  a  young  man,  fell  under  the 
influence  of  Phidias,  we  find  him  in  a  very  different  connection 
thirty  years  later,  when  he  was  one  of  the  sculptors  employed 


1  Sti'abo,  viii.  p.  344,  says,  "  dXe^dvTivov  "  only  ;  but  this  is  his  usual  descrip- 
tion of  chryselephantine  works  ;  e.g.  of  the  Athena  Parthenos,  ix.  p.  396,  and  the 
Zeus  at  Olympia,  viii.  p.  353. 


308  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

to  make  the  great  dedication  offered  by  the  Spartans  and  their 
allies  at  Delphi  after  the  crushing  defeat  of  Athens  at  Aegos- 
potami  in  405  B.C.  His  colleagues  in  this  work  belonged  to  the 
school  of  Polyclitus,  and  his  share  was  the  statue  of  Hermon,  a 
naturalised  Megarian,  who  was  the  steersman  of  Lysander's 
ship.  The  inveterate  enmity  of  Athens  to  Megara,  which  had 
compelled  him  to  abandon  the  completion  of  his  chief  work, 
may  well  have  led  to  his  later  association  with  the  rival  school 

A  of  sculpture  in  the  Peloponnese. 

^S,  Alcamenes,  who  occupies  the  first  place  among  the  reputed 
pupils  of  Phidias,  has  been  reserved  to  the  end,  partly  because 
he  appears  to  have  been  amongst  the  youngest  of  them,  partly 
because  his  relation  to  Phidias  is  not  quite  so  clear  and  direct 
as  that  of  some  others.  And  in  any  case,  his  artistic  eminence 
and  independent  fame  entitle  him  to  a  separate  treatment.  It 
must,  however,  be  admitted  that,  with  the  possible  exception 
of  the  sculptures  of  the  West  Pediment  of  the  temple  of  Zeus 
at  Olympia,  we  cannot  say  with  certainty  that  we  possess, 
either  in  the  original  or  in  a  copy,  any  of  the  statues  that  are 
assigned  to  him  by  ancient  writers,1  so  that  we  are  reduced  in 
his  case  also,  as  in  those  of  Calamis  and  Pythagoras,  to 
inferences  from  the  literary  evidence,  in  any  attempt  to  esti- 
mate his  artistic  character  and  his  position  in  the  history  of 
sculpture.  We  have  already  seen,  in  discussing  the  Olympian 
pediments,  that  there  are  difficulties  in  the  way  of  accepting 
the  statement  of  Pausanias  that  they  were  made  by  Paeonius 
and  Alcamenes  respectively  ;  and  even  if  we  do  not  regard  these 
difficulties  as  insuperable,  they  are  so  serious  that  it  is  wiser  to 
keep  the  pediments  separate,  and  not  to  make  them  the  starting 
point  in  our  study  of  the  works  of  the  two  artists  to  whom  they 
are  assigned.  Alcamenes  was,  according  to  some  accounts,  a 
Lernnian,  but  he  worked  mostly  in  Athens,  and  in  a  contest 
with  the  Parian  Agoracritus,  he  is  actually  said  to  have  been 
preferred  to  a  foreigner  by  his  fellow-Athenians.  His  most 
famous  work  was  the  Aphrodite  in  the  Gardens,  which  was  said 
by  some  to  have  received  its  finishing  touches  from  Phidias 
himself,  and  was  reckoned  by  many  as  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
statues  in  the  world ;  in  the  passage  of  Lucian,  quoted  in  full 

1  It  was  only  to  be  expected  that  an  attempt  woirlcl  be  made  to  assign  certain 
extant  works  to  Alcamenes  ;  bnt  no  identification  can  be  regarded  as  certain. 
See  note  at  end  of  this  section  on  the  Aphrodite  in  the  Gardens. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY — 480-400  B.C.  309 

under  Calamis,1  this  Aphrodite  supplies  to  the  ideal  statue 
imagined  by  the  critic  "the  round  of  the  cheeks  and  front 
view  of  the  face,"  "  and  the  hands  too  and  the  beautiful  flow 
of  the  wrist,  and  the  delicately -shaped  and  tapering  fingers 
shall  be  after  the  same  model."  When  we  remember  that  the 
other  statues  which  were  laid  under  contribution  were  the 
masterpieces  of  Calamis,  Phidias,  and  Praxiteles,  we  realise  that, 
at  least  for  these  features,  Alcamenes  must  have  been  unsur- 
passed. Unfortunately  we  have  no  more  detailed  description 
of  the  posture  or  attributes  of  this  statue  to  help  us  in  identify- 
ing copies  of  it  among  extant  works,  though  it  is  likely  enough 
that  copies  may  exist  of  so  famous  a  statue.2 

Alcamenes  is  said  to  have  originated  the  type  of  Hecate 
known  to  us  from  so  many  reproductions,  in  which  the  goddess 
is  represented  by  three  figures  set  back  to  back,  typifying  her 
threefold  aspect.  It  is  probable  that  we  may  recognise  in  such 
figures  not  a  modified  and  softened  survival  from  primitive  idols, 
but  rather  one  of  those  mythological  refinements  in  the  subtle 
distinction  of  personalities  such  as  we  shall  meet  with  in  the 
next  century :  Alcamenes,  in  this  way,  seems  to  be  the  fore- 
runner of  Scopas.  The  statue  of  Hecate  was  set  up  on  the 
bastion  beside  the  temple  of  the  Wingless  Victory.  Alcamenes 
also  made  several  other  well-known  statues  in  Athens.  One  was 
the  Dionysus,  in  gold  and  ivory,  that  was  in  the  temple  close  by 
the  great  theatre.  The  foundations  both  of  the  temple  and 
of  the  basis  of  the  statue  are  still  extant ;  and  reproductions  of 
the  figure  upon  coins  show  that  the  god  was  represented  as 
seated  on  a  throne,  holding  a  cup  in  one  hand  and  a  sceptre  or 
thyrsus  in  the  other.3  Of  a  statue  of  Ares  made  by  Alcamenes 
we  know  nothing  but  that  it  stood  in  a  temple  of  the  god.  His 
Hephaestus,  also  in  Athens,  is  selected  for  praise  by  Cicero ; 
the  god  was  represented  as  "standing  on  both  feet,  and,  with  the 
help  of  the  drapery,  his  lameness  was  slightly  indicated,  yet 
not  so  as  to  give  the  impression  of  deformity."  It  is  natural 
to  compare  this  statue  with  the  limping  Philoctetes  of  Pytha- 
goras, whose  pain  seemed  to  make  itself  felt  by  those  that  saw 
him.  The  contrast  gives  us  the  essential  difference  between 
the  moderation  and  reserve  that  mark  the  associates  of  Phidias, 

1  P.  233. 

2  See  note  at  end  of  this  section  on  the  Aphrodite  in  the  Gardens. 
3  Num.  Com.  on  Pans.,  CO.  1-4. 


310  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

and  the  powerful  and  even  painful  vigour  of  the  earlier  sculptors, 
who,  in  the  first  exuberance  of  freedom  from  archaic  trammels, 
sometimes  transgress  the  limits  of  artistic  reticence  and 
sobriety. 

Another  statue  of  a  god  by  Alcamenes  was  an  Asclepius,  in 
a  temple  at  Mantinea ;  he  also  made  a  colossal  Athena  and 
Heracles  of  Pentelic  marble,1  set  up  by  Thrasybulus  at  Thebes, 
as  a  memorial  of  his  starting  from  that  city  on  the  expedition 
which  terminated  successfully  in  the  expulsion  of  the  thirty 
tyrants  in  403  B.C.  This  last  commission  gives  us  the  latest 
date  in  the  career  of  Alcamenes,  and  shows  us  that  he  was  still 
in  full  artistic  vigour  at  the  end  of  the  fifth  century.2  If  he 
was  also  a  pupil  and  even  a  rival  of  Phidias,  according  to  a 
widely-spread  tradition,  his  career  must  have  been  a  long  one, 
for  even  if  we  exclude  the  Olympian  pediments  from  our  con- 
sideration, we  must  still  allow  that  he  had  already  attained 
an  eminent  position  before  the  beginning  of  the  Peloponnesian 
war. 

Two  statues  of  goddesses  by  Alcamenes  are  mentioned  in 
connection  with  stories  of  an  artistic  competition.  He  is  said 
to  have  made  an  Aphrodite  which  was  preferred  to  that  sent 
in  by  his  rival  Agoracritus,  rather  from  the  partiality  of  his 
fellow- Athenians  than  from  the  superiority  of  his  work.  We 
have  already  seen,  in  considering  Agoracritus,  the  sequel  of  this 
same  story,  which  tells  how  the  defeated  competitor  disposed  of 
his  statue  as  Nemesis.  Whether  the  Aphrodite  in  question 
the  goddess  "  of  the  Gardens  "  or  not  there  is  no  evidence ;  but 
the  identification  seems  probable,  when  we  consider  that  this 
was  the  one  work  of  Alcamenes  said  to  have  been  made  with  the 
help  of  Phidias,  and  that  the  Nemesis  also  had  the  credit  of  the 
same  assistance.  Thus  the  story,  whatever  be  its  worth,  seems 
to  record  a  contest  between  two  pupils  of  Phidias,  each  of  them 
helped  by  their  common  master.  There  is  yet  another  story  of 
a  competition  between  Alcamenes  and  Phidias  himself,  recorded 

1  Perhaps  a  relief,  if  we  accept  the  simple  emendation,  tirl  TTUTTOV  \idov  TOV 
HevT&yffii'  ;  but  the  reading  is  doubtful. 

2  It  has  been  maintained  that  this  fact  precludes  the  possibility  of  the  employ- 
ment of  Alcamenes  on  the  Olympian  pediments.     But  he  must  in  any  case  have 
been  an  old  man  when  he  worked  for  Thrasybulus  ;  if  he  were  as  old  as  Sophocles 
when  that  poet  produced  the  Philocletes,  it  would,  still  be  possible,  though  of 
course  improbable,  that  he  might  have  been  employed  sixty  years  before  at 
Olympia. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  311 

by  Tzetzes,  on  what  authority  we  cannot  tell.  In  this  case  the 
commission  was  for  two  statues  of  Athena,  to  be  set  up  upon 
lofty  columns  ;x  and  it  is  said  that  the  work  of  Alcamenes,  being 
graceful  and  delicate,  pleased  best  before  the  two  were  mounted 
and  in  position,  but  Phidias  had  calculated  all  his  effects  and 
proportions  for  the  height  at  which  they  were  to  be  seen,  and 
therefore,  though  his  statue,  with  its  parted  lips  and  distended 
nostrils,  did  not  look  well  close,  it  testified  the  skill  of  the 
artist  by  its  fine  effect  when  it  was  set  up  at  a  height.  Though 
it  is  unlikely  that  there  is  any  historical  foundation  for  this  story, 
it  embodies  a  valuable  piece  of  criticism,  probably  due  originally 
to  some  one  who  was  familiar  with  the  works  of  both  artists. 
It  is  well  in  accordance  with  what  we  know  of  Phidias,  in  whose 
colossal  statues  the  application  of  principles  of  geometry  and 
optics  was  indispensable ;  while  Alcamenes  is  praised  elsewhere 
for  the  delicacy  of  his  work  in  detail. 

Besides  these  statues  of  divinities,  only  one  athlete  is  ascribed 
to  Alcamenes,  a  bronze  "  pentathlus,"  who  was  called  the 
encrinomenos,  a  word  of  which  the  exact  meaning  is  hard  to 
catch.2  It  should  mean  "entering  a  contest,"  or  "being 
examined  for  qualification  "  ;  and  so  may  have  represented  an 
athlete,  presumably  not  in  action,  but  standing  so  as  to  display 
himself  to  the  best  advantage.  Being  a  competitor  in  the 
" pentathlum,"  he  would  be  an  "all-round"  athlete,  evenly 
developed  in  all  parts  of  his  body ;  and  such  a  subject  might 
well  offer  an  opportunity  for  an  ideal  rendering  of  the  athletic 
figure  in  its  finest  proportions  and  development.  If  we 
possessed  this  figure3  it  would  be  interesting  to  compare  it 
with  the  Doryphorus  of  Polyclitus,  a  statue  of  similar  intent, 
with  which  it  is  probably  about  contemporary.  We  can  hardly 

1  Statues  set  up  "  on  columns  "  were  not  usual  until  Roman  times,  and  it  is 
most  tempting  to  translate  "above  the  columns,"  i.e.  in  the  pediments  of  a  temple, 
and  even  to  refer  this  story  to  the  two  Athenas  in  the  east  and  west  pediments 
of  the  Parthenon.     But  this  is  best  set  aside  as  a  possible,  but  not  profitable 
speculation.     Even  if  the  story  did  refer  to  these  two,  it  would  have  but  little 
weight  as  to  their  real  authorship,  being  clearly  rhetorical  in  character. 

2  It  is  commonly  rendered  in  German  muster gultig,  which  seems  to  imply 
a  translation  "chosen  as  a  model,"  ignoring  the  present  tense.     In  other  cases, 
such  as  apoxyomenos,  anadyomene,  etc.,  such  present  participles  seem  always  to 
refer  to  some  process  the  subject  is  undergoing  in  the  representation,  and  this 
analogy  should  if  possible  be  followed  here. 

3  It  has  been  suggested  that  we  may  recognise  it  in  a  figure  of  a  pentathlus, 
standing  with  the  discus  in  his  left  hand.     But  he  is  evidently  preparing  for  the 
throw,  not  merely  standing  before  judges  (see  Overbeck,  3rd  edition,  I.  p.  276). 


312  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

doubt  that  the  athletic  type  chosen  by  Alcamenes  would  be 
much  lighter  and  more  graceful,  as  opposed  to  the  massive  and 
powerful  form  preferred  by  Polyclitus.  Nor  is  this  contrast 
inconsistent  with  another  drawn  between  the  same  two  sculp- 
tors by  Quintilian,  who  here  couples  Phidias  with  Alcamenes  in 
his  criticism.  He  praises  Polyclitus  for  the  beauty  and  labori- 
ous finish  of  his  work,  yet  says  it  lacks  that  nobility  of  con- 
ception l  which  we  find  in  Phidias  and  Alcamenes.  All  we  learn 
from  other  criticisms  is  that  Alcamenes  was  placed  in  the  very 
highest  rank  among  sculptors ;  by  some  second  only  to  Phidias. 
He  seems  to  have  been  the  most  original  and  the  most  versatile 
among  his  fellow-pupils.  Being  the  youngest  of  them,  and 
surviving  his  master  by  many  years,  he  probably  escaped  to  a 
great  degree  from  the  overshadowing  influence  which,  in  their 
case,  led  to  their  fame  being  practically  absorbed  in  that  of 
Phidias.  He  worked  in  gold  and  ivory,  in  marble,  and  in 
bronze ;  but,  with  the  exception  of  the  athlete  just  mentioned, 
his  works  represent  gods,  and  a  large  proportion  of  them  seem 
to  have  been  temple  statues.  This  fact  seems  to  justify  us  in 
following  the  tradition  of  ancient  writers,  and  classing  Alcamenes 
among  the  pupils  of  Phidias. 

In  the  fifth  century  the  old  images  of  the  gods,  which  had 
hitherto  been  the  chief  objects  of  worship,  came  to  be  considered 
more  and  more  inadequate,  partly  because  the  old  mythological 
conceptions  failed  to  satisfy  any  longer  the  more  enlightened 
aspirations  of  the  people,  partly  because  the  primitive  idols 
contrasted  too  crudely  with  the  wealth  of  sculptural  offerings 
that  surrounded  them.  In  this  crisis  the  art  of  sculpture  came 
to  the  assistance  of  religion.  We  have  already  seen  the  incal- 
culable influence  of  works  like  the  Zeus  and  Athena  of  Phidias, 
in  raising  and  ennobling  the  religious  conceptions  of  the  many, 
and  in  reconciling  the  few  to  the  old  forms  which  they  might 
else  have  been  inclined  to  reject.  The  numerous  temples  and 
various  divinities  of  Greece  demanded  many  such  embodiments 
of  the  religious  conception  belonging  to  a  particular  shrine,  and 
the  pupils  of  Phidias  seem  to  have  set  themselves  especially  to 
meet  the  need.  In  doing  this  they  often  followed  their  master 
so  closely  that  their  separate  existence  was  almost  forgotten ; 

1  It  may  seem  strange  to  translate  pondus  in  this  way,  but  the  contrast  shows 
that  this  must  be  the  meaning,  which  is  in  accordance  with  the  Latin  use  of 
gravitas,  etc. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY—  480-400  B.C.  313 

but  it  was  no  small  achievement  for  them  to  have  produced 
a  series  of  great  statues  which  were  deemed  worthy  of  attribu- 
tion to  the  greatest  of  Greek  sculptors.  If  Phidias  founded  no 
definite  school  which  extended  beyond  the  lifetime  of  those  who 
had  actually  worked  with  him,  this  was  chiefly  because  his 
influence  was  more  personal  in  character,  and  imparted  lofty 
ideals  and  noble  conceptions  of  the  gods,  rather  than  any 
systems  of  style  and  proportion,  or  skill  in  particular  kinds  of 
technique.  But  here  and  there  in  later  times  we  shall  come 
across  other  artists  who  seem  to  draw  their  inspiration  directly 
from  Phidias;  and  though  we  cannot  class  them  also  as  his 
pupils,  they  serve  to  show  that  the  power  of  his  example 
remained,  and  that  his  great  statues  retained  their  position  in 
the  reverence  and  affection  of  Greece,  even  after  the  art  of 
sculpture  had  turned  aside  to  follow  new  methods  and  different 
aims. 


*~Note  on  the  Aphrodite  in  the  Gardens.  —  A  statue  of  Aphrodite,  of  very 
delicate  and  refined  style,  clothed  in  a  transparent,  clinging  drapery,  exists 
in  several  copies  ;  the  best  known  is  that  in  the  Louvre.  It  is  generally 
called  Venus  Genetrix,  because  it  appears  on  coins  which  have  been  brought 
into  relation  with  the  statue  made  by  Arcesilaus  for  the  Julian  family  (see 
§  78).  But  the  type  occurs  earlier  —  for  example  in  terra-cottas  from  Asia 
Minor,—  and  thus  it  appears  that  Arcesilaus,  like  his  contemporary  Pasiteles, 
adopted  types  from  earlier  artists,  which  he  reproduced  in  their  general 
.  character,  while  adding  to  them  the  impress  of  his  own  manner  and  execu- 
tion. It  is  therefore  legitimate,  without  refusing  to  assign  this  work  to 
Arcesilaus,  to  look  for  the  famous  earlier  statue  which  he  reproduced. 
Furtwangler  and  others  identify  it  as  the  Aphrodite  in  the  Gardens  of 
Alcamenes.  The  identification  is  a  tempting  one,  but  lacks  definite  evidence. 
The  statue  is  just  what  one  would  imagine  the  work  of  Alcamenes  to  be  like, 
yet  it  may  perfectly  well  be  something  else.  In  fact  this  identification  stands 
on  much  the  same  ground  as  the  attribution  of  the  "Apollo  on  the  Omphalos" 
to  Pythagoras  ;  it  is  worth  recording  as  a  conjecture,  and  as  an  indication  of 
the  impression  produced  by  the  literary  evidence,  but  cannot  be  inserted  as  a 
piece  of  verified  information.  '  More  detailed  consideration  is  therefore  reserved 
here,  as  in  the  case  of  the  works  of  Pasiteles,  for  the  section  concerning  the 
sculptor  from  whom  the  extant  copies  are  derived. 

§  38.  Scholars  of  Calamis  and  Myron,  and  other  Attic  Sculptors. 
—Praxias  the  Athenian,  a  pupil  of  Calamis,  began  the  sculpture 
in  the  pediments  of  the  temple  of  Apollo  at  Delphi,  which  were 
completed  after  his  death  by  Androsthenes.  We  know  nothing 
of  this  sculpture  except  its  subject  —  Apollo,  Artemis,  and  Leto, 
with  the  Muses,  in  the  eastern  pediment,  and  Dionysus  and  the 
Thyiades  in  the  western.  Here  we  see  again  the  principle  of 
contrast,  which  we  have  already  noticed  elsewhere,  between  the 


314  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

quiet  and  stately  subject  on  the  front  of  the  temple,  and  the 
rout  of  bacchantes  at  the  back.  And  the  setting  sun  on  one 
pediment,  presumably  balanced  by  the  rising  chariot  of  the 
moon  at  the  opposite  corner,  recalls  the  rising  sun  and  setting 
moon  in  the  eastern  pediment  of  the  Parthenon,  and  may  even 
have  suggested  that  splendid  device  for  filling  the  extremities 
of  the  triangular  field,  and  at  the  same  time  giving  appropriate 
surroundings  to  the  central  subject.  Unfortunately  the  French 
excavations  have  not  led  to  the  recovery  of  any  remains  of 
these  pediments,  which  must  have  been  entirely  destroyed  or 
removed.  It  seems  natural  to  connect  the  employment  of 
Attic  artists  upon  the  temple  at  Delphi  with  its  rebuilding  by 
the  Attic  family  of  the  Alcmaeonidae,  who  supplied  a  front  of 
marble  when  they  only  contracted  for  stone ;  they  may  have 
added  also  the  sculpture  that  adorned  the  pediments  and 
metopes.  In  any  case  it  hardly  seems  likely  that  a  pupil  of 
Calamis  would  have  been  employed  to  decorate  a  temple  like 
that  of  Delphi,  after  the  pre-eminence  of  Phidias  and  those  that 
worked  under  him  at  Athens  had  been  acknowledged;  and  so  we 
must  probably  assign  these  pediments  to  the  first  half  of  the  fifth 
century.  Both  the  pediments  and  the  metopes,  which  con- 
tained scenes  from  a  gigantomachy  and  exploits  of  Heracles 
and  Perseus,  are  referred  to  in  the  Ion  of  Euripides.  But  this 
does  not  necessarily  imply  that  they  had  been  recently  erected 
when  the  play  was  brought  out;  though  the  credit  Athens 
gained  by  their  presentation  to  the  temple  may  have  induced 
an  Attic  poet  to  dwell  upon  them. 

Lycius,  the  son  and  pupil  of  Myron,  seems  to  have  followed 
in  his  father's  steps.  His  date  is  established  by  an  inscription 
on  the  basis  crowning  one  of  the  two  buttresses  that  form  the 
extremities  of  the  wings  of  the  Propylaea  at  Athens.  Pausanias 
saw  the  equestrian  statues  that  stood  on  these  buttresses,  but, 
by  a  strange  misunderstanding,  connected  them  with  the  sons 
of  Xenophon.  His  mistake  was  explained  by  the  discovery 
of  the  inscription,  which  records  a  dedication  made  by  the 
Athenian  knights  from  the  spoil  of  their  enemy  in  a  victory 
gained  under  the  leadership  of  Xenophon  (of  course  not  the 
historian 1)  and  others ;  the  name  had  evidently  caught  the  eye 
of  Pausanias,  and  he  had  made  a  note  of  it  without  reading  the 

1  It  is  tempting  to  suggest  that  it  was  his  grandfather  ;  if  so,  the  talent  of 
Xenophon  as  a  cavalry  general  would  be  hereditary. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY—  480-400  B.C.  315 


whole  inscription.  Below  comes  the  artist's  signature, 
€7rotifcr€v  'EA.€i;#e/>ei>s  Mvpwos.  If  the  statues  were  first  set  up 
on  these  buttresses,  they  would  necessarily  be  either  contem- 
porary with  the  building  of  the  Propylaea  (437-432  B.C.),  or 
else  later.  But  the  inscription  on  the  basis  is  re-cut,  on  the 
other  side  and  the  other  way  up,  in  slightly  later  characters  ; 
and  this  seems  to  prove  that  the  statues  were  originally 
dedicated  a  few  years  earlier,  probably  about  the  middle  of 
the  century,  and  were  later  transferred  to  these  buttresses. 
The  date  thus  gained  is  of  especial  interest  as  deciding  beyond 
dispute  the  period  of  Myron  himself  ;  but  we  cannot  well  place 
that  period  much  further  back,  and  therefore  we  must  class 
these  statues  among  Lycius'  earlier  works. 

A  great  group  by  Lycius,  dedicated  at  Olympia,  represented 
the  combat  between  Achilles  and  Memnon.1  It  stood  on  a 
semicircular  base,  on  either  extremity  of  which  stood  the 
opposing  champions.  In  the  middle  was  Zeus,  supplicated  by 
Thetis  and  Eos,  each  on  behalf  of  her  own  son.  In  the  inter- 
mediate space  were  other  famous  heroes  on  the  Greek  and 
Trojan  sides,  opposed  in  pairs.  This  group  reminds  us 
irresistibly  of  the  similar  compositions  made  by  Onatas  of 
Aegina,  one  of  them  representing  the  heroes  of  the  Trojan 
war,  and  even  standing  on  a  similar  semicircular  base.  It 
seems  a  fair  inference  to  trace  Aeginetan  influence  in  the 
more  athletic  side  of  Attic  sculpture,  as  represented  by 
Myron  and  his  associates,  and  to  suppose  that,  when  Aegina 
lost  its  political  independence,  the  tradition  of  its  art  survived 
in  works  like  this  of  Lycius.  The  commission  was  given  by 
the  city  of  Apollonia  in  Epirus,  as  a  dedication  for  a  victory 
over  the  Abantes  of  Thronium. 

Besides  statues  of  Argonauts,  of  which  we  know  nothing 
further,  and  a  portrait  of  the  athlete  Autolycus,  whose  beauty 
is  celebrated  in  Xenophon's  Symposium,  Lycius  made  two 
statues  of  boys  which  have  led  to  much  discussion  ;  one  held 
a  sprinkler  for  holy  water,  and  was  set  up  on  the  Acropolis, 
before  the  temenos  of  Artemis  Brauronia  ;  the  other  was 
Mowing  up  with  his  breath  a  smouldering  fire.  It  is  impossible 
to  separate  this  last  from  a  similar  work  by  Styppax  of  Cyprus, 

1  The  subject  is  a  favourite  one  with  vase-painters,  who  mostly  follow  the 
version  of  Ictinus,  and  represent  Zeus  weighing  the  souls  of  the  heroes  in  a 
I  ••.•dunce,  and  deciding  accordingly.  We  do  not  know  whether  Lycius  adopted 
this  form  of  the  story. 

Y 


316  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

which  represented  a  slave  roasting  entrails,  and  at  the  same 
time  blowing  up  the  fire  with  his  breath.  This  last  slave  is 
further  identified  as  a  favourite  of  Pericles,  one  of  the  skilled 
workmen  employed  on  the  buildings  at  Athens,  who  fell  from 
a  height  and  was  injured  so  seriously  that  his  life  was  despaired 
of,  until  Athena  appeared  in  a  dream  to  Pericles,  and  told  him 
to  make  use  of  the  herb  Parthenium1  as  a  remedy.  As  a  thank- 
offering  there  was  set  up  not  only  the  bronze  statue  of  Athena 
Hygieia  by  Pyrrhus,  of  which  the  basis  may  still  be  seen  in 
situ  in  front  of  one  of  the  columns  of  the  Propylaea,  but  also 
a  portrait  of  the  slave  himself,  in  the  attitude  already  described. 
It  seems  likely  that  two  examples  of  so  curious  a  subject,  made 
by  Lycius  and  Styppax  respectively  at  about  the  same  time, 
must  have  had  some  relation  to  one  another ;  but  it  would  be 
futile  to  conjecture  exactly  what  that  relation  was.  It  is  more 
instructive  to  note  the  characteristics  of  this  little  group  of 
bronze  statues,  which  belong  to  a  class  which  has  been  quaintly 
but  not  inappropriately  termed  "religious  genre."  The  subjects 
were  -evidently  intended  to  interest,  not  only  for  their  own 
sake,  but  also  for  the  opportunity  which  they  gave  for  the 
display  of  the  artist's  skill,  yet  they  are  dedicated  to  religious 
purposes,  and  one  is  actually  a  thank-offering  for  a  deliverance. 
Perhaps,  in  this  case,  the  nature  of  the  subject  was  a  device  to 
justify  the  setting  up  of  a  statue  to  a  slave  within  the  sacred 
precinct,  somewhat  as,  at  the  end  of  the  previous  century,  a 
similar  difficulty  had  been  met  in  the  case  of  Leaena,  the  com- 
panion of  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton.  When  her  fortitude 
vindicated  for  her  a  statue  on  the  Acropolis,  which  seemed  to 
be  precluded  by  her  profession,  Amphicrates  had  symbolically 
recorded  her  heroism,  by  representing  her  in  the  guise  of  a 
lioness,  the  beast  whose  name  she  bore.  So  too  Styppax  may 
have  rendered  this  slave,  under  the  guise  of  a  minister  attending 
the  sacred  fire  on  the  altar.2 

1  Not  what  we  call  Parthenium,  but  a  plant  common  on  the  Acropolis,  and 
still  used  for  healing  purposes  in  the  Levant ;  it  is  called  ave/moxopTo  or  erba  di 
vento  (so  Heldreich). 

2  The  suggestion  that  this  slave  was  represented  as  actually  crouching  before 
the  feet  of  the  Athena  of  Pyrrhus,  and  blowing  up  the  fire  on  her  altar,  is  un- 
tenable.    The  altar  of  Athena  Hygieia  is  a  large  one  at  some  distance  in  front 
of  the  statue  ;  and  the  statue  of  the  goddess  is  a  dedication,  not  an  object  of 
worship.    The  long  basis,  on  which  it  is  suggested  that  the  slave  may  have  stood, 
is  obviously  an  addition  of  much  later  date.     These  facts  are  incorrectly  stated 
in  almost  all  books  on  the  subject. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  317 

Cresilas  of  Cydonia  was  a  Cretan,  but  his  association  with 
Pericles,  and  the  presence  of  some  of  his  most  famous  works  in 
Athens,  make  it  natural  to  class  him  among  the  Attic  artists. 


Fio.  72.— For  trait -of  Pericles,  probably  after  Cresilas  (British  Museum). 

The  basis  of  his  portrait  of  Pericles  has  been  found  during  the 
recent  excavations  on  the  Acropolis  at  Athens,  and  the  work  is 
doubtless  the  original  from  which  are  derived  several  extant 
copies,  one  of  them  in  the  British  Museum  (Fig.  72).  This  portrait, 
by  its  simple  and  severe  treatment,  especially  in  the  modelling 


318  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

of  eyes  and  beard,  shows  the  character  of  the  fifth  century ;  and 
at  the  same  time  the  nobility  and  ideal  treatment  of  the  face 
make  one  understand  the  words  of  Pliny  applied  to  this  work, 
"  mirumque  in  hac  arte  est  quod  nobiles  viros  nobiliores  fecit." l 
It  is  not  so  much  an  accurate  presentment  of  the  features  of 
Pericles  that  we  have  before  us,  as  an  embodiment  and  ex- 
pression of  the  personality  of  the  man  who  summed  up  in 
himself  the  glory  and  artistic  activity  of  Athens  in  the  fifth 
century ;  there  is  no  attempt  to  catch  the  minor  details  and 
more  accidental  traits  of  the  individual,  as  in  later  portraits. 
The  statue  is  dated  by  the  inscription  to  about  440-430  B.C.  ;2 
yet  it  shows  no  sign  of  advancing  age  in  the  face  of  Pericles, 
who  is  represented  as  in  the  full  perfection  of  manhood. 

Another  statue  by  Cresilas,  which  has  given  rise  to  much 
discussion,  is  one  described  by  Pliny  as  "  a  man  wounded  and 
fainting,  in  whom  one  can  feel  how  little 3  life  is  left."  This 
work  is  by  general  consent  identified  with  a  bronze  statue  on 
the  Acropolis  at  Athens,  described  by  Pausanias,  representing 
the  .Athenian  general,  Diitrephes,4  wounded  with  arrows;  a 
basis  found  on  the  Acropolis,  recording  Hermolycus  the  son  of 
Diitrephes  as  the  dedicator,  and  Cresilas  as  the  artist,  must 
almost  certainly  belong  to  this  statue,  and  dates  from  about  the 
middle  of  the  5th  century.  The  basis  is  square,  and  has  two 
square  holes  in  it,  lying  in  one  of  its  diagonals,  for  fixing  the 
statue,  which  must  therefore  have  been  represented  in  some 
unusual  position.  A  figure  of  a  warrior  pierced  with  arrows, 
and  staggering,  with  his  feet  some  distance  apart,  is  found  on 
an  Attic  lecythus  of  about  this  period ;  and  it  has  been  con- 
jectured 5  that  it  may  represent  the  death  of  this  same  Diitre- 
phes, which  evidently  caused  a  good  deal  of  sensation  at  Athens 
from  its  peculiar  circumstances.  Of  course  considerable  caution 
is  necessary  in  recognising  a  copy  of  a  contemporary  statue  on 

1  Perhaps   translated  from  an  epigram,  d\\'  ij   T^xvrt   xal   TOVTO  6av/j.d^fiv 
t?xei'  TOI>S  evyeveis  ZTCV&V  cvyeveartpovs,  i.e.  "the  marvel  of  this  art  is,  that  it 
has  added  to  the  nobility  of  noble  men "  ;  but,  as  H.  Stuart  Jones  remarks, 
nobilis  in  Pliny  usually  means  only  "  famous  "  ;  so  it  may  mean  the  skill  of  the 
artist  "has  added  to  the  fame  of  famous  men,"  by  making  their  portraits. 

2  AeXr.'Apx-  1889,  p.  36. 

3  See  H.  S.  Jones,  No.  148,  note. 

4  Not  as  Pausanias  supposed,  the  Diitrephes  who  is  mentioned  by  Thucydides 
vii.  29   (413  B.C.),  but  an  earlier  man  of  the  same  name,  perhaps  the  father  of 
Nicostratus  (iii.  75,  etc.).     So  Furtwangler,  Masterpieces,  p.  123. 

5  See  Furtwangler,  loc.  cit.,  p.  124. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  319 

a  vase  of  this  period ;  such  a  thing  is  very  unusual,  but  the 
coincidences  are  strange  if  we  do  not  suppose  these  various 
pieces  of  evidence  to  be  connected.  If  we  imagine  the  statue 
to  have  been  in  much  the  position  we  see  in  the  figure  on  the 
vase — as  is  probable  from  the  indications  on  the  basis — it  was 
certainly  a  tour-de-force  in  bronze  technique ;  and  in  its  curiously 
distorted  attitude,  and  its  representation  of  a  man  fighting  to 
the  verge  of  death,  it  reminds  us  of  Myron's  Discobolus  and 
Ladas,  and  seems  to  show  that  Cresilas  fell  strongly  under 
Myron's  influence.  Of  other  works  of  Cresilas  we  know  nothing 
but  the  names ;  two  more  bases  have  been  found  with  his  name, 
one  at  Athens,  belonging  to  a  statue  of  Athena,  another  at 
Hermione,  from  a  statue  of  Demeter  Chthonia ;  he  is  also  said 
to  have  made  a  Doryphorus 1  and  a  wounded  Amazon — one  of 
those  in  the  famous  Ephesian  competition.  These  suffice  to 
mark  him  as  an  artist  of  considerable  variety  as  well  as  of  high 
ideals  and  technical  skill. 

Strongylion  is  another  artist  of  considerable  fame  and  variety, 
of  whose  works  we  know  but  little.  One  of  them  which  is 
often  referred  to  represented,  in  bronze,  a  colossal  figure  of  the 
wooden  horse  of  Troy,  with  some  of  the  Greek  heroes  looking 
out  of  it.  The  basis  of  this  horse  has  been  found  on  the  Acro- 
polis at  Athens,  and.  appears  to  date  from  a  year  not  long  before 
414  B.C.,  when  it  is  referred  to  in  the  Birds  of  Aristophanes  : 
Strongylion  is  said  to  have  been  famous  for  his  sculpture  of 
horses  and  bulls ;  whence  it  has  been  conjectured  that  a  bronze 
bull,  dedicated  near  the  horse  on  the  Acropolis,  was  also  by  him. 
As  to  another  work  of  his  we  have  more  satisfactory  information. 
He  made  a  statue  of  Artemis  Soteira  at  Megara,  of  which  a 
replica  was  set  up  at  Pagae.  The  coins  of  these  two  towns  show 
an  identical  figure  of  Artemis,  at  Pagae  actually  in  a  temple  and 
<»n  ;i  basis;  this  must  certainly  be  the  statue  made  by  Strongy- 
lion.- It  was  of  bronze,  and  the  coins  show  us  that  the  goddess 
uas  represented  as  holding  two  torches,  and  in  rapid  motion. 
She  wears  a  short  chiton,  girt  round  the  waist  and  barely  reaching 
to  the  knee,  and  high  hunting  boots — the  regular  dress  of  the 
huntress  Artemis  in  late  Greek  art;  indeed,  it  seems  likely 
enough  that  we  must  attribute  to  Strongylion  the  creation  of 

1  So  only  by  a  probable  emendation  ;   Pliny's  MSS.  ascribe  the  work  to  a 
Ctesilaus  otherwise  unknown. 

-  Inihoof  and  Gardner,  Num.  Com.  on  Pans.,  PI.  A.  1. 


320  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

this  type,  one  of  the  most  familiar  in  Greek  mythology.  If  so, 
though  we  may  not  be  able  to  identify  any  copy  of  his  Artemis 
at  Megara,  we  may  see  her  more  or  less  remote  reflection  in 
many  well-known  statues.  Other  works  by  Strongylion  were  a 
boy  on  a  small  scale,  famous  for  the  admiration  felt  for  it  by 
Brutus,  an  Amazon,  who  was  called  Eucnemus,  or  "of  the  beautiful 
shin"1  (not  one  of  those  in  the  Ephesian  competition),  and  three 
statues  of  Muses  on  Helicon.  From  these  few  facts  we  can 
infer  neither  the  origin  nor  the  school  of  Strongylion ;  he  lived 
about  the  time  of  the  Peloponnesian  war,  and  as  he  worked  for 
both  Athens  and  Megara,  we  cannot  assign  him  with  certainty 
to  any  influence.  He  seems  to  have  worked  almost  exclusively 
in  bronze,  and  created  a  type  which  was  of  wide  influence  in 
later  art;  excessive  admiration  of  his  work  was  among  the 
affectations  of  Roman  amateurs. 

Callimachus  is  an  artist  whom  we  have  already  seen  coupled 
with  Calamis,  as  an  example  of  the  graceful  subtlety  of  Attic 
sculpture,  in  contrast  to  the  grandeur  and  breadth  of  Phidias 
and  Polyclitus.  He,  indeed,  represents  more  than  any  other 
the  direct  succession  of  purely  Attic  art,  which  we  traced  to  its 
culmination  in  Calamis  before  the  reaction  to  a  stronger  and 
severer  style  under  Doric  influence.  Callimachus  is  said  even 
to  have  carried  this  refinement  and  delicacy  so  far  as  to  be 
a  fault ;  he  is  called  catatexitechnus,  the  man  who  frittered 
away  his  art  on  details,  and  is  said  to  have  been  so  difficult  to 
satisfy  with  his  own  work  that  the  excessive  and  laborious  finish 
which  he  gave  it  destroyed  its  beauty.  In  him  some  have  seen, 
not  without  reason,  the  originator  of  those  over-refined  and 
affected  works  which  later,  as  the  Neo-Attic  reliefs,  occupied  a 
prominent  place  in  decorative  art.  Besides  a  statue  of  Hera  at 
Plataea,  we  learn  of  only  one  work  of  sculpture  by  Callimachus, 
some  dancing  Laconian  maidens,  probably  those  who  danced  at 
the  festival  of  Artemis  at  Caryae,  and  were  called  Caryatids ; 
these  must  not  be  confused  with  the  figures  later  called  Carya- 
tids in  architecture.2  Such  dancing  figures  are  not  uncommon 
in  later  reliefs,  and  may  be  ultimately  derived  from  the  statues 
by  Callimachus.  We  hear  of  him  not  only  as  a  sculptor,  but  also 

1  She  was  presumably  also  on  a  small  scale,  since  Nero  had  her  carried  about 
with  him  ;  but  perhaps  the  eccentricities  of  that  'Emperor  are  beyond  calculation. 
There  is  no  sufficient  ground  for  identifying  any  extant  Amazon  with  this  statue. 

2  These  architectural  figures  were  simply  called  Kopat  in  the  fifth  century. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  321 

as  skilled  in  other  branches  of  decorative  and  mechanical  art ; 
thus  he  made  the  lamp  in  the  Erechtheum,  which  burned  all  the 
year  round,  and  had  a  golden  palm-tree  to  serve  as  chimney; 
and  he  is  credited  with  the  invention  of  the  Corinthian 
capital — perhaps  in  error,  as  it  is  already  found  in  the  temple 
at  Bassae ;  but  Ictinus  may  have  used  there  the  invention  of 
his  fellow- Athenian.  He  is  also  said  to  have  first  used  the  drill 
in  marble — that  is  to  say,  probably,  the  running  drill  for  cutting 
the  folds  of  drapery  and  other  deep  lines  of  modelling.  In  fact, 
his  influence  on  later  art  and  his  mechanical  and  technical 
inventions  distinguish  him  beyond  his  actual  attainment  in 
sculpture. 

§  39.  Attic  influence  outside  Athens ;  Phigalia. — The  temple 
of  Apollo  Epicurius  at  Bassae,  near  Phigalia,  was  one  of  the 
most  famous  in  the  Peloponnese,1  alike  for  the  magnificence  of 
its  position,  and  the  beauty  of  its  architectural  forms  and  its 
sculptural  decoration.  It  was  built  by  the  people  of  Phigalia 
in  thanks  to  Apollo,  to  whom  they  attributed  their  immunity 
from  a  plague  that  ravaged  the  surrounding  country  during  the 
Peloponnesian  war.  It  has  been  disputed  whether  this  was  the 
great  plague  of  430  B.C.,  described  by  Thucydides,  but  said  by 
him  to  have  spared  the  Peloponnese,  or  another  plague  ten  years 
later.  Architectural  and  sculptural  forms  combine  to  confirm 
the  attribution  of  the  temple  to  this  period. 

The  temple  is  of  peculiar  design,  and  shows  us  the  freedom 
with  which  a  great  architect  like  Ictinus,  who  was  employed  on 
this  temple  as  well  as  the  Parthenon  at  Athens  and  the  Hall  of 
the  Mysteries  at  Eleusis,  dealt  with  the  conventional  plan  of  a 
Greek  temple.  At  first  glance  the  temple  appears  to  be  of  the 
usual  form,  with  pronaos  and  opisthodomus  and  surrounded 
with  a  peristyle,  except  that  it-faces  north  and  south  instead  of 
east  and  west.  But  the  interior  of  the  building  deviates  strangely 
from  the  normal  arrangement;  it  consists  of  a  small  cella  at  the 
south  end,  opening  toward  the  east  by  a  door  in  the  long  eastern 
side  of  the  temple;  here  doubtless  was  the  statue,  facing  east  as 
usual.  To  the  north  of  this  cella  is  an  open  court,  taking  up 
all  the  rest  of  the  building,  and  surrounded  by  attached  Ionic 
columns,  varied  by  one  Corinthian,  the  earliest  known,  in  the 
middle  of  the  space  between  the  cella  and  the  court.  Over 

1  Paiisanias  says  it  was  second  only  to  the  temple  of  Athena  Alea  at  Tegea, 
which  was  built  by  Scopas  (see  §  49). 


322  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

these  columns  ran  the  continuous  frieze  of  the  temple,  round 
the  interior  of  the  oblong  court.  Hence,  unlike  the  friezes  that 
usually  surround  the  outside  of  a  building,  it  was  all  visible 
from  one  point.  Over  the  pronaos,  at  the  north  end,  in  a 
position  similar  to  that  occupied  by  the  metopes  at  Olympia,  were 
metopes,  sculptured  in  high  relief.  Of  these  only  comparatively 
insignificant  fragments  have  been  recovered.  These,  as  well  as 
the  frieze,  which  is  in  a  fine-grained  Peloponnesian  marble,1  are 
now  in  the  British  Museum.  The  Phigalian  sculptures  were 
excavated  in  1811,  by  a  party  of  explorers,  including  the 
architect  Cockerell ;  and  were  purchased  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment in  1814.  Being  added  to  the  Elgin  marbles,  they  make 
our  national  collection  unrivalled  for  the  study  of  archi- 
tectural sculptures  of  the  fifth  century. 


FIG.  73.— Slab  from  Phigalian  frieze  ;  Heracles  (British  Museum). 

The  subject  of  the  frieze  was  divided  into  two  parts,  a  battle 
of  Greeks  and  Amazons  and  a  battle  of  Lapiths  and  Centaurs, 
the  former  occupying  two  sides  of  the  court,  and  one  slab  over, 
the  latter  filling  the  rest  of  the  other  two  sides.  As  to  the 
exact  order  of  the  slabs  there  is  a  good  deal  of  uncertainty,  but 
it  seems  clear  that  each  of  the  short  sides,  north  and  south,  had 
a  group  of  especial  interest,  to  afford  a  centre  to  the  com- 
position. 

The  battle  with  the  Centaurs  probably  began  at  the  south- 
west corner.  To  this  subject  belongs  the  group  of  Apollo  and 
Artemis  in  a  chariot ;  she  drives,  while  he  bends  his  bow 

1  From  the  quarries  of  Doliaua,  near  Tegea. 


m 


THE  FIFTH  CENTURY—  480-400  B.C.  323 


against  the  monsters.  Perhaps  the  goddess  is  hastening  to 
the  help  of  those  who,  on  the  next  slab,  have  taken  refuge 
at  her  image.  The  Centauromachy  continues  all  along  this 
side,  and  turns  the  corner  to  the  north,  where  it  ends  in 
the  great  group  of  which  the  invulnerable  Caeneus  is  the 
central  figure.  We  have  already  seen,  in  the  case  of  the 
Theseum,  how  this  theme  lends  itself  to  effective  composition 
in  a  frieze.  After  the  Caeneus  group  comes  the  beginning 
of  the  battle  against  the  Amazons,  which  encroaches  by  one 
slab  on  the  north  side,  while  it  fills  the  east  and  south  sides 
entirely.  In  the  middle  of  the  south  short  side  was  Heracles, 
distinguished  by  his  club  and  lion-skin  ;  his  opponent  is  presum- 
ably the  queen  of  the  Amazons  (Fig.  73).  The  two  combatants 
cross  each  other's  paths  and  strike  back  at  one  another,  thus 
making  a  balance  in  the  composition,  peculiarly  suitable  for 
figures  that  form  the  centre  of  a  larger  group.  The  effect 
is  similar  to  that  of  Athena  and  Poseidon  in  the  western 
pediment  of  the  Parthenon.1  The  rest  of  the  frieze  is  rich 
and  varied  in  motion,  full  of  imagination  and  originality  of 
design,  with  here  and  there  a  group  which  is  almost  startling 
in  its  unconventionality  ;  that,  for  instance,  of  a  Centaur  who 
bites  one  adversary  in  the  neck,  while  he  lashes  out  with  his 
heels  against  another  who  holds  his  shield  against  this  savage 
attack  ;  or  that  of  a  Greek  who  tilts  an  Amazon  off  her  horse 
by  seizing  her  shoulder  and  her  foot.  The  treatment  of  the 
nude  is  mostly  vigorous  and  correct,  especially  in  the  male 
figures,  and  the  athletic  frames  of  the  Amazons;  but  it  is 
uneven  in  quality,  and  is  particularly  weak  in  the  nude  female 
form  when  exposed,  as  in  the  Lapith  women.  The  drapery  is 
remarkable  ;  it  is  designed,  though  not  always  executed,  with 
great  skill  and  freedom,  and  floating  masses  of  it.  are  often  used 
to  fill  vacant  spaces  in  the  field  —  a  feature  which  we  have 
already  seen  in  Attic  work  of  this  period.  But  the  extremely 
low  relief  of  some  portions  shows  a  greater  dependence  on  the 
help  of  colour,  and  a  greater  subjection  to  influence  of  pictorial 
method,  than  we  often  find  in  Athens  itself;  and  there  are 
some  mannerisms  peculiar  to  this  Phigalian  frieze  —  for  example, 
the  way  in  which  the  drapery  of  the  short  chiton  is  stretched 
across  in  horizontal  folds  between  the  knees. 

All  these  characteristics  of  design  and  of  execution,  taken 

1  So  A.  H.  Smith,  British  Museum  Catalogue. 


324  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

together,  seem  to  show  that  the  design  is  due  to  an  Attic  artist, 
as  we  should  expect  from  the  employment  of  Ictinus,  the 
architect  of  the  Parthenon.  But  the  frieze  does  not  appear 
to  be  the  work  of  the  same  hands  as  the  decorative  sculp- 
tures which  we  see  on  the  various  buildings  of  Athens 
itself.  Some  of  their  excellences  and  defects,  their  superi- 
ority in  rendering  the  male  form,  the  mannerisms  in  the 
treatment  of  drapery,  make  it  likely  that  local  artists  of  Pelo- 
ponnesian  training  were  employed  in  the  execution,  under  the 
general  direction  of  an  Attic  master.  In  this  way  we  can  best 
explain  the  obvious  affinities  in  design  to  works  of  the  Attic 
school ;  while  the  pictorial  and  decorative  elements,  especially 
in  the  treatment  of  drapery,  were  naturally  either  exaggerated 
or  inadequately  mastered  by  the  local  artisans  to  whom  they 
were  unfamiliar.  Here  the  internal  evidence  offered  by  the 
style  is  confirmed  by  literary  authority ;  and  so  the  Phigalian 
sculptures  offer  a  clue  to  guide  us  when  we  meet  with  a 
somewhat  similar  character  in  other  sculptures  both  in  the 
Peloponnese1  and  in  Asia  Minor.2 

§  40.  Polyclitus.2' — Two  names  stand  out  beyond  all  others 
as  representative  of  the  sculpture  of  the  fifth  century — those  of 
Phidias  and  Polyclitus.  So  far  we  have  considered  either  works 
in  which  the  influence  of  Phidias  is  predominant,  or  artists 
whom  it  is  natural  to  associate  with  the  school  of  which  he  was 
the  most  distinguished  figure,  if  not  the  acknowledged  head. 
But  Athens  in  the  fifth  century  shows  no  artistic  exclusiveness ; 
she  seems  rather,  in  claiming  for  herself  a  pre-eminence  among 
the  Greeks  in  the  arts  of  peace,  to  have  become  to  a  certain 
extent  representative,  and  to  have  absorbed  into  herself  much 
of  what  was  best  in  the  work  of  her  neighbours  in  addition  to 
continuing  her  own  earlier  traditions.  We  have  seen,  in  par- 
ticular, how  the  monuments  testify  to  a  strong  accession  of 
Peloponnesian  influence  in  the  Attic  art  of  the  earlier  part  of 
the  fifth  century,  and  how  tradition  assigns  Ageladas  of  Argos 
as  a  master  to  two  of  the  greatest  of  Attic  artists  at  this  time. 
The  third  pupil  accorded  to  Ageladas  by  tradition  is  Polyclitus, 
who  succeeded  him  as  the  recognised  head  of  the  Argive  school 

1  See  p.  339.  2  See  p.  345. 

3  The  Greek  IIoAikXaTos  is  transliterated  Polycletus  by  Cicero  and  Quintilian, 
hence  the  French  Polyclete,  the  German  Polyklet,  and  the  form  sometimes  used 
by  English  scholars.  But  Polyclitus,  the  form  used  by  Pliny,  is  probably  more 
familiar  to  English  readers.  Cf.  Clitus  =  KXelros  in  Shakespeare. 


Ill 


THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  325 


of  athletic  sculpture.  The  relation  has  in  all  three  cases  been 
disputed.  Although  we  might  have  expected  it  to  pass  un- 
challenged in  the  case  of  Polyclitus,  whose  Argive  origin  and 
artistic  connections  seem  to  vouch  for  its  historical  truth,  the 
difficulties  due  to  the  respective  dates  of  the  two  sculptors  are 
here  so  serious  that  they  have  led  many  to  reject  it  as  impos- 
sible. If,  however,  we  admit  that  Ageladas  accepted  a  com- 
mission as  late  as  455  B.C.,1  there  is  no  difficulty  in  supposing 
that  Polyclitus — whose  artistic  activity  falls  entirely,  so  far  as 
we  know, -within  the  last  forty  years  of  the  fifth  century — may 
have  worked  as  a  boy  under  his  veteran  predecessor.  However 
this  may  be,  he  certainly  accepted  the  tradition  of  the  Argive 
school  as  it  had  been  handed  down  by  earlier  sculptors  and 
consolidated  during  the  long  life  of  Ageladas ;  and  though  he 
was  regarded  by  later  time  as  the  first  to  introduce  a  system  of 
athletic  sculpture,  and  to  establish  a  canon  of  proportions,  it  is 
difficult  to  tell  how  much  of  this  he  owed  to  his  predecessors. 
But  his  great  creative  imagination,  which  enabled  him  to  make 
a  temple  statue  second  only  to  those  of  Phidias,  and  his  wonder- 
ful technical  skill — in  which  he  was  considered  by  many  to 
stand  first  among  all  the  sculptors  of  antiquity, — gave  him  a 
position  above  all  previous  masters  of  the  Argive  school.  What, 
however,  was  generally  regarded  as  the  most  characteristic  work 
of  Polyclitus  was  the  statue  in  which  he  embodied  the  ideal  of 
bodily  perfection,  as  conceived  by  the  athletic  schools  of  the 
Peloponnese  in  their  earlier  period — a  statue  which  served,  as 
it  was  intended;  for  a  model  to  all  later  artists,  and  exercised 
as  much  influence  on  the  bodily  type  of  Greek  sculpture  as  the 
Zeus  of  Phidias  exercised  on  its  religious  ideals. 

So  far,  it  has  been  assumed  without  discussion  that  Poly- 
clitus was  an  Argive.  This  statement,  which  rests  on  the 
highest  authorities,  would  require  no  comment  but  for  Pliny's 
assertion  that  he  was  a  Sicyonian.  The  schools  of  Argos  and 
Sicyon  seem  always  to  have  been  closely  united ;  and  the  fact 
that  their  common  centre  was  transferred  to  Sicyon  in  the 
fourth  century  suffices  to  account  for  the  confusion.  If,  as  we 
have  seen  reason  to  suppose,  Polyclitus  was  employed  on  sculp- 
ture as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century,  we  know 
nothing  of  the  work  of  his  earlier  years.  Presumably  he 
devoted  himself  during  this  time  to  acquiring  that  knowledge 

1  See  p.  192. 


326  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

of  the  athletic  human  form  which  was  the  chief  tradition  of  the 
Argive  school,  and  to  making  the  statues  of  athletes  that 
formed  its  commonest  product.  His  earliest  recorded  work  is 
a  statue  of  the  Olympian  victor  Cyniscus,  who  won  in  the  boys' 
boxing  match ;  this  may  be  assigned  to  about  440  B.C.1  Other 
bases  of  athletic  statues  bearing  the  name  of  Polyclitus  have 
been  found  at  Olympia ;  but  there  were  two  artists  of  this 
name,  and  the  younger  and  less  famous  is  probably  the  one  to 
whom  these  inscriptions  must  be  assigned.2  The  two  greatest 
works  of  the  athletic  type — both  of  which  are  preserved  to  us  in 
various  copies — were  not  intended  as  statues  of  any  individual 
athletes,  but  rather  as  ideal  embodiments  of  what  an  athlete 
should  be.  The  one  is  known  as  the  Diadumenus,  because  he 
is  represented  as  a  victor  in  the  games,  binding  about  his  brow 
the  fillet  over  which  the  wreath  is  to  be  placed ;  the  other  as 
the  Doryphorus,  because  he  holds  in  his  left  hand  a  spear 
sloped  over  his  shoulder.  This  Doryphorus  was  also  known  as 
the  Canon,  because  Polyclitus  had  embodied  in  it  not  only  his 
conception  of  the  male  form  in  its  most  perfect  development, 
but  also  the  system  of  proportions  which  he  adopted  as  normal. 
Indeed,  he  actually  wrote  a  treatise  which  went  by  the  same 
name  as  the  statue,  and  the  two  were  mutually  illustrative  of 
each  other.  Unfortunately,  this  statue,  like  all  others  that  can 
be  attributed  to  Polyclitus,  is  only  preserved  to  us  in  copies  of 
Roman  period,  which  not  only  fail  to  enable  us  to  realise  the 
beauty  of  their  original,  but  do  not  even  preserve  accurately 
the  system  of  proportion  embodied  in  the  Doryphorus.  The 
copies  we  possess  vary  to  some  extent  among  themselves,  so 
that  it  is  difficult  for  us  to  gather  from  them  more  than  a 
general  notion  of  the  proportions  adopted  by  the  sculptor ; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  they  exaggerate  some  of  the  charac- 
teristics, especially  the  massive  and  heavy  build,  so  as  to  pro- 
duce an  appearance  of  clumsiness  which  we  cannot  readily 
accept  as  belonging  to  the  work  of  Polyclitus  himself.  We 
must,  however,  make  the  best  of  the  evidence  we  possess,  while 
making  due  allowance  for  its  inadequacy.  It  must  especially 
be  remembered  how  much  is  lost  in  the  translation  from  bronze 
into  marble  of  the  work  of  an  artist  who,  in  the  art  of  finishing 
a  bronze  statue,  is  said  to  have  surpassed  all  others,  not  except- 
ing Phidias  himself. 

1  Loewy,  50.  2  See  §  41. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  327 

The  Doryphorus,  or  Canon,  is  preserved  to  us  in  several 
copies ;  the  completest  is  that  from  Pompeii,  now  in  the  Naples 
museum  (Fig.  74).  It  is,  however,  a  heavy  and  mechanical  copy, 
and  can  give  us  but  little  notion  of  the  finish  of  Polyclitus'  style, 
in  which  his  chief  excellence  lay.  A  bronze  copy  of  the  head 
by  the  Attic  artist  Apollonius l  at  least  reproduces  the  material 
of  the  original,  and  so  may  be  expected  to  follow  its  technique ; 
but  it  is  a  conventional  work  of  the  Augustan  age,  and  is  hardly 
more  to  be  trusted.  But  all  the  copies,  whatever  their  defects, 
agree  so  far  that  we  can  safely  infer  from  them  the  physical 
type  chosen  by  the  artist,  both  for  body  and  for  face,  and  also 
the  pose  and  general  character  of  the  statue.  It  represents 
a  young  man  in  the  very  prime  of  athletic  condition,  but 
remarkable  rather  for  massive  strength  than  for  agility.  All 
his  muscles  are  strongly  developed,  though  we  must  allow  some- 
thing here  for  the  exaggeration  of  the  late  copyist ;  his  head  is 
large  in  proportion,  about  one-seventh  of  the  total  height,  and 
its  squareness  of  skull  and  rather  heavy  jaw  imply  that  his 
athletic  prowess  is  due  rather  to  obstinate  power  of  endurance 
than  to  quickness  or  versatility.  Not  that  the  Polyclitan 
Doryphorus  shows  any  of  that  brutality  which  sometimes  marks 
the  professional  athlete  of  later  Greece ;  he  represents  a 
thoroughly  healthy  and  evenly-developed  type ;  and  the  de- 
formed and  swollen  "  boxer's  ear,"  so  conspicuous  in  Apollonius' 
head,  does  not  appear  in  other  copies,  and  is  probably  a  modifi- 
cation introduced  by  the  later  artist. 

Some  faint  reflection  of  the  inimitable  bronze  technique  of 
Polyclitus  may  be  traced  in  extant  copies  of  his  best-known 
work.  Perhaps  the  most  accurate  in  this  respect  is  the  torso 
in  the  Pourtales  collection  at  Berlin,  which  shows  a  remark- 
able treatment  of  the  muscles  of  the  body,  unintelligible  in 
marble,  but  easier  to  understand  if  we  imagine  it  transferred 
to  bronze.2  Here,  though  the  relief  of  the  various  muscles  is 
less  accentuated  than  in  other  copies,  the  lines  of  demarcation 
between  them  are  more  clearly  and  definitely  indicated ;  there 
is  less  of  that  play  of  light  and  shade  over  the  whole  on  which 
marble  work  depends  for  its  effect ;  more  of  the  evenly-curved 
surfaces,  intersecting  in  definite  lines,  which  in  a  metal  statue 
reflect  the  light  and  bring  out  all  the  delicacies  of  the  model- 

1  Collignon,  I.  Fig.  252. 
2  Rayet,  Mon.  de  V Art,  I.  PL  29,  p.  2. 


FIG.  74. — Doryphorus,  after  Polyclitus  (Naples). 


CHAP,  m  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  329 

ling.  As  to  the  treatment  of  the  hair,  all  copies  are  pretty 
well  in  agreement ;  it  lies  close  to  the  scalp,  coming  down  low 
over  the  forehead,  and  is  divided  all  over  its  surface  into  short 
waving  tresses,  which  seem  as  if  drawn  on  it,  but  never  stand 
out  separately  in  relief ;  it  contrasts  alike  with  the  bronze 
hair  of  later  art,  standing  out  freely  from  the  head,  and  that  in 
the  best  copy  of  Myron's  Discobolus,1  in  which  the  hair,  rather 
than  the  separate  tresses,  is  outlined  in  a  harder  line  over  the 
forehead,  and  is  subdivided  into  more  minute  curls,  clinging 
close  but  not  waving,  all  over  the  head. 

The  other  of  Polyclitus'  two  famous  athletic  statues,  the 
Diadumenus,  is  also  preserved  to  us  only  in  inadequate  copies. 
Until  recently,  the  most  trustworthy  of  these  were  a  statue  from 
Vaison  in  France,  now  in  the  British  Museum  (Fig.  75),  and  a 
bronze  statuette  in  the  Louvre.2  To  these  may  now  be  added 
a  head  recently  acquired  by  the  British  Museum,  and  placed 
beside  the  Vaison  statue,  and  a  statue  discovered  on  Delos, 
which  is  perhaps  the  finest  of  all.  The  Diadumenus  is  repre- 
sented as  a  victor  in  the  games,  binding  about  his  head  the 
sacred  fillet  over  which  the  judge  was  to  place  the  wreath. 
The  position  of  the  arms  is  much  the  same  as  in  many  statues 
and  statuettes  in  which  later  sculptors  delighted  to  represent 
Aphrodite  binding  her  hair ;  and  the  motive  of  the  artist  is  the 
same  in  both  cases  ;  it  affords  an  excellent  opportunity  for 
displaying  the  symmetry  and  proportion  of  the  arms  and  chest. 
Unlike  the  Doryphorus,  who  is  slowly  advancing,  the  Diadu- 
menus is  standing  still ;  and  thus,  though  the  weight  of  the 
body  here  also  is  borne  mainly  by  the  advanced  right  leg,  the 
poise  of  the  figure  is  different ;  the  centre  of  gravity  is  behind 
the  right  foot,  instead  of  above  it  arid  on  the  point  of  advanc- 
ing beyond  it.  It  is  evidently  in  subtle  distinctions  like  this, 
and  in  the  consequent  modification  of  all  the  muscles  and  the 
whole  pose  of  the  statue,  that  the  art  of  Polyclitus  excelled ;  a 
comparison  of  the  two  works  is  the  best  possible  comment  on 
the  monotony  complained  of  by  some  ancient  critics.  Even  in 

1  See  p.  237. 

2  The  Farnese  Diaclumeuus  in  the  British  Museum  is  clearly  so  far  modified  as 
to  be  useless  for  style,  though  ultimately  derived  from  Polyclitus'  statue  ;  the 
same  remark  applies  to  the  terra-cotta  statuette  published  in  J.  If.  £,  PI.  Ixi., 
also  in  the  British  Museum  :  the  modification  in  this  case  is  Praxitelean,  though 
it  may  be  doubted  whether  the  copy  is  the  work  of  an  ancient  or  of  a  modern 
artist. 


FIG.  75.  -Diadumenus  from  Vaison,  after  Polyclitus  (British  Museum). 


CHAP,  in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  331 

copies  it  is  possible  to  appreciate  to  some  extent  the  refine- 
ment and  delicacy  of  their  differentiation ;  if  we  possessed  the 
originals,  it  would  doubtless  be  far  more  admirable.  Of  other 
athletic  statues  by  Polyclitus  we  have  nothing  but  the  name 
recorded;  one  is  described  by  Pliny  as  an  athlete  using  the 
strigil,  destringentem  se,  and  is  interesting  for  the  identity  of 
its  subject  with  the  "  Apoxyomenus "  of  Lysippus,  which  was 
intended  as  a  rival  to  Polyclitus'  Canon.1 

It  was,  however,  not  only  in  athletic  sculpture  that  Poly- 
clitus excelled.  His  great  gold  and  ivory  statue  of  Hera  in  the 
Heraeum  near  Argos  was  recognised  as  the  visible  embodiment 
of  the  goddess,  and  is  mentioned  as  a  worthy  counterpart  to 
the  Olympian  Zeus  of  Phidias.  Indeed,  Strabo  goes  even 
further,  and  says  that  the  Argive  statue  excelled  all  others  in 
its  art,  though  the  works  of  Phidias  were  more  costly  and  on  a 
larger  scale.  Such  a  criticism  is  probably  based  on  the  work 
of  some  writer  unduly  partial  to  the  Argive  school,  and  would 
hardly  be  endorsed  by  modern  opinion,  if  we  possessed  the 
statues  to  which  it  refers.  We  can,  however,  safely  infer  that 
Polyclitus  excelled  in  the  ideal  representation  of  divine  power 
and  beauty  ;  but  the  type  of  Hera,  in  Greek  mythology,  is  a 
less  sublime  and  intellectual  conception  than  that  of  Zeus  or 
Athena,  and  for  this  reason  more  adapted  to  the  limitations  of 
the  Argive  school.  Hera  in  the  Argive  ceremonies  was  especi- 
ally worshipped  as  the  bride  who  yearly  renewed  her  virginity ; 
and  it  was  thus,  probably,  that  Polyclitus  represented  her. 
She  was  enthroned,  with  a  pomegranate  in  one  hand,  in  the 
other  a  sceptre  surmounted  by  a  cuckoo,  the  bird  in  likeness  of 
which  Zeus  was  said  to  have  shown  himself  to  Hera.  On  her 
head  was  a  crown,  decorated  with  figures  of  the  Graces  and  the 
Hours.  In  short,  she  was  represented  as  the  bride  and  consort 
of  Zeus — the  perfect  type  of  youthful  womanhood — a  concep- 
tion that  gave  full  scope  to  the  study  of  perfection  in  physical 
form  and  dignity  of  type  which  belonged  especially  to  the 
Argive  tradition.  We  may  obtain  some  notion  of  what  this 
type  was  like  from  the  contemporary  coins  of  Argos  and  of  Elis, 
which,  however,  must  not,  like  Roman  coins,  be  taken  as  copies 
of  the  work  of  Polyclitus,  but  rather  as  the  die-cutter's  concep- 
tion of  the  type  of  Hera  which  found  its  most  perfect  ex- 
pression in  the  work  of  Polyclitus.  The  statue  was  made 

1  See  p.  407. 
z 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

immediately  after  the  fire  which  consumed  the  Heraeum  in 
422  B.C. 

As  to  other  statues  of  gods  by  Polyclitus,  we  know  nothing 
for  certain  beyond  the  names ;  they  were  a  Zeus  Meilichius — 
the  god  of  atonement — at  Argos,  set  up  after  a  massacre  in 
418  B.C.,  and  made  of  white  marble;1  a  Hermes  in  Lysimachia, 
which  must  have  been  moved  from  elsewhere ;  a  Heracles, 
moved  to  Rome,  and  an  Aphrodite  at  Amyclae,  supporting  a 
tripod  set  up  after  the  battle  of  Aegospotami  (405  B.C.).  In 
most  of  these  cases,  as  in  some  others,  there  is  the  possibility 
of  doubt  whether  the  work  should  be  attributed  to  the  elder  or 
the  younger  Polyclitus  ;  a  similar  doubt  exists  in  the  case  of  a 
group  of  marble,  representing  Apollo,  Artemis,  and  Leto,  on 
Mount  Lycone  near  Argos.2  The  two  artists  were  evidently 
not  clearly  distinguished  from  one  another  in  antiquity ;  and, 
if  we  had  not  the  evidence  of  inscriptions  to  help  us,  we  should 
find  it  very  difficult  to  keep  them  apart. 

As  to  another  work  of  Polyclitus,  his  Amazon,  we  have 
more  'evidence ;  and  it  will  be  well  to  include  here  a  brief 
notice  of  the  set  of  statues  of  Amazons  to  which  it  belongs ; 
they  are  best  treated  together,  and  Polyclitus  is  the  only  artist 
to  whom  one  of  them  is  attributed  by  a  general  consensus  of 
opinion.  Pliny  says  that  there  were  certain  Amazons  dedi- 
cated in  the  temple  of  Artemis  at  Ephesus,  a  town  said  to  have 
been  founded  by  Amazons.  These  were  by  sculptors  of  differ- 
ent periods ;  but,  in  a  competition  of  merit,  decided  by  the 
artists  themselves,  Polyclitus  was  placed  first,  Phidias  second, 
Cresilas  third,  and  Phradmon,  an  Argive,  of  whom  little  else  is 
known,  fourth.3  Among  statues  of  Amazons,  of  which  many 
are  preserved  in  our  museums,  there  are  some  which  clearly 
show  the  style  of  the  fifth  century.  To  omit  minor  variations 
or  later  modifications,  there  are  three  main  types  :- — 4 

1.  An  Amazon,  leaning  with  her  left  elbow  on  a  pillar,  her 
right  hand  resting  on  her  head  (Fig.  76);  her  chiton  is  fastened 
only  on  the  right  shoulder,  leaving  her  left  breast  bare;  on 

1  The  material  is  strange  for  either  the  elder  or  the  younger  Polyclitus  ;  the 
massacre  may  be  wrongly  identified.     That  the  younger  Polyclitus  used  marble  is 
a  mere  assumption. 

2  Also  attributed  to  the  younger  Polyclitus  because  of  material.     See  last 
note  ;  this  is  merely  arguing  in  a  circle. 

3  Pliny  says  fifth,  making  Cresilas  Cydon  (the  Cydonian)  into  two  sculptors. 

4  I  follow  here  Michaelis,  Jahrbuch,  1886,  p.  14. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  333 

her  right  breast,  just  outside  the  edge   of  the  drapery,  is  a 
wound. 


FIG.  76. — Amazon,  after  Polyclitus  (Rome,  Vatican). 

2.  The  Capitoline  type. — An  Amazon,   with  her   right   arm 
raised,  leaning,  probably  on  a  spear  (Fig.  77) ;  her  head  is  bent 


334  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

down,  her  chiton  is  fastened  on  the  left  shoulder,  it  has  been 


Fio.  77.— Amazon,  Capitoline  type  (Rome,  Vatican). 

unfastened  from  her  right  by  her  left  hand,  which  still  holds  t 
drapery  at  her  waist,  so  as  to  keep  it  clear  of  a  wound  below  t 


' 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  335 

right  breast ;  there  is  another  wound  above  it ;  she  wears  also 
a  chlamys. 


FIG.  78.— Amazon  Mattel  (Rome,  Vatican). 


3.  The  so-called  Mattei  type  (Fig.  78),  representing  not  a 
irounded  Amazon,  but  one  using  her  spear  as  a  jumping-pole  to 


336  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

mount  her  horse ;  it  is  on  her  left  side,  and  she  grasps  it  with 
both  hands,  her  right  passing  across  over  her  head.  Her  chiton 
is  fastened  on  the  right  shoulder,  leaving  the  left  breast  bare, 
and  it  is  curiously  drawn  up  below  so  as  to  expose  the  left 
thigh. 

These  types  very  probably  go  back  to  the  statues  of 
Amazons  in  the  temple  at  Ephesus,  which  gave  rise  also  to 
Pliny's  story.  Pliny  probably  gives  correctly  the  names  of  the 
artists  to  whom  these  statues  were  attributed ;  beyond  this  his 
story  is  of  little  value,  though  it  probably  records,  in  a  rhetorical 
form,  the  opinion  of  some  ancient  critic.  We  may,  then,  make 
use  of  the  names  he  gives  to  help  us  in  considering  the  extant 
statues  of  Amazons. 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  the  original  from  which  the 
extant  statues  of  type  (1)  are  derived  must  have  been  made  by 
Polyclitus.  Its  excellences  and  its  defects  alike  claim  him  as 
their  author.  The  attitude  recalling  that  of  the  Diadumenus, 
the  squarely-made  and  vigorous  form,  the  athletic  type  of  the 
Amazon,  who  though  female  in  sex,  is  male  in  modelling  and 
in  proportion,  the  resemblance  of  the  head  to  that  of  the 
Doryphorus,  with  the  squarely -shaped  skull  and  heavy  jaw, 
the  absence  of  any  expression  of  emotion  or  pathos,  except 
of  mere  weariness  of  battle;  the  absence  of  any  adequate 
consideration  of  the  modification  necessitated  by  the  wound 
in  the  position  of  the  figure  or  its  expression — all  these  are 
characteristics  which  we  should  expect  to  find  in  the  work  of 
the  Argive  master.  With  type  (2)  the  case  is  not  nearly  so 
easy  to  decide.  The  whole  character  and  type  of  the  figure  is 
softer  and  more  womanly,  and  the  wound  and  its  effect  upon 
the  Amazon  are  never,  even  in  details,  lost  sight  of  as  the 
central  motive  of  the  whole  figure.  It  might  seem,  as  has  been 
well  said  by  Michaelis,  that  type  (2)  was  consciously  made  as  a 
protest  against  the  inconsistencies  of  type  (1).  The  type  of  the 
head  is  not  dissimilar,  but  is  entirely  transformed  by  the  pathos 
of  the  expression,  as  she  looks  at  her  wounds. 

It  is  best  to  be  cautious  about  the  attribution  of  this  second 
type.1  Some  attribute  it  to  Phidias,  others,  as  confidently,2  to 
Cresilas,  appealing  to  the  designation  of  his  work  as  the  wounded 

1  The  Capitoline  Amazon  has  the  name  of  Sosicles  inscribed  on  it.     But  he  is 
only  the  copyist ;  the  same  type  is  repeated  elsewhere,  e.g.  in  the  statue  in  the 
Vatican  (Fig.  77). 

2  So  Furtwangler,  Meisterwerke,  p.  286. 


m  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  337 

Amazon ;  the  wound  is  certainly  the  leading  motive  in  his 
statue,  and  is  not  mentioned  in  other  cases.  Yet  it  is  certainly 
present,1  though  not  allowed  to  form  the  leading  motive,  in  the 
Amazon  of  Polyclitus.  All  that  seems  certain  is  that  we  see 
here  a  fifth-century  type,  by  an  artist  who  prefers  womanly 
grace  to  athletic  and  almost  virile  character  and  proportion,  even 
in  an  Amazon ;  and  who,  when  he  introduces  a  wound  into  the 
statue,  does  not  treat  it  as  an  accessory,  but  modifies  the  whole 
conception  to  suit  it.  As  a  result,  the  spectator  may  indeed 
be  said  "  almost  to  feel  her  pain,"  as  was  said  of  the  Philoctetes 
of  Pythagoras ;  but,  without  more  certain  standards  of  compari- 
son, it  would  be  rash  to  say  definitely  who  was  the  author  of 
this  Amazon. 

As  to  the  third  type  (Mattei),  even  more  doubt  is  possible ; 
indeed,  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  it  belongs  to  the  same 
period  as  the  other  two ;  the  way  in  which  the  drapery  is 
drawn  up  to  show  the  modelling  of  the  left  thigh  reminds  one 
of  a  similar  device  in  the  Artemis  of  Versailles,  and  is  not 
adequately  explained  by  the  position,  any  more  than  the 
drapery  of  the  Aphrodite  of  Melos ;  the  slim  and  graceful 
proportions  of  the  figure  also  suggest  a  later  period.  We 
cannot,  however,  assign  her  with  confidence  to  any  later  artist, 
though  her  extreme  grace  is  in  favour  of  a  Hellenistic  origin.2 
Perhaps,  however,  so  late  an  attribution  must  be  given  up, 
especially  in  view  of  the  simpler  character  of  the  example  at 
Petworth,3  which,  however,  seems  to  belong  to  the  fourth 
rather  than  the  fifth  century. 

§41.  Scholars  of  Polyclitus.  —  As  the  artistic  activity  of 
Polyclitus  falls  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fifth  century,  his 
scholars,  as  was  to  be  expected,'  mostly  fall  into  the  next 
period ;  but  we  have  such  scanty  information  about  most  of 
them,  apart  from  their  relation  to  their  master,  that  it  seems 
best  to  include  most  of  them  here,  especially  as  the  great 

1  Michaelis  (loc.  cit.)  refutes  Overbeck's  suggestion  that  the  wound  was  in- 
troduced here  from  the  Capitoline  type. 

2  Winckelmann  identified  the  Mattei  Amazon  as  Strongylion's  ewcj^/uos ;  but 
it  should  rather  be  etf/ATjpos. 

Furtw angler  suggests  that  this  third  type  is  that  of  Phidias,  a  theory  which 
will  hardly  gain  in  acceptance  by  his  additional  conjecture  that  the  Herculanean 
bronze  head  belongs  to  this  type.  That  head  has  been  generally  recognised  as 
Polyclitan  in  origin  ;  the  head  of  the  Mattei  Amazon  does  not  belong  to  it,  but  to 
a  copy  of  the  Capitoliue  type. 

3  Jahrb.  1886,  PL  1. 


338  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

common  work  on  which  many  of  them  were  engaged  was  the 
group  set  up  by  the  Spartans  in  commemoration  of  the  victory 
at  Aegospotami  in  405  B.C.  Of  many  of  them  we  know  little 
more  than  the  name ;  the  most  interesting  group  is  the  family 
of  Patrocles,  who  was  perhaps  the  brother  of  Polyclitus.  Two 
of  his  sons  were  Naucydes  and  Daedalus.1  To  these  must  be 
added  the  younger  Polyclitus,  who  is  described  by  Pausanias 
as  the  brother  of  Naucydes.  He  was  also  the  pupil  of  Naucydes, 
and  worked  in  the  first  half  of  the  fourth  century.  Another 
pupil  of  Naucydes  was  Alypus.  Of  most  of  these  sculptors 
we  know  little  beyond  the  fact  that  they  made  statues  of 
athletic  victors — the  stock  subject  of  the  Argive  and  Sicyonian 
schools.  Naucydes  also  made  a  Discobolus,  a  Hermes,  and  a  man 
sacrificing  a  ram,  commonly,  but  without  much  reason,  identified 
with  a  statue  of  Phrixus  on  the  Acropolis  at  Athens ;  a  basis 
with  his  name  has  been  found  there.  He  also  made  a  portrait 
of  the  Lesbian  poetess,  Erinna — probably  one  of  those  ideal 
portraits  of  famous  men  and  women  of  old  time  that  later 
became  common.  His  brother  Daedalus  too  produced  what  we 
may  call  athletic  genre  as  well  as  athletic  portraits — boys  scrap- 
ing themselves  with  the  strigil.  Naucydes  worked  with 
Polyclitus  the  elder  in  the  Heraeum,  and  made  a  Hebe  of  gold 
and  ivory  as  a  pendant  to  the  great  statue  of  Hera ;  other 
statues  of  gods  are  attributed  to  him,  as  well  as  to  his  pupil 
and  younger  brother,  the  younger  Polyclitus,  who  worked  in 
the  first  half  of  the  fourth  century. 

The  great  group  dedicated  by  the  Spartans  after  Aegospotami 
reminds  us  of  some  of  the  earlier  dedications  from  the  spoils  of 
the  Persians,  notably  that  made  by  Phidias  after  Marathon, 
which  was  also  erected  at  Delphi,  and  was  also  of  bronze.  The 
subject  was  an  assembly  of  gods,  with  Poseidon  crowning  the 
victorious  admiral  Lysander,  in  the  presence  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Spartan  allies.  Another  somewhat  similar  but  smaller 
group  was  dedicated  by  the  Tegeans,  after  a  victory  over  the 
Spartans  in  369  B.C.  ;  it  represented  the  Tegean  heroes,  and  was 
made  by  Daedalus  of  Sicyon,  with  Aristophanes  and  others. 
These  bare  enumerations  suffice  to  show  how  numerous  and 

1  This  rests  on  the  authority  of  inscriptions,  Loewy,  86,  88.  Daedalus  and 
Naucydes  called  themselves  Sicyonians,  the  younger  Polyclitus  an  Argive.  The 
artistic  relations  of  Argos  and  Sicyon  were  then  close  ;  and  the  centre  of  the  school 
varied  between  the  two. 


m  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  339 

influential  was  the  school  which  owned  Polyclitus  as  its  master. 
Though  statues  of  athletic  victors  are  its  most  frequent  theme, 
it  produced  many  statues  of  the  gods,  and  also  great  groups 
of  historical  and  mythological  figures,  which  seem  to  continue 
the  tradition  of  earlier  times  and  worthier  occasions. 

We  might  naturally  expect  to  find  that  the  sculptures  of  the 
Heraeum  near  Argos  would  bear  the  same  relation  to  Polyclitus 
that  we  felt  justified  in  claiming  for  Phidias  in  the  case  of  the 
sculptors  of  the  Parthenon.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that 
it  was  in  single  statues  rather  than  in  great  decorative  com- 
positions that  the  Argive  school  excelled,  and  that  we  have  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  Polyclitus  was  entrusted  with  the  main 
direction  of  the  works  at  Argos  as  Phidias  was  at  Athens. 
Some  of  the  sculptures  of  this  temple  have  been  known  for 
some  time;  others  were  recovered  in  the  recent  American 
excavations.1  Pausanias  tells  us  that  the  metopes  represented 
subjects  partly  from  the  myth  of  the  birth  of  Zeus,  partly  from 
the  battle  of  Gods  and  Giants,  and  the  Trojan  war  and  capture 
of  Ilium.  The  fragments  that  have  been  recovered  do  not 
suffice  to  give  us  any  general  notion  as  to  how  these  subjects 
were  treated,  but  their  style  is  remarkable,  and  different  from 
what  we  should  have  expected.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  variety 
in  them,  but  few,  if  any,  show  the  heavy  forms  of  the  Argive 
type.  The  nude  male  figure  is  treated  with  firmness  and 
precision,  but  at  the  same  time  shows  a  lightness  of  proportions 
and  variety  of  pose  which  is  more  like  Attic  work  ;  the  drapery, 
with  its  sometimes  clinging,  sometimes  floating  folds,  again 
recalls  the  Attic  sculptures  of  the  same  period;  and  of  the 
types  of  face,  though  some  are  distinctly  Argive,  others 
resemble  those  on  Attic  monuments.  When  it  is  added  that 
the  material  is  Pentelic  marble,  the  conclusion  seems  irresistible 
that  the  wonderful  successes  in  decorative  sculpture  of  Athens 
under  Pericles  had  caused  the  influence  of  Attic  art  to  spread 
even  to  Argos ;  and  that,  just  as  we  recognised  in  the  restraint 
and  severity  of  many  Attic  works  the  influence  of  Peloponnesian 
art,  so  too  this  influence  was  later  repaid  by  a  reaction  of  Attic 
grace  and  lightness  upon  the  dignified  but  somewhat  heavy  and 
monotonous  style  of  the  Argive  sculptors.  Another  head  (Fig. 
79),  in  Parian  marble,  which  probably  does  not  belong  to  the 

1  See  Waldstein,  Excavations  at  the  Heraeum, 


340  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

architectural  sculptures  but  to  a  free  statue,1  bears  out  the  same 
conclusion.     This  head,  which  is  one  of  the  freshest  and  best 


FIG.  79. — Head  from  Heraeum,  near  Argos  (Athens,  National  Museum). 

preserved  examples  of  the  sculpture  of  the  fifth  century,  strikes 
us  at  first  sight  with  its  resemblance  to   the  heads    of   the 

1  It  is  about  two-thirds  life  size,  and  so  too  big  for  the  metopes.  It  may  be  from 
the  pediments,  of  which,  however,  no  other  traces  have  been  found.  It  would  rather 
seem  from  the  words  of  Pausanias,  who  describes  the  metopes  only,  that  the 
pediments  had  no  sculpture. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  341 

Parthenon  frieze,  and  has  little  resemblance  in  character  or 
proportion  to  the  head  of  the  Doryphorus,  or  of  the  Amazon 
which  we  saw  good  reason  for  attributing  to  Polyclitus.  Yet 
when  we  examine  it  more  carefully  we  see  a  simplicity  and 
severity  of  treatment,  and  absence  of  softness  in  modelling,  which 
contrast  with  Attic  work.  It  is  rather  what  one  would  expect 
of  an  Argive  sculptor  who  had  fallen  under  Attic  influence,  and 
appreciated  the  grace  and  beauty  of  the  sculpture  of  the  Par- 
thenon, without  losing  his  strong  sense  of  artistic  moderation 
and  clear-cut  form.  Doubtless  sculptors  from  Argos  as  well  as 
elsewhere  were  attracted  to  Athens  by  the  great  artistic  activity 
under  Pericles  and  Phidias ;  and  it  is  in  the  later  employment 
of  such  sculptors  at  Argos  that  both  this  head  and  the 
architectural  sculptures  of  the  Heraeum  find  their  natural 
explanation. 

§  42.  Other  sculptors  and  works  of  this  period. — Paeonius  of 
Mende,  in  Thrace,  has  already  come  under  our  notice  as  the 
sculptor  to  whom  Pausanias  assigns  the  eastern  pediment  of  the 
temple  of  Zeus  at  Olympia.  We  also  possess  a  work  from  his 
hand  which  is  attested  not  only  by  the  statement  of  Pausanias, 
but  also  by  the  inscribed  basis  on  which  it  was  erected.  This  is  a 
statue  of  Victory,  set  up  on  a  lofty  triangular  pedestal  narrowing 
block  by  block  up  to  the  top,  over  which  the  goddess  appears  to 
be  floating  (Fig.  80).  The  inscription  records  that  this  Victory, 
made  by  Paeonius,  was  dedicated  by  the  Messenians  and  Naupac- 
tians  from  the  spoil  of  their  enemy — that  is  to  say,  of  the  Spartans 
who  fell  or  were  captured  at  Sphacteria  in  424  B.C. ;  such  at 
least  was  the  Messenian  tradition.1  On  the  inscription  Paeonius 
states  that  he  was  also  the  victor  in  a  competition  to  crown  the 
gables  of  the  temple  with  acroteria  ;  which  were  probably  similar 
floating  figures  of  Victory.2  The  goddess  is  represented  as  floating 
with  outstretched  wings  through  the  air.  She  is  not  alighting, 
for  on  the  pedestal  just  beneath  her  feet  is  a  flying  eagle,  as  if 
to  show  she  is  still  in  the  air ;  the  rough  block  on  which  she  is 
supported  may  well  have  been  painted  blue,  so  as  to  keep  up 
the  illusion,  and  be  barely  distinguishable  from  the  sky.  Her 

1  Pausanias   without  sufficient  reason  doubts   it,   and  quotes   an  expedition 
against  Oeniadae  in  452  B.C.     He  was  probably  influenced  by  his  belief  that 
Paeonius  made  the  pediment ;  but  it  is  incredible  that  the  same  man  could  have 
made  this  Victory  almost  at  the  same  time  ;  thirty  years  later  it  is  conceivable. 

2  It  has  been  suggested  that  a  confusion  between  acroteria  and  pediments  may 
be  the  origin  of  Pausanias'  statement  about  the  latter. 


Fid.  80.— Victory  by  Paeonius  (Olympia). 


CHAP,  in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  343 

face  is  lost : l  the  drapery  is  a  very  beautiful  and  careful  study 
of  the  effect  of  wind  and  rapid  motion,  as  it  clings  to  the  graceful 
and  girlish  form,  or  floats  in  wide  tempestuous  folds,  while  a 
loose  mantle,  held  in  one  hand,  sweeps  out  in  a  full  curve 
behind  the  figure ;  but  at  the  same  time  it  gives  the  impression 
of  a  study  or  an  experiment,  rather  than  of  that  mastery  which 
we  see  in  the  best  Attic  work.  It  is  interesting  to  compare  this 
statue  with  the  Victory  of  Samothrace,2  when,  in  spite  of  the 
vigour  of  the  later  work,  the  simplicity  and  directness  of 
observation  in  Paeonius'  figure  and  its  graceful  poise  in  the 
air  stand  out  in  contrast.  It  is  difficult  to  assign  so  original 
a  work  to  an  old  artist,  who  had  followed  a  very  different  style 
in  his  younger  days,  and  had  late  in  life  fallen  under  the 
all-pervading  Attic  influence ;  but  such  is  the  only  possibility, 
if  we  wish  to  adhere  to  the  statement  of  Pausanias  about  the 
pediments.  When  we  consider  the  grave  difficulties  that  met 
us  in  the  case  of  Alcamenes  also,  we  must  acknowledge  that  the 
hesitation  which  so  many  have  felt  in  attributing  the  Olympian 
pediments  to  these  two  artists  is  certainly  justified. 

Various  series  of  sculptures,  mostly  architectural,  have  been 
found  in  widely-separated  districts  of  the  ancient  world,  which 
may  be  ranked  either  as  examples  of  Greek  sculpture  of  the 
fifth  century,  or  as  falling  directly  under  its  influence.  We 
have  already  had  to  turn  to  the  sepulchral  sculpture  of  Lycia 
as  illustrating  the  contemporary  tendencies  of  Greek  art,  and 
in  the  "  Harpy  tomb "  we  saw  an  example  of  the  lax  archaic 
style  derived  from  Ionia.  We  must  return  to  Lycia  again  in 
the  fifth  century,  to  see  once  more  an  art  entirely  subservient 
to  that  of  Greece ;  but  the  predominance  of  Athens  has  already 
asserted  itself,  and  we  shall  see  in  Lycia  the  reflection  of  many 
types  and  many  artistic  devices  which  we  have  noticed  either 
in  Athens  or  in  works  made  outside  Athens  under  Attic 
influences. 

The  most  extensive  of  these  Lycian  monuments  is  the  sculp- 
ture on  the  precinct  wall  surrounding  a  tomb  at  Trysa  (the 
modern  Gjolbaschi)  ;3  it  has  now  been  removed  bodily  to 

1  On  Griittner's  restoration,  which  is  widely  known,  her  face  is  restored  from 
the  pediments  ;  this  begs  the  question  of  Paeonius'  authorship  of  the  latter,  and 
u-inls  to  prejudice  our  judgment  on  the  question. 

2  See  p.  486. 

3  Without  illustrations  it  is  impossible  to  speak  except  in  a  general  way  of 
these  reliefs  ;    and  illustrations  of  details  would  not  suffice  ;  to  gain  a  general 


344  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

Vienna.  The  material  in  which  it  is  carved  is  unfortunately  a 
soft  and  porous  stone,  which  has  suffered  much  from  exposure 
to  the  weather,  and  can  never  have  been  adapted  to  refinements 
of  modelling.  The  artist  probably  trusted  for  his  effect  in  great 
measure  to  colour,  and  indeed  his  compositions  on  the  whole  are 
pictorial  rather  than  sculpturesque  in  character.  It  is  difficult 
to  decide  how  far  we  are  entitled  to  quote  this  monument  as  a 
work  of  Greek  sculpture  at  all.  It  consists  of  whole  series  of 
friezes,  often  set  one  above  another  on  a  wall  in  defiance  of  all 
Greek  architectural  principles,  and  recalling  the  sculptured 
chronicles  which  adorned  the  palace  walls  of  oriental  monarchs. 
Some  of  its  scenes  are  historical  records  of  actual  combat; 
others  are  decorative  or  conventional ;  but  the  majority  form  a 
varied  gallery  of  mythological  subjects.  The  battles  of  Greeks 
and  Amazons  and  of  Lapiths  and  Centaurs,  the  exploits  of 
Theseus,  the  slaying  of  the  suitors  by  Odysseus,  these  and  many 
more  find  their  place  here  ;  and  while  some  of  them  repeat  the 
types  with  which  we  are  already  familiar  from  Attic  decorative 
sculpture,  others  show  representations  which  can  be  more  easily 
paralleled  upon  vases.  When  we  consider  the  strong  influence 
which  Ionic  art  exercised  at  an  earlier  period  in  Lycia,  and  also 
the  character  and  treatment  of  the  composition,  which,  wherever 
it  is  not  mere  chronicle,  is  governed  by  the  principles  of  paint- 
ing rather  than  those  of  sculpture,  it  is  impossible  to  seek  the 
origin  of  the  art  they  represent  anywhere  else  than  in  the 
paintings  of  the  great  Ionic  artist  Polygnotus.1  The  affinity  of 
his  great  historical  and  mythological  compositions  with  the 
reliefs  of  Trysa  is  obvious ;  the  repetition  of  some  of  the  same 
scenes  upon  Attic  vases  is  undoubtedly  due  to  his  influence. 
And  it  is  an  interesting  question  how  far  we  may  trace  that 
same  influence  in  the  Attic  reliefs  which  we  have  hitherto 
considered.  It  is  probable  that  these  Lycian  sculptures  de- 
rived the  influence  of  Polygnotus  in  part  directly  from  the 
painter  ;  but  we  can  also  see  many  features  which  betray  an 
acquaintance  with  the  Attic  reliefs  of  the  age  of  Pericles,  from 
which  the  Heroum  of  Trysa  cannot  be  far  removed  in  actual 
date. 

Another    Lycian  monument  of  later  date,  but  still,  in  all 

notion   of  the  whole  composition  it   is   necessary   to   turn   over   the  plates   of 
Benndorf's  great  publication,  Das  fleroon  von  GjGlbaschi-Trysa. 
1  See  p.  348,  below. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  345 

probability,  falling  within  the  limits  of  the  fifth  century,1  is 
now  in  the  British  Museum.  This  is  the  Nereid  monument,  so 
called  from  the  figures  in  floating  and  clinging  drapery  which  once 
stood  between  its  columns,  and  which  appear,  from  the  marine 
attributes  with  which  some  of  them  are  provided,  to  represent 
Nereids.  There  is  considerable  resemblance  between  some  of 
these  Nereids  and  the  Victory  of  Paeon ius,  especially  in  the 
drapery,  and  the  reason  for  this  resemblance  is  probably  not  to 
be  sought  in  any  influence  of  the  one  upon  the  other,  but  rather 
in  some  common  influence  which  affects  both.  It  is  possible  that 
this  influence  should  be  recognised  as  that  of  Attic  art,  and 
that  in  both  cases  alike  we  see  the  experimental,  sometimes  even 
exaggerated,  attempt  of  a  foreign  hand  to  imitate  the  con- 
summate skill  and  grace  in  the  treatment  of  drapery  which 
mark  the  Attic  art  of  the  latter  part  of  the  fifth  century.  But 
perhaps  an  explanation  at  once  simple  and  more  probable  may 
be  found  in  the  pictorial  character  of  Ionic  art,  of  which  we  have 
already  seen  so  striking  an  example  in  the  Heroum  of  Trysa, 
though  some  relation  to  contemporary  Attic  art  cannot  be 
denied.  The  position  of  the  Nereids,  set  as  figures  in  rapid 
motion  between  the  rigid  lines  of  the  colonnade,  shows  a  device 
familiar  to  architectural  sculpture.  The  other  decorations  of 
the  building  consist  of  four  friezes ;  of  these  two  were  prob- 
ably placed  one  round  the  cella  and  another  over  the 
columns  of  the  small  Ionic  temple  that  forms  the  body  of 
the  monument,  and  two  others  surrounded  the  lofty  basis 
on  which  it  is  erected.  This  system  of  decoration  is  a 
great  advance  on  that  of  the  Heroum  at  Trysa,  where  the 
friezes  are  simply  carved  on  the  wall  in  no  architectural  relation 
either  to  it  or  to  one  another ;  in  this  respect  the  distribution 
of  the  sculpture  of  the  Nereid  monument  resembles  the  decora- 
tion which  we  shall  meet  later  on  the  greatest  of  all  Asiatic 
monuments,  the  Mausoleum  at  Halicarnassus.  In  subjects  the 
resemblance  to  the  Trysa  monument  is  again  conspicuous.  We 
have  the  record  of  battles  and  the  capture  of  a  town,  partly  in 
a  style  and  composition  which  recalls  the  frieze  of  the  temple  of 

1  The  old  view  is  that  it  was  the  monument  of  the  Lycian  prince  Pericles,  and 

'1  to  his  capture  of  Telmessus  in  about  370  B.C.     But  Furtwangler,  Arch.  Z. 

$82,  p.  359,  and  Benndorf,  Das  Heroon  von  Qjolb.  -Trysa,  p.  243,  give  good 

reasons  for  assigning  the  tomb  to  the  fifth  century,  though  its  association  with 

the  Lycian  Pericles  is  still  possible. 


346  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

the  Wingless  Victory  at  Athens,  partly  in  pictorial  treatment, 
great  spaces  of  wall  and  town  being  introduced  in  the  manner 
of  some  of  the  scenes  of  the  Heroum  of  Trysa — a  device  more 
familiar  on  the  mural  chronicles  of  Asiatic  sculpture  than  in 
the  art  of  Greece.  The  sculptors  of  the  Nereid  monument  have 
the  advantage  over  those  of  Trysa  in  their  material,  Parian 
marble,  which  has  not  only  led  to  the  better  preservation  of 
their  work,  but  also  gave  more  opportunity  for  surface  model- 
ling. It  may  be  doubted  to  whom  the  design  and  execution 
of  such  a  work  should  be  attributed.  The  local  characteristics, 
alike  in  style  and  accessories,  seem  to  exclude  the  possibility 
of  the  employment  of  Attic  artists.  It  seems  more  reasonable  to 
suppose  the  monument  to  be  the  work  of  local  sculptors,  brought 
up  under  the  Ionic  influence  which  prevailed  in  Lycia,  and  not 
unacquainted  with  the  great  series  of  architectural  sculptures 
with  which  the  age  of  Pericles  had  enriched  Athens. 

We  have  already  noticed  the  Sicilian  sculptures,  which  occupy 
a  prominent  position  in  the  earlier  history  of  Greek  art ; 
another  of  the  temples  at  Selinus  has  a  set  of  metopes  which, 
from  their  style,  must  be  attributed  to  about  the  middle  of  the 
fifth  century.  These,  like  the  earlier  ones,  are  now  in  Palermo. 
It  is  a  peculiarity  of  these  metopes  that  they  have  the  faces, 
hands,  and  feet  of  the  female  figures  inserted  in  white  marble, 
the  rest  of  the  sculpture  being  in  coarse  local  stone.  This  in- 
laying makes  us  realise  how  much  the  effect  of  colour  as  well 
as  of  form  was  relied  upon  in  such  architectural  sculptures, 
especially  when  they  were  made  of  inferior  material.  The  sub- 
jects of  the  metopes  preserved  are  the  wedding  of  Zeus  and  Hera 
— he  is  seated  on  a  rock,  and  she  stands  before  him,  holding  her 
veil  up  with  one  hand — the  punishment  of  Actaeon,  who  is 
attacked  by  his  own  dogs  while  Artemis  stands  looking  on  at 
the  side,  and  the  combats  of  Heracles  and  Hippolyta,  and  of 
Athena  and  a  Giant.1  Selinus  was  a  Dorian  colony,  and  we  can 
see,  especially  in  the  female  figures,  some  resemblance  to  the 
corresponding  figures  in  the  Olympian  metopes ;  but  there  is 
less  vigour  and  more  mannerism  about  the  Selinus  sculptures. 
They  represent  a  further  development  of  the  tendency  which 
we  noticed  in  some  of  the  earlier  metopes  from  the  same  site 
— notably  that  of  Europa  on  the  bull.  Together  with  their 
refinement  and  delicacy  of  sentiment  they  betray  the  weak- 
1  Baumeister,  Figs.  367,  368. 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY— 480-400  B.C.  347 

ness  which  too  great  prosperity  had  brought  to  the  Sicilian 
Greeks. 

A  very  different  series,  though  of  about  the  same  date,  are 
the  colossal  figures l  which  served  as  pilasters  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  interior  of  the  huge  temple  of  Zeus  at  Acragas.  These 
however  are  treated  architecturally  rather  than  sculpturally ; 
there  is  a  stiffness  and  archaic  character  about  them  which  is 
evidently  intended  to  adapt  them  to  their  position  as  supports. 
They  contrast  alike  with  the  easy  and  graceful  service  of  the 
maidens  who  carry  the  light  entablature  of  the  portico  of  the 
Erechtheum  at  Athens,  and  with  the  constrained,  sometimes 
almost  painful  sense  of  oppression  beneath  a  heavy  load  which 
we  sometimes  find  in  later  and  less  conventional  supporters. 

§  43.  Summary. — We  saw  in  the  last  chapter  how  the  various 
schools  of  sculpture  in  Greece  were  all  advancing  towards  a 
common  goal  in  the  evolution  of  artistic  types,  and  in  the 
attainment  of  mastery  over  technique ;  we  also  saw  how  these 
various  schools  influenced  one  another  even  during  the  earlier 
years  of  the  rise  of  sculpture.  But,  with  the  feeling  of  national 
unity  and  combination  against  the  Persian  enemy,  and  the 
common  dedications  in  thanksgiving  for  the  victory,  the  relations 
of  the  various  states  of  Greece  became  yet  closer,  and  it  was 
the  mutual  influence  of  their  local  schools  that  gave  rise,  not 
merely  to  the  art  of  Athens  or  of  Argos  or  of  Aegina,  but  to 
that  Greek  art  of  the  fifth  century  which  has  never  been  rivalled 
in  the  loftiness  of  its  ideals  or  the  perfection  of  its  execution. 
The  last  steps  towards  technical  mastery  were  very  rapid ;  but 
men  like  Calamis  and  Myron  and  Pythagoras  were  themselves 
but  the  last  of  a  long  series  of  predecessors  who  had  each  added 
his  contribution  of  thought,  of  study,  or  of  observation  to  a 
progress  which  seems  swift  in  its  culmination. 

In  the  first  exuberance  of  conscious  power  and  mastery  over 
the  material,  we  meet  with  some  examples  in  which  the  skill  of 
the  sculptor  impresses  us  more  than  the  subject,  which  he 
perhaps  seems  to  have  chosen  rather  for  the  sake  of  its  difficulty 
than  for  its  adaptation  to  sculptural  treatment.  But  these  are 
the  exception ;  and  it  is  not  the  least  remarkable  thing  in  the 
history  of  Greek  art  that  just  at  the  moment  when  it  attained 

1  They  are  commonly  stated  to  be  Giants  ;  why,  I  do  not  know,  except  from 
their  size  ;  they  have  none  of  the  characteristics  of  Giants  in  Greek  art.  They  are 
also  known  as  Atlantes  or  Telamones.  See  Baumeister,  Fig.  270. 

2  A 


$48  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

perfect  technical  skill,  this  skill  was  not  regarded  by  the  greatest 
artist  as  an  end  in  itself,  but  as  a  means  for  the  expression  of 
the  ideals  which  sculpture  had  hitherto  been  unable  to  approach 
worthily.  And  in  the  nobility  of  conception  and  design  which 
distinguishes  the  art  of  the  fifth  century  it  is  not  sculpture  alone 
that  can  claim  pre-eminence.  The  same  character  is  attributed 
to  the  great  compositions  of  the  painter  Polygnotus,  who 
worked  in  Greece  during  the  period  immediately  following  the 
Persian  wars,  and  covered  with  his  paintings  the  walls  of  buildings 
at  Athens  and  at  Delphi.  He  was  a  Thasian  by  birth,  and  we 
have  already  noticed  the  pictorial  character  which  the  sculpture 
of  northern  Greece  and  of  Ionia  possessed  before  his  time,  and 
which,  owing  mainly  to  his  influence,  was  still  more  widely 
spread  in  later  times.  Polygnotus  occupies  much  the  same 
position  among  Greek  painters  that  Phidias  holds  among  Greek 
sculptors  •  and  although  we  cannot  attribute  to  him  the  same 
technical  perfection  in  his  branch  which  we  must  attribute  to 
his  greater  contemporary,  it  would  be  difficult  to  overrate  his 
influence.  We  can  only  judge  of  his  work  from  more  or  less 
remote  reflections  of  it  in  sculpture  or  on  vases ;  but  all  ancient 
writers  agree  to  praise  the  nobility  of  his  aims  and  the  breadth 
and  simplicity  of  his  style.  It  may  even  be  that  these 
same  qualities,  which  we  noticed  as  modifying  in  the  fifth 
century  the  tendency  towards  excess  of  grace  and  refinement  in 
Attic  art,  are  due  in  part  to  the  influence  of  Polygnotus,  as 
well  as  to  the  severity  and  accuracy  in  execution  which  Athens 
learnt  from  her  Peloponnesian  rivals. 

The  leading  feature  of  this  period,  in  art  as  in  literature, 
is  the  sudden  advance  of  Athens  to  a  position  of  unrivalled 
eminence  among  the  Greek  states.  The  city  of  Aeschylus  was 
also  the  city  of  Phidias;  and  although  other  centres  of  art 
continued  to  pursue  their  local  traditions,  we  can  trace  Attic 
influence  even  amidst  the  sculptures  produced  by  the  rival  school 
of  Argos,  and  in  the  remote  uplands  of  Lycia.  Yet,  in  spite  of 
this  pre-eminence  of  Athens,  other  schools  by  no  means  gave  up 
their  traditions,  and  Argos  in  particular  continued  that  study  of 
athletic  forms  which  reached  its  highest  attainment  in  the  work 
of  Polyclitus,  and  was  passed  on  by  him  to  his  successors.  It 
is  probable  also  that  other  minor  schools,  of  which  our  literary 
records  are  scanty,  also  persisted  in  their  own  tradition,  modified 
indeed  by  the  greater  influences  of  the  period,  and  offering  each 


in  THE  FIFTH  CENTURY — 480-400  B.C.  349 

its  own  contribution  to  the  resources  of  Greek  sculpture. 
While  athletic  art  was  carried  to  its  highest  pitch  not  only  in 
the  study  of  the  figure  in  detail,  but  also  in  that  of  pose  and  of 
symmetry,  and  the  numerous  works  of  architectural  and  decora- 
tive sculpture  offered  unlimited  scope  to  the  imagination  of  the 
artist  and  his  skill  in  composition,  it  was  above  all  in  the  great 
statues  of  the  gods  that  the  fifth  century  showed  its  highest  and 
most  characteristic  attainments.  These  attainments  are  so  much 
bound  up  with  the  work  of  Phidias  and  his  associates  that  there 
is  no  need  to  add  anything  here  to  what  has  already  been  said. 
Although,  as  a  natural  consequence  of  the  value  of  the  materials 
generally  used,  we  neither  have  nor  can  hope  to  have  any  of  the 
masterpieces  of  this  sculpture  in  our  museums,  we  can  trace  their 
reflection  in  innumerable  minor  works,  and  recognise  in  literature 
the  ideas  to  which  they  gave  the  most  perfect  expression.  It  is 
only  by  a  sympathy  with  the  Greek  character,  to  be  attained 
by  a  careful  study  of  the  history  of  their  life,  their  thought, 
and  their  art,  that  we  can  realise  what  we  have  lost,  and  attain, 
by  a  constructive  imagination,  to  some  notion  of  its  character. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE   FOURTH    CENTURY;    400-320    B.C. 

§  44.  Character  of  the  period. — If  there  is  one  characteristic 
which,  more  than  any  other,  marks  the  distinction  of  Greek  art 
of  the  fourth  century  from  that  of  the  fifth,  it  is  the  greater 
prominence  of  the  individual  and  personal  element,  alike  in 
employer,  in  artist,  and  in  subject.  With  the  exception  of  the 
statues  of  victorious  athletes,  which  continue  to  be  made  under 
much  the  same  conditions  from  the  earliest  to  the  latest  times, 
almost  all  the  chief  works  with  which  we  had  to  deal  in  the  last 
chapter  were  public  dedications,  made  at  the  expense  of  the  state, 
and  recording  the  triumphs  of  the  people,  or  giving  expression 
to  its  religious  aspirations.  In  the  fourth  century  the  private 
dedication  takes  a  more  prominent  place,  partly  because  the 
impoverished  exchequers  of  the  states  could  no  longer  afford  such 
magnificent  expenditure,  partly  because  of  the  tendency,  in  the 
decline  of  political  health  and  vigour,  for  men  to  live  for  them- 
selves rather  than  for  the  State.  In  the  case  of  the  sculptors  too 
the  individuality  of  the  various  masters  seems  to  assert  itself 
more  strongly  than  before.  However  great  the  names  with 
which  we  have  hitherto  met,  they  mostly  appear  to  repre- 
sent for  us  the  culmination  and  impersonation  of  the  tradi- 
tions of  a  school,  or  perhaps,  of  all  Greek  art,  rather  than 
the  character  and  attainments  of  an  individual.  This  impres- 
sion may  be  enhanced  by  the  fact  that  we  are  forced  to 
infer  the  nature  of  the  chief  works  of  this  period  either  from 
very  inferior  copies  or  from  the  work  of  assistants  and  associates ; 
but  in  part  it  is  due  to  the  very  greatness  of  the  sculptors  them- 
selves. When  once  the  artistic  and  technical  skill  indispensable 
for  the  greatest  statues  is  acquired,  the  master  appears  to  apply 


CHAP,  iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  351 

it  once  for  all  to  the  highest  religious  and  artistic  aspirations 
of  the  people,  and  to  give  to  the  Greek  ideals  an  embodiment 
so  perfect  that  both  his  contemporaries  and  his  successors  must 
recognise  the  impossibility  of  further  progress.  Indeed,  those 
who  came  after  Phidias  must  have  felt  what  Wagner  said  of 
Beethoven  ;  he  had  exhausted  the  possibility  of  attainment  in 
the  art  which  he  had  made  his  own;  for  others,  unless  they  were 
content  to  be  merely  the  imitators  of  what  could  not  be  sur- 
passed, the  only  chance  was  to  strike  out  a  new  line,  and  to 
follow  new  artistic  methods.  '  This  leads  us  to  the  third  element 
in  the  artistic  conditions  of  the  fourth  century — individuality  in 
subject.  We  may  see  this,  in  its  simplest  form,  in  the  case  of 
.portraiture.  We  have  already  noticed1  how  Cresilas,  in  his 
portrait  of  Pericles,  does  not  bring  before  our  eyes  the  personal 
character  of  the  subject,  with  his  idiosyncrasies  of  character  and 
manner — much  less  the  minor  physical  traits  and  peculiarities  of 
his  appearance — but  rather  that  noble  type  of  statesman,  general, 
and  patron  of  all  literary,  intellectual,  and  artistic  excellence, 
which  found  in  Pericles  its  most  perfect  expression.  We  may 
contrast  this,  to  take  an  extreme  case,  with  the  portrait  of  the 
bald  little  Corinthian  general,  Pellichus,  made  by  Demetrius,2  in 
which  all  the  personal  characteristics  of  the  man,  his  corpulence, 
his  swollen  veins,  even  the  arrangement  of  his  hair  and  his 
garments,  are  reproduced  with  realistic  exactness ;  and  in  a 
statue  like  that  of  Demosthenes,  of  which  we  possess  copies  that 
must  be  derived  from  a  fourth-century  original,  we  may  see  the 
same  tendency,  though  followed  with  more  moderation.  To 
statues  of  the  gods  it  may  seem  at  first  sight  that  this  distinction 
between  the  fifth  and  the  fourth  centuries  cannot  apply,  and  of 
course  it  does  not  apply  in  the  same  degree.  But  when  we 
contrast  the  work  of  Phidias  with  that  of  Scopas  or  Praxiteles, 
the  essential  difference  is  of  much  the  same  nature.  Phidias 
embodied  in  his  great  statues  a  noble  conception  of  the  per- 
manent and  immutable  character  of  the  deity,  his  power  and 
his  benignity.  Scopas  and  Praxiteles  seem  rather  to  realise 
the  gods  as  individuals  of  like  passions  with  ourselves,  to 
express  their  varying  moods  and  phases  of  character  or  emotion, 
or  to  draw  subtle  distinctions  of  personality.  And  another 
point  of  difference  between  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries  follows 
as  an  almost  inevitable  consequence  from  this.  While  it  might 
1  P.  317.  2  P.  450. 


352  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

suffice  for  Phidias  to  be  absorbed  in  the  contemplation  of  his 
ideal,  and  to  devote  all  his  energy  to  its  adequate  artistic  ex- 
pression, a  sculptor  who  depended  so  much  on  subtle  distinctions 
and  rendering  of  passing  moods  or  excited  emotions  could  hardly 
fail  to  consider  also  the  effect  of  his  work  on  the  spectator,  and 
the  means  by  which  he  could  bring  home  to  those  who  saw  his 
statue  the  particular  impression  which  he  intended  to  convey. 
He  would  thus  devote  his  attention  to  its  appearance  and  the 
effect  it  produced,  rather  than  to  the  perfection  and  correctness 
of  its  actual  form ;  he  felt  a  tendency  at  once  towards  realism 
and  towards  impressionism.  But  of  course  this  tendency  was 
only  allowed  scope  in  the  fourth  century  within  certain  limits,  and 
never,  at  least  in  the  case  of  the  greater  artists,  exceeded  the 
bounds  of  moderation.  The  influence  of  the  severe  and  lofty 
ideals  and  the  exact  and  conscientious  execution  of  the  earlier 
period  long  continued  to  be  felt,  and,  in  addition  to  this,  the 
strong  natural  instinct  of  the  Greeks  for  sculpture  still  prevented 
them  from  attempting  anything  beyond  the  legitimate  province 
of  the  art.  And,  even  in  execution,  there  was  still  a  possibility 
for  advance.  If  we  did  not  possess  the  Hermes  of  Praxiteles, 
even  the  Elgin  marbles  would  not  suffice  to  show  us  how  the 
Greek  sculptor  could  carve  marble  to  render  the  texture  and 
elasticity  of  flesh  or  the  folds  and  material  of  drapery. 

§  45.  Cephisodotus. — An  account  of  the  sculptors  of  the  fourth 
century  naturally  begins  with  the  name  of  Cephisodotus,  partly 
because  of  his  close  relationship  to  Praxiteles  1  and  his  artistic 
connection  with  him,  partly  because  in  his  works  we  may  already 
trace  characteristic  examples  of  many  of  the  tendencies  of  the 
time.  One  of  his  works — fortunately  that  which  is  the  most  inter- 
esting for  its  subject — has  been  recognised  by  Brunn  in  a  statue 
now  preserved  at  Munich  (Fig.  81).  It  is  a  study  in  impersona- 
tion of  abstract  ideas  which  is  thoroughly  in  accordance  with  the 
spirit  of  the  age — the  goddess  Peace  nursing  the  infant  Wealth. 

1  He  is  usually  stated  by  modern  writers  to  be  the  father  of  Praxiteles.  But 
the  date  of  such  of  his  works  as  are  recorded  is  not  much  earlier  than  that  of 
Praxiteles  himself ;  hence  he  has  been  suggested  (by  Furtwangler,  Masterpieces, 
p.  295)  to  be  his  elder  brother ;  a  similarity  in  subjects  suggests  that  he  in- 
fluenced or  taught  Praxiteles.  Furtwangler,  who  believes  in  an  elder  Praxiteles 
also,  for  whose  existence  there  is  but  scanty  evidence,  suggests  that  this  man  was 
the  grandfather  of  Cephisodotus  and  the  great  Praxiteles.  The  younger  Cephiso- 
dotus was  the  son  of  Praxiteles.  Such  a  recurrence  of  names  in  a  family  is  of 
course  extremely  common. 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  353 

This  group  may  most  probably  be  recognised  on  certain  coins 
of  Athens,1  which  show  a  statue  certainly  identical  with  that 
from  which  the  copy  at  Munich  is  derived.  Although  we  cannot 
imagine  an  allegorical  representation  like  this  to  have  com- 


FTO.  81.— Irene  and  Plutus,  after  Cephisodotus  (Munich). 

manded  the  worship  of  the  people  and  influenced  its  religious 
conceptions  in  the  same  manner  as  the  great  statues  by  Phidias, 
there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  its  fancy  hit  the  popular  taste, 
and  that  it  gave  more  reality  to  a  cult  of  which  there  are  some 

1  Num.  Comm.  on  Pans.,  PI.  DD.  ix.  x. 


354  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

earlier  traces.  Just  as  the  altar  of  Pity  was  one  of  the  most 
popular  of  all  at  Athens  in  later  times,  so  too  there  are  varying 
traditions  of  the  foundation  of  an  altar  of  peace  at  Athens,  which 
however,  need  have  no  direct  connection  with  the  statue.  Aristo- 
phanes' play,  the  Peace,  suffices  to  show  how  natural  was  the  imper- 
sonation of  the  goddess.  The  statue  itself  was  in  bronze;1  Peace 
(Irene)  is  represented  standing,  her  right  hand  resting  on  a 
sceptre,  supporting  on  her  left  arm  the  child  Wealth  (Plutus). 
Her  drapery  is  dignified  in  treatment,  but  severe  and  almost 
archaic  in  stiffness ;  it  recalls  the  work  of  the  fifth  century 
rather  than  the  fourth ;  her  proportions  also  are  massive  arid 
stately.  As  to  the  child,  little  can  be  said ;  it  is  obvious  that 
in  extant  copies  it  has  been  modified  to  suit  the  taste  of  a  later 
age,  which  rendered  the  forms  of  children  with  more  truth  to 
nature  than  was  usual  in  the  fourth  century.  The  group — or 
rather  the  figure  with  the  child — is  especially  interesting  for 
comparison  with  the  Hermes  and  infant  Dionysus  of  Praxiteles, 
a  subject  in  which  Cephisodotus  had  also  anticipated  his  greater 
successor.  His  group  of  Peace  and  Wealth  was  similar  in  subject 
to  another  group  set  up  at  Thebes,  representing  Fortune  (Tyche) 
and  the  child  Wealth,  a  group  of  which  the  more  important 
parts,  and  presumably  the  design  also,  were  due  to  the  Attic 
sculptor  Xenophon.  This  Xenophon  was  evidently  an  associate 
of  Cephisodotus ;  he  worked  with  him  in  a  group  dedicated  in 
the  temple  of  Zeus  Soter  at  Megalopolis,2  representing  Zeus 
enthroned,  with  Megalopolis  standing  by  him  on  one  side, 
Artemis  on  the  other — yet  another  example  of  personification. 
As  to  other  statues  by  Cephisodotus,  an  Athena  and  possibly  a 
Zeus  at  the  Peiraeus  and  a  group  of  the  Muses  on  Mount 
Helicon,  we  know  no  details,  and  their  identification  can  only 
be  conjectural.  But  what  we  know  of  his  work  suffices  to 
show  us  that  he  was  a  sculptor  who  in  type  and  in  execution 
kept  to  the  severer  style  of  the  preceding  century,  while  his 
predilection  for  allegorical  subjects  and  impersonations  betrays 

1  This  is  an  inference  from  the  style  of  the  Munich  statue  ;  it  is  nowhere 
expressly  stated. 

2  It  is  true  that  the  architectural  evidence  in  this  temenos  points  to  a  later 
date  than  the  foundation  of  the  city  in  371  B.C.,  which  offers  the  most  probable 
occasion  for  the  dedication.     But  the  architectural  remains,  beyond  foundations, 
are  very  scanty,  and   may  well   be   due   to   later  repairs.     The  association  of 
Cephisodotus   and   Xenophon,   and   the   similarity   of  their   subjects,   outweigh 
anything  but  clear  and  positive  evidence  to  tne  contrary.     To  substitute  the 
younger  Cephisodotus  in  this  connection  appears  an  improbable  theory. 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  355 

•that  study  of  fine  distinctions  of  character,  even  in  divinities, 
which  marks  the  fourth  century.  At  the  same  time  we  do  not 
yet  find  any  study  of  emotion  or  passion  in  his  work ;  he  shows 
only  the  beginning  of  those  tendencies  which  other  sculptors, 
some  of  them  of  his  own  family,  were  to  follow  in  their  art. 

§  46.  Praxiteles.1 — The  work  of  Praxiteles  was  regarded  by 
the  later  Greeks  and  the  Romans  with  an  admiration  more 
unqualified  and  more  enthusiastic  than  was  accorded  to  any 
other  artist  of  antiquity ;  and  there  is  no  name  so  familiar  to 
modern  ears  as  representing  the  sculpture  of  Greece.  Yet 
those  very  facts  have  probably  led  to  an  unjust  and  one-sided, 
if  not  erroneous,  estimate  of  his  artistic  excellence.  The  word 
Praxitelean  suggests  a  rich  and  voluptuous  beauty,  sometimes 
almost  an  effeminate  and  luxurious  character,  which  is  too 
easily  contrasted  with  the  noble  and  severe  ideals  of  an  earlier 
and  higher  art.  But  in  this  matter  Praxiteles  has  been  wronged 
by  his  very  popularity.  The  innumerable  copyists  and  imitators 
of  later  Greek  and  Roman  times  could  appreciate,  even  if  they 
could  not  reproduce,  the  softness  and  delicacy  of  his  modelling, 
the  grace  of  pose  and  beauty  of  physical  form  which  they  saw 
in  his  works.  But  the  stronger  and  nobler  side  of  his  art  was 
ignored  by  them,  as  beyond  their  appreciation  or  comprehension, 
and  consequently  omitted  in  what  they  doubtless  intended  for 
faithful  copies  of  his  statues;  and,  were  we  dependent  only  on 
such  copies,  we  should  be  forced  either  to  acquiesce  in  their 
versions  of  the  master's  character,  or  to  believe,  without  a 
possibility  of  proof,  that  there  was  something  more  in  his  work 
beyond  what  they  have  reproduced.  Fortunately,  however, 
this  is  not  the  case.  We  possess  at  least  one  undisputed 
original  from  the  hand  of  Praxiteles  himself;  and  it  seems 
best  to  make  this  the  starting-point  of  our  study,  before  pro- 
ceeding to  consider  other  works  mentioned  by  literary  tradition, 
and  preserved  to  us  in  more  or  less  inadequate  copies. 

Among  the  statues  set  up  in  the  Heraeum  at  Olympia, 
Pausanias  mentions  a  Hermes  of  marble,  carrying  the  infant 
Dionysus,  the  work  of  Praxiteles.  The  statue  in  Parian 
marble,  answering  exactly  to  this  description,  was  found  in 
the  Heraeum  by  the  German  excavators,  so  that  the  identifica- 

1  There  is  no  trustworthy  evidence  as  to  any  exact  date  in  the  career  of 
Praxiteles,  but  all  indications  join  to  prove  that  his  artistic  activity  must  fall 
about  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century. 


356  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  iv 

tion,  even  on  external  evidence,  is  placed  beyond  all  possibility 
of  doubt.  This  is  the  only  case  in  which  we  possess  an  un- 
disputed original,  straight  from  the  hand  of  one  of  the  greatest 
masters  of  antiquity ;  and  the  preservation  of  the  surface  is 
admirable.  Hermes  was  represented  as  standing  in  an  easy 
and  graceful  position,  leaning  his  left  elbow,  which  supports 
the  child,  on  a  tree-trunk,  partly  disguised  by  the  folds  of  his 
chlamys,  which  hangs  from  the  same  elbow.  His  weight  rests 
mainly  on  his  right  hip,  his  left  leg  being  bent  at  the  knee, 
and  the  distribution  of  support  thus  produced  gives  rise  to  a 
peculiarly  delicate  and  restful  curve  in  the  central  line  of  the 
figure,  while  the  tree-trunk  prevents  the  weight  of  the  child  from 
affecting  or  stiffening  the  pose.  The  right  arm  of  Hermes  is 
raised ;  but  there  is  no  clear  evidence  as  to  the  object  which  it 
held.  Some  have  maintained  that  it  was  some  object  like  a 
bunch  of  grapes,  towards  which  the  child  is  reaching  out  his 
hand ;  others  that  it  was  the  caducous,  in  the  form  of  a  long 
sceptre,  like  that  held  by  the  Irene  of  Cephisodotus.1  Either 
view'  can  be  supported  by  the  evidence  of  minor  works  of  art 
reproducing  the  motive  of  the  statue,  which  vary  considerably 
in  detail.  In  any  case,  Hermes  cannot  be  regarded  as  taking 
any  active  interest  in  the  matter ;  his  gaze  is  fixed,  not  on  the 
child,  but  on  a  point  beyond  him,  and  his  expression  has 
nothing  of  the  concentration  of  playfulness.  The  child  is 
treated  with  none  of  the  realism  which  we  find  devoted  to  the 
forms  of  children  in  later  art.  His  proportions  are  those  of  a 
much  older  boy,  and  his  face  is  but  slightly  sketched ;  he  is  in 
every  way  treated  as  an  attribute  rather  than  as  a  separate 
figure  forming  part  of  a  group.  We  have  not  to  do  with  a 
genre  scene,  in  which  the  interest  lies  in  the  action,  or  in  the 
relation  of  the  figures,  but  with  an  ideal  representation  of 
Hermes  as  the  protector  of  youth ;  this  function  is  exemplified 
by  his  care  of  his  younger  brother  Dionysus.2  It  is  then 
as  a  statue  of  Hermes  that  we  have  to  consider  the  work  of 
Praxiteles. 

To  appreciate  the  unrivalled  excellence  of  Praxiteles,  alike 
in  the  selection  of  type  and  proportions,  and  in  the  details  of 

1  So  A.  H.  Smith,  J.  H.  S.  iii.  p.  81,  who  summarises  the  evidence.     Treu 
suggested  a  thyrsus. 

2  To  try  to  see  any  political  meaning,  such  as  an  alliance  of  Arcadia  and  Elis, 
in  the  Hermes  and  Dionysus  is  clearly  superfluous,  just  as  much  so  as  to  find 
an  occasion  for  the  making  of  the  Irene  and  Plutus. 


FIQ.  82. — Hermes  and  infant  Dionysus  by  Praxiteles  (Olympia). 


358 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


CHAP. 

srmes 
other 


execution,  one  can  hardly  do  better  than  compare  the  Herm 
with  later  copies,  derived  either  from  this  statue  or  from  othe 
works  of  Praxiteles.     Some  of  these,  though  they  may  pass 
muster  among  the  ordinary  contents   of  a  museum,   at  once 


FIG.  83.— Head  of  Hermes,  by  Praxiteles  (Olympia). 


offend  us,  when  placed  beside  an  original,  by  the  coarseness 
and  heaviness  of  their  modelling ;  others  by  their  too  soft  and 
effeminate  forms.  It  seems  impossible  for  later  artists  to  steer 
a  middle  course  between  these  two  extremes,  not  to  speak  of 
approaching  the  marvellous  combination  of  strength  and 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  359 

virility  of  type  with  softness  and  delicacy  of  modelling,  and 
with  that  subtle  play  of  surface  in  marble,  which  had  already 
distinguished  the  Attic  school,  but  awaited  the  hand  of  Praxi- 
teles to  bring  it  to  a  perfection  that  has  never  been  attained 
before  or  since.  The  figure  of  the  Hermes,  though  more  slender 
and  graceful  than  that  of  a  Polyclitan  athlete,  is  that  of  a  man 
of  the  highest  physical  development,  and  if  not  in  hard  training, 
at  least  in  such  perfect  condition  as  to  render  training  super- 
fluous. Yet  the  vigorous  and  muscular  form  is  covered  with 
an  envelope  of  flesh  so  elastic  and  flowing  in  its  surface,  and 
full  of  such  delicate  play  of  light  and  shade  in  the  modelling, 
that  its  strength  is  almost  concealed  by  its  grace — an  impression 
enhanced  by  the  restful  attitude.  The  treatment  of  the  drapery 
is  different  alike  from  the  drapery  of  the  Parthenon  pediments, 
beautiful  from  studied  system  rather  than  spontaneity,  and  from 
the  work  of  later  times,  which  errs  either  in  elaboration  or  in 
over -simplicity.  It  is  said  that  when  the  photograph  of  the 
Hermes  was  first  shown  to  a  great  German  critic,  he  said, 
"  Why  did  they  leave  that  cloth  hanging  there  when  they 
photographed  the  statue  ? "  And  the  wonderful  realism  in 
treatment  of  folds  and  of  surface  could  not  receive  a  more 
emphatic  tribute ;  yet  we  may  well  doubt  whether  any  artistic 
skill  could  have  devised,  in  cloth,  an  appearance  and  composition 
so  simple  and  graceful  in  itself,  and  so  perfectly  adapted  to  its 
purpose.  In  the  foot,  too,  we  can  see  the  most  skilful  indica- 
tion of  the  difference  of  texture  between  the  leather  sandal  and 
the  skin.  But  it  is  above  all  in  the  head  of  the  Hermes  that 
the  original  work  of  Praxiteles  shows  the  greatest  difference 
from  imitations  or  copies ;  and,  in  fact,  we  know  that  the  critic 
Lucian  selected  the  head,  and  in  particular  the  hair,  brow,  and 
eyes,  as  that  in  which  Praxiteles  excelled  all  other  artists. 
Although  he  had  in  his  mind  the  Cnidian  Aphrodite,  his 
criticism  will  apply  almost  equally  well  to  the  Hermes.  The 
hair,  which  is  cut  short  all  over  the  scalp,  stands  out  in  small, 
roughly-finished  blocks ;  the  apparently  slight  and  sketchy 
treatment  is  most  successful  in  the  feeling  of  texture  which  it 
gives,  and  particularly  in  its  contrast  with  the  finished  and 
polished  surface  of  the  skin.  The  form  of  the  brow  is  dis- 
tinguished by  the  strongly-marked  bar  of  flesh  over  the  brow,1 
separated  by  a  depression  from  the  upper  part  of  the  fore- 
1  Sometimes  called  in  modern  times  "the  bar  of  Michael  Angelo." 


360 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


CHAP,  r 


head — a  characteristic  which,  before  but  slightly  indicated,  in 
the  fourth  century,  and,  especially  in  the  works  of  Praxitel< 
and  Scopas,  distinguishes  the  male  forehead  from  the  female. 
It  helps  to  give  a  finish  at  once  softer  and  broader  to  the  brow, 
and  also  to  throw  the  eyes  and  their  sockets  more  into  shadow. 
The  line  of  the  nose,  in  profile,  practically  continues  the  lin< 
of  the  upper  part  of  the  forehead,  this  bar  projecting  beyom 
it.  The  opening  of  the  eyes  is  narrow,  only  about  one-third  of 
their  length ;  the  upper  eyelid  projects  strongly  ;  the  under  bu1 
very  slightly,  and  at  the  outer  edge  it  passes  by  an  almost  ii 
perceptible  transition  into  the  adjoining  surface ;  the  profile  oi 
the  eyeball  is  but  slightly  curved,  and  inclined  considerably 
downwards.  The  expression  which  results  from  this  treatmenl 
is  of  a  gaze  directed  slightly  downwards,  and  not  concentrat 
on  any  point  near  or  far,  but  resting  vaguely  on  a  moderate!;; 
distant  object — a  gaze  that  implies  passive  contemplation  rathei 
than  close  attention  or  strong  emotion.  The  lower  part  of  the 
face  narrows  greatly  towards  the  chin,  and  in  the  finish  of  the 
lips  we  see  the  same  delicate  and  almost  imperceptible  transitioi 
at  the  sides  into  the  surface  of  the  cheek  which  we  noticed  ii 
the  end  of  the  eyelids.  The  whole  character  and  type  of  the 
head  is  in  complete  harmony  with  the  treatment  of  the  body. 
It  is  refined  and  intellectual,  yet  free  from  all  trace  of  excessive 
concentration.  The  whole  statue  suggests  a  nature  of  perfe< 
physical  and  intellectual  development,  free  from  all  taint  oi 
special  training.  In  the  Hermes,  Praxiteles  has  embodied  his 
ideal  of  Greek  youth,  in  its  normal  and  healthy  condition,  am 
he  has  added  that  expression  of  mood  which  is  inseparable 
from  the  individuality  of  his  conception — here  a  half -thoughtful 
half-unconscious  feeling  of  pleasure  in  the  harmony  of  the  g( 
with  himself  and  with  his  surroundings,  and  in  a  momentary 
rest  from  a  task  itself  made  light  by  an  abundance  of  intellects 
and  physical  power. 

The  Hermes  was  only  one  of  the  minor  works  of  Praxitel< 
though,  to  us,  its  preservation  has  placed  it  first  among  his 
works.  With  the  help  of  the  knowledge  of  his  style  which  we 
can  gather  from  an  original  work,  we  must  now  proceed  to  con- 
sider what  were  counted  by  antiquity  as  his  masterpieces,  thougl 
we  have  to  be  content  to  see  them  only  in  inferior  copies. 

First  of  these  comes  the  Aphrodite  of  Cnidus,  considered  bj 
many  ancient  writers  to  be  the  most  beautiful  of  all  statues.   The 


FIG.  84. -Aphrodite  of  Cnidus,  after  Praxiteles  (Rome,  Vatican).    From  J.  H.  S.  PI.  Ixxx. 


362  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

type  of  this  Aphrodite  is  known  to  us  alike  from  descriptions  and 
from  its  reproduction  upon  the  coins  of  Cnidus;  and  with  the  help 
of  them  copies  of  it  have  been  identified  in  the  Vatican1  (Fig.  84) 
and  at  Munich.  The  goddess  is  represented  as  preparing  for 
the  bath,  which  thus  supplies  a  motive  for  her  nudity.  The 
feeling  of  the  Greeks  in  this  matter  is  illustrated  by  an  anecdote 
which  told  how  the  Coans,  being  offered  by  Praxiteles  the  choice 
between  this  statue  and  a  draped  one,  chose  the  latter,  as  more 
consistent  with  the  dignity  of  the  goddess.  She  stands  in  a 
position  closely  resembling  that  of  the  Hermes;  we  see  the 
same  graceful  curve  of  the  whole  figure,  produced  by  the  weight 
being  carried  on  the  projecting  right  hip,  the  left  knee  being 
bent ;  but,  unlike  the  Hermes,  the  Aphrodite  does  not  rest  her 
left  elbow  on  a  support,  but  holds  in  her  left  hand  the  drapery 
which  she  allows  to  glide  down  upon  a  large  marble  vase.  She  is 
not  naked  and  unashamed;  rather  her  nudity  is  conscious.  And 
here  again  we  see  the  personal  individuality  of  the  conception 
of  Praxiteles.  He  is  not  content  merely  to  embody  in  his  work 
his  .ideal  of  the  goddess  as  she  is,  her  beauty  unveiled ;  but 
he  realises  the  feeling  with  which  she  shrinks  from  its  exposure 
even  for  the  bath — a  feeling  expressed  in  every  line  of  face  and 
figure — while  she  is  conscious  of  her  own  beauty,  and  delights 
in  it.  There  is,  of  course,  no  trace  of  that  later  and  less  refined 
motive,  in  which  the  goddess  is  conscious,  so  to  speak,  of  human 
spectators,  and  assumes  a  posture  of  mock  modesty.  That  is 
the  degradation  due  to  the  imitators  of  Praxiteles ;  yet  his  con- 
ception contains  the  germ  which  was  capable  of  such  develop- 
ment. 

In  execution,  the  Vatican  statue,  with  the  help  of  the 
Hermes,  m&y  give  us  some  notion  of  the  delicacy  of  Praxiteles' 
style.  The  type  of  the  body,  though  less  broad  and  majestic 
than  the  female  figures  of  the  Parthenon,  is  still  far  removed 
from  the  narrow-chested,  too-rounded  figures  of  later  art.  With 
all  the  softness  of  modelling  and  even  voluptuousness  of  outline, 
there  is  still  a  finely-developed  physical  form.  Hair  and  drapery 
are  again  treated  with  a  skill  in  the  rendering  of  texture  which 
contrasts  them  with  the  smooth  surface  of  the  skin.  In  the 

1  The  Vatican  example  is  incomparably  the  finer,  and  is  followed  in  the  de- 
scription. Her  legs  are  covered  with  tin  drapery  ;  fortunately  a  cast  of  the 
whole  statue  was  obtained  in  1887  ;  from  it. our  illustration  is  taken.  The 
original  has  never  been  photographed  entire. 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  363 

expression,  we  can  to  some  extent  realise  what  Lucian  meant 
when  he  spoke  of  "the  beautiful  line  of  her  forehead  and  brow, 
and  her  melting  eye,  full  of  joy  and  of  pleasure."  In  the  eyes 
we  see  the  same  narrow  opening  as  in  the  Hermes,  but  here 
even  more  marked  ;  it  is  indeed  "  the  sleepy  eye  that  speaks 
the  melting  soul,"  which  the  sculptor  has  chosen  for  the  dreamy 
mood  which  he  portrays  as  characteristic  of  the  goddess  of  love. 
The  Aphrodite  of  Praxiteles  had  as  great  an  influence  on  later 
art,  and  represents  as  essential  a  part  of  Greek  religion,  as  the 
Zeus  or  Athena  of  Phidias.  But  alike  the  choice  of  the  subject 
and  the  manner  in  which  it  is  treated  belong  not  only  to  a 
different  artist  but  also  to  a  different  age. 

Scarcely  less  famous  than  the  Aphrodite  of  Cnidus  was  the 
Eros  of  Thespiae,  a  statue  presented  by  Praxiteles  to  his 
mistress  Phryne,  and  dedicated  by  her  in  her  native  town. 
Unfortunately  we  have  no  description  of  this  statue,  nor  any 
record  of  its  attitude ;  all  we  know  of  it  is  that  it  was  the  one 
thing  that  made  Thespiae  worth  visiting,  and  that  it  was 
counted  among  the  few  greatest  statues  of  the  ancient  world. 
Another  Eros,  set  up  at  Parium  on  the  Propontis  (Sea  of 
Marmora)  is  represented  on  the  coins  of  that  town.1  The  god 
was  represented  as  a  youthful  figure,  leaning  with  his  left 
elbow  on  a  pillar,  his  weight  supported  on  his  right  hip, 
his  left  knee  bent  —  exactly  the  position  and  distribution  of 
weight  which  we  saw  in  the  Hermes.  His  right  arm  was 
lowered,  but  the  object,  if  any,  which  it  held  cannot  be  made 
out.  He  has  long  wings ;  and  his  head  is  turned  over  his  left 
shoulder.  Though  many  statues  of  Eros  exist  which  are  clearly 
derived  more  or  less  directly  from  a  Praxitelean  original,  we 
MI 1 1 iot  with  certainty  regard  any  of  them  as  copied  from  either 
the  Thespian  or  the  Parian  figure.  The  type  of  Eros  intro- 
luced  by  Praxiteles  was  imitated  by  numerous  later  artists, 
mt  imitated  with  countless  variations  of  pose  and  of  detail,  so 
,hat  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  eliminate  from  them  whaf 
Belongs  to  a  later  age,  or  to  a  different  sculptor ;  it  seems  clear, 
lowever,  that  Praxiteles  represented  the  god  as  a  youth  of  almost 
nature  proportions,  but  with  a  boyish  delicacy  and  grace  in 
lis  pose  and  in  the  softer  modelling  of  his  body;  and  this  is 
he  type  of  the  fourth  century,  which  is  repeated  again  and 
in  variations  on  the  Praxitelean  conception,  until  the 
1  See  J.  H.  S.  1883,  p.  271  ;  cf.  Roscher,  Lexikon  Myth.  p.  1358. 
2  B 


364  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  iv 

dreamy  youth  who  symbolises  the  power  of  love  is  superseded, 
in  the  Hellenistic  age,  by  the  mischievous  and  sportive  child, 
with  tiny  wings  and  chubby  form,  who  is  familiar  as  Cupid  in 
Roman  art,  and  hence  in  mediaeval  and  modern  fancy. 

It  is  said  that  when  Phryne  induced  Praxiteles  to  name  his 
finest  works  by  the  trick  of  telling  him  his  studio  was  on  fire, 
he  exclaimed  at  once  that  his  labour  was  all  lost,  if  the  Satyr 
and  the  Eros  were  destroyed.  The  Eros  was  the  statue  which 
she  chose  and  dedicated  at  Thespiae.  The  Satyr  was  to  be 
seen  in  the  Street  of  the  Tripods  at  Athens,  and  the  judgment 
of  the  sculptor  as  to  its  excellence  was  endorsed  by  the  general 
opinion,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  numerous  copies  of  it  that 
have  been  found.  The  most  famous  of  these  is  "  the  Capitoline 
faun "  (Fig.  85),  the  best  is  a  torso  now  in  the  Louvre,  so 
admirable  in  its  workmanship  that  Brunn  and  others  are 
disposed  to  recognise  in  it  the  original  statue  of  Praxiteles, 
from  which  all  the  others  are  derived.  The  youthful  Satyr  is 
represented  as  human  in  every  respect  except  his  pointed  ears ; 
but  human  only  physically ;  his  expression,  so  far  as  we  can 
judge  from  the  copies,  was  that  of  a  playful  animal; 
the  contrast  is  clearest  when  we  put  him  beside  the  Hermes, 
whose  face  has  all  the  possibility  of  moral  and  intellectual 
energy  :  in  the  whole  body  too  of  the  Satyr  we  seem  to  see  the 
character  of  a  soulless  and  happy  existence ;  he  is  at  rest  for 
the  moment,  and  his  position  again  recalls  that  of  the  Hermes ; 
he  rests  also  on  a  tree -trunk,  but  with  his  right  elbow,  his 
weight  being  supported  mainly  on  the  left  thigh ;  his  right 
leg  is  not  merely  bent  backwards,  as  in  the  more  dignified 
position  of  the  Hermes,  but  bent  round  also,  so  that  his  right 
foot  is  placed  behind  his  left.  His  right  hand  held  a  pipe, 
which  he  evidently  has  just  been  playing ;  his  left  rests  on  his 
hip.  He  has  a  leopard-skin  thrown  across  his  chest,  and  in 
the  Louvre  torso  the  wonderful  contrast  of  texture  between  the 
skin  of  the  beast  and  the  living  human  skin  which  it  covers  is 
almost  worthy  of  the  hand  that  made  the  foot  and  sandal  of  the 
Hermes.  The  care  and  thought  which  the  sculptor  has  devoted 
to  realising  this  conception  of  a  Satyr  are  again  characteristic  of 
Praxiteles  and  of  his  age.  In  earlier  times  the  satyrs  were 
merely  grotesque  monsters,  whose  semi -bestial  nature  often 
found  the  simplest  expression  in  t  external  characteristics. 
Praxiteles  takes  up  the  double  nature  rather  as  a  psychological 


Fio.  85.— Satyr,  after  Praxiteles  (Rome,  Capitol). 


366  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  iv 

theme ;  and  he  solves  the  difficulties  with  a  skill  as  great  as 
that  which  the  artists  of  the  fifth  century  had  shown  in  the 
physical  combination  of  the  two  natures  in  the  Centaur ;  but 
the  interest  for  him  lies  in  the  expression  of  the  individual 
character  of  the  creature  of  his  fancy.  He  follows,  it  is 
true,  a  mythological  type ;  but  he  approaches  it  from  a  new 
point  of  view,  in  which  the  mythological  conception  is  but  a 
pretext  for  the  theme  of  the  artist's  imagination. 

Another  work  of  Praxiteles,  of  which  the  subject  is  so  dis- 
tinctive that  copies  of  it  are  easily  recognisable,  is  the  Apollo 
Sauroctonus.  The  mythological  type  is  here  again  given  a  new 
turn  by  Praxiteles  ;  the  god  is  represented  as  very  youthful,  and 
playing  with  the  lizard,  which  runs  up  a  tree-trunk  against  which 
he  leans  with  his  left  hand  high  above  his  head,  while  in  his  right 
he  holds  an  arrow  with  which  he  tries  to  hit  the  animal ;  in  fact 
the  scene  is  one  of  mere  boyish  sport ;  as  to  style  and  execution, 
we  cannot  judge  from  the  copies  that  survive  of  this  work ; 
they  are  all  of  that  effeminate  character  to  which  the  style  of 
Praxiteles  was  so  often  perverted  in  later  times. 

It  is  satisfactory  to  turn  from  such  travesties  of  his  work  to  a 
monument  of  a  different  nature;  the  reliefs  decorating  the  basis  of 
a  great  group  which  he  made  at  Mantinea,  representing  Leto  with 
her  two  children,  Apollo  and  Artemis.  As  to  the  group  itself 
we  have  no  evidence  beyond  the  subject,  but  on  the  basis  of  it 
Pausanias  mentions  "  a  Muse  and  Marsyas  playing  the  flute  "  (?). 
This  may  well  be  an  abridged  and  perhaps  corrupted  description 
of  a  group  representing  the  contest  of  Apollo  with  his  lyre  and 
Marsyas  with  his  flute,  the  Muses  acting  as  judges ;  and  this 
very  subject  having  recently  been  discovered  on  a  relief  at 
Mantinea,  in  a  form  suitable  for  decorating  the  basis  of  a  statue, 
its  identity  with  the  work  described  can  hardly  be  disputed ; 
and  it  may  consequently  be  attributed,  at  least  in  design,  to 
Praxiteles  himself,  though  the  execution  was  probably  left  to 
assistants.  It  consists  of  three  slabs,  which  evidently  were  placed 
side  by  side  on  the  front  of  the  basis.1  On  the  middle  slab  (Fig. 
86)  is  Apollo  seated  in  a  quiet  dignity  that  contrasts  with  the 
wild  excitement  of  his  antagonist,  whose  figure  recalls  in  his 

1  Dr.  Waldstein  points  out  that  the  reliefs  were  all  on  the  front,  not  on  the 
different  sides  of  the  basis  (Papers  of  the  Amer.  School  at  Athens,  v.  p.  282).  But 
his  assumption  of  a  fourth  slab  spoils  the  symmetry  of  the  composition  and  is 
unnecessary  ;  the  conventional  number  of  nine  for  the  Muses  belongs  to  later 
art.  I  follow  here  an  unpublished  suggestion  of  Professor  Percy  Gardner. 


368  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

attitude  the  statue  by  Myron,  which  was  so  famous  as  to  have 
become  conventional.  Between  the  two  stands  the  Phrygian 
slave  with  a  knife — a  hint  of  the  terrible  punishment  of  flaying 
that  awaited  the  vanquished  Marsyas.  On  either  side  is  a 
peculiarly  graceful  group  of  three  Muses ;  the  diversity  of  their 
postures  and  the  rich  variety  of  their  drapery  recall  the  terra- 
cotta statuettes  of  Tanagra,  and  perhaps  give  us  a  clue  to 
show  whence  those  statuettes  derived  their  artistic  inspiration. 

So  far  we  have  been  concerned  with  works  of  Praxiteles 
which  are  preserved  for  our  study  either  in  the  original  or  in 
copies.  To  these  might  be  added  many  others,  which  have 
been  attributed  to  him  by  ancient  or  modern  authorities — 
among  them  the  famous  group  of  the  children  of  Niobe,1  which 
ancient  critics,  as  Pliny  tells  us,  hesitated  whether  they  should 
assign  to  him  or  to  Scopas.  Enough,  however,  is  now  before 
us  to  enable  us  to  obtain  a  fair  general  notion  of  his  artistic 
activity  and  character ;  only  we  must  remember  that  a  long  list 
of  his  works  compiled  from  ancient  authorities  places  him  among 
the  niost  prolific  of  ancient  sculptors,  that  his  variety  of  subject 
and  treatment  was  very  great,  and  that  some  of  his  works  in 
bronze  were  hardly  inferior  to  those  in  marble.  Beside  many 
groups  of  deities,2  Praxiteles  made  the  statue  of  Artemis 
Brauronia  at  Athens,  that  of  Trophonius,  in  a  form  like  that 
of  Asclepius,  at  Lebadeia,  and  others  that  were  set  up  as 
objects  of  worship  in  temples.  Several  of  these  are  preserved 
to  us  on  coins,  though  only  in  minute  copies,3  and  so  we  can 
judge  at  least  of  their  attitude.  Thus  Dionysus,  at  Elis,  was 
represented  in  much  the  same  attitude  as  the  Hermes,  his  left 
elbow  rested  on  a  pillar,  and  into  it  he  poured  wine  from  a 
rhyton  held  in  his  raised  right  hand ;  the  youthful  form  of  the 
god  is  also  characteristic ;  and  Artemis,  at  Anticyra,  was  in 
rapid  advance,  a  torch  held  before  her  in  her  right  hand,4  a  bow 


1  See  §  55. 

2  One  of  these,  attributed  to  Praxiteles,  is  of  Demeter,  Persephone,  and  lacchus 
at  Athens.     Its  inscription  was  written  in  the  Attic  alphabet,  officially  given  up 
in   403  B.C.,  and  this  is  the  strongest  evidence  for  the  existence  of   an  elder 
Praxiteles.     On  the  other  hand,  Cicero's  quotation  of  the  lacchus  as  a  priceless 
statue  which  nothing  would  induce  the  Athenians  to  part  with,  seems  to  imply 
that  the  great  Praxiteles  was  the  sculptor.     An  inscription  on  the  wall  about  the 
artist  of  the  statues  is  in  any  case  unusual,  and  it  may  perhaps  have  been  a 
device  of  later  date,  with  affected  archaism  in  the  lettering. 

3  E.g.  Num.  Gomm.  on  Pans.  p.  74  ;  PI.  K.  xxxvii.,  Y.  xvii.,  FF.  i.  ii.  etc. 

4  So  Pausanias.     The  coin  has  inverted  the  action  of  the  two  hands. 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  369 

in  her  left.  She  wore  a  short  chiton,  and  her  quiver  was  on 
her  shoulders ;  beside  her  was  a  hound.  Another  statue  repro- 
duced on  coins  is  that  of  Leto  at  Argos.  She  leant  her  left 
elbow  on  a  small  archaic  statue,1  and  her  right  arm  was  raised, 
again  a  Praxitelean  attitude.  In  addition  to  such  statues  of 
gods  and  goddesses,  Praxiteles  made  two  statues  of  Phryne, 
one  of  marble  at  Thespiae,  one  of  bronze  gilt  at  Delphi ;  it  was 
even  said  that  Phryne  had  served  as  his  model  for  the  Cnidian 
Aphrodite ;  and,  though  we  may  not  accept  this  literally,  we 
may  well  acknowledge  that  Praxiteles  took  advantage,  for  that 
statue,  of  his  studies  of  a  woman  whose  beauty  of  face  and  of 
figure  was  beyond  compare.  Among  other  works,  there  were 
attributed  to  him  groups  of  the  attendants  of  Dionysus — 
Maenads  and  Thyiads,  Satyrs  and  Nymphs.  It  would  be 
interesting  to  compare  these  with  the  raving  Maenad  of  Scopas; 
but,  although  it  is  likely  enough  we  have  reproductions  or 
imitations  of  them  in  the  numerous  reliefs  and  statues  of  this 
subject,  there  is  really  not  material  for  such  a  study ;  from 
what  we  know  of  Praxiteles,  we  should  expect  to  find  in  them 
the  dreamy  grace  of  an  enthusiastic  nature  in  the  intervals 
between  its  bursts  of  excitement,  rather  than  the  Bacchic 
frenzy  in  its  unrestrained  fury.  For  with  Praxiteles,  so  far  as 
we  can  judge,  grace  and  moderation  in  all  things  were  the  first 
consideration ;  and  his  works  all  show  an  artistic  restraint 
which  we  do  not  find  in  some  of  his  contemporaries.  We  may 
perhaps  even  see  a  certain  monotony  of  pose  in  his  statues, 
though  there  are  always  slight  varieties,  and  the  beautiful 
curve  and  flow  of  lines  is  never  repeated  in  quite  the  same 
form.  Alike  in  this  characteristic,  and  in  his  consummate  skill 
in  the  treatment  of  marble,  we  may  see  in  Praxiteles  the 
furthest  and  highest  development  of  the  purely  Attic  school ; 
he  is  the  successor  of  Calamis  and  Callimachus  rather  than  of 
Phidias.  The  decadence  begins  with  those  who  followed  or 
imitated  him;  they  could  not  surpass  the  grace  of  his  con- 
ceptions or  the  perfection  of  his  technique,  while  the  higher 
qualities  of  his  art  did  not  appeal  to  them.  The  influence  of 
Praxiteles  on  his  successors  was  extremely  great ;  but  we  meet 
it  in  the  less  interesting  and  less  noble  branches  of  later  art, 

1  This  statue  was  supposed  to  represent  Chloris,  the  sole  surviving  daughter 
't'  Niobe,  who  founded  the  temple  of  Leto.     Analogy  would  rather  lead  us  to 
ise  in  it  an  earlier  conventional  statue  of  the  goddess  herself.     Cf.  Eros  and 
tlie  llerm  at  Parium. 


370  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

especially  in  the  soft  and  effeminate  character  of  much  Graeco- 
Roman  work.  On  the  other  hand,  the  bold  innovations  and  less 
restrained  invention  of  some  of  his  contemporaries,  though 
showing  in  themselves  a  less  true  and  refined  appreciation  of  the 
sphere  of  sculpture,  led  to  the  magnificent  groups  which,  in  the 
Hellenistic  period,  enthral  us  by  their  dramatic  vigour  and 
living  passion.  But  if  we  judge  the  work  of  Praxiteles  from 
itself,  not  from  its  influence,  we  find  in  it  perhaps  the  most 
perfect  example  of  all  those  qualities  that  form  the  peculiar 
excellence  of  Greek  sculpture. 

§  47.  Silanion  and  Euphranor. — These  two  artists  are,  in 
several  ways,  characteristic  of  the  period  to  which  they  belong ; 
and  although  we  do  not  possess  any  works  which  can  with 
certainty  be  ascribed  to  either  of  them,  the  record  of  their 
works  and  of  their  style  which  we  gather  from  ancient  authors 
enables  us  to  learn  something  about  them.  Both  of  them  were 
theoretical  as  well  as  practical  artists ;  both  wrote  treatises  on 
symmetry.  Euphranor  was  even  better  known  as  a  painter 
than  *as  a  sculptor,  and  wrote  also  upon  colours.  We  may 
therefore  safely  infer  that  the  peculiarities  noted  in  their  work 
were  not  due  to  accident,  but  to  deliberate  intention. 

We  have  no  record  as  to  the  nationality  of  Silanion,  but  his 
connections  are  mainly  Athenian.  A  favourite  theme  of  his 
art  seems  to  have  been  ideal  portraits  either  of  mythical 
heroes  or  historical  characters :  he  made  famous  statues  of 
Achilles  and  of  Theseus,  and  of  the  poetesses  Sappho  and  Corinna. 
Such  a  choice  of  subjects  seems  to  be  due  to  the  scope  they 
offer  for  the  realisation  and  sculptural  expression  of  an  indi- 
vidual character,  as  recorded  by  myth  or  tradition.  His  con- 
temporary portraits  show  the  same  tendency.  One  of  them 
was  of  the  philosopher  Plato,  erected  in  the  Academy,  and 
made  on  the  commission  of  Mithridates,  who  died  in  363  B.C. 
The  fame  of  Silanion  as  a  portrait-sculptor  has  led  some  to 
attribute  to  him  the  original  from  which  extant  portraits  of 
Plato  are  derived ;  but  this  view  seems  hardly  convincing, 
though  of  course  possible.  A  man  so  famous  and  so  much 
venerated  by  his  contemporaries  would  be  sure  to  have  other 
portraits  made  beside  that  due  to  a  barbarian  potentate.  As 
to  the  statue  of  the  sculptor  Apollodorus,  Pliny  gives  more 
detail.  "  Apollodorus,"  he  says,  "  wa§  so  severe  a  critic  of  his 
own  work  that  he  often  destroyed  finished  statues  in  his 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  371 

inability  to  attain  his  own  artistic  ideals,  and  hence  was  called 
the  '  Madman.'  Silanion  embodied  this  character  in  his  portrait 
so  perfectly  that  it  seemed  to  be,  not  a  man,  but  incarnate 
Rage."  Such  a  description  helps  us  to  realise  how  Silanion 
caught  the  individual  character  of  a  passionate  nature  like  that 
of  Achilles  or  of  Sappho.  Yet,  in  an  ideal  portrait,  and 
similarly  in  a  portrait  like  that  of  Apollodorus,  it  is  the 
passionate  temperament  that  was  rendered,  rather  than  a  par- 
ticular outburst  of  passion,  such  as  formed  the  theme  of  Scopas 
and  those  who  followed  him.  The  dying  Jocasta,  another  work 
of  Silanion,  is  the  subject  of  the  strange  story  that  the  artist 
mixed  some  silver  with  his  bronze  in  order  to  give  the  pale  hue 
of  death  to  her  complexion.  The  technical  difficulties  of  such 
a  process  have  already  been  mentioned.1  But  the  effect  that  is 
aimed  at,  and  the  means  by  which  it  is  produced,  alike  point 
to  Silanion  as  an  artist  fond  of  bold  and  original  methods,  both 
in  subject  and  in  technique ;  and  it  is  to  the  realisation  and 
portrayal  of  character  and  emotion  that  his  efforts  appear  to 
have  been  devoted. 

Euphranor  was  a  Corinthian ;  but  his  youth  fell  in  a  time 
when  Athens  and  Corinth  were  closely  allied,  at  the  beginning 
'of  the  fourth  century,  and  he  does  not  appear  to  have  confined 
himself  to  the  traditions  of  any  one  school.  His  study  of 
proportion  seems  to  indicate  at  once  an  imitation  of  Polyclitus 
and  a  departure  from  his  canon.  The  criticism  which  Pliny 
records  of  it  is  probably  due  to  Lysippean  influence.  He 
evidently  adopted  unusually  slender  forms,  in  a  reaction  against 
the  solid  and  heavy  build  of  the  Polyclitan  athlete.  But  such 
an  excessive  slimness  made  the  head  and  joints  appear  too  large 
—  auxerat  articulos  macies.2  He  also,  as  well  as  Silanion, 
devoted  himself  especially  to  ideal  portraits  of  heroes,  both  in 
sculpture  and  in  painting.  His  study  of  individual  character 
is  testified  by  Pliny  in  the  case  of  his  Paris,  in  which  one  could 
recognise  at  a  glance  all  the  various  sides  of  the  hero  who  was 
at  once  the  judge  of  beauty  for  the  three  goddesses,  the  lover 
of  Helen,  and  the  slayer  of  Achilles.3  He  made  other  statues, 

1  See  p.  32. 

2  Ovid.  Met.,  viii.  808.     That  this  line  is  probably  spurious  does  not  affect  the 
truth  of  its  observation. 

3  Speaking  of  painting,  he  said  that  his  Theseus  was  fed  on  beef,  that  of 
I'anliasius  on  roses  ;  but  this  probably  refers  to  colouring  rather  than  proportion 
or  character. 


372  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

about  which  we  have  no  clear  evidence,  among  them  one  of 
Leto  with  her  two  young  children  ;l  but  it  is  interesting  to  find 
in  the  list  personifications  like  those  of  Valour  and  Hellas.  By 
his  portraits  of  Philip  and  Alexander  in  chariots,  he  also  finds 
a  place  among  the  artists  who  felt  the  beginning  of  the  over- 
whelming influence  of  the  Macedonian  conqueror.  His  extra- 
ordinary versatility,  his  careful  technical  study,  the  psychologi- 
cal refinement  of  his  choice  of  subject, — all  combine  to  make  us 
recognise  in  him  an  artist  not  only  peculiarly  characteristic  of 
his  period,  but  of  great  influence  upon  his  contemporaries  and 
successors. 

§  48.  Timotheus,  Bryaxis,  Leochares. — Timotheus  was,  until 
recently,  little  more  than  a  name  to  us,  except  as  one  of 
the  sculptors  employed  on  the  Mausoleum.  His  share  in 
that  building,  as  well  as  those  of  his  collaborators,  must  be 
reserved  for  a  later  section.  But,  in  addition,  the  great  inscrip- 
tion of  Epidaurus,  recording  the  contracts  for  the  building  of 
the  temple  of  Asclepius,  has  the  following  reference  to  him : 
"  Timotheus  contracted  to  make  and  supply  models  for  sculp- 
ture 2  for  900  drachmas  " ;  and  again  :  "  Timotheus  contracted  to 
supply  acroteria  for  one  of  the  pediments  for  2240  drachmas."3 
Some  of  these  acroteria  (the  figures  placed  upon  the  three 
angles  of  a  pediment  to  stand  out  against  the  sky),4  have 
actually  been  found.  Those  which  stood  at  either  side  of  one 
of  the  pediments,  probably  the  western  one,  were  figures  of 
Nereids  seated  upon  horses ;  there  are  also  some  floating 
figures  of  Victory,  which  probably  occupied  a  similar  position 
in  the  smaller  temple  dedicated  to  Artemis.  The  drapery  of 
the  Nereids,  and  of  the  better  among  the  Victories,  is  of  that 
peculiarly  graceful  type,  either  clinging  to  the  limbs  or  sweeping 
in  rich  and  windy  folds,  which  we  noticed  in  Attic  work  towards 
the  end  of  the  fifth  century.5  The  price  given  for  these  figures 

1  There  is  really  no  ground  to  assign  to  him  an  extant  statue  of  this  subject ; 
it  is  not  an  unknown  one  in  earlier  art. 

2  TIJTTOVS  ;  this  might  mean  reliefs. 

3  The  artist  who  contracted  for  the  corresponding  figures  on  the  other  pediment 
was  Theotimus.     It  would  be  tempting  to  see  in  this  an  error  of  the  stone-cutter, 
especially  as  the  extant  figures  are  very  similar  ;  but  in  such  a  document  the 
error  is  improbable.     Perhaps  the  similarity  of  names  implies  a  close  family  con- 
nection, Timotheus  and  Theotimus  being  brothers  who  worked  together  and  had 
been  trained  in  the  same  school. 

4  See  p.  37. 

5  Winter  (MUtkett.  Ath.  1894,  p.  160)  proposes,  on  the  grounds  of  style,  to 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  373 

seems  to  imply  that  the  execution  in  marble  was  undertaken  by 
the  sculptor  himself ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  set  of  models,  which 
cost  only  about  a  third  of  the  sum  given  for  these  three  single 
figures,  may  probably  have  been  merely  designs  in  wax  or  clay, 
of  which  the  execution  was  a  matter  for  separate  contracts.  If 


Fid.  87. — Amazon  from  pediment  at  Epidaurus  (Athens,  National  Museum). 

so,  we  have  a  very  important  addition  to  our  knowledge  of  the 
share  taken  by  the  designer  in  the  execution  of  Greek  archi- 
tectural sculpture;  but  of  course  the  inference  is  not  a  certain 
one.  The  models  may  well  have  been  for  the  pedimental 
sculptures,  which  have  also  been  found.  They  represent  a 

a  Leda  in  the  Capitoline  Museum  at  Rome  to  Timotheus  ;  but  the  charac- 
s  apply  too  generally  to  Attic  art  of  the  period  for  such  an  identification 
to  be  safe. 


374  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

battle  of  Greeks  and  Amazons  at  one  end,  and  of  Greeks 
and  Centaurs  at  the  other,  and  the  design  and  execution 
are  such  as  to  favour  their  attribution  to  an  Attic  artist  of  the 
earlier  part  of  the  fourth  century.  The  Amazon  on  horseback 
(Fig.  87)  is  full  of  life  and  vigour,  and  her  drapery,  while  no 
less  skilful  than  the  clinging  folds  of  the  Nereids,  is  more 
restrained  and  appropriate  to  the  athletic  form  of  the  warrior 
maiden.  Timotheus  also  made  among  other  works  a  statue  of 
Hippolytus  at  Troezen,  which  Pausanias  took  to  be  ;tn 
Asclepius,  and  an  Artemis  which  was  moved  by  Augustus  to 
the  temple  of  the  Palatine  Apollo  at  Rome. 

Bryaxis,  in  addition  to  his  work  on  the  Mausoleum,  made 
several  famous  statues  of  gods.1  Libanius  gives  a  rhetorical 
description  of  his  statue  of  Apollo  at  Daphne,  near  Antioch, 
which  shows  that  he  represented  the  god  in  long  drapery  with 
lyre  and  cup,  as  if  singing,  a  type  which  is  familiar  in  statues 
of  Apollo  Musagetes,  but  which  was  treated  by  others  beside 
Bryaxis.  An  inscription  was  recently  found  with  his  name  in 
Athens ;  it  is  on  a  basis  ornamented  with  reliefs  of  horsemen, 
and  records  the  victories  of  a  family  distinguished  in  cavalry 
manoeuvres.  It  is  impossible  to  tell  the  nature  of  the  object 
set  up  on  the  basis ;  but  in  the  reliefs  we  might  well  expect  to 
find  at  least  as  close  a  relation  to  Bryaxis  as  the  Mantineari 
reliefs  bear  to  Praxiteles.  They  are,  however,  but  slight  and 
sketchy  work.  Probably  Bryaxis  did  not  trouble  much  about 
the  design — a  mounted  horseman,  which  is  repeated  almost 
without  variation  on  three  sides.  The  date  of  the  work  is 
about  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century.  Bryaxis  lived  to  make 
a  portrait  of  Seleucus,  who  was  born  not  much  before  this  date, 
and  so  both  this  work  and  also  his  share  in  the  Mausoleum 
must  have  belonged  to  his  earlier  years. 

Leochares  was  much  employed  as  a  sculptor  in  Athens  in  the 
middle  or  latter  part  of  the  fourth  century,  as  is  attested  by 
the  numerous  inscriptions  on  the  Acropolis  that  bear  his  name. 
His  fame  in  portraiture  is  attested  not  only  by  his  being 
chosen  by  Timotheus,  the  son  of  Conon,  to  make  a  statue  of 
his  friend  Isocrates  set  up  at  Eleusis,  but  also  by  his  employ- 
ment to  make  the  gold  and  ivory  portraits  of  the  family  of 
Philip  set  up  in  the  Philippeum  at  Olympia.  While  working 

1  In  these  the  statue  of  Sarapis  is  probably  not  to  be  included.     See  Michaelis, 
J.  H.  S.  1885,  p.  290. 


IV 


THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  375 


at   Halicarnassus,   he   made   an   acrolithic   statue  of  Ares ; ]    a 
Zeus,  which  was  set  up  as  Jupiter  Tonans  on  the  Capitol  at 


FIG.  88.— Ganymede,  after  Leochares  (Rome,  Vatican). 

Rome,  was  an  admirable  work.      There  is  more  individuality 

about  the  description  given  by  Pliny  of  his  Ganymede  carried 

off  by  the  eagle,  "  which,  sensible  of  the  boy's  beauty  and  his 

1  By  some  this  was  assigned  to  Timotheus. 


376  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

high  destination,  seems  careful  not  to  hurt  him,  even  through 
his  garment,  with  too  rash  a  grip  of  its  talons."  This  statue 
may  well  be  recognised  in  extant  reproductions,  of  which  the 
best  is  in  the  Vatican.  Though  the  copy  is  but  an  inadequate 
rendering  of  the  original,  it  serves  to  show  the  originality  and 
power  of  the  composition,  which  almost  transcends  the  bounds 
of  sculpture  in  its  addition  of  surroundings  and  accessions  to 
enhance  the  effect.  A  high  tree-trunk  forms  the  background 
and  support  for  the  whole,  which  is  most  skilfully  constructed, 
so  that  the  feet  of  the  boy  do  not  touch  the  ground,1  and  the 
wonderful  upward  sweep  of  the  whole  composition  is  enhanced 
by  the  contrast  with  the  dog,  who  sits  on  the  ground  and  looks 
upward  after  his  master.  The  outspread  wings  of  the  eagle 
form  a  broad  summit  to  the  group  from  which  it  gradually 
narrows  down  to  the  feet  of  Ganymede,  and  thus  the  effect  is 
further  increased.  Eagle  and  boy  alike  strain  upward  in  an 
aspiration  like  that  which  Goethe  expresses  in  his  poem  of 
Ganymede.  There  is  no  hint  of  sensual  meaning  in  the  treat- 
ment of  Leochares ;  the  eagle  is  merely  the  messenger  of  Zeus ; 
and  We  can  see  in  his  grip  of  the  boy  the  care  which  Pliny 
mentions.  We  safely  infer  that  the  author  of  this  group  was 
not  only  an  artist  of  great  originality,  but  also  that  he  sought 
and  expressed  in  his  art  the  higher  and  nobler  meaning  of  the 
myths  he  adopted.  It  is  in  accordance  with  this  that  the  more 
famous  of  his  portraits,  those  of  Isocrates,  and  of  the  family  of 
Philip,  were  likely  to  have  been  work  in  which  the  character  of 
the  individual  was  idealised.  His  portraits  of  Alexander  may 
well  have  contributed  to  the  formation  of  the  type  which  had 
so  great  an  influence  at  the  close  of  this  period. 

§  49.  Scopas  is  the  artist  in  whom  we  see  the  fullest  energy 
of  the  tendencies  that  we  have  already  noticed  in  other  masters 
of  the  fourth  century,  and  in  whose  work  we  can  trace  the  rise 
of  the  influences  that  were  to  predominate  in  all  the  finest 
and  most  vigorous  art  of  the  succeeding  period.  Praxiteles, 
and  others  of  his  contemporaries,  embodied  in  marble  or  bronze 
not  only  the  individual  character  of  gods  or  men,  but  the  mood 
in  which  that  character  found  its  most  natural  expression — 
/caToy/^as  a/vyows  rots  XiOivois  €pyoi<$  rot  Try?  ^I'^^S  TrdOr).  It  may 
seem  that  this  quotation  applies  equally  well  to  the  attainments 

1  Except  by  a  block  inserted  in  the  marble  copy,  and  doubtless  absent  in  the 
bronze  original. 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  377 

of  Scopas,  but  it  applies  in  a  different  and  in  a  stronger  sense. 
It  is  not  merely  subtle  shades  of  character  or  mood  that  Scopas 
makes  the  theme  of  his  sculpture,  though  these  also  find  their 
place  among  his  works ;  he  excels  above  all  in  the  rendering  of 
passionate  and  excited  emotion,  in  the  vivid  expression,  in 
every  line  of  face  and  body,  of  an  overmastering  impulse  from 
within.  It  is  but  a  step  to  the  expression  of  such  an  impulse 
coming  from  without,  such  as  we  see  in  the  wonderful  life-like 
and  dramatic  groups  of  later  art.  But,  though  these  are  cer- 
tainly to  be  derived  in  their  origin  from  the  influence  of  Scopas, 
it  is  doubtful  whether  we  can  recognise  any  such  among  his 
chief  works.  In  them  we  find  rather  the  embodiment  of  such 
a  fiery  and  passionate  nature  as  suggests  the  potentiality  for 
such  struggles,  in  contrast  to  the  more  passive  and  dreamy 
mood  and  character  that  give  to  Praxiteles  his  favourite 
themes. 

The  list  of  recorded  works  by  Scopas  is  only  about  half  as 
long  as  that  assigned  to  Praxiteles ; l  this  may  be  partly  due  to 
the  greater  fame  of  Praxiteles  in  later  times,  which  has  led  to 
the  mention  of  a  large  proportion  of  his  works,  and  even  to 
the  attribution  to  him  of  certain  works  which  are  not  his — an 
attribution  which  we  meet  in  the  case  of  Scopas  also.2  At  the 
same  time  it  is  probable  enough  that  an  artist  who  put  so 
much  fire  and  passion  into  his  work  was  less  prolific,  and  less 
tolerant  of  ordinary  commissions.  We  are  also  less  fortunate 
in  the  preservation  of  his  works;  such  copies  as  we  possess  of 
his  independent  statues  owe  their  identification  only  to  inference 
from  style,  and  are  not  entirely  free  from  the  doubt  that  always 
must  attend  such  an  inference  where  our  evidence  is  so  scanty. 
Those  extant  works  which  we  can  attribute  with  a  fair  degree 
of  certainty  to  him  or  to  assistants  working  under  his  direction 
are  architectural  sculptures ;  and  we  have  already  in  more  than 
one  instance  seen  the  objections  to  regarding  such  monuments  as 
originals  from  the  sculptor's  own  hand ;  and,  moreover,  in  the 
case  of  the  Mausoleum,  the  difficulty  in  distinguishing  the  work 
of  Scopas  from  that  of  his  collaborators  is  so  great  that  we 
have  found  it  necessary  to  reserve  the  whole  building  for  a 
special  section,  instead  of  making  use  of  portions  of  its  sculp- 

1  In    Overbeck's   S.   Q.  the  list  for   Praxiteles  is  47,  for   Lysippus    35,  for 

s  25. 

2  E.g.  the  Niobids  ;  see  §  55. 


378  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

ture  as  evidence  for  the  style  of  the  different  sculptors  who 
contributed  to  its  decoration. 

Pausanias  tells  us  that  the  temple  of  Athena  Alea  at  Tegea 
was  rebuilt  by  Scopas,  after  a  fire  which  occurred  in  395  B.C. 
If  the  temple  was  rebuilt  at  once,  Scopas  must  have  been  a 
young  man  at  the  time  ;  for  he  was  employed  on  the  Mausoleum, 
which  was  not  finished  till  after  the  death  of  Artemisia  in 
349  B.C.  It  must  however  be  admitted  that  the  style  of  the 
sculptures  seems  almost  incredible  so  near  the  beginning  of  the 
fourth  century,  and  that  perhaps  some  years  may  have  elapsed 
before  the  temple  was  rebuilt.  But  when  we  are  dealing  with 
a  sculptor  of  so  startling  originality  as  Scopas,  it  is  not  easy 
to  say  at  what  point  of  his  career  any  particular  style  of  work 
becomes  possible.  The  employment  of  Scopas  at  Tegea  while 
still  a  young  man  also  requires  explanation,  for  he  was  a  native 
of  Paros ;  but  if  the  Aristandros  of  Paros,1  who  worked  with 
Polyclitus  at  Amyclae  on  a  dedication  to  commemorate  the 
battle  of  Aegospotami,  was  his  father,  he  may  have  had  a  family 
connection  in  the  Peloponnese.  Pausanias  describes  the  temple 
at  Tegea  as  far  the  finest  in  the  Peloponnese,  both  in  design 
and  in  size.  He  does  not  expressly  say  that  the  pediments  are 
to  be  attributed  to  Scopas ;  but,  by  speaking  of  him  as  the 
architect  of  the  temple,  and  then  going  on  to  describe  in  detail 
the  sculpture  that  filled  its  pediments,  he  leaves  a  strong  pre- 
sumption in  favour  of  such  an  attribution — a  presumption  fully 
borne  out  by  the  style  of  their  extant  remains,  which  are  only 
explicable  at  such  a  period  if  made  by  a  sculptor  of  marked 
originality.  They  have  an  artistic  character  exactly  in  accord- 
ance with  what  we  learn  of  Scopas  from  literary  authorities. 

The  pediments  of  the  temple  celebrated  myths  connected 
with  it ;  the  fell  of  the  Calydonian  boar  was  actually  preserved 
within  the  temple,  having  been  won  by  the  Arcadian  heroine 
Atalanta ;  and  Telephus  was  the  son  of  Heracles  and  Auge,  the 
priestess  of  Athena  Alea.  "  In  the  eastern  pediment  is  the 
Hunt  of  the  Calydonian  boar ;  the  beast  occupied  the  middle  of 
the  field,  and  on  one  side  of  it  were  Atalanta,  Meleager,  Theseus, 
Telamon,  Peleus,  Polydeuces,  and  lolaus,  and  Prothous  and 

1  The  relationship  is  deduced  from  the  fact  that  the  names  Aristaudros  and 
Scopas  occur  as  the  names  of  father  and  son  in  a  family  of  Parian  artists  in  the 
first  century  B.C.  ;  and  both  names  and  professions  were  often  traditional  in  a 
family. 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  379 

Cometes,  the  brothers  of  Althea  (Meleager's  mother) ;  on  the 
other  side  of  the  boar  is  Ancaeus,  who,  wounded  and  dropping 
his  axe,  is  supported  by  Epochus ;  and  beside  him  Castor  and 
Amphiaraus,  and  beyond  them  Hippothous,  and  last  of  all, 
Pirithous.  In  the  western  pediment  is  the  battle  of  Telephus 
and  Achilles  in  the  plain  of  the  Caicus." 

Such  is  the  description  of  Pausanias,  which  gives  rise  to 
considerable  difficulties  if  we  attempt  to  reconstruct  from  it 
the  composition  of  the  pediments;  it  is  difficult  to  see,  for 
example,  how  the  figures  can  have  been  arranged,  so  as  to 


FIG.  89.— Heads  from  pediment  at  Tegea  by  Scopas  (Athens,  National  Museum). 
After  Berlin  Antike  Denkmdler,  I.  35  (from  cast). 


allow  for  the  diminution  in  height  from  the  centre  to  the  ends, 
and,  in  particular,  how  the  corners  were  filled.  It  would  be 
interesting  to  know  how  Scopas  solved  these  problems ;  but  it 
••>  u-eless  to  guess  how  he  may  have  solved  them.  The  extant 
! viiiains  do  not  help  us  in  this  matter,  as  they  consist  only  of  the 
of  the  boar  and  the  heads  of  two  heroes  (Fig.  89),  which 
must  almost  certainly  come  from  the  eastern  pediment,  though 
•annot  even  fix  with  certainty  the  figures  to  which  they 
I'elong.1  In  spite  of  the  much-battered  and  damaged  condition 
"f  the  two  heads,  they  at  once  distinguish  themselves  from  all 
t  hat  we  have  hitherto  considered,  and  indeed  from  all  others 

1  One  is   bare  ;    the   other,  which  is   helmeted,   has  been  split  iu    two   and 
I.     Both  are  certainly  male  heads. 

2  C 


380  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

preserved  to  us  in  the  remains  of  classical  antiquity,  by  the 
extraordinary  life  and  warmth  of  their  expression.  And 
although  this  character  is  essentially  beyond  the  reach  of 
detailed  study  or  analysis,  we  may  notice  many  details  in  the 
execution  which  contribute  to  its  effect. 

It  is  above  all  in  the  eyes  that  the  passion  of  these  two 
heads  is  centred,  and  there  are  two  characteristics  in  modelling 
for  which  the  eyes  are  remarkable ;  their  slightly  upward  gaze, 
directed  on  a  distant  object,  and  the  deep  shadow  into  which 
they  are  thrown.  We  have  seen  how  the  archaic  sculptor, 
realising  also  the  importance  of  the  eyes  to  the  expression  of 
the  face,  made  them  unduly  prominent  in  his  modelling,  and 
thereby  marred  the  very  effect  he  was  seeking  to  produce.1  It 
was  only  by  slow  stages  that  Greek  art  came  to  learn  how  it  is 
the  muscles  and  bones  surrounding  the  eye,  much  more  than 
the  eye  itself,  that  offer  an  opportunity  to  the  sculptor  for 
rendering  the  expression  of  character  and  emotion  ;  Scopas  seems 
to  have  been  the  first  to  realise  how  much  the  expression  of 
the. eye  is  enhanced  by  the  depth  of  its  socket.  This  effect  is 
partly  due  to  the  bony  structure  of  the  skull ;  but  it  depends 
even  more  upon  the  form  of  the  mass  of  flesh  above  the  brow 
—the  same  which  we  noticed  in  the  Hermes  of  Praxiteles  as 
forming  the  chief  characteristic  of  the  forehead.  Here  its  treat- 
ment is  much  more  conspicuous ;  it  does  not  merely  form  a  bar 
across  the  brow,  but  curves  down  as  if  in1  a  heavy  roll  over 
the  outer  corners  of  the  eyes,  so  that  the  upper  eyelids  actually 
disappear  beneath  it  at  their  outer  extremities ;  and  at  the 
same  time  the  lower  eyelids  are  carried  up  rapidly  at  their 
•outer  extremities  to  meet  the  upper  eyelids,  and  in  this  way 
the  visible  portion  of  the  eyeball  is  made  much  shorter  in 
horizontal  measurement;  in  fact,  the  opening  of  the  eyes  in 
these  heads  of  Scopas  is  about  2'1  in  proportion  of  length  to 
breadth,  as  contrasted  with  the  proportion  of  about  3*1  which 
we  usually  meet  with  in  Praxitelean  heads,  where,  as  in  the 
Hermes  for  example,  the  upper  and  lower  lids  approach  one 
another  gradually  at  their  outer  extremities,  and  meet  in  a  very 
small  angle.  The  wide-open  and  the  half-shut  eye  which  we 
see  thus  affected  by  the  two  great  contemporaries  are  not 
merely  due  to  a  difference  of  momentary  action  or  circum- 
stance, but  are  an  indication  of  type  and  temperament;  the 
1  Conze,  Darstellung  des  menscM.  A  uges  in  dcr  gr.  Plastik. 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  381 

passionate  and  concentrated  upward  gaze  which  Scopas  gives  to 
his  heads  has  left  its  trace  on  the  surrounding  muscles^  even 
when  he  represents  a  figure  at  rest  and  free  from  exciting  con- 
ditions. And  it  harmonises  with  his  treatment  of  the  rest  of 
the  face,  and  his  selection  of  physical  type.  The  mouth  in 
these  Tegean  heads  is  half  open,  and  shows  the  line  of  the 
teeth,  the  upper  lip  being  drawn  up  in  the  passionate  excite- 
ment of  the  combat ;  but  here  again  we  see  a  result  of  tem- 
porary action  which  is  not  without  its  permanent  effect  on  the 
lines  of  the  face.  The  proportions  of  the  Tegean  heads  are 
remarkably  square 1  and  massive.  This  may  be  due  partly  to 
the  fact  that  Scopas  was,  in  his  younger  years,  under  the 
influence  of  the  Argive  school ;  but  the  strength  and  solidity 
thus  attained  seem  more  suitable  to  the  vigour  and  even 
violence  of  the  emotion  with  which  the  forms  are  animated 
than  the  more  graceful  and  slighter  proportions  of  Praxitelean 
art. 

It  is  probable,  as  we  have  already  seen,  that  the  sculptures  of 
these  Tegean  pediments  belong  to  the  earlier  years  of  the 
artistic  activity  of  Scopas;  and  it  is  certainly  surprising  to 
find  them  so  characteristic  of  his  style,  and  so  marked  in  their 
contrast  to  other  fourth-century  sculptures.  If  the  evidence  as 
to  dates  is  to  be  accepted,  it  must  prove  that  Scopas  showed 
from  the  first  the  power  and  originality  that  distinguished  him 
among  his  contemporaries  and  gave  him  so  great  and  lasting  an 
influence  over  his  successors.  It  is  more  remarkable  still  to 
find  this  character  in  architectural  sculptures,  at  a  time  when 
Scopas  cannot  yet  have  collected  round  him  a  body  of  pupils 
and  assistants  trained  in  his  style  and  methods.  The  inference 
seems  an  obvious  one  ;  the  difficulties  of  explanation  are  only  to 
be  escaped  by  supposing  that  Scopas  must  have  made  these  pedi- 
mental  sculptures,  or  at  least  the  heads  of  them,  with  his  own 
hands.  And  such  a  supposition  is  by  no  means  out  of  the 
question.  Scopas,  as  a  young  sculptor  employed  as  architect, 
would  not  be  unlikely  to  employ  his  time  at  Tegea,  while 
supervising  the  whole  construction  of  the  temple,  in  finishing 
with  his  own  hands  those  parts  of  ite  decoration  in  which  his 
own  skill  and  training  had  the  greatest  scope. 

1  Allowance  must  of  course  be  made  Jor  the  fact  that  the  head  without  a 
helmet  has  been  cut  away  at  the  top  and  the  back,  so  as  to  look  even  squarer 
than  it  really  is. 


382  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

While  he  was  at  Tegea,  Scopas  also  made  statues  of  Asclepius 
and  H'ygieia  ;  and  the  statues  of  the  same  deities  at  Gortys  in 
Arcadia  most  probably  belong  to  the  same  period;  there  Asclepius 
was  represented  as  beardless  —  a  type  which  always  persisted 
beside  the  more  familiar  bearded  type  of  Thrasymedes  :  and  other 
works  in  Argos  and  Sicyon  are  also  likely  to  belong  to  Scopas' 
earlier  years.  Several  statues  in  Athens  and  other  parts  of 
Greece  are  also  attributed  to  him  —  among  others  an  interesting 
group  at  Megara,  representing  Eros,  Himeros,  and  Pothos  —  a 
refinement  in  the  study  of  subtle  mythological  distinction  and 
impersonation  of  three  different  phases  of  the  god  of  love, 
Passion  that  inspires  the  lover,  Desire  that  breathes  from  the 
presence  of  the  beloved,1  and  Yearning  in  absence  ;  we  may 
imagine  what  Scopas  is  likely  to  have  made  of  such  a  theme. 

Since  it  is  known  that  Scopas  was  employed  on  the  Mauso- 
leum about  350  B.C.,  and  many  of  his  works  are  recorded  to 
have  been  set  up  in  Asia  Minor,  it  is  generally  supposed  that  he 
spent  the  later  part  of  his  career  in  that  region,  which  was  in 
later  .times  to  give  free  scope  to  those  tendencies  in  art  that 
owed  to  him  their  origin.  A  mere  enumeration  of  these  would 
not  be  profitable  ;  but  there  are  some  of  them  which,  from  their 
subject,  or  from  their  association  with  extant  works,  call  for 
more  detailed  attention. 

Pliny  tells  us  that  when  the  temple  of  Artemis  at  Ephesus 
was  rebuilt  after  its  destruction  in  356  B.C.,  one  of  the  columns 
was  sculptured  by  Scopas  ;  2  this  is  probable  enough  ;  for 
Scopas  was  employed  on  the  Mausoleum  at  Halicarnassus  just 
at  the  time  when  the  Ephesian  temple  was  being  rebuilt,  and 
he  may  have  had  the  commission  given  him  by  Artemisia  ;  she 
is  not  likely  to  have  failed  to  take  her  place  among  the  princes 
who  gave  each  a  column  to  the  temple.  There  were  thirty-six 
such  sculptured  columns  ;  and  among  the  fragments  of  them 
that  have  been  brought  to  England  there  is  one  of  which  the 
design  is,  in  part,  well  preserved.  The  chances  are  clearly 
much  against  this  being  the  one  for  which  Scopas  was  re- 

1  See  Luciau,  Deorum  Judicium,  15.     6  'E/xbs  8\os  irape\6uv  ts  avr^v  dvayKd<rei 
TTTJV  yvvaiKa  tpav,  6 


2  This  is  the  MS.  reading,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  reject  it,  though  the 
conjecture  imo  scapo  for  una  a  Scopa  is  ingenious  and  in  accordance  with  the 
fact  ;  the  columns  are  sculptured  on  the  bottom  drum  only,  the  variation  in 
diameter  being  due,  as  Mr.  A.  S.  Murray  has  pointed  out,  to  the  greater  size  of 
the  corner  columns  ;  see  R.  I.E.  A.  Journal,  1895,  Nov. 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  383 

sponsible;  and  its  style  is  not  such  as  to  justify  us  in  making 
so  uncertain  an  identification,  though  it  is  interesting  as  show- 
ing us  the  work  of  one  of  his  associates.1 

One  of  the  works  of  Scopas  which  Pliny  selects  for  special 
praise,  and  calls  worthy  to  have  been  the  work  of  a  whole  lifetime, 
was  a  group — probably  a  relief — representing  Poseidon  and  Thetis 
and  Achilles,  and  Nereids  riding  on  dolphins  or  hippocamps  or 
other  sea  monsters,  and  the  Tritons  and  many  other  creatures 
of  the  sea.  This  was  carried  off  to  Rome  ;  it  probably  originally 
decorated  a  temple  or  other  building  in  Bithynia.2  The  subject 
probably  was  the  apotheosis  of  Achilles,  when  he  was  carried  off  by 
his  mother  to  the  Isles  of  the  Blest,  in  a  procession  accompanied 
by  all  the  denizens  of  the  sea.  A  frieze  now  in  Munich,  and  found 
in  Rome  near  the  place  where  this  work  in  said  to  have  been 
set  up,  has  been  thought  by  Brunn  to  be  the  relief  described  by 
Pliny  ;  but  many  things  in  its  design  and  execution  show  that 
it  cannot  be  earlier  than  Hellenistic  times,  though  we  may 
admit  that  it  reflects  the  character  of  Scopas'  work.  There  are 
however,  many  representations  of  deities  or  creatures  of  the  sea 
in  our  museums  that  are  derived,  more  or  less  directly,  from 
the  conceptions  of  Scopas ;  and  from  them  we  may  infer  what 
the  original  was  like.3  The  character  of  restless  yearning  which 
we  almost  always  find  in  their  expression  is  quite  in  harmony 
with  what  we  know  of  the  art  of  Scopas.  In  the  Tegean  heads 
we  saw  a  passionate  nature  in  the  energy  and  concentration  of 
action  ;  in  these  deities  of  the  sea  we  see  a  vaguer  longing 
expressed  in  the  upturned  gaze,  directed  on  a  distant  and  un- 
attainable goal ;  and  it  is  borne  out  in  the  liquid  and  flowing 
texture  of  flesh  and  hair,  which  is  in  contrast  to  the  concise  and 
vigorous  modelling  of  the  Tegean  heads.  It  is  probably  a 
reflection  of  the  work  of  the  same  artist  dealing  with  a  different 
subject  and  realising  his  conception  by  the  same  methods.  It 
is  interesting  to  compare  these  marine  types  with  the  Satyr  of 
Praxiteles.  The  human  but  soulless  expression  and  playful 
mood  and  the  graceful  figure  of  the  creature  of  the  woods  con- 
trast strongly  with  the  uncouth  form,  the  eternal  longing  for 

1  See  below,  p.  420. 

2  The  reason  for  this  supposition  is  that  the  man  who  brought  it  to  Rome  had 
just  been  governor  of  that  district. 

}  See  Brunn,  Personification  des  Meeres  in  his  Griechische  Goiterideale,  p.  68. 
The  suggestive  remarks  of  Brimn  are  the  basis  of  the  character  here  assigned  to 
the  deities  of  the  sea. 


384  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

some  gift  or  quality  denied  by  nature,  that  is  characteristic  of 
the  personifications  of  the  sea ;  and  in  the  two  alike  choice  of 
subject  arid  method  of  expression  show  Scopas  and  Praxiteles 
each  unsurpassed  in  his  own  field.  Another  expression  of 
passion,  or  rather  of  divine  inspiration,  may  be  seen  in  the 
famous  Bacchante  of  Scopas  set  up  in  Byzantium.  She  was 
represented  in  the  full  raving  of  Dionysiac  frenzy,  holding  in 
her  hand  a  kid  that  she  had  slain  in  the  orgies  of  the  god. 
Though  such  a  subject  is  preserved  to  us  in  many  reliefs 
and  other  works  of  art,  which  doubtless  draw  their  inspira- 
tion from  Scopas,  they  cannot  be  regarded  as  more  than 
repetitions  of  a  type  which  he  had  originated.  Unfortunately 
we  are  but  ill  informed  as  to  details  ;  besides  two  or  three 
epigrams,  which  testify  to  the  marvellous  life  and  frenzy  that 
Scopas  had  infused  into  the  marble,  we  have  only  a  rhetorical  de- 
scription by  Philostratus,  in  which  the  redundant  and  meaningless 
verbiage  obscures  or  destroys  all  accuracy  of  meaning.  From 
what  we  know  of  Scopas  from  other  sources,  we  should  be 
inclined  to  recognise  the  type  at  least  of  his  Bacchante  in  the 
figure  in  wild  excitement,  with  head  thrown  back  and  upward 
gaze,  and  often  with  half  a  kid  in  one  hand,  which  we  see 
on  late  reliefs  : 1  but  the  identification  can  only  be  a  con- 
jecture. 

We  must  now  pass  to  other  statues  of   gods  or  heroes  by 
Scopas  which  have  been  recognised  with  more  or  less  probability 
in  works  of  minor  art,  or  even  in  extant  statues.     Among  these 
is  the  Apollo  Smintheus,  with  the  field  mouse  from  which  he 
took  his  name,  set  up  at  Chryse  in  the  Troad ;  but  the  statue  in 
the  temple  of  the  god  which  is  figured  on  the  coins  of  that  town 
is  now  generally  admitted  to  be  distinct  from  the    work    of 
Scopas,  which  was  probably  set  up  as  a  dedication  beside  it 
The  Ares  of  Scopas,  a  colossal  statue  transported  from  Pergamui 
to  Rome,  has  been  recognised  with  considerable  probability  on 
relief  of  Trajan's  time,  set  in  the  arch  of  Constantine.     The  g< 
is  represented  nude  and  seated,  with  a  spear  in  his  right  ham 
a  Victory  seated  on  his  left ;  but  the  scale  and  execution  of  the 
relief  do  not  give  much  clue  as  to  style.    The  Apollo  Citharoedus, 
singing,  and  in  long  drapery,  which  was  set  up  by  Augustus  in 
the  Palatine  temple  at  Rome,  was  also  a  work  of  Scopas  ;  but 
attempts  to  recognise  it  in  statues  by  the  help  of  coins  have  led 
1  Cf.  Fig.  126,  p.  504. 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  385 

only  to  confusion.1  Recently  a  constructive  criticism,2  based  on 
the  study  of  the  Tegean  heads,  has  led  to  more  satisfactory 
results,  and  has  shown  that  the  direct  influence  of  Scopas  may 
be  traced  in  a  whole  series  of  extant  statues,  some  of  which 
may  even  be  regarded  as  copies  of  his  works.  It  is  mainly  in  the 
treatment  of  the  eye  and  the  surrounding  portion  of  the  face, 
and  in  the  expression  resulting  therefrom,  that  the  character  of 
Scopas  may  be  recognised.  Chief  among  the  works  that  show 
this  character  is  a  very  fine  Greek  Heracles  in  Lansdowne  House, 
which  may  well  be  a  copy  either  of  the  Heracles  recorded  to 
have  been  made  by  Scopas  at  Sicyon,  or  of  some  other  un- 
recorded statue  of  the  hero. 

However  this  may  be,  we  have  seen  enough  of  the  work  of 
Scopas  to  be  prepared  for  the  influence  which  we  shall  find  him 
exercising  throughout  the  following  period.  If  others  of  his 
predecessors  and  contemporaries  had  made  their  marble  live,  he 
added  to  that  life  an  intensity  of  passion  and  expression  far 
beyond  what  had  hitherto  seemed  possible.  To  a  Greek  passion 
and  suffering  are  expressed  by  the  same  word,  pathos ;  and  we 
need  not  be  surprised  to  find  that  his  imitators  in  a  later  age 
broke  down  the  barrier  that  he  had  never  transgressed,  and 
found  in  pain  and  death  a  theme  for  that  dramatic  instinct  to 
which  he  had  given  play.  But  we  must  not  lay  the  artistic 
excesses  of  Pergamene  and  Rhodian  art  to  the  charge  of  Scopas, 
any  more  than  we  must  lay  the  too  great  delicacy  and  effeminacy 
of  Graeco-Roman  work  to  the  charge  of  Praxiteles.  Both  masters 
had  an  influence  which  went  far  beyond  what  they  themselves 
performed ;  but  to  Scopas,  more  than  any  other  man,  is  due  all 
that  is  most  vigorous  and  robust  in  the  art  of  the  Hellenistic 
age. 

§  50.  The  Mausoleum. — Our  literary  information  as  to  this 
tomb,  which  is  the  most  magnificent  of  the  princely  monuments 
of  Asia  Minor,  is  derived  from  a  story  repeated  with  some 
variations  by  Pliny  and  by  Vitruvius.  Pliny's  version  is 
tin-  completer,  and  as  it  is  practically  the  basis  of  discussion, 
we  had  better  have  it  before  us  in  full.  "  Scopas,"  he  says, 
"  had  as  rivals  and  contemporaries  Bryaxis,  Leochares,  and 

1  The  type  similar  to  the  statue  of  Apollo  Musagetes  in  the  Vatican  is  found 
"it  foins  of  Nero,  and  is  distinct  from  that  found  on  coins  of  Augustus  with  the 

'1  Apollini  Actio. 

2  By  Dr.  B.  Graf,  in  the  Rom.  Miltheil.,  1889,  p.  199. 


386  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

Timotheus ;  and  we  must  speak  of  them  all  together,  since 
they  collaborated  in  the  sculpture  of  the  Mausoleum.  This  is 
the  monument  built  to  Mausolus,  prince  of  Caria,  who  died  in 
351  B.C.,  by  his  wife  Artemisia;  and  the  work  of  these  artists 
mainly  contributed  to  place  it  among  the  seven  wonders  of  the 
world.  .  .  .l  The  sculpture  on  the  east  side  was  by  Scopas, 
that  on  the  north  by  Bryaxis,  that  on  the  south  by  Timotheus, 
that  on  the  west  by  Leochares.  Before  the  completion  of  the 
work  the  queen  died ;  but  they  went  on  until  they  had  finished 
it,  for  their  own  fame  and  a  record  of  their  art,  and  it  still 
preserves  their  emulation.  There  was  a  fifth  artist  also.  Above 
the  colonnade  is  a  pyramid,  equal  in  height  to  the  lower  part, 
and  narrowing  by  24  steps  to  the  summit;  on  the  top  is  a 
marble  chariot  made  by  Pythis."  Vitruvius  also  says  that  the 
various  sides  of  the  building  were  undertaken  by  different 
artists ;  these  he  gives  as  Leochares,  Bryaxis,  Scopas,  Praxi- 
teles, and  perhaps  also  Timotheus.  This  was  practically  all 
that  was  known  of  the  Mausoleum  until,  in  1846,  twelve  slabs 
from  its  frieze  were  presented  to  the  British  Museum  by  Lord 
Stra'tford  de  EedclifFe ;  and  the  interest  they  excited  led  to  the 
complete  excavation  of  the  site  at  Halicarnassus  by  Sir  Charles 
Newton  in  1857.  The  building  had  been  almost  entirely 
destroyed  by  the  Knights  of  St.  John,  when  they  built  their 
castle  of  Budrum  out  of  its  materials,  and  burnt  its  sculptures 
for  lime  ;  but  all  that  remained  has  been  recovered  and  brought 
to  England,  and  suffices  to  show  the  nature  of  the  building  and 
of  the  sculpture  that  decorated  it. 

As  to  the  details  of  the  plan  and  construction  of  the 
Mausoleum,  much  doubt  is  still  possible ;  it  is,  in  particular, 
difficult  to  fix  the  places  where  the  various  parts  of  its  sculptural 
decorations  were  introduced.  These  consist  of  the  following : — 

1.  A  colossal  group  of  two  figures,  Mausolus  and  Artemisia, 
probably  set  up  within  the  building.2 

1  Then  follow  statements  as  to  the  dimensions  of  the  building,  which  are  only 
confusing,  as  some  of  the  mimbers  recorded  in  the  text  are  obviously  wrong,  and 
no  simple  emendation  makes  them  probable.     Mr.  Oldfield  has  proposed  a  new 
and   very    ingenious  restoration,  with  cruciform   plan,  thus  preserving   Pliny's 
numbers.     Perhaps  a  simple  emendation  is  to  read  cxiii  for  Ixiii  as  the  length  of 
the  larger  sides  ;  then  there  is  nothing  impossible.     But  this  question  belongs  to 
architecture,  not  to  sculpture. 

2  These  are  often  supposed  to  have  stood  in  the  chariot  on  the  top  ;  but  their 
state  of  preservation,  and  a  consideration  of  proportion,  show  this  to  have  been 
impossible.     See  P.  Gardner,  J.  //.  &,  1892-3,  pi  188. 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  387 

2.  Various  statues,  some  equestrian,  probably  set  up  round 
the  building — possibly  some  between  the  columns  of  the  colon- 
nade, as  in  the  Nereid  monument. 

3.  A  frieze  representing  Greeks  and  Amazons  fighting. 

4.  A    frieze    of    rougher    work,    representing    Greeks    and 
Centaurs. 

5.  A  smaller  frieze,  of  very  fine  work,  representing  a  chariot- 
race. 

6.  Various  metope-like  panels. 

7.  A  colossal  chariot,  with  four  horses,  set  up  on  the  summit 
of  the  building. 

8.  A  set  of  lions,  of  which  the  position  is  doubtful. 

It  is  not  certain  where  any  of  these  friezes  or  panels  were 
placed ;  but  the  coarser  execution  and  worse  preservation  of 
the  Centaur  frieze  seem  to  show  that  it  was  high  up  in  the 
building  and  in  an  exposed  position,  perhaps  as  the  frieze  of 
the  Ionic  order  over  the  colonnade ;  while  the  fine  work  and 
preservation  of  surface  in  such  portions  of  the  chariot  frieze  as 
have  been  preserved,  show  that  it  was  in  a  sheltered  position 
where  it  could  be  seen  from  near,  perhaps  within  the  colonnade  ; 
we  have  seen  how  in  the  case  of  the  Parthenon  frieze  an 
advancing  procession  is  a  peculiarly  appropriate  subject  for  a 
position  where  it  would  be  seen  through  the  columns  by  one 
who  walked  along  the  outside  of  a  colonnade.1  There  seems 
no  place  left  for  the  Amazon  frieze  except  around  the  basis 
below  the  colonnade ;  and  here  it  is  usually  placed,  as  well  as 
the  panels. 

It  is  clear  that  when  the  sculptural  decoration  of  the 
building  is  so  varied  and  so  extensive,  it  is  a  very  difficult  task 
to  assign  to  each  of  the  four  masters  who  are  said  to  have  been 
employed  in  making  it  his  share  of  the  whole.  For  the  present 
it  is  best  to  consider  in  more  detail  those  parts  of  it  which  are 
of  the  greatest  artistic  merit  or  interest. 

The  colossal  statues,  and  especially  that  of  Mausolus  (Fig.  90), 
which  is  the  better  preserved,  offer  a  very  fine  example  of  fourth- 
century  portraiture,  full  of  individual  character,  yet  with  a 
breadth  and  restraint  of  style  which  avoids  giving  prominence 
to  minor  or  accidental  peculiarities.  The  figure,  though  not  of 
ideal  proportions,  is  dignified  and  even  majestic ;  the  full  and 

1  Of  course  if  the  colonnade  was  mounted  on  a  high  basis,  the  frieze  could  only 
1)>  srt'ii  thus  from  a  distance  ;  but,  even  so,  the  effect  would  be  fine. 


388 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


rich  folds  of  the  drapery  are  rendered  with  a  skill  not  entirely 
free  from  realistic  touches  in  detail.  The  type  of  face  is 
obviously  not  Greek,  with  its  sloping  eyes,  square  brow,  and 


Fio.  90.— Portrait  of  Mausolus  (British  Museum). 


straight  hair,  rising  over  the  forehead  and  brushed  back ;  but  it 
is  noble  and  intelligent.  The  statue,  in  short,  represents  to  us 
Mausolus  as  he  was,  in  feature  and  in  character,  but  it  represents 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  389 

him  as  the  wise  and  energetic  prince  of  Caria,  and  as  the  worthy 
subject  of  so  splendid  a  monument. 

Some  of  the  statues  which  stood  around  the  building  probably 
represented  the  attendants  of  the  prince.  Of  these  only  frag- 
ments remain ;  among  them  the  most  beautiful  is  a  portion  of 
a  horse  and  his  rider,  who  wears  the  Persian  close-fitting 
trousers.1  The  rendering  of  both  horse  and  man,  so  far  as 
preserved,  is  unsurpassed  in  quality,  whether  in  modelling  of 
surface  and  rendering  of  texture,  or  in  the  life  and  action  of 
the  horse's  forward  plunge  and  his  rider's  easy  seat ;  but  so 
much  is  lost  that  what  survives  excites  our  regret  for  what  is 
irone  even  more  than  our  admiration  for  what  is  left. 

ft 

The  Amazon  frieze  (Fig.  91)  is  the  most  extensively  preserved 
of  all  the  sculpture  of  the  Mausoleum,  and  it  also  gives  us  an  ex- 
cellent opportunity  for  comparing  the  treatment  of  the  subject 
by  the  greatest  sculptors  of  the  fourth  century  with  that  which 
we  have  seen  in  friezes  made  in  Athens  or  under  Attic  influence, 
as  at  Phigalia.  The  first  contrast  we  notice  is  in  the  design, 
which  is  less  crowded  than  in  the  earlier  works,  thus  giving 
each  figure  room  to  stand  out  by  itself ;  and  full  advantage  is 
taken  of  this  opportunity  for  each  individual  figure,  as  it  sways 
far  to  one  side  or  the  other  in  vigorous  action,  to  contrast  the 
poise  and  sway  of  its  limbs  with  the  continuous  and  rigid  line 
of  the  architecture  above  and  below.  The  action  is  just  as 
violent  in  the  Phigalian  frieze,  yet  the  mass  of  figures  prevents 
our  feeling  its  artistic  effect  so  clearly  as  in  the  Mausoleum 
reliefs.  The  more  slender  proportions  of  the  later  figures 
••.nlijiiice  the  effect  of  their  sparser  grouping;  while  the  wonder- 
ful variety  prevents  any  hint  of  repetition,  even  in  detail. 
The  beauty  of  the  individual  figures,  whether  male  or  female,  has 
ilso  taken  much  of  the  artist's  care;  they  vary  of  course  in  excel- 
lence, as  is  usual  in  architectural  sculpture,  but  are  for  the  most 
part  admirable  both  in  proportions  and  in  modelling  of  details ; 
he  slim  and  lithe  figures  of  the  combatants  on  either  side  never 
jecome  too  slender  for  strength,  while  the  wonderful  spring  and 
ife  that  pervade  the  whole  carry  the  eye  along  from  figure 

0  figure  and  from  group  to  group  by  a  composition  perfectly 
ulapted  to  the  long  and  narrow  field.     Though  there  is  perhaps 

1  tendency  for  the  light  drapery  of  the  Amazons  to  blow  aside 
nore  than  before,  and  to  disclose  the  beauty  of  their  figures, 

1  Fine  reproduction  in  Mitchell,  Selections,  pi.  ix. 


390 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


CHAP. 


they  never  depart  from  the  athletic  type  of  the  warrior  maidens, 
as  occasionally  in  later  art.  The  eagerness  and  rush  of  combat 
expressed  in  every  face  and  every  action  have  never  been  caught 
with  more  vigour;  and  the  tense  strain  of  the  whole  com- 
position seems  to  clasp  it  in  a  band  around  the  building  which 
it  decorates. 

The  smaller  frieze  of  charioteers  is  not  well  enough  preserved 
for  us  to  judge  as  to  the  general  effect  or  variety  of  its  composi- 
tion; but  the  single  figure  of  a  charioteer  (Fig.  92),  which  is  the 
best  preserved  fragment  of  it  that  remains,  is  also  perhaps  the 
finest  of  the  relics  of  the  Mausoleum  now  preserved  in  the  British 


Fio.  91. — Slab  from  large  frieze  of  Mausoleum,  with  Amazons  (British  Museum). 

Museum.  He  is  represented  as  leaning  forward  in  his  car,  while 
the  long  charioteer's  chiton,  which  reaches  to  his  feet,  curves  to 
the  wind  in  sweeping  folds.  But  it  is  above  all  the  expression  of 
the  face,  with  its  intense  and  eager  straining  towards  the  distant 
goal,  that  gives  this  figure  its  unique  character.  The  forehead 
is  deeply  furrowed,  and  there  is  a  heavy  bar  of  flesh  over  the 
brow,  overshadowing  the  deep-set  eyes,  which  gaze  upwards 
into  the  distance.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  a  finer  rendering  of 
the  ideal  charioteer,  as  described  by  Shelley  : — 

Others,  with  burning  eyes,  lean  forth,  and  drink 
With  eager  lips  the  wind  of  their  own  speed, 
As  if  the  thing  they  loved  fled  on  before, 
And  now,  even  now,  they  clasped  it. 

The  expression,  though  not  the  detail  of  execution,  reminds 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  391 

us  irresistibly  of  the  Tegean  heads  by  Scopas.  This  com- 
parison brings  us  back  to  the  question  which  we  can  no 
longer  evade :  How  are  these  sculptures  to  be  distributed 


FIG.  92.— Charioteer  from  small  frieze  of  Mausoleum  (British  Museum). 

mong  the  four  artists  who  are  said  to  have  made  them,  and 
hat  evidence  and  criteria  do  we  possess  for  such  a  distribu- 
on  ?  For  comparison  with  other  monuments  we  are  now  fairly 


392  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

well  equipped.  We  have  the  Tegean  heads  to  show  us  the 
style  of  Scopas,  the  Epidaurus  sculptures  for  Timotheus,  the 
Ganymede  for  Leochares,  and  a  basis  probably  designed  by 
Bryaxis,  without  going  beyond  what  is  established  by  satisfac- 
tory evidence,  or  arguing  from  one  conjecture  to  another.  Yet 
the  results  that  have  so  far  been  attained  are  far  from  convinc- 
ing ;  and,  in  particular,  a  division  according  to  style  and  other 
indications  of  the  Amazon  frieze  among  the  various  artists,  by 
the  greatest  master  of  criticism  of  style,  Brunn,  proved  to  be 
inconsistent  with  the  indications  offered  by  the  slabs  themselves, 
when  their  backs  and  sides  could  be  examined  during  their  re- 
mounting in  the  British  Museum.  This  is  a  warning ;  but 
perhaps  it  need  not  discourage  us,  if  we  attribute  the  failure 
not  so  much  to  error  of  method,  as  to  an  attempt  to  conform 
to  unnecessary  and  impossible  conditions.  The  statement  of 
Pliny  and  Vitruvius,  to  the  effect  that  each  sculptor  undertook 
one  side,  is  clear  enough ;  but  we  do  not  know  precisely  the 
authority  on  which  it  rests  ;  and  when  we  come  to  consider  the 
probabilities  of  the  case,  and  the  variety  of  the  friezes  and 
other  decorations  that  ran  all  round  the  building,  it  certainly 
seems  incredible.  The  Mausoleum  was  not,  according  to  the 
accepted  restorations,  like  a  temple,  in  which  it  was  possible 
enough  for  the  sculptural  decoration  of  either  end — especially  of 
the  pediments — to  be  undertaken  by  a  different  sculptor.  But 
each  of  the  friezes,  wherever  it  may  be  placed  on  the  building, 
must  have  gone  round  it  on  all  four  sides,  and  a  spectator,  when 
at  or  near  one  of  the  corners,  could  see  two  sides  at  once  ;  such, 
indeed,  was  the  aspect  in  which  the  peculiar  design  of  the 
Mausoleum  could  best  be  appreciated.  It  is  clear,  therefore, 
that  the  composition  of  the  friezes,  or  of  any  two  adjacent 
sides,  ought  really  to  form  a  single  design  ;  and,  in  a  building 
designed  and  completed  with  such  supreme  artistic  skill  that  it 
became  one  of  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world,  it  is  incredible 
that  the  portion  of  each  frieze  which  happened  to  fall  on  each 
of  the  four  sides  was  left  to  be  designed,  independently  of  his 
colleagues,  by  the  artist  to  whom  the  side  was  assigned.  For 
it  is  clear,  both  from  the  circumstances  and  from  the  actual 
execution  of  the  remains,  that  it  was  the  design,  not  the  execu- 
tion, that  these  four  great  sculptors  undertook.  In  fact,  the 
only  rational  distribution  of  the  work  would  be  the  assignment 
of  the  entire  design  of  each  frieze  to. a  single  sculptor;  if  four 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  KG.  393 

great  masters  were  employed,  the  assignment  of  one  side  to  each 
.of  them  is  just  the  kind  of  traditional  tale  that  would  grow  up 
among  ignorant  ciceroni  on  the  spot,  or  among  equally  ignorant 
compilers  of  such  tradition.  Under  these  conditions,  it  may 
not  perhaps  prove  impossible  to  solve  a  problem  that  has  hither- 
to proved  insoluble.  Careful  and  detailed  study  and  comparison 
are  of  course  necessary  before  a  definite  result  can  be  reached, 
and  this  is  not  the  place  for  so  complicated  a  discussion.  But 
we  may  perhaps  be  justified,  on  the  ground  of  the  similarity  to 
the  Tegean  heads  which  we  noticed  in  the  charioteer,  in  sug- 
gesting at  once  that  the  small  frieze  owes  its  design  to  Scopas, 
though  some  details  seem  to  show  that  the  actual  execution  was 
done  by  an  assistant  under  his  supervision.  Both  the  careful 
finish  of  the  work,  which  seems  to  imply  that  it  was  placed 
where  it  could  be  seen  from  near,  and  the  good  preservation  of 
the  surface,  which  shows  that  it  was  in  a  protected  position, 
confirm  the  opinion  that  it  was  a  part  of  the  sculpture  under- 
taken by  Scopas,  who  was  probably  the  eldest  and  certainly  the 
most  distinguished  of  the  artists  employed. 

However  this  may  be,  the  sculpture  of  the  Mausoleum  takes  a 
very  high  place  in  the  great  series  of  architectural  monuments 
which  preserves  to  us  so  much  of  the  original  work  of  Greece, 
while  we  are  dependent  to  a  great  extent  on  copies  for  our 
knowledge  of  the  independent  statues  made  by  the  chief  masters. 
We  have  already  seen  its  relation  to  the  sculptures  made  in  the 
fifth  century  under  Attic  influence ;  and  it  is  no  mere  accident 
that  we  find  the  most  perfect  example  of  the  development  of 
the  same  art  in  Asia  Minor.  We  shall  see  in  the  next  period 
how  the  sculptors  of  that  region  continued  the  work  of  Scopas 
and  his  colleagues,  and  how  the  Mausoleum  of  Halicarnassus 
shows  an  intermediate  stage  between  the  monuments  of  Athens 
and  those  of  Pergamum. 

§  51.  Attic  tombstones. — We  must  now  turn  to  a  series  of 
monuments  which  will  in  many  ways  carry  us  back  to  the  style 
and  character  of  an  earlier  period.  The  Attic  tombstones  and 
their  reliefs  may  indeed  seem  to  reflect  the  character  of  the 
fifth  century  rather  than  of  the  fourth ;  but  the  great  majority 
of  those  preserved  in  Athens  and  in  other  museums  were  actually 
made  in  the  fourth  century.  It  was  natural  that  such  works  of 
minor  art,  made  by  artisans  rather  than  artists,  should  cling  to 
the  tradition  of  the  great  days  of  Attic  art.  Many  of  the  work- 


394  A.  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP.  TV 

men  who  afterwards  devoted  themselves  to  this  and  other  trades 
must  have  been  employed  on  the  magnificent  buildings  with 
which  Athens  was  decorated  under  the  administration  of  Pericles, 
or  while  Attic  artists  continued  to  produce  such  works  as  we 
see  in  the  Erechtheum.  And  when,  in  the  decline  of  state 
expenditure  upon  sculpture,  they  turned  the  skill  they  had 
acquired  to  meet  the  requirements  of  private  demand,  they  still 
preserved  and  handed  on  to  their  successors  those  traditions 
which  they  had  acquired  while  working  under  Phidias  and  his 
associates.  We  may  therefore  expect  to  find  in  the  tombstones 
an  artistic  conservatism  which  might  sometimes  mislead  us  as  to 
their  date ;  but  sometimes  the  tradition  is  broken,  and  a  new 
influence  is  felt ;  several  of  the  reliefs  show  distinct  traces  of 
the  innovations  due  to  Scopas  or  to  Praxiteles. 

The  subject  of  the  tombstones  is  too  complicated  a  question 
to  be  discussed  here ;  most  of  those  that  concern  us  for  our 
present  purpose  represent  scenes  from  ordinary  life,  showing 
the  deceased  in  the  midst  of  his  characteristic  pursuits  and 
surroundings.  Thus  the  athlete  appears  with  his  strigil  and 
his  oil-flask ;  the  hunter  with  his  dog ;  a  lady  is  represented 
playing  with  her  children  or  her  jewels  (Fig.  93) ;  and  each 
accompanied  by  his  attendants  or  companions,  whether  slav 
or  pet  animals.  Whatever  be  the  mythological  origin  of  th 
scenes,  we  can  hardly  doubt  that  the  intention  of  the  sculpt 
of  the  fourth  century  was  merely  to  represent  the  deceased  as 
he  had  been  in  life,  partly  to  recall  him  to  his  relatives  and 
friends  as  they  had  known  him  at  his  best ;  partly  perhaps  also 
the  relief  was  regarded  as  a  gratification  to  the  person  buried 
below  it,  since  it  perpetuated  in  marble  the  pursuits  and  enjoy- 
ments which  had  been  his  in  life,  and  of  which  some  vague 
and  shadowy  semblance  might  still  be  his  in  the  other  world. 
Sometimes  there  seems  to  be  a  definite  reference  to  some  even 
in  the  life  of  the  deceased  or  to  his  death ;  thus  Dexileos  (Fig. 
94),  who,  as  the  inscription  tells  us,  was  one  of  the  five  knights 
who  fell  in  a  skirmish  in  the  Corinthian  territory  in  494  B.C.,  is 
represented  on  horseback,  transfixing  with  his  spear  a  fallen 
enemy.  The  scene  doubtless  refers  to  the  life  of  Dexileos  as 
a  knight,  and  even  to  the  last  battle  in  which  he  lost  his  life ; 
but  it  is  his  triumph  not  his  death  that  is  depicted.  The  tomb- 
stone of  Hegeso,  in  its  delicate  and  graceful  pose,  and  its 
admirable  treatment  of  low  relief,  and 'that  of  Dexileos,  with 


ted 
ves 
tor 


FIG.  93.— Tombstone  of  Hegeso  (Athens,  Ceraraicus). 


2  D 


396  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

its  life-like  and  spirited  group,  and  its  almost  free  figures  in 
high  relief,  may  serve  as  two  of  the  best  examples  of  those 
Attic  tombstones,  and  are  not  unworthy  of  the  traditions  of 
those  who  had  worked  on  the  Parthenon. 


FIG.  94. — Tombstone  of  Dexileos  (Athens,  Ceramicus). 

Often  we  find  a  monument  not  representing  merely  the 
deceased  and  his  attendants,  but  a  family  group,  sometimes  of 
two  figures  only,  sometimes  containing  many  members.  And 
in  such  groups  we  often  find  a  reference,  direct  or  indirect,  to 
the  death  of  the  deceased.  Not,  of  course,  that  a  death-bed 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  397 

scene  is  represented,  except  in  the  rarest  of  cases ;  sometimes 
the  hint  of  departure  is  only  given  in  a  general  shade  of 
chastened  melancholy  that  pervades  the  scene ;  sometimes  one 
of  the  party  is  having  her  sandals  put  on  as  if  about  to  start 
for  a  journey ;  very  often  the  two  principal  figures  are  re- 
presented as  clasping  hands  in  a  long  farewell.  It  is  not 
always  easy  to  identify  the  particular  person  over  whom  the 
monument  was  set  up ;  indeed,  it  was  often  intended  as  a  common 
monument  for  the  whole  family  whose  names  are  inscribed 
over  the  figures ;  and  the  sense  of  death  and  parting  is  general 
rather  than  individual.  And  indeed  both  groups  and  figures 
are  to  be  taken  as  types  rather  than  personal  portraits.  Often 
they  correspond  only  approximately  to  the  names  inscribed ; 
and  it  is  probable  that  in  most  cases  they  were  not  specially 
made  to  order  in  commemoration  of  any  family  or  individual, 
but  were  kept  in  stock,  and  selected  by  the  purchaser  so  as  to 
fit  his  requirements  as  appropriately  as  possible.  The  execu- 
tion, as  might  be  expected,  is  of  very  uneven  merit,  and  the 
style  of  some  workshops  may  easily  be  distinguished ;  but  in 
spite  of  all  defects,  such  as  a  tendency  to  clumsiness  in  pro- 
portions and  to  a  coarse  execution  in  details,  what  is  most 
striking  in  them  is  the  good  taste  and  artistic  moderation  that 
pervade  them  all,  and  form  so  marked  a  contrast  to  the 
tasteless  and  pretentious  monuments  that  offend  the  eye  in 
any  modern  cemetery.  The  people  who  could  deal  thus  with 
death — and  that  too  in  a  class  of  reliefs  that  were  made  to  suit 
the  demand  of  the  general  public,  not  to  satisfy  the  criticism 
of  any  superior  officials — show  a  natural  instinct  for  sculpture 
and  a  vivid  appreciation  of  artistic  expression  even  when  their 
feelings  are  most  deeply  moved ;  and  when  we  realise  the  way 
in  which  Greek  life  was  permeated  by  such  tendencies,  we  are 
the  better  prepared  for  the  wonderful  attainments  of  those 
masters  whose  works  form  the  main  theme  of  our  study. 

§  52.  Thrasymedes  and  Damophon. — Thrasymedes  of  Paros 
has  usually  hitherto  been  classed  among  the  associates  and 
scholars  of  Phidias.  He  made  the  statue  of  Asclepius  at  Epi- 
daurus,  which  was  by  some  ancient  authorities  attributed  to 
Phidias  himself ;  and  the  reproductions  of  this  statue  on  coins 
show  that  it  was  a  modification  of  the  type  in  which  Phidias 
embodied  his  Olympian  Zeus.  But  more  recent  evidence  has 
proved  that,  at  least  so  far  as  the  date  is  concerned,  this 


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inference  is  erroneous,  and  thus  we  receive  a  warning  agains 
trusting  too  much  to   circumstantial   evidence  in  assigning 
period   to   any  artist ;    but,   on   the  other   hand,  we   may   sti 
acknowledge  that  Thrasymedes  worked  under  the  influence  of 
the    Phidian    tradition.       Thrasymedes    is    mentioned    in    th( 


FIG.  95.— Asclepius,  from  Epidaurus,  probably  after  statue  by  Thrasymedes  (A 
National  Museum). 


inscription  relating  to  the  building  of  the  temple  of  Asclepius 
at  Epidaurus  as  undertaking  a  contract  for  the  ceiling l  and  the 
doors  of  the  temple.  The  doors  were  of  wood  covered  with 
gold  and  ivory,  the  same  materials  of  which  the  great  statue 
itself  was  made ;  and  the  employment  of  Thrasymedes  on  them 

1  TCLV  6po(pav  rav  V7revep6e>  tb.4  lower  or  inner  roof,  which  was  probably  of 
tvood  decorated. 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  399 

strengthens  his  relation  to  Phidias,  the  great  master  of  chrysele- 
phantine technique.  The  date  -  of  the  inscription — the  same 
one  in  which  the  contract  of  Timotheus  for  the  acroteria  and 
pedimental  sculptures  is  also  recorded — is  probably  about  375 
B.C. ;  and  so  it  is  improbable,  if  not  impossible,  that  Thrasymedes 
can  have  studied  under  Phidias  in  his  youth.  We  may  obtain 
some  notion  of  what  the  statue  of  Asclepius  was  like  not  only 
from  the  coins  on  which  it  is  represented,1  but  also  from  two 
reliefs  of  Greek  workmanship,  found  at  Epidaurus,  which 
certainly  reproduce  its  type  and  character,  though  they  cannot 
be  regarded  as  copies  in  the  stricter  sense  (Fig.  95).  The  god 
was  represented  as  seated  upon  a  throne,  holding  a  sceptre  in 
his  left  hand,  and  stretching  forth  his  right  over  the  head  of 
his  sacred  snake ;  and  a  dog  lay  beside  his  throne.  Unlike  the 
beardless  and  youthful  Asclepius  of  Scopas,  he  was  a  bearded 
and  dignified  figure  —  a  milder  and  more  human  version  of 
Zeus,  as  became  the  hero  whose  divinity  was  but  half  recognised, 
and  whose  beneficence  was  confined  to  the  cure  of  those  ills 
which  called  for  the  help  of  a  superhuman  physician  rather 
than  an  omnipotent  deity.  Such  was  always  the  most  popular 
type  of  Asclepius,  and  Thrasymedes'  statue  was  its  recognised 
embodiment. 

Damophon  of  Messene  is  another  sculptor  whose  relation  to 
Phidias  has  been  generally  recognised,  though  in  his  case  it  has 
never  been  supposed  that  he  was  a  direct  pupil  of  the  great 
Attic  master,  since  his  chief  works  were  made  for  his  own 
restored  city  of  Messene  and  the  new  city  of  Megalopolis,  both 
founded  in  370  B.C.  But  his  choice  of  subject,  since  all  his 
works  are  representations  of  gods  set  up  in  temples,  and  his 
skill  in  gold  and  ivory  work,  which  led  to  his  employment  in 
repairing  the  statue  of  the  Olympian  Zeus,  show  that  he  followed 
the  traditions  of  Phidias  in  a  later  age.  So  long  as  only 
literary  notices  2  of  his  work  were  preserved,  it  was  natural  to 
date  his  artistic  activity  by  the  foundation  of  the  two  cities  to 
which  he  supplied  so  many  temple  statues,  especially  as  there 
is  no  later  time  when  so  great  an  energy  in  this  direction  seems 

1  Num.  Comm.  on  Pans.  PI.  L.,  Epidaurus,  iii.-v. 

2  It  is  curious  that  these  are  only  found  in  Pausanias  ;  and  this  is  one  of  the 
strongest  arguments  for  the  view  that  Damophon  lived  later  than  those  compilers 
on  whose  work  Pliny  and  others  have  drawn.    But  it  is  possible  that  he  may  have 
been  unknown  in  the  chief  centres  of  art,  and  have  been  merely  of  local  fame  in 
Arcadia,  where  all  his  works  were  set  up. 


400  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  r 

probable  among  the  Arcadians.     But  in  addition  to  his  work 
Messene  and  Megalopolis,  Damophon  made  a  colossal  group  a 
Lycosura  in  Arcadia,  representing  the  goddesses  Demeter  am 
Despoena  (the  local  name  of  Persephone,  "our  Lady")  seated,  wit 
Artemis  and  the  Titan  Anytus  standing  beside  them.     Recen 
excavations  have  not  only  laid  bare  the  temple  in  which  thi 
great  group  was  set  up,  but  many  fragments  of  the  statu 
themselves  have  been  recovered,  including  the  heads  of  thr 
of  the  figures,  and  a  very  richly -decorated  piece  of  drapery 
These    fragments   show   more   originality   of  work,   and    mo 
deviation  from  the   accepted    types  of  fifth -century   or  ev 
fourth-century  art,  than  had  been  expected ;  but  there  does  not 
appear  to  be  sufficient  ground  either  for  rejecting  their  attrib 
tion  to  Damophon,  or  for  reconsidering  the  opinion  as  to  hi 
date  which  was  before  based  on  sound  reasoning.     That  Dam 
phon  was  in  some  ways  independent  of  his  contemporaries 
previously  acknowledged ;  what  we  learn  from  these  statues  i 
that  he  not  only  clung  to  some  of  the  traditions  of  an  earli 
age,  but  also  introduced  some  characteristics  with  which  w 
are  not  familiar  in  Greek  art  until  a  later  period.     There  is 
nothing  impossible  in  such  a  combination ;   an  artist  of  origin- 
ality, who  kept  himself  apart  from  his  contemporaries,  would 
be  likely  enough   to  anticipate  some  of  the  tendencies  which 
did  not  reach  others  until  a  later  time.     It  has  been  stated 
that    the   architectural    evidence   shows    that    the    temple   at 
Lycosura  cannot  have  been  built  until  a  later  age ;  but  the  late 
characteristics  about  it  may  well  enough  be  due  merely  to 
later  repairs,  and  do  not  preclude  the  possibility  of  the  work 
of  Damophon  being  set  up  in  the  fourth  century.1     There  is  a 
strong  individual  character  about  the  heads  from  Lycosura; 
the  largest   of  the  three,  which  belonged  to   one  of  the  two 
seated  figures,  shows  considerable  breadth  and  dignity;  the  two 
smaller  heads  (Fig.  96),  which  belong  to  the  two  subordinate 
standing  figures,  are  treated  with  more  freedom ;  both  have  the 
eye-sockets  hollowed,  for  filling  with  precious  stones  or  enamel. 
The  face  of  Artemis  is  remarkable  for  its  lips,  pouting  in  front 

1  Without  venturing  to  criticise  in  detail  the  architectural  evidence,  which  is 
as  yet  unpublished,  I  may  record  an  opinion  that  there  is  nothing  improbable  in 
the  view  expressed  in  the  text.  The  temple  and  basis  certainly  show  signs  of 
extensive  repair  and  rebuilding  in  Roman  times  ;  but  some  of  what  appears  to 
remain  from  the  original  work  has  a  strong  resemblance  to  what  is  probably 
fourth-century  work  in  the  neighbouring  city  of  Megalopolis. 


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and  drawn  in  at  the  sides  so  as  to  be  very  short ;  the  moutl 

seen    from    the    front, 
hardly     longer    than     the 
eye.     This  seems  to  be 
matter  of  feature  and  tei 
perament   rather    than    01 
passing  expression ;  it  give 
a  remarkably  life-like  aj 
pearance  to  the  head;  an< 
that    of    the    Titan    ah 
with    its    rough    and    di 
shevelled   hair   and  beai 
strongly  impresses  the  ii 
gination,  and  is  not  easib 
forgotten.       The    draper] 
(Fig.  97),  with  its  transh 
tion  into  low  marble  relie 
of  the  rich  decoration  of 
woven  or  embroidered  gai 
ment,  such  as  had  also  bee 
imitated  in  the  great  gol 
and  ivory  statues    of   tl 
gods,    is    also    unique 
character;  it  consists  partb 
of   purely  decorative  pat 
terns,    partly    of     convei 
tional  figures  and  of  quail 
dances,  in  which  the  per 
formers  wear  the  heads 
beasts  ;  but   all    are   coi 
bined  into  a  rich  and 
monious  effect.     It  is 
cult  to  place  these  thin^ 
in  any  consecutive   series 
and  so  to  fix  their  date;  bul 
they  certainly  seem  moi 
probable  in  the  fourth  cei 
tury   than   in   the  Rom; 

period' to  which  some  hav< 

wished  to  assign  them. 
Some  of  Damophon's  other  works  were  acrolithic;  and  w 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  403 

have  seen  that  the  custom  of  making  the  flesh  parts  of  a  statue 
in  white  marble  and  its  drapery  in  gilded  wood  is  to  be  regarded 
as  a  cheaper  way  of  getting  the  same  effect  as  Phidias  and  others 
had  produced  by  their  statues  in  gold  and  ivory.  Damophon 
also  made  various  decorative  works  at  Megalopolis  ;  among  them 
a  table,  ornamented  with  figures  and  groups  of  gods  that  remind 
us  of  the  table  of  Colotes  at  Olympia.  In  spite  of  some 
difficulties,  there  seems  on  the  whole  a  decided  preponderance 
of  evidence  in  favour  of  keeping  Damophon  in  that  position 
to  which  Brunn  had  assigned  him  from  the  literary  evidence. 
He  may  best  be  understood  if  we  regard  him  as  a  man  who 
lived  in  the  fourth  century,  but  apart  from  the  general  stream  of 
its  artistic  tendencies,  feeling  deeply  the  influence  of  the  high 
ideals  of  the  age  of  Phidias,  but  of  sufficient  originality  to 
introduce  into  his  art  some  innovations  as  yet  unknown  to  his 
contemporaries,  though  they  anticipate  the  custom  of  the 
Hellenistic  age.  His  work  for  the  new  Arcadian  confederation 
finds  its  natural  place  as  intermediate  between  the  art  of  Athens 
under  Pericles  and  the  art  of  Pergamum  under  the  Attalids, 
though  the  regular  succession  of  Greek  sculpture  passed  from 
the  one  to  the  other  by  a  different  channel. 

§  53.  Lysippus. — Lysippus,  more  than  any  other  artist,  is 
spoken  of  by  the  later  Greeks  and  Romans  as  representative 
of  his  age,  arid  as  exercising  a  strong  and  direct  technical 
influence  over  his  pupils  and  successors ;  his  artistic  theories 
have  even  influenced  our  information  about  his  predecessors, 
since  one  of  the  body  of  his  pupils,  Xenocrates,  wrote 
treatises  on  painting  and  sculpture  which  were  freely  drawn 
on  by  later  compilers.  He  was,  moreover,  a  most  prolific 
sculptor ;  it  is  said  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  putting  one 
coin  from  every  commission  he  received  into  a  vase,1  and 
when  his  heir  broke  this  vase  after  his  death,  the  astonishing 
number  of  1500  coins  was  found  within  it.  Under  these 
circumstances  we  might  well  expect  to  find  many  copies 
of  statues  by  Lysippus  in  our  museums ;  yet,  strange  to  say, 
there  is  only  one  which  has  been  identified  with  any  degree  of 
probability  as  a  direct  copy  of  his  work,  though  repetitions  or 
modifications  of  types  which  he  origij^ed  have  been  recognised 

1  Pliny  calls  it  thesaurus.  A  receptacle  made  for  such  a  purpose,  and  broken 
o  get  at  its  contents,  would  doubtless  be  an  earthen  vase  made  with  only  one 
mall  slit  for  an  opening,  such  as  is  still  used  in  Greece  as  a  "money-box." 


404  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

in  reliefs  or  minor  works  of  art,  and  the  indirect  traces  of  his 
influence  may  be  seen  in  countless  examples  of  later  Greek 
workmanship.  This  dearth  of  identified  copies  of  the  statues  of 
an  artist  at  once  so  famous  and  so  prolific  can  hardly  be  alto- 
gether accidental.  He  worked  entirely  in  bronze,  and  so  there 
was  little  chance  that  any  original  work  from  his  hand  could 
survive ;  but  we  might  well  have  expected  to  find  more  copies 
of  his  work  characteristic  enough  for  their  identity  to  be  un- 
disputed. 

We  have  some  interesting  anecdotes  as  to  the  earlier  years 
of  Lysippus ;  he  is  said  to  have  begun  life  as  a  mere  artisan,  a 
bronze-founder ;  such  an  origin  might  go  some  way  to  explain 
both  the  excellences  and  the  limitations  of  his  art.  He  was 
first  stirred  to  a  higher  career  by  the  influence  of  Eupompus ; 
when  this  painter  was  asked  which  of  the  earlier  masters  he 
followed,  he  pointed  to  a  crowd  and  replied  "Imitate  nature, 
not  another  artist." l  That  Lysippus  should  have  adopted  such 
a  saying  as  the  motto  of  his  earlier  years  may  at  first  sight 
appear  inconsistent  with  the  character  of  his  art.  His  elaborate 
study  of  theoretical  proportion,  in  which  he  used  to  declare 
that  the  Doryphorus  (or  Canon)  of  Polyclitus  was  his  master, 
and  the  academic  nature  of  his  own  work  and  of  the  school  that 
surrounded  him,  do  not  seem  appropriate  to  a  man  whose  aim 
in  art  was  to  study  nature  itself  rather  than  the  methods  of 
earlier  sculptors ;  and  the  accepted  notion  of  Lysippus  may  be 
gathered  from  a  reference  in  Varro,  who,  when  discussing  the 
weight  to  be  assigned  to  usage  in  the  choice  of  words,  appeals 
to  the  analogy  of  art,  and  says  that  Lysippus  followed  not  the 
errors  but  the  style  of  earlier  artists.  But  the  contradiction  is 
more  apparent  than  real;  Lysippus  came  to  be  the  acknowledged 
and  unrivalled  master  of  the  Sicyonian  school — a  school  which, 
in  close  relation  with  that  of  Argos,  had  been  for  more  than  a 
century  the  most  closely  united  and  the  best  organised  in  Greece, 
and  which  therefore  had  contributed  more  than  any  other  to  the 
advance  of  academic  study  and  the  continuity  of  artistic  tradition. 
fin  the  career  and  under  the  leadership  of  Lysippus  this  artistic 

1  H.  S.  Joues  denies  that  ^jp^mpus  can  ever  have  met  Lysippus,  even  as  a 
boy.  But  we  have  no  information'  how  long  Eupompus  lived  ;  his  life  may  well 
have  overlapped  the  younger  years  of  Lysippus.  It  is  hard  to  see  why  the  name 
of  an  artist  so  little  known  as  Eupompus  should  be  introduced,  unless  thfiv  is  a 
kernel  of  truth  in  the  story. 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  405 

tradition  reached  its  culminating  point,  and  it  was  through  his 
work  and  influence  that  the  accumulated  technical  skill  and 
theoretical  study  of  many  generations  of  Sicyonian  and  Argive 
sculptors  was  handed  down  to  later  times.J  Hence  it  was  natural 
enough  for  later  artists  and  critics  to  look  back  on  Lysippus  as 
the  most  academic  of  sculptors ;  but  the  means  by  which  he 
attained  his  position  as  head  of  the  Sicyonian  school  did  not  con- 
sist merely  in  a  careful  study  of  what  his  predecessors  had  done. 
We  know  that  he  revolutionised  their  system  of  proportions, 
and  introduced  many  technical  innovations  and  improvements ; 
and  these  he  derived  from  a  direct  and  thorough  study  of  nature. 
They  are  all  in  the  direction  of  a  less  conventional  and  more 
realistic  treatment,  together  with  an  introduction,  to  some  degree, 
of  the  impressionist  principle.  Thus  we  are  told  that  Lysippus 
modified  the  square  and  heavy  proportion  of  the  Polyclitan 
canon  ;  he  made  the  head  smaller  (about  J  of  the  total  height 
instead  of  y),  the  body  more  slender  and  drier  in  texture,  thus 
increasing  the  apparent  height.  This  last  remark  brings  us  to 
the  most  essential  change  of  all,  which  affects  alike  proportion 
in  general  and  execution  in  detail.  Although  sculptors,  even  in 
the  fifth  century,  had  not  ignored  the  conditions  under  which 
their  statues  were  to  be  exhibited,  or  the  position  from  which 
they  were  to  be  seen,  they  had,  in  the  main,  made  it  their 
endeavour  to  imitate  in  bronze  or  marble  the  actual  forms  of 
nature,  or  such  an  idealised  version  of  them  as  should  imitate 
exactly  the  substance  of  the  artist's  conception ;  they,  in  short, 
made  men  and  things  "as  they  were."  Lysippus  introduced 
the  principle  of  making  them  as  they  appeared  to  be ; 1  that  is 
to  say,  he  did  not  so  much  consider  the  correctness  to  nature  of 
the  actual  material  form  of  his  work,  but  rather  the  effect  it 
produced  on  the  eye  of  the  spectator,  and  was,  so  far,  an 
impressionist.  /His  improvement  in  the  treatment  of  hair  is 
not  simply  an  example  of  his  clearness  and  delicacy  of  work 
even  in  the  smallest  details,  but  also,  in  part,  of  this  impressionist 
tendency.  The  earlier  sculptors  in  bronze  had  tried  to  imitate 
rtie  actual  texture  and  form  of  hair  by  various  devices,  such  as 
nserting  twisted  pieces  of  bronze,  like  corkscrews,  round  the 

1  Quales  mderentur  esse;  this  is  Pliny's  statement,  and  is  quite  intelligible 
-lands  ;  he  is  evidently  quoting  here  from  an  excellent  and  well-informed 
>t'  criticism,  probably  derived  ultimately  from  Xenocrates.     There  is  no  need 
o  suppose  he  has  mistranslated  his  Greek  authority. 


406  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  iv 

forehead,  or  even  covering  the  head  with  a  kind  of  wig  of 
bronze  plate  cut  into  fine  shreds ; x  or,  when  they  did  not  do 
this,  they  covered  the  whole  surface  of  hair  and  beard  with  fine 
lines,  as  if  drawn  with  a  comb  across  the  surface,  so  as  to  imitate 
every  separate  hair.  Polyclitus,  who  was  no  less  famous  than 
Lysippus  for  his  accuracy  and  care  in  detail,  had  made  a  great 
advance,  in  selecting  an  arrangement  of  the  hair  at  once  more 
adapted  to  sculpture  and  more  true  to  nature ;  but,  in  his 
selection  of  a  treatment  of  hair  which  represented  it  as  clinging 
close  to  the  scalp  in  short  curved  tresses  all  over  the  head,  while 
only  the  point  of  each  tress  stood  out  from  the  surface,  he  was 
choosing  a  form  of  real  hair  that  could  be  exactly  reproduced  in 
bronze  rather  than  giving  to  the  bronze  such  a  form  that  it 
presented  the  appearance  of  real  hair.  The  bold  and  heavy 
masses  of  hair,  often  standing  far  out  from  the  head,  and  giving 
a  shadow  to  portions  of  the  face,  which  we  find  so  frequently  in 
Hellenistic  art,  are  doubtless  due  to  the  influence  of  Lysippus 
and  his  innovations.  It  is  interesting  to  compare  a  similar 
result  attained  by  a  different  means  by  Praxiteles  in  the  hair  of 
the  Hermes,  which,  through  the  wonderful  texture  of  its  surface 
and  rough  sketchy  treatment,  gives  an  impression  of  hair,  though 
never  attempting  in  detail  to  imitate  its  form.  This,  however, 
is  a  masterpiece  of  marble  technique.  How  Lysippus  attained 
a  similar  effect  in  bronze  we  cannot  tell  from  any  extant  statue, 
but  can  only  infer  from  his  influence  on  others. 

So  far  we  have  been  concerned  with  general  conclusions 
based  on  the  statements  of  ancient  authors  about  Lysippus,  or 
on  the  unmistakable  traces  of  his  influence ;  we  must  next 
consider  such  extant  works  as  can  be  regarded  as  more  or  less 
direct  copies  of  his  statues.  First  among  these  comes  the  famous 
Apoxyomenus  of  the  Vatican  (Fig.  98) — the  statue  of  an  athlete 
who  is  employed  in  cleaning  the  oil  and  sand  of  the  palaestra 
from  his  extended  right  arm  with  a  strigil,  which  he  holds  in  his 
left  hand.  The  character  of  this  work,  not  a  statue  of  an 
individual  athlete,  but  a  study  in  athletic  genre,  and  the  position 
given  to  it  by  Pliny  at  the  head  of  his  description  of  the  works 
of  Lysippus,  give  some  support  to  the  opinion  that  it  was  made 
to  embody  a  new  theory  of  proportions,  like  the  Doryphorus  of 
Polyclitus,  which  Lysippus  professed  to  have  studied  as  his 

1  Such  a  bronze  wig  was  found  among  the'  fragments  on  the  Acropolis  ;  sec 
J.  H.  S.  1892-3,  p.  343. 


FJQ.  98.—  Apoxyomenus,  after  Lysippus  (Rome,  Vatican). 


408  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  <  HAP. 

model,  and  which  this  new  canon  was  intended  to  supersede. 
This  opinion,  however,  can  only  be  regarded  as  probable,  and 
not  as  proved.  And  indeed,  the  very  identification  of  the  statue 
rests  mainly  on  the  fact  that  it  accords  so  well  in  every  way 
with  what  we  are  told  of  the  style  of  Lysippus;  for  other 
statues  of  the  same  subject  are  recorded.  There  can,  however, 
be  no  doubt  that  the  statue  in  the  Vatican  serves  admirably  to 
illustrate  the  style  and  proportions  of  Lysippus,  allowing  for 
the  changes  that  are  inevitable  in  the  translation  of  a  bronze 
work  into  marble.  The  attitude  at  once  marks  the  distinction 
between  the  Doryphorus  of  Polyclitus  and  the  Lysippean 
Apoxyomenus.  The  Doryphorus  stands,  or  rather  advances, 
with  the  whole  weight  of  his  body  resting  on  one  foot,  which  is 
planted  firmly  on  the  ground,  and  there  is  an  appearance  of 
solid  stability  about  his  pose  which  contrasts  most  strongly 
with  the  elastic,  almost  momentary  poise  of  the  Apoxyomenus : 
though  the  greater  part  of  the  weight  in  the  latter  statue  also  is 
carried  on  one  leg,  the  whole  attitude  of  the  body  is  such  that 
a  shift  of  the  weight  on  to  the  other  foot  might  well  take  place 
at  any  moment,  and  the  athlete  seems  prepared  either  to  change 
his  pose  or  even  to  spring  from  his  place  at  a  moment's  notice. 
Hence  a  grace  and  agility  which  greatly  enhance  the  effect  of 
the  smaller  head  and  lighter  proportions.  There  is  a  contrast, 
equally  strong,  but  of  a  different  nature,  when  we  compare  the 
Apoxyomenus  not  with  the  massive  athletic  frame  of  the  Poly- 
clitan  canon,  but  with  the  Praxitelean  Hermes.  Here  the 
lithe  and  agile  athlete  of  Lysippus,  alert  and  in  high  training, 
contrasts  with  the  softer  and  fuller  form  of  the  Attic  youth, 
and  the  Lysippean  body  and  limbs  seem  almost  meagre  beside 
those  of  the  Hermes.  Both  alike  have  a  grace  which  dis- 
tinguishes them  from  the  heavier  and  squarer  build  of  the 
Doryphorus ;  but  in  the  Hermes  the  difference,  beyond  mere 
proportions,  is  emphasised  by  the  intellectual  and  contemplative 
character  of  the  face,  while  in  the  Lysippean  athlete  it  is 
merely  physical  vigour  that  produces  a  lighter  and  more 
versatile  appearance. 

It  would  not,  however,  be  fair  to  criticise  the  attainments 
of  Lysippus  from  one  statue  alone,  more  especially  if  that 
statue  be  intended  as  an  embodiment  of  his  theories  of  athletic 
art,  in  correction  of  the  Polyclitan  canon.  That  he  had  also  a 
power  of  expressing  character  is  sufficiently  testified  by  the 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  409 

tradition  that  he  alone  among  sculptors  was  permitted  to  make 
portraits  of  Alexander,  and  by  the  descriptions  of  these  portraits 
which  we  possess.  Many  extant  statues  or  busts  of  Alexander 
survive  to  illustrate  the  descriptions,  but  none  of  them  can  be 
regarded  as  direct  or  adequate  copies  of  the  work  of  Lysippus, 
though  many  of  them  may  preserve  traces  of  his  influence. 
His  monopoly  in  this  matter  can  hardly  have  really  existed  or 
have  been  rigidly  enforced ;  for  we  hear  of  other  statues  of 
Alexander  by  his  contemporaries,  and  many  were  certainly  made 
by  his  successors.  In  a  statue  described  by  Plutarch  he  repre- 
sented Alexander  as  gazing  upwards,  with  his  neck  slightly 
turned  to  one  side,  in  accordance  with  a  slight  malformation. 
This  was  done  with  such  skill  as  to  enhance  the  effect  rather 
than  to  call  attention  to  the  deformity,  as  other  sculptors  had 
done,  and  Lysippus  caught  also  his  manly  and  leonine  aspect, 
which  others  had  lost  in  their  attempt  to  render  the  liquid  and 
melting  gaze  of  his  eyes.  He  must  have  embodied  in  his 
portrait  a  conception  of  the  fiery  and  ambitious  temper  of  the 
conqueror  of  the  world  which  satisfied  Alexander  himself ;  and 
this  fact  alone  suffices  to  show  him  a  master  of  ideal  portraiture, 
in  which  all  his  technical  skill  in  detail  was  employed  to  glorify 
the  individual  character  of  his  subject.  We  shall  see  later 1 
what  an  influence  on  the  course  of  art  was  exercised  by  such 
a  portraiture  as  this. 

In  addition  to  his  statues  of  Alexander,  Lysippus  made  groups 
representing  him  in  the  midst  of  his  companions  in  battle  or  in 
hunting.  The  great  Sidon  sarcophagus  is  covered  with  reliefs 
which  recall  the  character  of  these  groups,  whether  directly 
derived  from  them  or  not.2 

Several  statues  of  gods  were  attributed  to  Lysippus,  among 
them  four  of  Zeus ;  one  of  these  was  the  colossus  of  Tarentum, 
60  feet  high,  said  by  Strabo  to  be  the  largest  in  the  world  after 
the  colossus  of  Rhodes.  We  have  no  certain  reproductions  of 
any  of  these  statues  of  Zeus,  but  we  may  see  their  reflection  in 
many  statues  and  statuettes  of  the  Hellenistic  period.  To 
Lysippus  is  probably  due  that  leonine  conception  of  Zeus,  with 
mane-like  mass  of  hair  and  strong  bar  across  the  forehead, 
which  becomes  prevalent  after  his  time ;  and  some  statuettes, 
which  seem  to  go  back  to  the  old  nude  standing  type,  but  with 

1  §  57.  2  See  §  55. 


410  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

the  proportions  and  style  of  a  later  age,  may  show  the  influence 
of  Lysippus. 

A  more  definite  identification  of  a  type  rather  than  of  any 
individual  statue  which  reproduces  it  is  concerned  with  the 
statue  of  Poseidon  set  up  in  the  Isthmian  sanctuary  ;  this 
figure  appears  on  a  cameo  representing  the  Isthmian  games  and 
their  surroundings,1  and  also,  in  a  more  or  less  modified  form,  in 
some  extant  statues.  The  god  is  represented  on  the  gem  as 
standing  with  his  left  foot  resting  on  a  high  rock,  and  his  left 
knee  bent  at  a  right  angle  ;  on  it  he  leans  his  left  elbow  ;  this 
is  a  pose  which  becomes  a  favourite  one  in  the  school  of 
Lysippus,  and  which  some  go  so  far  as  to  call  characteristic  of 
Lysippus  himself.2  His  authorship  of  this  particular  statue, 
however,  is  not  beyond  doubt.  The  only  authority  for  his  con- 
nexion with  it  is  a  passage  in  Lucian  which  shows  he  made  a 
bronze  statue  for  the  Corinthians  which  was  the  recognised  and 
typical  representation  of  Poseidon  ;  but  there  were  many  statues 
of  Poseidon  both  at  Corinth  and  in  the  Isthmian  sanctuary. 
What  became  of  them  at  the  sack  of  the  city  by  Mummius  we 
do  not  know ;  they  may  have  been  taken  away  by  him  and 
sent  back  by  Julius  Caesar  when  he  founded  the  new  Roman 
colony ;  but  neither  the  description  of  Pausanias,  nor  the  types 
reproduced  in  coins,  give  us  any  help  in  identifying  the 
particular  statue  made  by  Lysippus  ;  and  the  cameo,  being  of 
Roman  period,  is  a  doubtful  authority  for  the  time  before  the 
sack  of  Corinth. 

Another  famous  statue  by  Lysippus  was  that  of  the  sun-god, 
Helios,  at  Rhodes,  who  was  represented  driving  his  four-horse 
chariot.  (He  made  several  statues  of  Heracles,  and  the  subject 
seems  to  have  been  one  which  he  found  peculiarly  congenial,  to 
judge  from  the  descriptions  and  epigrams  of  which  these  works 
are  the  themes.  One  of  them,  at  Tarentum,  was  of  colossal  size, 
and  was  carried  off  thence  to  Rome,  and  from  Rome  to  Con- 
stantinople ;  it  represented  the  hero  as  seated  on  his  lion-skin, 
his  right  arm  and  leg  extended,  his  left  knee  drawn  up  beneath 
him  and  supporting  his  left  elbow,  while  his  head  leant  on  his 
hand,  as  if  in  depression.  This  conception  of  Heracles  as  a  man 

1  Figured  in  Baumeister,  p.  1390,  fig.  1538. 

2  It  is  practically  arguing  in  a  circle  to  attribute  statues  to  Lysippus  because 
they  are  in  this  pose,  and  then  infer  from  them  that  the  pose  was  characteristic  o 
him.     This  does  not  however  invalidate  the  true  observation  that  the  pose  is  first 
found  in  works  which,  from  their  style,  clearly  belong  to  his  school. 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  411 

of  toil  and  sorrows,  ever  performing  new  labours,  but  wearying 
of  his  gigantic  task,  is  characteristic  of  Lysippus,  and  marks  the 
beginning  of  the  Hellenistic  age  ;  we  can  see  the  character  of 
such  a  statue  reflected  in  later  representations  of  the  hero, 
such  as  the  Farnese  Heracles  at  Naples,  which,  though  in  a 
different  position,  shows  the  same  weariness  and  depression^ 
{Another  Heracles  by  Lysippus.  of  somewhat  similar  character 
but  of  minute  size,  is  said  to  have  been  made  by  him  to  decorate 
the  table  of  Alexander.  A  whole  collection  of  stories  had 
gathered  about  this  statuette,  and  they  are  recorded  in  the 
epigrams  of  Martial  and  Ausonius  ;  from  Alexander  it  is  said  to 
have  passed  through  the  possession  of  Hannibal  and  of  Sulla 
to  its  later  owners.  The  hero  was  seated  looking  upwards, 
with  a  wine-cup  in  one  hand,  his  club  in  the  other.) 

Lysippus  seems  not  only  to  have  been  fond  of  such  sen- 
timental versions  of  mythical  persons,  but  also,  like  his  great 
contemporary,  the  painter  Apelles,  to  have  indulged  in  alle- 
gory to  a  degree  which  seems  to  us  too  artificial  in  its  detail. 
He  made  a  statue  of  opportunity  (Kai^os)  which  has  been  the 
subject  also  of  many  epigrams  and  rhetorical  descriptions. 
Bacon  quotes,  "  as  it  is  in  the  common  verse,  *  Occasion 
turneth  a  bald  noddle  after  she  hath  presented  her  locks  in 
front,  and  no  hold  taken ' "  ;  and  the  conception  is  now  so 
familiar  to  us  as  to  have  become  a  commonplace.  It  was  none 
the  less  an  original  device  on  the  part  of  Lysippus,  and  it  was 
borne  out  by  many  attributes. 

Opportunity,  whose  sex  in  the  Greek  Katpos  is  masculine, 
was  figured  as  a  youth  with  long  hair  on  his  forehead  and  bald 
behind ;  he  had  wings  on  his  ankles  like  those  of  Hermes,  and 
wre  a  razor  in  his  left  hand,  on  which,  probably,  was  balanced 
he  beam  of  a  pair  of  scales  to  which  his  right  hand  gave  the 
lecisive  touch  ;  this  is  a  kind  of  visible  comment  on  the  Greek 
netaphor,  cVi  £vpov  urrarai  a*/^.1  Other  accessories  were 
•xlded  in  later  reliefs,  on  which  the  type  is  reproduced,2  and 
ven  those  mentioned  may,  some  of  them,  be  due  to  others 
ban  Lysippus ;  but  the  initial  conception  was  his,  and  it 

1  A  curious  misunderstanding  seems  to  occur  in  some  late  reliefs  and  descrip- 
,ons,  where  the  razor  is  changed  to  a  knife,  projecting  backwards  to  cut  one  who 
rasped  from  thence.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  whether  the  scythe  of 
iinc  is  the  ultimate  development  of  this  same  symbol,  and  his  hour-glass  of  the 
(dance. 

•  See  Baumeister,  p.  771,  figs.  823  and  824. 

2  E 


412  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

shows  once  more  a  tendency  which  belongs  to  the  beginning 
of  the  Hellenistic  age  in  Greece,  when  criticism  of  mythology 
and  even  of  literary  metaphor  was  to  find  allegorical  expres- 
sion in  art.  This  is  not  an  embodiment  of  an  idea,  or  a 
refined  study  in  personification,  like  the  Eros,  Himeros  and 
Pothos  of  Scopas,  but  an  unveiled  allegory,  depending  on 
accessories  rather  than  on  expression  of  face  or  figure. 

Lysippus  was  a  most  prolific  sculptor,  and  he  also  shows 
great  variety  in  his  choice  of  subject ;  yet  it  is  a  variety  with 
certain  limitations.  He  never  worked  in  any  material  but 
bronze,  though  in  this  he  showed  unrivalled  skill,  whether  he 
was  making  a  colossal  figure  60  feet  high  or  a  small  statuette. 
And  in  the  list  of  his  works  there  are  hardly  any  female  figures 
—none  of  any  note,  if  we  except  a  drunken  flute-player,  as  to 
which  we  have  no  further  information.  But  his  technical  skill 
and  study  of  proportion  gave  him  the  greatest  influence  not 
only  on  his  own  school  and  his  immediate  followers,  but  on  the 
art  of  the  whole  Hellenic  world.  His  intimate  association  with 
Alexander,  and  the  numerous  and  varied  works  which  he  made 
for  his  great  patron,  whether  portraits  or  groups  representing 
hunting  or  battle  scenes,  also  gave  him  a  position  of  peculiar 
advantage  for  directing  the  artistic  tendencies  evolved  by  the 
new  conditions  of  social  and  political  life.  Thus  Lysippus  seems 
not  only  to  stand  at  the  end  of  the  series  of  the  great  masters  of 
independent  Greece,  but  also  at  the  beginning  of  the  Hellenistic 
age  when  the  art  and  culture  of  Greece  were  to  spread  over 
the  civilised  world,  and  to  group  themselves  about  many  centres 
remote  from  the  country  of  their  origin.  The  work  of  Scopas  and 
others  in  Asia  Minor  had  been  a  preparation  for  this  change ; 
but  it  was  to  Lysippus  that  the  chief  sculptors  of  the  succeed- 
ing age  looked  back  as  their  immediate  master.  It  was  his 
methods  and  his  artistic  skill  that  chiefly  affected  the  form  of 
their  work,  though  they  had  to  look  more  to  others  for  in 
tellectual  and  emotional  inspiration.  Though  we  have  so  little 
that  we  can  quote  as  the  direct  product  of  his  studio,  his 
influence  can  be  recognised  in  the  great  mass  of  the  sculpture 
of  a  later  period.  If  his  artistic  individuality  is  hard  to  grasp, 
this  is  chiefly  because  we  find  it  diffused  through  the  works  of 
so  many  sculptors  who,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  followed 
his  teaching. 

§  54.  Pupils  of  Lysippus. — From  what  has  already  been  said, 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  413 

it  is  clear  that  we  have  to  trace  the  influence  of  Lysippus  in  a 
wider  circle  than  that  of  his  acknowledged  pupils  ;  and  moreover 
we  shall  recognise  some  of  his  scholars  among  those  sculptors 
who  are  representative  of  the  Hellenistic  age.  But  there  is  a 
narrower  circle  of  his  associates,  some  of  them  connected  with 
him  by  family  ties  also,  which  claims  notice  as  an  appendix  to 
his  own  artistic  career.  Among  these  is  his  brother  Lysistratus, 
who  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  among  Greek  sculptors  to  take 
a  cast  from  the  face  of  his  model,  and  then  to  work  upon  the 
cast  itself.  His  process  was  to  make  a  mould  of  plaster  on  the 
face,  and  then  to  insert  into  it  a  coat  of  wax,  doubtless  backed 
by  harder  material ;  and  on  the  wax  he  did  his  modelling.  This 
shows,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  process  used  by  Lysippus  and 
his  associates  was  not  the  same  as  that  of  Polyclitus,  who 
finished  the  surface  of  his  model  in  clay,  but  was  the  simpler 
cire  perdue  process  customary  at  the  present  day.1  But  the  fact 
is  still  more  interesting  from  the  light  it  throws  on  the  artistic 
principles  of  Lysistratus.  Of  course  a  great  deal  depends  upon 
the  nature  of  the  work  expended  by  him  on  the  wax  after  it  had 
been  moulded ;  if  this  was  very  thorough  and  went  deep,  then 
the  device  of  casting  might  be  regarded  merely  as  a  mechanical 
process  to  save  labour  in  the  earlier  stages  of  preparing  the 
model  for  a  bronze  statue.  But  we  are  probably  justified  in 
inferring  that  the  man  who  used  such  a  process  aimed  at  an 
exact  and  realistic  reproduction  of  his  subject,  though  he  of 
course  did  not  ignore  the  necessity  of  a  complete  remodelling  of 
the  surface  if,  to  use  the  words  of  Lysippus  himself,  it  was  to 
represent  not  the  actual  but  the  apparent  forms  of  nature. 
Euthycrates,  the  son  of  Lysippus,  is  said  to  have  followed  his 
father  in  the  consistency  and  thoroughness  of  his  work  rather 
than  in  his  grace  and  lightness,  and  to  have  aimed  at  the  severer, 
not  the  more  pleasing  side  of  his  artistic  excellence  ;  in  subject 
also  he  followed  his  father  very  closely  ;  thus  he  made  Alexander 
as  a  hunter,  battle  and  hunting  groups,  chariots,  a  Heracles — all 
repetitions  of  the  favourite  subjects  of  Lysippus.  His  only 
other  recorded  work  is  the  statue  of  Trophonius  at  his  oracle 
at  Lebadeia — a  theme  which  offered  ample  scope  for  mysteri- 
ous and  impressive  treatment.  Tisicrates,  the  pupil  of  Euthy- 
crates, is  also  mentioned  as  a  close  imitator  of  Lysippus — so 
close,  that  his  works  could  hardly  be  distinguished  from  those 

1  See  p.  25. 


414  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  iv 

of  the  master  himself.  Besides  portraits  of  the  companions  of 
Alexander,  he  made  a  statue  of  a  "  Theban  sage,"  perhaps  an 
ideal  image  of  Pindar  or  of  Teiresias — either  a  fine  subject  for 
the  embodiment  of  a  noble  and  individual  personality. 

Other  pupils,  besides  Chares  and  Eutychides,  to  whom  we  shall 
have  to  recur  in  the  next  section,  are  barely  known  to  us  by 
name  or  by  the  mention  of  a  single  work.  A  boy  in  the  atti- 
tude of  prayer,  now  in  Berlin,  standing  with  outspread  arms, 
may  give  us  some  notion  of  a  work  of  this  kind  by  Boedas ; 
but  the  subject  is  a  common  one,  and  the  identification  cannot 
be  regarded  as  more  than  a  guess,  though  the  proportions  and 
attitude  of  the  figure  suggest  a  more  youthful  version  of  the 
Apoxyomenus. 

Such  a  band  of  pupils,  with  their  close  imitation  of  their 
master,  both  in  style  and  subject,  attests  his  personal  ascendency, 
and  prepares  us  for  the  wider  spread  of  his  influence  over  his 
contemporaries  and  successors. 

§  55.  Other  Sculptures  of  the  Period. — In  addition  to  such 
works  as  are  either  originals  from  the  hand  of  the  masters  of 
the  fourth  century,  or  copies  directly  derived  from  them,  we 
possess  many  sculptures  of  this  period  which  are  among  the 
chief  treasures  of  our  museums,  whether  for  their  intrinsic 
beauty  or  for  the  light  they  throw  on  the  history  of  sculpture. 
It  is  difficult  to  select  where  the  material  is  so  rich ;  yet  a  bare 
enumeration  would  be  useless,  and  little  more  is  possible  unless 
we  confine  ourselves  to  the  consideration  of  a  few  characteristic 
examples.  A  visit  to  any  of  the  great  museums  will  add  to 
the  number  others  perhaps  as  beautiful  and  as  interesting; 
but,  with  some  general  knowledge  of  the  artistic  character  of 
the  chief  artists  of  the  fourth  century,  and  also  of  the  works 
made  by  others  more  or  less  under  their  influence,  we  should 
not  find  it  difficult  to  appreciate  the  sculpture  of  the  period 
wherever  we  may  see  it. 

One  of  the  chief  treasures  of  the  British  Museum  is  a  statue 
brought  from  Cnidus  by  Sir  Charles  Newton,  where  it  was  found 
in  the  precinct  of  the  Deities  of  the  Lower  World  (Demeter, 
Persephone,  and  Hades,  Fig.  99).  Its  identification  as  Demeter 
sorrowing  for  her  daughter — the  mater  dolorosa  of  ancient  art— 
cannot  be  doubted  when  we  look  at  the  pose  and  expression  of 
face  and  figure ;  but  we  have  no  external  evidence  as  to  the 
sculptor  by  whom  the  statue  was  made.  The  body  is  of  inferior 


FIG.  99.— Demeter,  from  Cuidus  (British  Museum). 


416  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

local  marble.  The  dignified  pose  of  the  seated  figure,  and  the 
rich  and  varied  folds  of  the  drapery,  are  adequate  as  a  setting 
for  the  head,  but  are  not  otherwise  in  themselves  remarkable. 
The  head,  of  Parian  marble,  is  clearly  the  work  of  a  master. 
The  face  is  remarkably  even  and  regular  in  shape.  Its  model- 
ling is  soft  and  refined,  but  perhaps  rather  more  clear-cut  in 
its  outlines  than  that  of  the  Hermes  of  Praxiteles,  with 
its  almost  imperceptible  transitions.  The  expression  of  the 
eyes  is  treated  with  wonderful  skill ;  they  are  set  in  deeply 
below  the  brow,  which  is  smooth  and  even  above  their  sockets. 
The  eyeballs  have  something  of  the  upward  gaze,  fixed  on 
distant  object,  which  we  saw  in  the  Tegean  heads ;  but  tl 
curve  of  the  lower  eyelid  rises  to  meet  the  upper  lid  more 
the  inner  corners  of  the  eyes  than  at  the  outer.  It  is  th( 
device  adopted  by  Scopas,  but  used  in  a  different  manner  am 
for  a  different  effect.  In  the  Tegean  heads  we  saw  an  expression 
of  violent  and  excited  passion ;  here  it  is  a  chastened  and 
reflective  melancholy,  as  of  resignation  after  long  weeping ;  and 
even  the  physical  results  of  such  sorrow  are  preserved  in  the 
modelling  round  the  eyes  and  in  the  lines  of  the  mouth.  The 
head  has  many  points  of  resemblance  both  to  the  style  of  Scopas 
and  to  that  of  Praxiteles ;  and  it  was  probably  made  by  a  sculptor 
who  was  the  associate  of  both  of  them  during  their  activity  in 
Asia  Minor ;  but  we  have  not  at  present  any  criteria  to  help  us 
in  assigning  it  to  any  of  those  whose  names  are  known  to  us. 
Whoever  he  was,  his  power  of  expressing  in  marble  the  effect 
of  emotion  on  the  character  and  the  more  passive  mood  which 
succeeds  the  violent  outburst  of  passion,  is  such  as  to  rank  him 
high  even  among  those  masters  of  the  fourth  century  whose 
study  was  mainly  devoted  to  such  themes. 

Another  head  in  the  British  Museum  serves  as  a  good  ex- 
ample of  the  artistic  types  of  the  gods  preferred  by  the  sculptors 
of  the  fourth  century.  This  was  found  in  Melos,  and  repre- 
sents a  bearded  man  (Fig.  100).  The  softness  of  the  modelling 
and  the  moderation  and  restraint  in  the  rendering  of  the  hair  and 
beard  distinguish  it  as  probably  belonging  to  the  Attic  school 
of  the  fourth  century.  It  has  sometimes  been  called  Zeus; 
more  probably  it  represents  Asclepius,  as  a  milder  and  more 
human  form  of  the  divine  power.  We  have  already  noticed 
the  statue  of  Asclepius  made  by  Thrasymedes  of  Paros  at 
Epidaurus.  There  are  no  grounds  for  connecting  this  Melian 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  417 

head  directly  with  his  work ;  but,  as  a  contemporary  image  of 
the  same  god,  and  coming  probably  from  the  same  school,  it 
may  help  us  to  realise  what  the  statue  at  Epidaurus  may  have 
been  like ;  it  is  also  really  the  best  example  that  we  possess, 
from  a  good  period  of  Greek  art,  of  the  type  of  bearded  head 
belonging  properly  to  Zeus ;  and  although  it  is  here  modified 


Fio.  100.— Head  of  Asclepius,  from  Melos  (British  Mnsemn> 

to  suit  Asclepius,  and  the  mildness  and  beneficence  of  the  deity 
are  expressed  rather  than  his  majesty  and  power,  still  we  may 
use  it,  with  this  limitation,  even  in  our  attempts  to  imagine  the 
appearance  of  the  Olympian  Zeus. 

Among  the  many  fourth-century  heads  in  Athens  there  is 
one  that  calls  for  especial  mention.1     It  evidently  represents 

1  It  was  found  on  the  south  of  the  Acropolis,  and  is  sometimes  called  Themis, 
for  no  particular  reason. 


418  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

some  goddess — whom  we  cannot  tell.  The  simple  and  oval 
form  of  the  face,  without  that  delicate  play  of  surface  which  we 
see  in  Praxitelean  work,  the  expression  of  the  eyes,  and  the 
half-open  mouth,  showing  distinctly  the  line  of  the  teeth,  make 


FIG.  101.— Head  from  S.  of  Acropolis  (Athens,  National  Museum). 

it  seem  appropriate  as  a  feminine  counterpart  to  the  Tege* 
heads  by  Scopas ;  and  we  are  probably  justified  in  assigning  it 
to  an  Attic  artist  working  under  his  influence,  though  not  to 
himself.  The  fold  of  flesh  over  the  outer  part  of  the  eyelids 
comes  down  close  to  them,  but  does  not  hide  them  entirely  ; 
and  the  under  lids  curve  up  at  the  outer  extremity,  so  produc- 


IV 


THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  419 


ing  the  wide-open  eye  which  contrasts  so  strongly  with  the 
half-shut  lids  of  the  Hermes  and  Aphrodite  of  Praxiteles.  The 
inflated  nostril,  as  well  as  the  eyes  and  mouth,  seems  to  show  a 
passionate  nature  in  repose — yet  another  example  of  that 
attribution  to  the  gods  of  mood  and  individuality  so  common 
in  the  fourth  century.  Here  the  breadth,  simplicity,  and 
dignity  of  the  work  are  most  impressive  ;  they  contrast  strongly 
with  another  head,1  preserved  in  more  than  one  replica,  of  which 
the  best  example  is  also  in  Athens.  This  other  head  has,  too, 
a  remarkably  individual  character ;  it  is  of  a  lighter  and  more 
graceful,  almost  girlish  type,  with  a  narrower  and  higher  fore- 
head, of  which  the  effect  is  enhanced  by  the  hair  drawn  up  into 
a  knot  on  the  top  of  the  head ;  but  it  suggests  no  possibility 
of  deep  or  strong  feeling,  such  as  raises  the  head  represented  in 
Fig.  101  to  a  unique  position  among  its  fellows. 

Other  works  peculiarly  characteristic  of  the  fourth  century, 
and  at  the  same  time  anticipating,  alike  by  their  artistic  tend- 
ency and  their  geographical  position,  the  character  of  the  suc- 
ceeding age,  have  been  found  in  Asia  Minor.  We  have  already 
seen  something  of  the  early  temple  of  Artemis  at  Ephesus ;  and 
the  sculptured  drums  of  its  columns — some  of  them  dedicated 
by  Croesus — were  among  the  most  characteristic  monuments 
of  early  Ionic  art.  The  temple,  again,  takes  a  similar  position 
in  the  art  of  the  fourth  century.  It  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
356  B.C.,  and  rebuilt  with  even  greater  magnificence,  princes 
contributing  as  before  to  the  building,  and,  as  Pliny  says, 
"giving  each  a  column."  Thirty-six  of  these  columns  were 
sculptured,  one  of  them  by  Scopas.2  Several  fragments  of  the 
sculptured  drums  from  Ephesus  are  now  in  the  British  Museum, 
but  one  only  in  a  complete  enough 'state  to  give  us  an  adequate 
notion  of  its  design  and  style  (Fig.  102).  There  is  of  course  no 
reason  for  supposing  that  this,  the  one  column  preserved,  is  the 
one  which  Scopas  made.  But  his  influence  and  that  of  his  associ- 
ates was  at  this  time  predominant  in  Asia  Minor,  and  so  it  is 
likely  enough  to  reflect  the  character  of  his  art,  even  if  it  be 
not  by  his  own  hand.  This  probability  is  borne  out  to  some 
extent  by  the  composition  and  style  of  the  relief,  though  there 
are  other  elements  in  it  which  do  not  seem  consistent  with 
what  we  know  of  his  work.  The  best-preserved  portion  of  the 

1  Mitth.  Ath.  1885,  PI.  ix.,-cf.  viii. 
2  See  above  p.  382. 


420  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


CHAP. 


drum  represents  a  female  figure  in  rich  drapery ;  on  the  right 
of  her  is  Hermes,  nude  but  for  a  chlamys  wound  about  his  left 
arm ;  in  his  right,  which  is  lowered,  he  holds  his  caduceus. 
He  advances  slowly,  with  head  thrown  back ;  his  weight  rests 


FIG.  102.— Drum  of  column  from  Ephesus  (British  Museum). 

on  his  right  foot.  In  the  way  in  which  his  left  toot  is 
drawn  after  it,  bent  at  the  knee,  which  almost  leans  against  his 
right  knee,  we  can  recognise  a  Praxitelean  attitude — and  even 
the  head,  though  thrown  back,  as  in  some  of  the  works  of 
Scopas,  shows  little  if  any  trace  of  the  passionate  nature  which 
is  usually  associated  with  the  attitude.  On  the  left  of  the 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  421 

female  figure  is  a  very  graceful  winged  boy,  who  might  almost 
be  taken  for  Eros,  but  for  the  large  and  heavy  sword  which  he 
wears  slung  over  his  shoulder.  He  stands  almost  full-face,  and 
his  pose,  especially  the  position  of  his  legs,  again  recalls  the 
studied  grace  of  the  followers  of  Praxiteles.  The  best  explana- 
tion of  this  scene  is  that  we  see  here  Alcestis  between  Thanatos, 
a  gentle  Death,  such  as  he  might  well  be  imagined  by  those 
who  carved  the  Attic  tombstones,  and  Hermes  Psychopompus, 
who  is  waiting  to  guide  her  on  her  path  to  the  other  world. 
If  this  is  the  true  interpretation,  then  the  attitudes  and  char-  ' 
acter  of  the  various  persons,  however  beautiful  in  themselves, 
seem  strangely  incongruous  with  a  scene  of  so  much  pathos  and 
dramatic  interest.  The  artist  seems  most  concerned  to  find  a 
graceful  motive  for  each  figure ;  the  lady  is  even  fixing  her 
mantle  over  her  left  shoulder.  It  is  impossible  to  attribute 
such  a  design  to  Scopas,  the  master  of  passion ;  though  the 
artist  who  made  it  may  have  worked  with  Scopas,  and  learnt 
some  of  his  mannerisms.  There  is  more  of  the  influence  of 
Praxiteles  ;  but  the  work  is  probably  that  of  an  associate,  who 
had  caught  much  of  the  grace  of  the  Attic  masters.  By  his 
personification  of  Death  he  has  exemplified  in  the  most  beautiful 
form  that  talent  for  mythological  subtlety  in  which  the  fourth 
century  excelled. 

Among  the  works  of  sculpture  brought  from  Asia  Minor  to 
enrich  the  treasures  of  Rome,  few  if  any  groups  are  more 
famous  than  that  which  represented  the  slaying  of  the  children 
of  Niobe  by  Apollo  and  Artemis.  The  rivalry  of  Niobe  with  Leto, 
and  the  terrible  vengeance  exacted  for  Niobe's  presumptuous 
boast,  form  a  subject  represented  in  works  of  art  of  various 
periods.  It  appeared  on  the  throne  of  the  Olympian  Zeus,  and 
we  often  find  it  on  vases,  on  sarcophagi,  and  on  other  monu- 
ments. The  great  group,  which  was  brought  by  Sosias  to  Rome 
in  35  B.C.,  and  set  up  by  him  in  a  temple  dedicated  to  Apollo, 
probably  came  from  Cilicia,  where  it  may  have  adorned  either  a 
temple  or  a  tomb.  Pliny  says  that  it  was  a  disputed  question  in 
his  time  whether  the  group  was  to  be  attributed  to  Scopas  or  to 
Praxiteles.  The  value  of  such  a  statement  may  be  estimated 
by  the  weight  which  we  should  attach  to  a  similar  statement  in 
modern  days,  if  a  collector  told  us  that  some  work  of  art  he  had 
discovered  in  a  remote  locality  was  said  to  be  either  by  Raphael 
or  by  Lionardo,  but  he  did  not  know  which.  It  is  incredible 


FIG.  103.— Niobe  and  her  youngest  daughter  (Florence,  Uffizi). 


;HAP.  iv 


THE  FOURTH  CENTURY—  400-320  B.C.  423 


that,  on  the  basis  of  such  an  authority,  many  archaeologists 
have  confined  their  discussion  to  the  weighing  of  the  claims  of 
Scopas  and  Praxiteles  to  the  authorship  of  these  statues,  without 
even  considering  any  other  possibility.  The  tradition  may  have 
some  kernel  of  truth,  in  assigning  the  origin  of  the  sculptures 
to  the  right  period ;  but  even  this  must  be  tested  by  the  study 
of  the  statues  themselves.  Most  of  the  extant  statues  which 
have  been  recognised  as  belonging  to  the  group  of  the  Niobids 
are  now  in  Florence  ;  the  majority  of  them  were  found  together, 
but  others  have  been  added  later.  The  Florence  statues  are  for 
the  most  part  inferior  in  execution,  and  so  we  must  not  draw  in- 
ferences from  the  details  or  defects  of  their  style.  The  finest  of 
all  is  a  statue  of  one  of  the  daughters,  now  in  the  Chiaramonti 
gallery  of  the  Vatican  (Fig.  104).  How  or  where  the  original 
was  set  up  we  cannot  tell ;  but  it  is  evident  that  it  was  placed 
against  a  background  of  some  sort,  since  several  of  the  figures 
are  unfinished,  and  others  present  an  awkward  appearance  if 
seen  from  behind ;  it  is  also  evident  that  it  formed  a  connected 
group  of  which  the  central  figure,  which  is  also  the  largest,  was 
that  of  Niobe  protecting  her  youngest  daughter  (Fig.  103)*flT The 
arrangement  does  not,  however,  fit  well  into  a  pediment.  The 
ground  too,  on  which  the  figures  stand,  is  not  represented  as  level, 
but  as  a  rocky  surface  with  elevations  and  depressions  that  are 
used  to  vary  the  attitude  of  the  figures.  It  is  probable  that 
Apollo  and  Artemis  were  not  themselves  a  part  of  the  composition 
as  in  some  later  renderings  of  the  scene ;  they  are  sufficiently 
represented  by  the  arrows  which  come  from  their  hands.  Their 
victims  see  or  feel  the  sudden  and  inevitable  fate  that  comes  on 
them  from  above,  and  it  is  in  the  various  ways  in  which  they 
meet  it  that  the  charm  of  the  work  consists.  In  no  case  do 
we  get  a  pathological  study  of  the  pain  and  contortions  of  the 
wounded  and  dying ;  but  the  moderation  of  the  fourth  century 
still  prevails,  and  so  tends,  more  than  anything  else,  to  confirm 
the  tradition  assigning  the  group  to  this  period.  Some  are 
already  dead  or  sinking  in  the  languor  of  death,  but  their  death 
has  nothing  of  the  struggle  or  agony  which  later  sculptors  did 
not  always  avoid  in  dealing  with  such  a  subject.  Those  that 
ure  dead  seem  to  have  fallen  by  a  sudden  and  painless  stroke, 
and,  even  when  the  wound  is  the  motive  of  the  action  of  any 
figure,  the  effect  is  one  of  surprise  rather  than  of  torture. 
But  the  dramatic  interest  of  the  whole  group  lies  in  the 


424  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  iv 

character  and  action  of  the  figures  rather  than  in  their  sufferings; 
some  turn  as  if  with  defiance  against  their  irresistible  enemy ; 


FIG.  104.— Niobid  Chiaramonti  (Rome,  Vatican). 

others  seek  to  protect  their  weaker  companions  from  the  in- 
evitable blow.  For  instance,  the  young  man  (Fig.  105)  who 
raises  his  chlamys  as  a  shield  on  his.  arm  was  grouped  in  the 


FIG.  105.— Son  of  Niobe  (Florence,  Uffizi). 


426  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

original  with  a  fallen  sister  whom  he  supported  against  his 
knee ;  Niobe  herself  clasps  her  youngest  daughter  against  her, 
and  seems  to  strive  to  hide  the  child  from  the  destruction 
around,  while  she  holds  up  her  mantle  as  a  protection ;  others 
again,  in  the  rush  of  their  vain  endeavour  to  escape,  offer  in 
their  floating,  wind-swept  draperies  a  splendid  contrast  to  the 
quieter  and  more  self-contained  groups.  And,  for  mere  technical 
effect,  nothing  can  surpass  the  way  in  which  the  expression  of  the 
young  man  (Fig.  105)  is  enhanced  by  the  shadow  thrown  by  his 
drapery  over  the  upper  part  of  his  face.  It  is,  however,  above 
all  in  the  contrast  of  figure  with  figure  and  of  group  with  group 
that  the  dramatic  power  of  the  artist  has  full  scope ;  we  have 
the  relation  of  protector  and  protected  repeated  three  or  four 
times  with  variations.  The  tender  but  despairing  care  of  Niobe 
for  her  youngest  daughter,  whose  slender  girlish  form  clings 
passionately  to  the  noble  matronly  figure  that  towers  above  her, 
contrasts  with  the  impetuous  youth  who,  as  he  supports  his 
dying  sister,  looks  up  in  defiance  in  the  direction  from  which 
the  fatal  arrow  has  come ;  and  we  see  another  variation  in  the 
youngest  boy,  who  looks  on  with  curiosity,  almost  with  in- 
differejice,  as  if  unable  to  realise  the  terror  of  the  scene,  which 
is  testified  by  the  uncouth  gesture  of  the  old  barbarian  slave  or 
"  paedagogue  "  who  stands  over  him.  As  to  details  of  execution, 
it  is  impossible  to  speak  with  so  much  certainty  :  the  immense 
superiority  of  the  Chiaramonti  Niobid  over  the  corresponding 
figure  at  Florence  warns  us  against  drawing  many  inferences 
from  the  other  figures  of  the  inferior  set ;  and  a  head  of  Niobe, 
at  Brocklesby  Park,1  is  a  more  refined  copy  than  the  Florentine 
one,  though  still  probably  far  short  of  the  power  of  the  original. 
With  such  help  we  can  to  some  extent  realise  the  mastery  with 
which  the  artist  embodied  his  dramatic  conception — above  all 
in  the  expression  of  Niobe  herself ;  in  the  upward  gaze  of  her 
eyes  and  her  contracted  brow  we  can  see  the  struggle  between 
pride  and  defiance  of  so  severe  a  judgment  and  that  inconsolable 
grief  for  which  her  name  was  to  become  proverbial ;  yet  withal 
a  moderation  and  dignity  that  never  forgets  the  queen  in  the 
suffering  mother,  just  as,  in  a  wider  sense,  the  nobility  and 
grace  of  sculpture  are  never  lost  in  too  realistic  an  attempt  to 
express  a  scene  of  pain  and  death.  Whether  the  group  was 
made  by  a  contemporary  of  Scopas  and  Praxiteles,  or  by  a 
1  See  Michaelis,  Ancient  Marbles  in  Great  Britain,  p.  227. 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  427 

successor  of  the  Hellenistic  age,  its  designer  was  certainly 
inspired  by  the  artistic  character  and  traditions  of  the  fourth 
century,  rather  than  by  the  cruder  if  more  dramatic  tendencies 
of  a  later  period.  >l 

A  fitting  conclusion  to  the  sculpture  of  the  fourth  century  is 
offered  by  the  magnificent  set  of  sculptured  marble  sarcophagi 
found  at  Sidon,  and  now  preserved  in  the  Constantinople 
Museum.1  These  are  in  a  marvellous  state  of  preservation,  and 
not  only  the  surface  of  the  marble,  but  even  the  colours  that 
tinted  it  are  still  to  a  great  degree  intact.  They  reflect  the 
character  of  several  generations  of  Greek  sculptors,  and  their 
existence  in  a  place  where  the  influence  of  Greek  art  was  so 
little  to  be  expected  is  not  easy  to  explain.  It  would  seem  that 
there  must  have  been  a  tradition  with  a  local  dynasty  of 
Phoenician  princes  to  employ  Greek  sculptors  for  the  decoration 
of  their  tombs ;  for  the  work  is  all  unmistakably  the  work  of 
Greeks,  not  of  local  sculptors  who  had  fallen  under  Hellenic 
influence. 

The  earliest  of  these  sarcophagi  reflects  the  art  of  Ionia, 
and  has  much  in  'common  with  the  Lycian  tombs  -of  the 
same  age.  It  is  known  as  the  tomb  of  the  Satrap,  from  a 
figure,  evidently  representing  the  deceased,  which  appears  in 
various  scenes  of  hunting  and  feasting.  It  does  not  belong 
to  the  fourth  century,  but  is  only  mentioned  here  to  show 
the  various  periods  that  are  represented ;  a  second,  known 
as  the  Lycian  sarcophagus,  from  its  ogival  top,  closely  resembles 
the  tombs  of  Lycia,  made1  under  Attic  influence  towards  the 
close  of  the  fifth  century! ;  it  is  ornamented  with  sculpture 
which,  both  in  subjects  and  style,  recalls  that  which  we  have 
noticed  on  the  Attic  buildings  of  the  latter  part  of  the  fifth 
century.  It  has  been  suggested  that  this  sarcophagus  may  have 
been  bought  ready  made  in  Lycia;2  but,  in  spite  of  the 
characteristic  Lycian  shape^  the  style  of  the  carving  seems  to 
show  that  it  was  made  by  ah  Attic  sculptor,  whether  he  worked 
in  Lycia  or  Sidon.  The  same  Attic  character  is  unmistakable 
in  the  sarcophagus  commonly  named  after  the  mourners  (les 
pleureuses)  who  decorate  its  sides  and  top.  This  is  made  as  a 

1  See  the  magnificent  publication  of  these  sarcophagi  by  Hamdy  Bey  and  Th. 
Reinach  ;  the  photographic  plates  giren  in  it  show  better  than  any  description  the 
beauty  of  the  sculpture  and  its  preservation. 

2  E.g.  by  M.  Joubiu,  Catalogue,  p.  36. 

2F 


428  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  iv 

complete  miniature  model  of  an  Ionic  temple,  around  which,  in 
each  intercolumniation,  stand  or  sit  the  eighteen  beautiful  female 
figures  from  which  the  sarcophagus  is  named.  They  are  in  a 
variety  of  graceful  attitudes,  each  suggestive  of  melancholy  or 
grief,  but  with  a  subdued  and  chastened  expression  which 
reminds  us  of  the  Attic  tombstones  of  the  fourth  century.  It  is, 
indeed,  upon  the  Attic  tombstones  that  these  figures  find  their 
nearest  analogies,  though  few  of  those  monuments  can  rival  this 
sarcophagus  in  execution;  and  the  grace  and  variety  with  which 
the  mourners  are  posed  recall  the  Mantinean  reliefs  from  the 
pedestal  of  the  g-oup  by  Praxiteles,1  and  also  the  terra-cottas  of 
Tanagra,  with  their  wealth  and  variety  of  motive  and  their 
graceful  diversity  of  attitude  and  of  drapery.  This  sarcophagus 
finds  its  natural  place  among  those  products  of  minor  art  which 
reflect  the  style  of  the  greater  artists  of  the  period,  without 
directly  borrowing  their  designs  or  copying  their  works ;  but 
among  such  minor  monuments  it  is  distinguished  both  for  its 
unique  design  and  for  the  care  of  its  execution. 

The  most  beautiful  and  the  best  preserved  of  all  the  Sidon 
sarcophagi  is  called  that  of .  Alexander,  not  because  there 
is  any.  probability  that  the  body  of  the  Macedonian  con- 
queror ever  rested  within  it,  but  because  its  sides  represent 
scenes  of  battle  or  of  hunting  in  which  he  and  his  companions  can 
be  recognised  (Fig.  106).  It  is  impossible  not  to  be  reminded  by 
these  subjects  of  the  groups  made  by  Lysippus  and  his  scholars. 
But  although  his  influence  in  this  respect  may  be  admitted, 
many  features  of  style  and  technique,  as  well  as  the  Pentelic 
marble 2  of  which  the  sarcophagus  is  made,  suggest  an  Attic 
connection ;  and  there  are  other  affinities  also  which  we  must 
notice.  The  composition  of  the  various  groups  contrasts  in 
many  ways  with  that  of  the  friezes  of  the  Mausoleum — the 
monument  which  at  once  suggests  itself  for  comparison.  On 
the  Sidon  Sarcophagus  the  grouping  is  much  more  crowded : 
the  figures  do  not  stand  out  singly  against  the  background,  but 
the  melee  of  battle  seems  at  first  glance  to  be  rendered  in  all 
its  confusion.  And  the  subject  here  is  no  imaginary  combat 
of  Greeks  and  Amazons,  but  a  battle  in  which  the  actual  am 

1  See  p.  367. 

2  See  the  Official  Catalogue,  in  which  the  Pleureuses  are  described  only  as 
marbre  blanc,  the  "  Lycian  "  and  "  Satrap  "  as  of  Parian  marble.      According  to 
Hamdy  Bey  and  Reinacli,  Nteropole  Royale  d  Sidon,  the  Matrap  and  Pleureuses 
are  in  Pentelic  marble. 


430  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

individual  characters  of  the  opposing  parties  are  evidently  his- 
torical :  we  seem  to  recognise  the  features  of  more  than  one 
Macedonian  warrior  besides  Alexander  himself;  and  their 
peculiar  helmets  and  arms  are  also  rendered  with  accuracy,  as 
well  as  the  Oriental  swathings  and  drapery  of  their  Persian 
opponents.  Yet  we  have  not  a  realistic  battle  scene ;  every 
pair  or  group  of  combatants  is  designed  with  all  the  distinction 
and  artistic  concentration  of  a  heroic  combat,  as  well  as  with  a 
wonderful  fertility  of  invention  and  vigour  of  execution.  Thus 
the  crowded  groups  of  combatants,  on  a  closer  study,  separate 
themselves  in  the  apparent  confusion  which  strikes  us  at  first 
sight;  and  the  care  and  delicacy  with  which  every  detail  is 
finished  lead  us  on  to  a  better  appreciation  of  the  whole.  It 
is  above  all  in  the  expression  of  the  faces  of  the  combatants 
that  these  scenes  of  battle  and  of  the  chase  distinguish  them- 
selves from  all  others.  The  effect  is  increased  by  the  preservation 
of  colour  on  eyes  and  hair,  which  gives  a  wonderfully  lifelike 
appearance.  Indeed,  no  one  who  has  not  seen  this  sarcophagus 
can  realise  the  effect  produced  by  a  correct  and  artistic  applica- 
tion of  colour  to  sculpture.  This  is  the  circumlitio  which  Nicias 
applied  to  the  statues  of  Praxiteles,  and  which,  as  Praxiteles 
himself  declared,  contributed  in  the  highest  degree  to  their 
excellence.  The  colour  thus  applied  does  not  obscure  the 
texture  of  the  marble  nor  the  delicacy  of  the  modelling ;  on  the 
contrary,  it  makes  both  more  visible,  by  giving  a  variety  to  the 
monotonous  whiteness  of  the  surface;  it  relieves  the  fatigue  other- 
wise caused  by  the  study  of  colourless  form,  and  assists  the  eye 
to  observe  many  subtleties  of  modelling  which  it  might  other- 
wise be  unable  to  appreciate.  But  it  only  has  its  full  effect 
when,  as  here,  it  is  joined  to  a  delicacy  of  finish  which  satisfies 
the  most  minute  criticism.  The  tense  brows  and  deep-set  eyes 
of  the  combatants  have,  in  their  modelling  alone,  an  intensity 
of  expression  which  can  only  be  paralleled  by  the  Tegean  heads 
of  Scopas  and  the  charioteer  of  the  Mausoleum ;  and  the  colour 
which  gives  life  to  this  expression  helps  us  to  realise  the  effect 
which  those  other  heads  must  have  had  when  they  were  perfect. 
The  addition  of  colour  to  the  drapery,  especially  to  the  floating 
garments  which  fill  vacant  spaces  of  the  background  with  their 
folds,  also  adds  greatly  to  its  decorative  effect,  and  again  gives  us 
an  opportunity  for  restoring  in  our  minds  the  original  appearance 
of  many  Attic  reliefs  in  which  the  drapery  is  used  in  a  similar 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  431 

manner.  This  sarcophagus  is  in  itself  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
as  it  is  certainly  the  most  perfect  in  preservation  of  all  the 
monuments  of  Greek  art  that  have  survived  to  our  time ;  but 
it  is  not  valuable  for  itself  alone.  Many  of  the  most  precious 
relics  of  antiquity  are  mutilated  or  defaced,  and  none  of  them 
preserve  their  appearance  as  they  left  the  hand  of  the  artist, 
with  a  finish  of  surface  and  an  addition  of  colour  which  he 
regarded  as  essential  to  their  completeness ;  and  therefore  a 
work  like  this  sarcophagus,  though  its  colour  is  said  to  have 
faded  since  its  discovery,  offers  us  a  standard  whereby  we  may 
appreciate  others  that  have  been  less  fortunate  in  their  history. 
Even  the  published  reproductions  are  enough  to  show  how 
much  may  thus  be  gained ;  yet  more  is  learnt  from  the  sight 
of  the  originals  in  the  museum  at  Constantinople,  which  they 
have  at  once  raised  to  a  very  high  rank  among  the  collections 
of  Greek  antiquities. 

The  discovery  of  such  a  wonderful  series  of  the  finest 
examples  of  Greek  sculpture  at  Sidon  is  one  of  those  surprises 
which  attend  excavation  and  upset  all  calculations  of  probability. 
The  spread  of  Hellenic  culture  through  the  East  which  followed 
the  conquests  of  Alexander  here  finds  a  remarkable  anticipation, 
even  if  it  be  only  in  the  tastes  of  a  single  princely  house.  In 
earlier  times  this  Hellenic  culture  seems  to  be  associated  with 
Ionian  and  Lycian  commerce,  though  it  soon  falls  under  the 
predominating  influence  of  Attic  art,  an  influence  probably 
confirmed  in  the  fourth  century  by  the  Attic  friendships 
and  connections  of  Evagoras,  the  neighbouring  prince  of 
Cyprus.  Later  in  the  same  century  the  employment  of  Scopas 
and  his  colleagues,  mostly  of  Attic  origin,  on  the  Mausoleum 
and  other  works  in  Asia  Minor,  probably  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  Sidonian  princes ;  and  in  the  wonderful  and  passionate 
life  of  the  Alexander  sarcophagus  we  may  recognise  the  hand 
of  a  sculptor  who  had  been  reared  in  Attic  traditions,  but  who 
had  also  worked  as  an  associate  of  Scopas. 

§  56.  Summary. — We  have  already  noticed  the  greater  promi- 
nence of  the  individual  as  in  various  ways  characteristic  of  the 
change  from  the  fifth  century  to  the  fourth ;  but  this  did  not 
prevent  the  continuity  of  the  different  schools.  The  great 
school  of  athletic  sculpture,  which,  in  the  fifth  century,  had 
found  its  main  centre  at  Argos,  was  transferred  in  the  fourth 
century  to  Sicyon.  We  do  not  know  the  reason,  but  even 


432  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

some  families  of  artists  seem  to  have  migrated  from  the  one 
city  to  the  other.  Lysippus,  the  last  great  master  of  this 
school,  is  in  some  ways  the  most  characteristic  figure  of  the 
close  of  the  fourth  century.  He  continued  but  transformed  the 
Sicyonian  tradition ;  and  not  only  athletic  statues,  but  images 
of  the  gods — some  of  them  colossal — and  portraits  of  men, 
especially  of  Alexander  and  his  companions,  are  among  his 
works,  and  anticipate  the  tendencies  of  the  succeeding  age.  But 
with  all  his  skill  in  the  portrayal  of  character  and  even  of 
individual  mood  and  passion,  Lysippus  had  probably  learnt 
much  from  his  contemporaries  and  predecessors  of  other  schools, 
as  well  as  from  his  study  of  nature,  and  from  the  tradition  of 
his  own  immediate  associates.  And  it  was  through  his  influence 
and  his  technical  predominance  that  most  of  the  artistic  tend- 
encies of  the  fourth  century  came  to  be  handed  on  to  the 
Hellenistic  period. 

The  Attic  school  also  had  continued  to  flourish  and  to  pro- 
duce many  sculptors  who  enriched  its  tradition  by  their 
originality  and  skill.  Praxiteles,  above  all,  had  carried  sculp- 
ture in.  marble  to  the  highest  pitch  of  technical  perfection, 
though  he  also  worked  in  bronze.  His  statues  of  the  gods  had 
given  them  an  individual,  almost  human,  character,  which 
brought  them  nearer  to  the  lives  and  hearts  of  men,  even  if  his 
art  lost  something  of  that  ideal  and  divine  character  which 
belonged  to  the  great  statues  of  the  fifth  century.  He  also  had 
an  influence  on  posterity  proportionate  to  the  beauty  and  grace 
of  his  conceptions  and  the  skill  of  their  execution.  If  those 
who  imitated  him  lost  the  better  side  of  his  art  in  a  softer 
and  almost  effeminate  elegance  and  voluptuousness,  we  must  not 
regard  these  characteristics  as  belonging  to  his  own  works. 
They  are  certainly  not  to  be  seen  in  the  only  examples  of  it  by 
which  he  ought  to  be  judged. 

But  perhaps  Scopas  was  the  greatest  of  the  masters  of  the 
fourth  century,  and  his  influence,  if  less  direct  and  visible  in 
outward  forms  than  that  of  Lysippus  or  of  Praxiteles,  was 
deeper  and  more  far-reaching.  It  was  Scopas,  above  all,  who 
made  the  marble  of  his  statues  not  only  full  of  life  and  indi- 
vidual character,  but  instinct  with  passion  and  emotion.  We 
have  a  difficulty  in  assigning  him  to  any  special  school,  either 
in  his  antecedents  or  his  successors ;  but  he  seems  in  his  earlier 
years  to  have  assimilated  all  that  was*  best  suited  to  his  art 


iv  THE  FOURTH  CENTURY— 400-320  B.C.  433 

alike  in  the  Peloponnese  and  in  Athens;  and  those  who  worked 
with  him  in  his  maturity  seem  to  have  felt  his  unrivalled  power 
of  expression,  and  to  have  striven  to  imitate  it  themselves  in 
accordance  with  the  traditions  and  technique  in  which  they  had 
been  trained.  We  see  this  imitation  now  in  an  Attic  tomb- 
stone, now  in  a  Lysippean  athlete  or  warrior,  now  in  a  relief 
made  by  a  Greek  sculptor  for  an  Oriental  prince.  And  still 
more  we  shall  see  it  in  the  next  epoch,  when  the  passionate 
dramatic  groups  made  by  the  Schools  of  Asia  Minor  perhaps 
exceed  the  bounds  of  sculpture.  But  the  excess  of  expression 
from  which  some  of  these  works  are  not  altogether  free  is  no 
more  to  be  laid  to  the  charge  of  Scopas  than  the  defects  which 
we  may  notice  in  the  followers  of  Praxiteles  should  prejudice 
us  against  their  master. 

Besides  these  three  great  names,  which  stand  out  above  all 
others  in  the  fourth  century,  we  have  noticed  many  other 
artists ;  some  of  them  grouped  about  the  chief  sculptors  of  the 
age,  others  of  independent  style  or  following  the  traditions  of 
an  earlier  period. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  period  we  find  in  artistic  as  in 
political  conditions  the  anticipation  of  those  changes  which 
will  form  the  theme  of  our  next  chapter.  We  already  see 
many  of  the  chief  sculptors  working  for  foreign  princes  in  Asia 
Minor,  and  spreadi-ng  the  influence  of  Hellenism  where  the 
conquests  of  Alexander  were  soon  to  make  it  universal ;  and 
even  Lysippus  owes  much  of  his  fame  to  his  association  with 
the  great  Macedonian  whose  personality  already  begins  to 
dominate  the  art  of  Greece. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE    HELLENISTIC    AGE — 320-100  B.C. 

§  57.  The  Influence  of  Alexander. — We  have  already  seen  how 
in  the  early  years  of  the  fifth  century  the  Persian  wars  and 
their  unexpected  result  changed  the  relations  of  Greece  with 
the  East,  and  how  the  revulsion  of  feeling  that  they  caused 
found  its  expression  in  the  sculpture  of  the  age  perhaps  even 
more  than  in  any  other  form.  The  long  struggle  between  East 
and  West  continued  in  a  desultory  manner  through  the  succeed- 
ing periods,  varied  now  and  then  by  an  exciting  incident  like 
the  retreat  of  Xenophon's  ten  thousand,  who  first  taught  the 
Greeks  that  they  could  hold  their  own  against  Persians  even  in 
the  heart  of  their  enemy's  country.  It  was  reserved  for  the 
Macedonian  kings,  Philip  and  his  son  Alexander,  to  profit  by 
the  lesson,  and  to  plan  a  more  ambitious  scheme  of  conquest 
than  had  ever  yet  been  thought  of  in  Europe.  They  were  first 
employed  on  those  preliminary  efforts  to  unite  Greece  under 
their  own  leadership  which,  seen  only  from  the  side  of  the 
independent  Greek  states,  or  with  the  eyes  of  an  Athenian 
patriot  like  Demosthenes,  seemed  fatal  to  liberty.  Even  a  far- 
seeing  politician  like  Isocrates,  the  "  old  man  eloquent "  who 
was  "  killed  with  report "  of  the  victory  of  Chaeronea,  could 
not  foresee  the  consequences  of  that  battle,  so  as  to  find  consols 
tion  for  the  defeat  of  his  own  city  in  the  splendid  realisatioi 
of  his  dream  of  a  united  Greece  conquering  its  old  enenrj 
Persia.1  But  this  practical  realisation  was  not  to  come  froi 
the  free  states  of  Greece,  worn  out  with  internecine  strife,  am 
incapable  of  any  lasting  combination.  It  was  reserved  for  the 
monarchs  of  the  semi-barbarian  kingdom  of  Macedon  to  becorm 

1  See  his  Panegyric., 


CHAP,  v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  435 

the  champions  of  Hellenism ;  but  we  must  not  forget  that  the 
reigning  family  claimed  the  highest  Hellenic  lineage  in  descent 
from  Heracles  himself,  and  that  this  claim  had  been  officially 
recognised  by  admission  to  the  Olympian  games,  long  before 
Philip  and  Alexander  had  established  their  position  in  Greece 
so  strongly  that  such  a  right  could  not  be  refused.  It  was 
really  the  civilisation  and  culture  of  Greece  that  subdued  Persia 
with  the  armies  of  Alexander,  and  Alexander  himself  would 
have  been  the  first  to  recognise  the  fact ;  while  the  colonies 
which  he  founded  throughout  the  East  became  the  new  centres 
of  Hellenism. 

The  spread  of  Hellenism  in  the  East,  and  especially  of 
Hellenic  influence  in  art,  was,  as  we  have  seen,  already  antici- 
pated to  some  degree  in  the  fourth  century.  The  most  perfect 
monuments  of  Greek  sculpture  have  been  found  not  only  on  the 
western  coasts  of  Asia  Minor,  where  the  Greek  colonists  had 
long  been  established,  but  in  the  barbarian  kingdoms  of  Caria 
and  Lycia,  and  even  as  far  east  as  Sidon.  Artists  like  Scopas 
and  Praxiteles  had  done  some  of  their  finest  work  in  regions 
beyond  the  pale  of  Hellenic  nationality.  All  these  things  pre- 
pared the  way  for  the  great  change  to  be  effected  by  Alexander's 
campaigns ;  and  when  his  new  empire  and  the  kingdoms  of  his 
successors  threw  open  the  East  to  the  immigration  of  Greek 
civilisation  and  literature  and  art,  they  met  with  a  ready 
welcome  in  regions  already  beginning  to  be  permeated  by  their 
influence. 

It  is  little  wonder  that  the  man  whose  career  is  bound 
up  with  one  of  the  greatest  events  in  the  history  of  civilisation 
should  have  dominated  with  his  personality  the  sculpture  of  the 
period  to  a  degree  probably  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  art. 
Literature  has  not  done  Alexander  justice ;  those  who  approach 
him  from  that  side  probably  think  more  of  the  enemy  of 
Demosthenes  than  of  the  pupil  of  Aristotle ;  and  he  has  been 
unfortunate  in  those  to  whom  it  has  fallen  to  chronicle  his 
exploits.  But  Lysippus  rendered  his  character  in  portraiture 
with  an  insight  and  skill  that  did  much  to  make  up  for  this 
misfortune ;  and,  partly  owing  to  the  influence  of  the  sculptor, 
partly  to  the  commanding  position  of  the  subject,  the  individual 
features  of  Alexander  have  had  a  permanent  effect  on  the 
sculptural  type  of  Hellenistic  art.  The  divine  honours  paid  to 
him  by  his  successors  contributed  also  to  this  result.  They  not 


436 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


only  set  up  numerous  statues  to  him,  but  even  placed  his  head 
upon  their  coins,  an  honour  hitherto  reserved  for  the  gods ;  and 
when  they  claimed  similar  privileges  for  themselves  it  was  in 
virtue  of  their  inheritance  of  his  majesty.  For  this  reason  we 


Fio.  107.— Head  of  Alexander  (British  Museum). 

possess  many  works  of  the  Hellenistic  period — some  of  them 
idealised  portraits,  some  of  them  representing  other  subjects — as 
to  which  it  has  been  disputed  whether  they  are  portraits  of  Alex- 
ander or  not:  for  instance,  the  "Inopus"in  the  Louvre,  and  the 
so-called  "  Dying  Alexander."  The  fact  is  that  sculptors  had 
studied  so  closely  the  peculiar  character  of  his  face — his  heavy 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  437 

brow  and  deep-set  eye,  and  the  fiery  glance  of  a  "genius  akin  to 
madness  " — that  it  had  influenced  their  prevalent  type  of  face, 
and  that  his  personality  has  thus  overshadowed  many  works  to 
a  degree  of  which  the  sculptor  himself  was  not  conscious. 

§  58.  Chief  Centres  of  Sculpture  in  the  Hellenistic  Age. — So  far 
we  have  been  mainly  concerned  with  the  schools  of  sculpture 
which  had  their  centres  in  various  cities  of  Greece  itself;  and  if 
we  have  traced  outlying  branches  of  these  schools,  or  assigned 
to  their  influence  works  that  were  made  at  a  distance,  we  have 
still  had  to  recur  to  Greece  for  all  continuity  of  tradition.  With 
the  conquests  of  Alexander,  and  the  consequent  Hellenisation  of 
the  East,  all  this  is  changed.  Athens,  indeed,  continues  to  pro- 
duce sculptors  of  minor  importance,  and  the  school  of  Sicyon 
does  not  at  once  become  extinct.  But  all  the  life  arid  originality 
of  Greek  art  seems  to  have  followed  Alexander  to  the  East, 
whither,  even  before  his  empire  was  founded,  many  of  the 
greatest  sculptors  had  already  turned  for  the  worthiest  employ- 
ment of  their  activity.  We  should  naturally  expect  to  find 
schools  of  sculpture  founded  in  the  colonies  which  Alexander 
planted  to  spread  Hellenic  arts  and  commerce  throughout  the 
East.  This  expectation  is  only  partially  fulfilled.  Alexandria, 
indeed,  became  the  chief  centre  of  literary  studies,  and  it  also 
had  artistic  tendencies  of  its  own,  especially  in  the  direction  of 
decorative  art.1  Its  coins  attest  the  existence  of  a  whole  gallery 
of  statues  and  groups  which  must  have  been  the  work  of  Greek 
sculptors.  But  we  do  not  hear  of  any  great  or  original  sculptors 
arising  in  Alexandria,  nor  do  we  possess  any  great  monument 
of  Alexandrian  art.  With  Pergamum,2  the  literary  rival  of 
Alexandria,  the  case  is  different.  This  city  was  not  indeed 
founded  by  Alexander,  but  it  was  a  mere  provincial  town,  of 
ancient  origin  though  of  no  great  importance,  before  his  period. 
It  owes  its  prominence  in  the  Hellenistic  world  to  its  being  the 
seat  of  the  dynasty  established  there  in  the  time  of  his  suc- 
cessors. We  shall  see  how  the  kings  of  Pergamum  were  the 
most  munificent  patrons  of  art  as  well  as  of  literature,  and 
gathered  round  them  a  school  of  sculpture  which  lasted  for 
several  generations,  and  produced  works  which  are  among  the 

1  See  Schreiber,  die  Alexandrinische  Toreutik. 

2  II(pyaiu.ov  is  the  usual  form  in  Greek,  Pergamum  in  Latin  and  also  in  the 
Revised  Version  ;   the  Old  Authorised  Version  has  Pergamos,  which  has  little 
authority  beyond  Ptolemy. 


438  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  v 

most  impressive  that  have  survived  from  antiquity.  Other 
ancient  cities  of  Asia  Minor  also  had  their  schools  of  sculpture 
in  the  Hellenistic  age,  especially  Tralles  and  Ephesus.  Ehodes, 
which  had  occupied  so  prominent  a  position  in  the  early  age  of 
Greek  art,  again  becomes  conspicuous  during  its  decline  for  a 
series  of  sculptors  lasting  over  several  generations,  and  culmin- 
ating in  the  authors  of  the  Laocoon.  Beside  all  these  flourishing 
schools  of  sculpture  in  the  East,  the  art  of  Greece  in  its  original 
home  sinks  into  comparative  insignificance,  and  it  does  not 
again  attract  our  attention  until  the  demand  of  Eoman  patrons 
for  Greek  sculpture  has  created  a  supply  of  copies  and  of 
imitative  works  for  which  we  cannot  but  be  grateful.  But,  so 
far  as  the  history  of  art  is  concerned,  we  shall  henceforth  be 
concerned  almost  exclusively  with  those  vigorous  offshoots  of 
Greek  sculpture  which  sprang  up  in  a  new  soil  after  Greece 
itself  had  become  effete. 

§  59.  The  Pastoral  Tendency — Hellenistic  Eeliefs. — The  literary 
tendencies  of  the  Hellenistic  age,  especially  in  their  chief  centre 
at  Alexandria,  are  those  which  naturally  belong  to  the  period 
of  criticism,  learning,  and  artificiality  that  marks  the  decline  of 
original  and  creative  energy.  The  rise  of  pastoral  poetry  among 
such  surroundings  is  a  phenomenon  which  seems  at  first  sight 
surprising,  but  its  explanation  is  not  far  to  seek.  The  people, 
cooped  up  in  towns  amidst  the  conventions  and  restraints  of  a 
highly-refined  and  artificial  civilisation,  felt  a  natural  reaction 
towards  simplicity,  and  a  craving  for  the  country  life  and 
manners  from  which  they  were  cut  off.  Most  of  all  was  this 
the  case  in  Alexandria,  where  the  dreary  level  of  the  delta 
offered  the  only  possible  change  from  the  crowded  streets  and 
squares  of  the  city.  The  poems  of  Theocritus  and  his  associates 
show  us  how  the  trees  and  mountains  and  breezes  of  Sicily— 
the  open-air  life  of  the  shepherd  and  the  fisherman,  and  even 
mythological  scenes  in  a  similar  pastoral  setting — were  brought 
to  refresh  the  jaded  intellect  of  the  townsmen  of  Alexandria 
and  of  the  courtiers  of  the  Ptolemies.  The  same  desires  found 
expression  in  a  series  of  reliefs  which  also,  with  a  strange  incon- 
sistency, are  the  chief  examples  of  a  new  and  luxurious  device 
for  the  decoration  of  buildings.  These  "pictures  in  relief,"1 
as  they  have  been  aptly  named,  were  designed  as  panels  to  be 

1  See  Schreiber's  publication,  Die  Hellenistictien  Relief  bilder,  and  also  his  Die 
Brunnenreliefs  aus  Palazzo  Orimani. 


440  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

let  into  the  walls,  a  practice  now  for  the  first  time  become 
common,  though  isolated  examples  occur  earlier — for  example, 
on  the  Mausoleum.  They  are  distinguished  not  only  by  their 
choice  of  subject,  but  by  a  peculiar  pictorial  treatment  of  the 
design,  especially  in  the  background.  There  is  usually  a  group 
of  figures  in  the  foreground,  and  in  these  figures  the  analogy 
in  subject  to  pastoral  poetry  is  striking.  Sometimes  the 
scene  is  mythological,  but  usually  representing  such  mythical 
personages  as  we  read  of  in  Alexandrian  poems — satyrs  and 
nymphs,  the  Cyclops  Polyphemus,  Adonis,  or  Paris  and 
Oenone.  Often  the  scene  is  from  actual  country  life — a  herds- 
man minding  his  cattle  or  milking,  a  peasant  on  his  way  to 
market,  or  drawing  a  thorn  from  a  companion's  foot,  or  even  a 
group  of  animals,  a  sheep  and  lamb,  or  a  lioness  and  cub. 
Sometimes,  too,  we  find  scenes  from  comedy,  or  a  poet  in 
meditation  over  his  works.  The  background,  which  is  the 
most  characteristic  part  of  these  reliefs,  varies  so  as  to  be 
appropriate  to  the  subject.  Sometimes  it  is  purely  architec- 
tural, sometimes  it  represents  nothing  but  rocks  and  trees, 
treated  with  a  strange  combination  of  naturalism  and  conven- 
tionality. More  often  it  consists  of  a  mixture  of  the  two — a 
country  scene,  with  peasants'  huts  and  rustic  shrines  scattered 
over  the  landscape,  or  a  group  of  buildings  with  trees  and 
bushes  lending  variety  to  their  stiffer  outlines  (Fig.  108).  And 
throughout  there  is  a  beauty  and  refinement  of  detail  which 
reminds  us  of  the  minute  finish  given  by  Theocritus  to  his 
pictures  of  rustic  life.  The  flowers  on  the  rocks,  the  leaves 
of  the  trees,  are  often  carved  not  only  with  the  utmost  care, 
but  with  botanical  accuracy.  The  country  is  seldom  left  un- 
tenanted  by  man  or  by  his  imaginings  :  small  shrines  or  altars, 
thyrsi,  and  masks  and  other  symbols,  are  scattered  freely  over 
the  scene. 

Similar  subjects,  treated  in  a  similar  style,  are  also  found  on 
other  works  of  the  minor  arts,  such  as  bronze  or  silver  vessels 
and  even  gems ;  they  are  interesting  not  only  from  the  way  in 
which  they  illustrate  the  literary  tendencies  of  the  Hellenistic 
age,  and  the  social  conditions  which  they  reflect,  but  also  because 
they  show  us  an  undoubted  example  of  the  influence  of  painting 
on  sculpture.  The  treatment  of  landscape  is  -  very  similar  to 
that  which  we  see  in  Greek  pictures  that  have  been  preserved, 
and  even  if  it  were  not  so,  the  style  of  the  reliefs  would  suffice 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  441 

to  show  the  influence  under  which  they  were  designed.  It  is 
valuable  to  have  a  set  of  reliefs  like  these,  in  which  the  imitation 
of  painting  is  undisputed ;  for  they  offer  us  a  standard  whereby 
we  can  judge  of  the  influence  of  painting  which,  according  to 
some  theories,  contributed  so  greatly  to  the  general  development 
of  Greek  sculpture.  They  also  help  us  to  appreciate  the  con- 
tribution made  by  Alexandria  to  the  art  of  the  Hellenistic  age,1 
and  to  assign  to  the  city  in  this  direction,  as  well  as  in  litera- 
ture and  social  development,  a  position  worthy  of  the  founder 
whose  name  it  bears. 

§  60.  JBoethus,  and  children  in  sculpture. — We  have  noticed  in 
the  last  section  one  of  the  artistic  forms  in  which  the  reaction 
of  the  Hellenistic  age  against  a  too  elaborate  civilisation  found 
expression ;  we  must  now  turn  to  another  product  of  the  same 
artificial  simplicity.  It  is  commonly  stated,  and  is  in  the  main 
true,  that  Greek  sculptors  of  the  fourth  century  made  no  attempt 
to  render  children  with  any  truth  to  nature,  and  that  when,  as 
in  the  Hermes  of  Praxiteles,  a  child  is  found  as  part  of  a  group, 
it  is  treated  merely  as  an  accessory.  The  proportions  of  child- 
hood are  ignored ;  the  body  is  simply  like  that  of  a  full  grown 
man  on  a  smaller  scale,  and  the  face  shows  no  study  of  childish 
forms.  There  are  indeed  some  exceptions;2  but  even  these, 
though  they  show  more  of  an  attempt  to  catch  the  character  and 
expression  of  childhood,  certainly  do  not  imply  a  recognition  of 
the  rounded  and  chubby  figure  and  undeveloped  proportions 
that  properly  belong  to  a  young  child.  Early  in  the  Hellenistic 
age  there  appears  to  have  been  a  change  in  this  respect ;  and 
from  that  time  on  the  chubby,  babyish  cupids  which  are  familiar 
to  us  from  late  Greek  and  Roman  art  are  not  only  rendered 
with  truth  to  nature,  but  are  often  chosen  with  especial  pre- 
dilection as  a  subject  for  sculpture.  It  seems  as  if  the  age  of 
innocence  in  children,  like  the  imagined  innocence  of  rustic  life, 
had  a  peculiar  fascination  for  those  who  felt  themselves  oppressed 
by  their  too  complicated  surroundings. 

The  leader  of  this  movement  appears  to  have  been  Boethus, 
an  artist  of  Carthage,3  which  at  this  time,  as  we  know  from  its 

1  Here  I  accept  the  conclusions  of  Prof.  Schreiber,  whose  minute  study  and 
splendid  publication  of  these  reliefs  give  his  opinion  the  highest  authority. 

-  E.g.  The  fourth  century  head  of  a  boy  from  Paphos,  J.  H.  S.  1888,  pi.  x.,  and 
that  of  Cephisodotus  on  a  stela  from  Lerna,  ibid.  1890,  p.  100. 

3  K.  0.  Miiller  suggested  Chalcedon,  in  Bithynia,  instead  of  Charcedon 
(=  Carthage),  a  conjecture  confirmed  by  an  inscription  recording  two  sons  of 


442  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GKEEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  v 

coins,  had  felt  the  all-pervading  influence  of  Hellenic  art,  and 
probably  included  Greek  artists  among  its  inhabitants.  Three 
statues  of  children  by  Boethus  are  recorded,  one  of  the  infant 
Asclepius,  another  of  a  seated  boy,  gilt,  and  probably  of  bronze, 
which  was  set  up  at  Olympia.1  The  third  is  of  more  interest  to 
us,  because  copies  of  it  have  been  recognised  in  a  group  of 
which  we  possess  several  examples ;  it  represents  a  young  boy 
struggling  with  a  goose  almost  as  big  as  himself  (Fig.  109).  He 
plants  his  feet  widely  apart,  and  wrestles  manfully  with  the  great 
bird,  which  he  grasps  tightly  round  the  neck  with  both  his  arms. 
To  understand  the  subject  we  must  remember  that  the  goose  was 
a  regular  inmate  of  a  Greek  house,  the  model  and  companion  of 
a  good  housewife,  and  the  playmate  of  the  children  ;  it  occupied, 
in  fact,  much  the  same  position  as  is  taken,  in  a  modern  house- 
hold, by  the  domestic  cat.  Here  there  is  a  quarrel  between  the 
baby  and  his  playmate ;  the  evident  reality  of  the  struggle  to 
the  child  and  his  mock-heroic  attitude  contrast  with  his  chubby 
figure  to  produce  a  fascinating  and  humorous  piece  of  genre. 
The  subject  evidently  had  a  great  vogue,  for  we  find  it  repeated 
again  and  again  with  endless  variations ;  one  of  the  most 
interesting  is  a  little  silver  statuette  from  Alexandria  in  the 
British  Museum,  where  the  boy  is  seated  and  grasps  a  smaller 
goose  round  the  body  while  it  bites  at  his  ear.2  This  statue  is 
not  later  than  about  240  B.C.,  and  so  we  have  good  reason  to 
believe  that  the  type  of  which  it  is  a  variation,  and  which  we 
must  assign  to  Boethus,  belongs  to  the  beginning  of  the  Hellen- 
istic age.  We  are  expressly  told  that  Boethus  excelled  in  silver; 
and  so  we  have  a  further  confirmation  of  his  connection  with  the 
Alexandrian  school,  which  devoted  itself  especially  to  decorative 
and  minute  work  in  the  precious  metals.3 

§  61.  Chares,  and  the  Colossus  of  Rhodes. — We  must  now  return 
to  the  pupils  of  Lysippus,  through  whom  his  influence  was  trans- 
mitted to  later  times.  The  most  famous  of  them  is  Chares  of 
Lindus  in  Khodes,  who  made  the  famous  bronze  Colossus  which, 
from  its  gigantic  size,  was  counted  one  of  the  seven  wonders  of 

Boethus  at  the  neighbouring  town  of  Nicomedia.  But  the  Alexandrian  affinities 
of  Boethus  seem  to  confirm  his  African  origin. 

1  There  is  no  evidence  for  associating  this  boy,  as  has  been  done,  with  the 
"Spinario  "  of  the  Capitol,  or  a  Hellenistic  version  "of  the  same  subject  now  in  the 
British  Museum. 

2  See  J.  II.  S.  1885,  p.  1,  pi.  A. 

3  Schreiber,  Alexandrinische  Toreutik. 


FIG.  109.— Boy  and  goose,  after  Boethus  (Louvre). 


444  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

the  world.  This  statue  was  105  feet  high;  it  was  set  up  out 
of  the  spoils  left  behind  him  by  Demetrius  Poliorcetes,  when  he 
raised  the  siege  of  Rhodes  in  303  B.C.,  and  is  said  to  have  taken 
twelve  years  to  make.1  It  was  overthrown  by  an  earthquake 
after  it  had  only  stood  for  about  60  years,  and  could  not  be  re- 
erected  ;  but  it  remained,  in  this  damaged  state,  a  marvel  to 
travellers ;  its  remains  are  said  not  to  have  disappeared  entirely 
until  comparatively  modern  times.  We  have  a  record  as  to  the 
process  by  which  it  was  made  in  a  treatise  on  The  Seven 
Wonders,  under  the  name  of  Philo  of  Byzantium,  a  writer  on 
mechanics,  who  lived,  probably,  in  the  second  century  B.c,, 
and  had  studied  both  at  Alexandria  and  in  Rhodes ;  but  un- 
fortunately the  authenticity  of  the  work  is  doubtful.  It  states 
that  the  Colossus  was  cast  in  sections  as  it  stood,  from  the  feet 
upward ;  and  that  a  mound  of  earth  was  piled  up  around  it  as 
it  rose,  so  that  it  was  always  possible  for  the  founding  to  be 
done  in  a  subterranean  mould.  The  story  appears  probable  on 
the  face  of  it,  and  not  such  as  a  rhetorical  writer  like  the 
author  of  this  treatise  would  probably  invent ;  so  we  may  infer 
that  he  was  following  a  trustworthy  tradition.  We  hear  also 
that  when  the  statue  had  fallen,  it  was  possible  to  see  through 
the  cracks  in  it  the  large  blocks  of  stone  which  Chares  had 
placed  inside  it  so  as  to  give  it  stability. 

In  making  such  a  work  as  this,  Chares  was  following  closely 
in  the  footsteps  of  his  master,  Lysippus,  whose  colossal  statue 
of  Zeus  at  Tarentum  was  hardly  less  famous ;  and  it  was  dis- 
tinguished, as  we  learn  from  Lucian,  no  less  for  the  artistic  skill 
of  its  style  than  for  its  colossal  size.  We  have  no  information 
as  to  the  pose  of  the  work ;  it  represented  the  sun-god  Helios, 
the  patron  of  Rhodes,  whose  head,  surrounded  with  a  crown  of 
rays,  appears  upon  Rhodian  coins;  to  this  type  we  must  suppose 
Chares  to  have  conformed.  It  is  really  a  variation  on  the  Greek 
conception  of  Apollo,  but  has  a  rounder  face  and  more  marked 
features,  in  accordance  with  the  usual  notion  of  the  appearance 
of  the  sun  itself. 

Lucian,  in  his  humorous  description  of  the  assembly  of  the 
gods,  makes  Helios  claim  a  front  seat  because,  from  his  colossal 

1  The  absurd  descriptions  and  representations  in  mediaeval  treatises  on  The 
Seven  Wonders,  which  make  the  Colossus  stand  bestriding  the  entrance  of  the 
harbour  of  Rhodes,  and  holding  up  a  lantern  in  one  hand  to  serve  as  a  lighthouse, 
are  of  course  merely  imaginary  fabrications. 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  445 

stature,  he  had  cost  as  much  as  sixteen 1  golden  statues,  and 
moreover  was  a  work  of  high  artistic  merit  and  remarkable  for 
accuracy  of  finish,  considering  his  great  size.  This  is  an  estimate 
which  will  hardly  appeal  to  us  more  than  to  those  addressed  by 
the  god  on  this  occasion ;  but  at  the  same  time  we  must  re- 
cognise that,  in  order  to  make  a  statue  such  as  this  Colossus, 
Chares  must  have  possessed  not  only  very  high  technical  and 
mechanical  skill,  but  also  an  artistic  sense  of  a  very  high  order ; 
a  colossal  statue  like  this  would  require  a  treatment  in  every 
detail  appropriate  to  the  size  of  the  work ;  no  adequate  effect 
would  be  produced  by  a  mere  enlargement  of  the  forms  that 
would  look  well  in  an  ordinary  statue.  The  kind  of  style  that 
is  necessary  for  a  colossal  statue  may  be  seen  from  the  two 
statues  of  the  Dioscuri  of  Monte  Cavallo  at  Rome,  which  are 
themselves  also  examples  of  Lysippean  art.2  Here  perhaps  more 
than  anywhere  else  we  appreciate  the  dictum  of  Lysippus,  in 
which  he  asserted  that  his  aim  was  not  to  reproduce  the  exact 
forms  of  life,  but  their  effect  as  seen  by  the  spectator.  The 
deeply  and  clearly  cut  features  look  coarse  and  unsightly  when 
examined  close  at  hand,  but  produce  an  admirable  impression 
when  seen  from  a  distance. 

Colossal  works,  of  more  moderate  size,  were  produced  by 
Greek  sculpture  at  every  period  of  its  existence.  But  in  the 
excessive  size  of  this  Rhodian  figure  we  may  recognise  a  desire 
for  mere  bigness,  far  surpassing  in  size  all  previous  statues, 
since  to  surpass  them  in  beauty  of  conception  or  execution  was 
hopeless.  Here  we  see  the  beginning  of  the  decline,  and  there 
is  little  doubt  that  the  Colossus  of  Rhodes,  in  spite  of  the 
artistic  skill  which  it  displayed,  was  rather  a  wonder  to  the 
vulgar  from  the  difficulty  of  its  production,  than  a  delight  to 
those  who  were  capable  of  appreciating  good  work,  whether  on 
a  small  or  on  a  large  scale. 

1  The  cost  of  the  Colossus,  as  given  by  Pliny,  is  ccc  talents  ;  this,  being  too 
small  a  number,  has  been  emended  to  MCCC.     But  more  probably  we  should  read 
DCCC  ;  then  we  have  exactly  sixteen  times  fifty,  which  is  the  round  number  at 
which  the  gold  of  the  Athena  Parthenos  is  estimated  by  Diod.  Sic.     Of  course  this 
fifty,  or  forty  according  to  the  more  exact  statement  of  Thucydides,  refers  to  weight 
of  gold,  not  to  its  value  (in  silver).     But  this  is  a  point  which  either  Lucian  or  the 
Colossus  might  ignore  in  a  forensic  claim.     The  number  sixteen  implies  that 
Lucian  had  some  definite  figures  in  his  mind. 

2  I  follow  the  rejection  of  the  modern  inscriptions  opus  Fidiae  and  opus  Prax- 
itelis  by  Loewy  and  others,  in  spite  of  Prof.  Furtwiingler's  attempt  to  defend  them 
as  based  on  a  correct  tradition. 


446  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  v 

§  62.  Euty chides  and  the  Impersonation  of  Cities. — Impersona- 
tion is  not  foreign  to  Greek  art  at  any  stage  of  its  development, 
and  even  the  impersonation  of  states  and  cities  is  not  uncommon 
in  earlier  times.  Such  impersonations  usually  occur  on  vases 
or  on  reliefs,  especially  on  the  headings  of  decrees ;  but  on  such 
documents  the  contracting  states  are  usually  either  represented 
by  their  patron  deity,  or  figured  under  a  form  which  is  derived 
from  his.  In  the  fourth  century  we  have  seen  that  with  the 
more  individual  realisation  of  the  various  divinities  there  comes 
also  a  tendency  to  personify  abstract  ideas,  and  to  refine  on 
mythological  distinctions  of  character.  We  find  figures  like 
the  Peace  nursing  Wealth  of  Cephisodotus,  and  the  Eros, 
Pothos,  and  Himeros  of  Scopas.  With  the  Hellenistic  age 
another  kind  of  impersonation,  more  local  and  limited  in  its 
character,  which  was  before  not  unknown  on  vases  and  reliefs, 
begins  to  find  its  way  into  sculpture  also;  and  in  its  most 
characteristic  example  it  is  associated  with  a  curious  new 
cultus,  that  of  the  Fortune  (Tyche)  of  the  city,  who  comes  to 
be  a  real  tutelary  deity.1  The  best-known  example  of  the 
artistic  embodiment  of  such  a  conception  is  the  figure  of 
Antioch' — or  rather,  to  speak  more  correctly,  of  the  Fortune  of 
Antioch — which  was  made  for  the  citizens  of  the  town  (founded 
in  300  B.C.)  by  the  sculptor  Eutychides,  a  pupil  of  Lysippus 
(Fig.  110).  She  is  represented  as  seated  upon  a  rock,  on  which 
her  left  hand  rests ;  the  whole  right  side  of  her  body  (as  Brunn 
has  well  expressed  it)  is  turned  towards  her  left ;  the  right  knee 
is  thrown  over  the  left,  and  the  right  elbow  rests  upon  it,  and  the 
face  also  is  turned  in  the  same  direction.  Her  figure  is  en- 
veloped in  the  folds  of  a  rich  mantle,  which  is  drawn  over  her 
head,  and  covers  her  left  arm  down  to  the  wrist.  On  her  head 
is  a  mural  crown.  Beneath  her  feet  a  swimming  figure  rises 
from  the  waves  to  represent  the  river  Ororites.  This  is  a  form 
of  impersonation  which  reminds  us  in  many  ways  of  the  com- 
plicated allegories  of  the  period.  It  is  really  a  representation 
of  the  geographical  position  of  the  city,  in  anthropomorphic 
symbolism;  and  it  implies  that  the  city  was  set  upon  the 
slopes  of  a  hill,  bending  forward  upon  itself  in  the  turn  of  a 
valley,  while  the  river  flowed  at  its  feet.  But  we  must  not 
allow  the  somewhat  frigid  and  artificial  nature  of  this  sym- 
bolism to  blind  us  to  the  wonderful  grace  and  freedom  of 
1  On  this  whole  subject,  see  P.  Gardner,  J.  H.  S.,  1888,  p.  47. 


Fio.  110.— Antioch,  after  Eutychides  (Rome,  Vatican). 


448  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

invention  with  which  it  has  been  expressed.  In  pose  and 
varied  flow  of  drapery  the  statue  reminds  us  of  the  most 
beautiful  of  Greek  terra-cottas — and  here  we  see  alike  its 
excellence  and  its  defect.  The  terra-cottas,  representing  merely 
fanciful  figures  from  daily  life — girls  at  play  or  in  meditation, 
treated  with  the  most  perfect  simplicity  and  grace — cannot  be 
surpassed  for  their  lightness  and  versatility  of  imagination,  and 
their  adaptation  of  subject  to  material.  But  when  one  of  these 
same  figures  is  translated  into  a  statue,  and  set  up  as  an 
object  of  worship,  and  as  the  embodiment  of  one  of  the  most 
vivid  religious  conceptions  of  the  period,  we  cannot  help  feel- 
ing a  certain  incongruity.  The  whole  position  and  character 
of  the  figure,  though  so  full  of  grace  as  to  make  it  one  of  the 
most  charming  to  the  eye  of  all  the  Greek  statues  that  have 
survived,  have  a  certain  lack  of  dignity  which  disqualifies  it  for 
the  exalted  role  it  is  called  upon  to  play.  The  mural  crown 
upon  her  head l  does  not  suffice  to  make  us  recognise  a  present 
deity  in  this  woman,  whose  beauty  of  pose  and  figure  at  once 
excites  our  admiration. 

This  was  not  the  only  attempt  in  the  direction  of  imper- 
sonation by  Eutychides.  He  also  made  a  statue  of  the  river- 
god  Eurotas,  which  is  attested  by  an  epigram  to  have  shown 
a  modelling  flowing  as  water  in  its  texture,  so  that  the  bronze 
of  which  it  was  made  seemed  even  more  liquid  than  the  element 
it  simulated.  We  may  well  imagine  how  the  sculptor  of  the 
Antioch  may  have  dealt  with  such  a  subject.  The  flowing, 
almost  liquid,  surface  of  the  Cephisus  of  the  Parthenon  pedi- 
ment may  also  give  us  some  notion  of  how  far  a  sculptor, 
entirely  free  from  the  artistic  restraint  that  marked  the  school 
of  Phidias,  may  have  gone  in  a  similar  attempt.  And  it  is 
no  surprise,  when  we  consider  the  artistic  character  of  Euty- 
chides, to  learn  that  he  was  also  a  painter.  The  man  who 
could  invent  such  a  figure  as  the  Antioch  certainly  had  as 
much  of  the  painter  as  of  the  sculptor  in  him ;  for  the  con 
ception  of  the  city  is  in  many  ways  a  pictorial  one. 

Though  we  may  feel  the  inadequacy  of  such  an  artificia 
creation  as  an  object  of  worship,  it  is  asserted  that  this  ver 
figure  of  Antioch  had  much  reverence  from  those  who  lived 
in  the  region ;  and  the  numerous  imitations  to  which  it  gave 
rise  sufficiently  testify  its  artistic  popularity.  Most  of  these 
1  The  head  is  a  restoration,  but  the  crown  is  attested  by  coins. 


i 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  449 

lack  the  grace  and  refinement  which  distinguish  the  work  of 
Eutychides.  A  good  example  is  offered  by  the  Puteoline  basis,1 
of  Roman  date,  where  the  cities  of  Asia  Minor  stand  around 
a  statue  of  Tiberius.  The  extent  to  which  such  geographical 
impersonation  could  go  is  shown  by  Ephesus,  who  stands,  in 
the  garb  of  an  Amazon,  with  one  foot  upon  a  mask  with  flowing 
beard  and  hair  that  typifies  the  river  Cayster ;  while  over  her 
right  shoulder  appears  the  Ephesian  Artemis  on  a  column, 
to  indicate  that  the  temple  stood  behind  the  town,  visible 
over  its  right  shoulder,  so  to  speak,  as  seen  from  the  sea.  Of 
course  Eutychides  is  not  responsible  for  such  versions  of  the 
symbolism  he  had  originated ;  but  they  show  us  its  ultimate 
result. 

§  63.  Portraiture. — It  was  the  custom  in  Greece,  from  the 
earliest  times,  to  set  up  statues  as  memorials  of  individual  men, 
both  in  temples  and  on  tombs ;  but  although  such  statues  were 
in  a  sense  intended  to  represent  those  whom  they  commemoi- 
ated,  they  were  not  what  we  should  call  portraits.  As  we 
have  seen,  both  in  the  statues  of  athletic  victors  and  in  the 
tombstones  set  up  over  the  dead,  there  was  no  attempt  in 
earlier  times  to  imitate  individual  form  or  features :  it  was 
enough  if  the  statue  conformed  generally  to  the  age  and  sex, 
office  or  character  of  the  subject.  And  the  nature  of  the 
subjects  chosen  for  such  commemoration  was  different  from 
what  we  find  in  the  later  days  of  Greece,  and  in  modern  times1. 
The  statues  were  either  religious  dedications,  set  up  in  honour 
of  a  god  as  a  symbol  of  personal  devotion  on  the  part  of  the 
dedicator ;  or,  if  they  were  monuments  over  a  tomb,  they  were 
set  up  to  recall  the  deceased  to  his  friends,  and  their  erection 
was  a  matter  of  private  interest.  We  find  no  examples  in 
early  tknes  of  a  statue  set  up  to  honour  a  man  who  had  con- 
ferred great  benefits  on  his  country  in  peace  or  war,  or  whose 
fame  was  so  great  that  his  fellow-citizens  desired  to  preserve  his 
image  in  a  public  place.  Athens,  so  far  as  we  know,  had  no 
statue  of  Solon  or  of  Miltiades,2  of  Cleisthenes  or  Themistocles 
or  Aristides,  set  up  during  their  lifetime,  or  while  their 

1  Baumeister,  p.  1297,  fig.  1441. 

2  A  statue  of  Miltiades  occurred  in  a  subordinate  figure,  in  a  group  set  up  at 
Delphi  to  commemorate  Marathon  ;  but  this  is  no  real  exception.     Of  course 
statues  of  all  these  great  men  existed  in  Athens  in  later  times,  but  they  were 
probably  not  erected  before  the  fourth  century. 


450  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

memory  was  still  fresh  among  their  friends  and  admirers.  The 
first  recorded  example  of  a  statue  set  up  with  a  motive  similar  to 
that  which  now  prompts  us  to  erect  statues  to  our  public  men,  is 
the  portrait  of  Pericles  by  Cresilas.1  We  have  already  noticed  the 
ideal  and  typical,  rather  than  individual  character  of  this  work ; 
it  was  also  a  dedication,  offering  to  Athena  on  the  Acropolis  an 
image  of  the  man  who  had  done  so  much  to  enrich  and  beautify 
her  chosen  city.  Still  the  motive  of  the  dedicator  (who  ap- 
pears to  have  been  a  private  citizen)  was  doubtless  to  preserve 
a  record  of  Pericles  himself  among  the  buildings  which  he  had 
erected ;  and  the  custom  of  dedication  was  one  which  continued 
to  be  kept  up  even  until  times  when  it  had  become  a  mere 
form,  and  the  honour  was  intended  altogether  for  the  man  and 
not  for  the  god.  It  was  to  be  expected  that,  with  the  tendency 
of  art  towards  individualism  which  we  noticed  as  characteristic 
of  the  fourth  century,  portraiture  would  at  once  take  a  more 
prominent  place ;  and  accordingly  we  find  that  many  of  the  chief 
artists  of  the  fourth  century  did  make  portraits,  either  of  con- 
temporaries or  of  famous  characters  of  old.  In  this  last  case 
it  is  clear  that  the  portraits  were  inventions  of  the  imagina- 
tion rather  than  records  of  individual  physiognomy  or  character. 
We  do,  however,  hear  of  one  sculp^f  »f  +,hp  f™™*k  /»ar.fi1T.y 
Dem'etrius  of  Alopece2- — whose  portraits  were  so  realistic  in 
character  that  Lucian  calls  him  the  "maker  of  men"  rather 
than  the  "  maker  of  statues."  3  He  made  a  famous  statuette  of 
Lysimache,  an  aged  priestess  of  Athena  ;  and  Lucian  has  given 
us  a  description  of  his  portrait  of  the  Corinthian  General 
Pellichus — "  high-bellied,  bald,  his  clothes  half-off  him,  some  of 
the  hairs  of  his  beard  caught  by  the  wind,  his  veins  prominent." 
Such  a  work  of  realism — we  might  almost  say  of  caricature — 
is  exceptional,  not  only  in  the  fourth  century,  but  at  any  period 
of  Greek  sculpture  ;4  and  indeed,  in  works  like  this,  it  is  the 
skill  and  humour  of  the  artist  rather  than  the  character  of  the 
person  represented  that  are  the  essential  thing. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  Hellenistic  age  we  find  a  new  and 
a  stronger  impulse  towards  portraiture.     In  the  first  place,  the 

1  The  portrait  of  Pericles  was  a  herm,  not  a  statue,  but  the  purpose  remains 
the  same. 

2  He  is  dated  by  inscription  to  the  earlier  part  of  the  fourth  century  (Loewy, 
62,  63). 

3  dvdpuirbTToios  instead  of  avdpiavroTrotos. 

4  Caricatures  are  of  course  common  enough  in  terra-cottas. 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  451 

demand  for  it  was  constantly  increasing.  It  became  the  com- 
monest form  of  compliment  or  of  flattery  to  set  up  statues  in 
honour  of  any  individual.  We  hear,  for  example,  that  the 
incredible  number  of  360  honorary  statues  were  set  up  within 
a  year  to  Demetrius  Phalereus  in  Athens;  and  during  this 
period  it  became  customary  to  decorate  theatres,  libraries,  and 
other  public  buildings  of  literary  connection  with  statues  of 
poets  and  other  authors.  The  great  majority  of  the  portraits 
which  we  possess  owe  their  origin  to  this  custom,  and  to  the  • 
imitation  of  it  in  Rome.  Such  statues  were  sometimes  contem-  / 
porary  portraits ;  more  often  they  were  imaginary,  more  or  less 
traditional  representations  of  men  who  had  died  long  before 
without  leaving  any  record  of  their  features  behind  them. 
Portraits  now  so  familiar  to  us  as  that  of  Homer  were  thus 
invented,  while  even  the  features  of  more  recent  writers  under-  . 
went  a  partly  idealising,  partly  conventionalising  process  from 
the  frequency  with  which  they  were  repeated. 

But  among  all  the  various  branches  of  portrait  sculpture, 
none  exercised  so  great  an  influence  on  the  history  of  art  in  the 
early  Hellenistic  age  as  that  which  was  inaugurated  by  Lysip-  S 
pus  with  his  portraits  of  Alexander.  We  have  already  seen 
something  of  this  influence.  Alexander's  successors  began  by 
according  divine  honours  to  him,  but  soon  they  came  to  arrogate 
similar  honours  to  themselves.  Nor  was  the  worship  or  flattery 
—whichever  we  please  to  call  it — paid  to  them  only  by  the 
people  of  Asia  Minor ;  even  in  Athens  itself  we  find  a  hymn 
composed  in  honour  of  Demetrius  Poliorcetes  as  a  present  deity, 
while  other  gods  were  far  away  or  cared  not  for  their  people. 
The  custom  of  masquerading  or  posing  as  a  god,  to  which  some 
of  the  Greek  kings  of  the  East  were  led  by  such  a  reception  of 
their  claims,  naturally  found  expression  in  sculpture  also ;  and 
hence  we  find  examples  in  which  a  king  is  represented  under 
the  character  and  with  the  attributes  of  some  deity,  or  the  statue 
of  the  god  is  modified  to  resemble  the  features  of  the  king. 
And  we  see,  on  coins  and  elsewhere,  a  tendency  to  make  gods 
and  kings  alike  resemble  Alexander,  whose  deification  seems  to 
justify  the  pretensions  of  his  successors. 

The  study  of  Greek  portraits  (iconography,  as  it  is  called l) 
can  only  be  touched  upon  here  in  some   of  its  more  general 
aspects,  and   especially  in  its  relation  to  the  development  of 
1  See  Visconti,  Iconographie  G'recqite. 


452  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

sculpture  as  a  whole.  One  or  two  more  technical  points  also 
call  for  notice.1  In  earlier  times  a  portrait  was  always  either  a 
complete  statue  or  a  herm — that  is  to  say,  a  plain  square  pillar, 

-  with  the  top  carved  into  the  form  of  a  head.     It  was  not, 

*  apparently,  until  Hellenistic  times  that  the  making  of  busts 
began  (TT/OOTO/XCU)  :  to  the  head  was  added  a  rendering,  more  or 
less  conventional,  of  the  shoulders  and  front  part  of  the  breast, 
often  with  some  drapery  thrown  across  it,  while  the  back  was 
hollowed  out  in  the  lower  part  and  mounted  on  a  stand. 

§  64.  History  of  the  Dedications  of  the  Attalids. — The  pre-eminent 
position  of  Pergamum  in  the  art  of  the  Hellenistic  period  is  due 
to  its  being  the  seat  of  the  powerful  and  enlightened  dynasty  of 
the  Attalid  kings.  The  founder  of  the  greatness  of  the  family 
was  Philetaerus,  who  was  placed  by  Lysimachus  in  charge  of 
Pergamum,  where  there  was  a  considerable  store  of  treasure. 
His  bold  remonstrance  against  his  master's  crimes  forced  him 
into  a  revolt,  which  proved  successful ;"  he  became  ruler  of  Per- 
gamum, and  bequeathed  his  power  to  his  nephews,  Eumenes  and 
Attalus.  Attalus  distinguished  his  accession  in  241  B.C.  by  his 
great  victories  over  the  Gauls  or  Galatians.  These  barbarians 
were-  one  of  those  hordes  that  had  for  many  centuries  been 
swarming  out  of  Gaul  into  the  south  of  Europe.  Such  a  band 
had  sacked  Rome  in  390  B.C.;  in  278  B.C.  another  had  devastated 
Greece,  and  had  been  repulsed  from  Delphi  with  the  miraculous 
aid  of  Apollo.  We  next  find  them  in  Asia  Minor,  whither  they 
were  said  to  have  first  come  at  the  invitation  of  a  Bithynian 
prince ;  and  then  they  became  the  terror  of  the  settled  inhabi- 
tants, sometimes  hiring  themselves  out  as  mercenaries  to  the 
various  contending  princes,  sometimes  levying  tribute  on  their 
own  account  from  the  defenceless  population.  It  is  the  chief 
glory  of  Attalus  that  he  was  the  first  to  withstand  these 
barbarians  with  success.  Such,  at  least,  was  the  aspect  under 
which  his  victory  was  regarded  by  those  who  celebrated  it ;  and 
although  both  the  victory  itself,  and  the  strengthening  of 
the  independent  kingdom  of  Pergamum  which  resulted  from 
it,  may  have  been  due  in  some  degree  to  the  skilful  policy 
of  Attalus  during  the  internal  strife  of  the  Seleucid  kingdom,2 

1  See  Forster,  Das  Portrat  in  der  gr.  Plastik. 

2  The  Gauls  are  called  in  a  Pergamene  inscription  the  allies  of  Antiochus,  i.e. 
Hierax,  the  brother  and  rival  of  Seleucus  Callinicus,  whose  part  was  taken  by 
Attalus. 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  453 

its  result  was  such  as  to  recall  to  the  people  of  Attalus 
the  deliverance  of  Marathon  and  Salamis.  The  terror  inspired 
.into  the  degenerate  Greeks  of  Asia  Minor  by  this  fierce 
horde  of  barbarians,  with  their  strange  weapons  and  manner  of 
fighting,  their  personal  strength  and  stature,  and  their  indomit- 
able courage,  had  till  then  carried  all  before  it ;  and  even  the 
victories  of  Attalus  did  not  suffice  to  end  the  danger.  The 
Gauls  continued  to  harass  and  to  terrify  their  neighbours  until 
Eumenes  II.,  the  son  and  successor  of  Attalus,  finally  reduced 
them  to  submission  in  166  B.C.,  at  the  end  of  several  campaigns 
in  which  he  had  met  with  varied  success.  After  this  time  they 
settled  down  as  a  peaceable  community  in  the  district  of  Galatia. 

On  the  occasion  of  his  great  victories  Attalus  appears  to  have 
summoned  from  Greece  a  body  of  sculptors,  who  thenceforth 
made  Pergamum  their  home,  and  formed  a  school  to  which  we  owe 
the  greatest  and  most  vigorous  works  of  sculpture  of  the  Hellen- 
istic age.  The  inscriptions  which  record  their  work  can  easily  be 
distinguished  from  those  of  another  group  of  artists,  some 
fifty  years  later,  who  were  employed  in  the  magnificent  series 
of  buildings  and  sculptures  with  which  Eumenes  decorated  his 
capital.  We  shall  consider  the  works  made  by  both  sets  of 
sculptors  with  more  detail ;  but  in  order  to  understand  this 
wonderful  revival  of  art  in  the  East,  while  in  Greece  it  was 
stagnating,  we  must  realise  the  historical  conditions  which  sur- 
rounded it — a  struggle  for  existence  between  Greek  and  barbar- 
ian, the  like  of  which  had  not  been  seen  since  the  Persian  wars. 

§  65.  The  Dedications  of  Attalus  I. — The  inscriptions  incised 
upon  the  bases  of  the  groups  set  up  at  Pergamum  by  Attalus 
to  commemorate  his  victories  have,  many  of  them,  been  pre- 
served ;  the  statues  which  stood  upon  these  bases  were  of 
bronze,  and  have  disappeared ;  it  seems,  from  the  careful  way 
in  which  their  feet  have  been  cut  out  from  the  blocks,  that  they 
must  have  been  carried  off  to  some  other  site,  perhaps  to  Rome 
or  Constantinople.  But  some  marble  statues  have  been  recog- 
nised from  their  subject  and  style  as  derived  from  the  earliest 
set  of  these  Pergamene  monuments,  and  represent  scenes  from 
the  victory  of  Attalus  over  the  Gauls ;  although  the  inscriptions 
show  that  his  triumph  was  over  other  enemies  as  well,  it  was 
especially  the  Galatian  figures  which  impressed  both  writers 
and  artists ;  for  Pliny  mentions  the  sculptors  employed  by 
Attalus  only  as  representing  his  battles  against  the  Gauls.  The 


454  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

most  famous  of  these  extant  statues  is  the  "  Dying  Gaul "  in  the 
Capitol  at  Rome  (Fig.  111).  His  nationality  may  be  recognised 
from  his  distinctive  necklace  or  torque,  his  rough  hair  combed 
straight  back  from  the  forehead,  his  moustache,  and  the  shield 
and  trumpet  that  lie  on  the  ground  beneath  him.  He  has  long 
been  known  as  one  of  the  masterpieces  of  ancient  art ;  but  in 
earlier  days  he  was  called  the  "  Gladiator  ";  his  barbarian  origin 
could  not  be  mistaken,  but  he  was  supposed  to  have  fallen  in 
the  combats  of  the  arena,  "butchered  to  make  a  Roman 
holiday."  With  our  present  knowledge  of  the  history  of  art, 
we  cannot  suppose  that  sculpture  in  Rome  was  ever  capable  of 
originating  a  figure  of  such  wonderfully  powerful  modelling, 
and  such  dignity  of  pathos  ;  nor  is  the  choice  of  subject  in  itself 
credible.  At  Pergamum,  on  the  other  hand,  the  courage  and 
fortitude  of  the  Gauls  had  impressed  their  Greek  conquerors  no 
less  than  their  savage  and  barbarous  character,  and  we  need 
not  be  surprised  to  find  admiration  and  even  pity  for  a  fallen 
foe ;  while  from  the  Pergamene  artists,  trained  in  the  school  of 
t  Lysippus,  and  adding  to  their  artistic  training  the  study  of 
anatomy  for  which  the  great  centres  of  learning  in  the  East 
were  noted,  we  might  expect  the  excellence  of  modelling  and 
execution  which  we  find  in  the  "  Dying  Gaul." 

The  marble  statue  in  the  Capitol  is  not,  of  course,  the  original 
set  up  by  Attains,  if  it  belongs  to  the  group  of  dedications  of 
which  the  bases  have  been  found,  for  they  were  all  of  bronze ; 
but  both  the  material — a  local  marble  of  Asia  Minor  or  one  of 
the  adjacent  islands — and  the  execution,  which,  though  the 
statue  has  suffered  somewhat  at  the  hand  of  the  restorer,  is  still 
fairly  preserved,  show  that  it  is  probably  a  genuine  product  of 
Pergamene  art,  as  well  as  the  copy  of  a  Pergamene  masterpiece; 
it  may  even  be  a  contemporary  replica.  The  fallen  warrior 
is  well  described  by  Byron — 

He  leans  upon  his  hand  ;  his  manly  brow 
Consents  to  death,  but  conquers  agony, 
And  his  drooped  head  sinks  gradually  low  : 
And  through  his  side  the  last  drops,  ebbing  slow 
From  the  red  gash,  fall  heavy,  one  by  one.1 

1  It  has  been  suggested  that  he  had  killed  himself  like  the  Gaul  of  the  Villa 
Ludovisi.  But  the  wound  is  from  a  spear,  not  from  a  sword  ;  and  is  on  the  right 
side  of  the  chest,  where  it  might  well  come  in  combat,  but  would  hardly  be  self- 
inflicted.  The  sword  on  the  basis  is  a  restoration. 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  455 

The  Greek  sculptor  has  caught  the  spirit  of  the  northern 
barbarian  ;  it  is  interesting  to  contrast  the  fortitude  with  which 
the  Galatian  meets  his  death  with  the  contorted  agony  of  the 
Giants  on  the  Great  Altar  made  by  a  later  generation  of  the 
same  school  of  artists.  The  hardened  skin,  matted  hair,  and 
strong  but  irregular  features  of  the  barbarian  are  rendered  with 
a  realism  only  equalled  by  the  anatomical  skill  of  the  modelling  ; 
but  the  true  appearance  of  the  surface  is  never  sacrificed  to 
display  of  anatomical  detail,  as  in  some  later  statues  of  Asia 


FIG.  111.— Dying  Gaul  (Rome,  Capitol). 

Minor — notably  those  of  the  Ephesian  school.  There  is  a 
moderation,  alike  in  conception  and  execution,  which  suffices 
to  indicate  that  this  statue  marks  the  highest  point  of  sculp- 
ture in  Pergamum.  Another  piece  of  sculpture,  probably 
from  the  same  series,  is  now  in  the  Museo  Boncampagni 
(formerly  Villa  Ludovisi)  at  Rome,  and  used  to  be  known  by 
the  name  of  Arria  and  Paetus.  It  represents  a  Galatian  warrior 
who,  in  defeat,  is  slaying  his  wife  and  himself  rather  than  fall 
into  the  hand  of  the  enemy.  The  subject,  it  must  be  confessed, 
is  one  less  suited  to  sculpture ;  but  there  is  some  grace  in  the 
figure  of  the  wife,  who  has  already  received  her  death  wound, 


456  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

and  sinks  at  the  feet  of  her  husband,  who  supports  her  arm 
with  his  left  hand  while  he  stabs  himself  with  his  right  hand, 
driving  his  short  sword  through  his  left  shoulder  towards  his 
heart.1  Here  again  the  national  character  is  clearly  indicated ; 
and  there  is  a  fine  dramatic  contrast  between  the  warrior,  who 
still  stands  and  turns  his  head  as  in  defiance  of  a  pursuing  foe, 
and  the  relaxed  limbs  and  drooping  head  of  the  woman.  There 
I  is,  moreover,  no  contortion  or  agony  of  death  here  either ;  the 
dramatic  interest  still  exceeds  the  pathological,  even  though 
death  and  wounds  are  represented  with  a  vigorous  realism. 

Pliny  gives  a  list  of  the  sculptors  who  were  employed  by 
Attalus  on  the  monuments  in  commemoration  of  his  Gallic 
wars — Isigonus,  Phyromachus,  Stratonicus,  Antigonus  ;  and  this 
list  is  checked  and  supplemented  by  the  inscriptions  that  have 
been  found  on  the  bases  at  Pergamum.  The  only  artist/s  name 
mentioned  which  is  certainly  contemporary  with  the  dedication 
is  that  of  a  certain  -yovos.  This  may  be  either  Antigonus  or 
Isigonus,  they  are  both  mentioned  in  Pliny's  list ;  or  it  may  be 
Epigonus,  whose  name  is  mentioned  in  other  Pergamene  in- 
scriptions of  the  same  period.  Upon  a  somewhat  later  set  of 
inscriptions,  on  the  top  of  the  basis,  appear  the  names  of  a 
certain  Praxiteles,  who  may  belong  to  the  family  of  the  great 
Praxiteles,  Xenocrates,  and  others  of  whom  nothing  further  is 
known.  Among  these  sculptors  Antigonus  and  Xenocrates2 
were  both  of  them  writers  on  art  as  well  as  practical  sculptors. 
Epigonus  is  of  still  more  interest ;  for  Pliny  describes  two  works 
of  his,  a  trumpeter  and  a  child,  whose  caress  of  its  slain  mother 
was  a  sight  to  move  pity.3  When  we  know  that  Epigonus  was 
employed  at  Pergamum,  it  is  tempting  to  restore  his  name  as 
that  of  the  artist  whose  name  occurs  on  the  basis  of  the 
groups  of  Attalus.  The  mother  and  child  might  well  have 
represented  Galatians,  and  formed  a  counterpart  to  the  group  of 
the  warrior  slaying  himself  and  his  wife.  Most  tempting  of  all 

1  See  Baumeister,  p.  1237,  fig.  1410.     The  arm  is  wrongly  restored,  with  the 
thumb  down,  such  a  thrust  would  have  no  force. 

2  See  Introduction,  p.  12.     Xenocrates'  career  belongs  to  the  earlier  rather  than 
the  later  part  of  the  third  century.     But  he  may  have  been  employed  on  the 
earliest  dedications. 

3  By  a  singular  coincidence,  the  dead  Amazon  at  Naples  was  grouped  with  a 
child  in  an  early  restoration,  and  hence  the  suggestion  to  connect  this  with  the 
work  of  Epigonus.      But  the  restoration  is  improbable  in  itself,  and  seems  to  rest 
on  no  good  authority.     See  Michaelis,  Jahrb.  1893,  p.  119  ;  Peterson,  Rom.  Mitt. 
Io93,  p.  261. 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  457 

is  the  identification  of  the  "Dying  Gaul"  himself,  with  his 
large  trumpet,  as  the  tulricen  mentioned  by  Pliny.  But  such 
speculations  must  not  be  taken  as  serious  evidence,  though  they 
may  help  us  to  classify  and  appreciate  the  work  of  an  artist 
otherwise  unknown. 

Another  series  of  extant  works  has  been  brought  into  relation 
with  a  set  of  groups  dedicated  by  Attains  on  the  Acropolis  at 
Athens,  probably  on  the  occasion  of  his  visit  to  that  town  in 
200  B.C.  They  were  seen  by  Pausanias  close  to  the  south  wall 
of  the  Acropolis,  and  consisted  of  figures  about  three  feet 
high.  The  purpose  of  this  dedication  was  evidently  to  claim 
for  the  feats  of  Attains  against  the  Galatians  a  fame  like  that 
of  the  Persian  wars,  and  a  similar  association  with  the  mythical 
antitypes  of  the  great  struggle  between  Greek  and  barbarian. 
There  was  represented  the  battles  of  the  Pergamenes  against  the 
Galatians,  of  the  Athenians  against  the  Persians,  of  the  Athenians 
against  the  Amazons,  and  of  the  Gods  against  the  Giants.  The 
last  of  these  groups  shows  us  that  the  Pergamenes  were  already 
symbolising  their  victory  over  the  Galatians  in  the  same  way  in 
which  the  Athenians,  on  the  Parthenon  and  elsewhere,  had 
celebrated  their  victory  over  the  Persians ;  and  it  must  be 
admitted  that,  of  the  two  adversaries,  the  Galatians  had  the 
more  resemblance  to  the  Greek  conception  of  the  wild  Giants 
who  fought  against  Zeus  and  the  other  Olympian  gods.  We 
shall  see  in  the  Great  Altar  at  Pergamum  the  magnificent 
expression  which  was  given  later  to  this  same  idea. 

There  exists,  scattered  over  the  museums  of  Europe,  a  whole 
series  of  statues  of  combatants,  some  fallen,  but  still  fighting  to 
the  last,  some  already  wounded  to  death  or  extended  lifeless  on 
the  ground  ;  these  are  about  three  feet  high,  and  their  character 
corresponds  exactly  to  the  description  of  Pausanias ;  there  are 
some  of  the  defeated  antagonists  of  each  group,  Galatians,  Per- 
sians, Amazons,  and  Giants  (Figs.  112,  113).  It  is  a  singular  fact 
that  no  corresponding  statues  of  the  victorious  combatants  have 
been  identified — indeed,  we  may  say,  that  no  such  statues  exist, 
for  the  small  size  and  characteristic  style  of  these  works  makes 
their  recognition  easy,  and  they  could  hardly  have  escaped  notice. 
The  explanation  of  this  fact  is  still  to  seek.  We  might  have 
supposed  that  only  the  defeated  and  dying  were  represented  in 
the  trophy,  the  conquerors  being  sufficiently  implied  by  the 
wounds  they  had  inflicted  ;  but  we  know  that  the  gods,  at  least, 


458  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

were  included,  since  a  statue  of  Dionysus  from  this  group  was 
blown  over  into  the  theatre  by  a  storm.  This  last  fact  also 
makes  it  probable,  though  hardly  beyond  doubt,  that  the 
originals  were  in  bronze.  All  the  extant  statues  of  the  series 
are  in  marble,  but  with  a  vigour  and  accuracy  of  modelling 
which  place  them  above  ordinary  copies,  and  with  a  polish  of 
the  surface  which  is  characteristic  of  Pergamene  art  and  the 
schools  dependent  on  Pergamum.1  It  is  probably  safest  to 
suppose  that  the  extant  statues,  or  at  least  the  majority  of 
them,  are  contemporary  replicas  of  those  set  up  on  the  Acro- 
polis ;  though  it  is  barely  possible  that  they  may  be  the 
originals. 

These  little  statues  have  never  been  surpassed  in  dramatic 
vigour  and  power ;  they  do  not,  of  course,  aim  at  the  expression 
of  any  high  ideal,  or  even  at  any  great  beauty  of  form ;  but 
they  express  with  wonderful  realism  and  truth  to  nature  the 
way  in  which  the  various  sets  of  combatants  take  their  defeat. 
In  one  case  we  see  a  Galatian,  fallen  and  wounded,  but  still 
fighting  to  the  last  and  recklessly  exposing  himself ;  in  another 
a  Persian,  who  is  also  beaten  down,  but  seems  to  shrink  together 
for  a  last  effort  in  his  defence  (Fig.  113).  The  way  in  which 
the  dead  combatants  have  fallen  is  no  less  characteristic  than 
their  manner  of  fighting.  A  Persian,  lying  on  his  side,  seems 
to  have  sunk  quietly  to  rest ;  a  Giant,  who  has  fallen  without  a 
wound  before  the  thunderbolt,  lies  on  his  back  with  his  limbs 
outspread,  as  wild  and  savage  in  death  as  in  life ;  and  a  young 
Galatian  lies  in  much  the  same  attitude ;  an  Amazon,  pierced 
with  a  wound  in  her  breast,  also  lies  on  her  back,  but  her  figure 
is  graceful  even  in  death,  as  she  lies  with  one  hand  beneath  her 
head  and  one  knee  slightly  drawn  up  (Fig.  112).  For  all  the 
dramatic  power,  there  is  nowhere  any  agony  or  contortion ; 
whether  death  comes  by  sudden  blow  or  by  more  gradual 
collapse  from  wounds,  its  pain  is  not  emphasised  with  patho- 
logical detail,  though  the  way  in  which  the  figures  have  fallen 
shows  a  correct  study  of  the  effect  of  various  wounds ;  above  all 
there  is  none  of  that  exaggerated,  almost  sentimental  develop- 
ment of  pathos  which  we  see  in  later  Pergamene  work.  Here  all  is 

1  This  polish  is  regarded  by  some  as  an  imitation  of  the  surface  of  bronze, 
More  probably  it  is  a  later  substitute  for  the  ydvwffis  and  circumlitio  of  earlier 
times,  and  is  due  to  the  use  of  a  marble  which  had  a  less  beautiful  texture  than 
Parian  or  Pentelic,  but  would  take  a  high  polish.  See  p.  29. 


THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C. 


459 


restrained  and  concise ;  and,  the  choice  of  subject  once  granted, 
there  is  in  everything  a  moderation  and  dignity  such  as  we  see 
also  in  the  "  Dying  Gaul."  The  hairy  and  uncouth  form  of  the 
Giants,  the  hardly  less  violent  nature  of  the  Galatians,  and  the 
more  graceful,  but  no  less  vigorous  figure  of  the  Amazon,  are 
all  characterised  with  equal  skill.  Only  in  the  case  of  the 
Persians  we  find  a  strange  deviation  from  fact ;  one  warrior, 


FIG.  112. — Dead  Amazon  and  Giant,  after  Pergauiene  group  on  Acropolis  at 
Athens  (Naples). 


though  he  wears  a  Persian  cap,  is  otherwise  completely  nude, 
in  violation  of  Persian  custom.  Perhaps  the  artist  felt  that,  in 
order  not  to  make  the  Persians,  with  whom  the  Athenians  were 
matched,  too  effeminate  adversaries  in  comparison  with  the 
Galatians,  some  such  modification  was  justifiable.  But  perhaps 
it  betrays  an  artistic  convention  such  as  must  not  surprise  us 
even  in  the  finest  work  of  the  Hellenistic  age. 

§  66.   The  Dedications  of  Eumenes  II. — Under  Eumenes  II., 
who    succeeded    his    father  Attalus   in   197   B.C.,    the    city  of 

2  H 


460  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

Pergamum  was  enriched  with  a  series  of  buildings  which  made 
it  rank  among  the  most  splendid  and  beautiful  cities  of  the 


FIG.  113. -Fighting  Persian,  after  Pergamene  group  on  Acropolis  at  Athens  (Rome, 
Vatican). 

ancient  world.     The  most  famous  of  these  monuments  was  the 
great  altar  of  Zeus,  which  was  among  the  chief  wonders  of  the 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  461 

ancient  world,  and  so  impressed  the  early  Christians  that  it  is 
referred  to  in  the  Revelation  as  "  the  Throne  of  Satan."  It 
consisted  of  a  huge  basis,  more  than  100  feet  square,  on  the 
top  of  which  stood  a  colonnade  surrounding  an  open  court  in 
which  the  altar  of  sacrifice  itself  was  placed.  The  court  was 
approached  by  a  broad  staircase,  cut  into  the  square  structure, 
which  took  up  about  three -fifths  of  its  west  side.  Two 
sculptured  friezes  decorated  this  magnificent  building  ;  the  chief 
one  ran  round  the  basis  in  a  continuous  composition  ;  it  was 
interrupted  by  the  broad  staircase,  but  turned  round  the  wings 
of  the  building  which  bordered  it,  so  that  the  sculptured  design 
runs  right  up  to  the  steps,  which  limit  it  at  the  extremity  into 
a  narrowing  field.  There  was  also  a  smaller  frieze,  probably 
on  the  inside  of  the  colonnade  above.  These  sculptures  have 
been  dug  up  by  the  Germans,  and  carried  off  to  the  Berlin 
Museum,  of  which  they  are  the  chief  ornament. 

The  great  frieze,  which  represents  the  battle  of  Gods  and 
Giants,  is  the  most  extensive  and  characteristic  example  of 
Pergamene  art,  and  perhaps  the  most  imposing  and  overwhelm- 
ing, at  least  at  first  glance,  of  all  the  monuments  of  Greek 
sculpture  that  have  been  preserved  to  our  time.  It  is  true 
that  the  restlessness  of  the  composition,  and  the  almost  un- 
limited wealth  of  design  scattered  in  profusion  over  the  whole 
frieze,  are  fatiguing  and  unsatisfying  on  a  more  careful  study ; 
but  the  knowledge  and  skill  of  the  sculptors,  their  extraordinary 
richness  in  resource,  and  their  wonderful  mastery  over  their 
material,  must  always  command  our  admiration. 

The  great  frieze  is  over  seven  feet  high,  so  that  its  figures  add 
the  effect  of  colossal  size  to  that  of  their  dramatic  vigour  and 
violent  action.  The  battle  of '  the  Gods  and  Giants,  or  indi- 
vidual scenes  from  it,  had  always  been  a  favourite  theme  with 
Greek  artists ;  but  we  have  seen  that  it  meant  more  to  the 
Pergamenes  than  to  any  other  Greeks  since  the  age  of  the 
Persian  wars,  and  that  their  own  victories  over  the  fierce  and 
savage  Galatians  were  really  more  suggestive  of  such  a  proto- 
type than  any  earlier  contest.  When  Eumenes  undertook  to 
commemorate  his  exploits  and  those  of  his  father  Attalus  by 
a  frieze  which  should  represent  the  subject  on  a  scale  and  with 
a  completeness  that  had  never  before  been  approached,  the 
artists  whom  he  employed  devoted  themselves  to  the  task  in  a 
manner  characteristic  of  the  age.  They  were  not  content  to 


462  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  v 

reproduce  the  familiar  scenes  of  the  great  battle  according  to 
the  old  usage,  with  a  new  dramatic  power  added ;  but  they, 
probably  aided  by  the  learned  mythologists  who  frequented  the 
Pergamene  library,  made  a  mythological  study  of  the  gods  and 
their  opponents  the  basis  of  their  work;  and  as  a  result  they  have 
represented  the  whole  Greek  pantheon  on  this  altar  with  a 
completeness,  almost  a  superfluity,  that  savours  of  an  age  of 
criticism  and.  eclecticism  rather  than  of  religious  belief.  We  see 
not  only  the  chief  gods,  each  accompanied  by  his  proper  attend- 
ants and  attributes  and  sacred  animals,  but  all  the  minor 
divinities,  each  in  his  proper  place ;  and  many  are  included  who 
perhaps  would  hardly  find  a  place  in  a  purely  Hellenic  system ; 
many  are  merely  variations  of  the  same  mythological  person- 
ality. If  so  much  confusion  and  multiplication  of  characters 
is  to  be  seen  in  the  extant  fragments,  which  only  amount  to 
about  half  of  the  whole  composition,  we  may  imagine  how  much 
stronger  the  impression  would  be  if  we  possessed  the  whole.  It 
was  no  unnecessary  help,  even  to  a  Greek,  to  add  the  name  of 
each  of  the  Gods  on  the  cornice  above,  while  each  of  the  Giants 
has  his  name  incised  below  him.  While  the  combat  is 
continued  from  end  to  end  of  the  frieze  in  one  writhing  mass  of 
Giants,  with  whom  their  divine  antagonists  are  inextricably 
entangled,  several  groups  at  once  stand  out  conspicuous ;  the 
two  chief  are  those  of  Zeus  and  of  Athena,  which  probably  were 
both  upon  the  eastern  face  of  the  structure,  opposite  to.  the 
staircase,  and  balanced  one  another  in  the  composition.  This 
eastern  face  was  evidently  the  principal  one ;  it  faced  the  open 
space  which  formed  the  religious  and  political  agora  of  the  city  ; 
and  so  the  two  chief  deities  here  find  their  appropriate  place, 
Zeus,  to  whom,  as  the  deliverer,  the  altar  was  dedicated,  and 
Athena,  whose  temple  was  the  chief  building  on  the  Acropolis 
above.  Zeus  is  engaged  in  combat  with  three  Giants  (Fig.  114); 
but  although  his  weapons  are  the  irresistible  aegis  and  thunder- 
bolt, even  he  is  not  exempt  from  the  strain  and  violence  of 
combat.  He  strides  to  his  right,  facing  the  spectator ;  in  his 
outstretched  right  arm  is  a  thunderbolt  which  he  is  about  to 
hurl,  while  with  his  left  he  shakes  the  snaky  folds  of  the  aegis 
in  the  face  of  one  of  his  opponents  ;  his  long  mantle  hangs 
over  his  shoulders  and  round  his  legs,  leaving  his  finely 
modelled  torso  bare.  The  figure  is  full  of  life  and  action; 
but  the  use  made  by  Zeus  of  his  weapons  seems  hardly 


464 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  v 


adequate  to  their  divine  power ;  and  there  is  something  almost 
grotesque  about  the  way  in  which  a  thunderbolt  he  has  already 
thrown  has  pierced  with  its  prongs  the  thigh  of  a  fallen 
adversary,  as  if  it  were  a  mere  common  piece  of  metal.1  And 
if  Zeus  has  to  fight  hand-to-hand,  the  drapery  which  well 
becomes  his  majestic  figure  cannot  but  impede  his  movement. 
This  group,  in  fact,  shows  both  the  strength  and  weakness  of 
the  sculptor.  In  power  of  composition,  in  dramatic  force  and 
action,  in  vigour  and  correctness  of  modelling,  it  cannot  be  . 
surpassed;  yet  the  artist  has  neither  been  content  to  follow 
the  traditional  manner  of  rendering  the  scene,  nor  has  he 
ventured  to  throw  over  entirely  all  old  conventions,  and  to 
create  a  new  conception  of  the  nature  of  the  combat  and  of  the 
combatants.  It  is  this  strange  combination  of  study  with  im- 
agination, of  originality  with  eclecticism,  which  we  shall  find 
throughout  the  work. 

The  group  in  which  Athena  is  the  chief  figure  is  the  finest  in 
design  and  in  preservation  of  those  that  remain  (Fig.  115).  She 
advances  to  the  right,  and  seizes  by  his  hair  the  young  Giant 
who  is  her  opponent.  His  figure,  human  but  for  his  outspread 
wings, 'and  less  savage  in  its  strength  than  those  of  most  of  his 
fellows,  slants  right  across  in  a  direction  opposite  to  her 
advance ;  and  the  balance  and  composition  of  the  main  lines  of 
the  group  which  result  from  this  crossing  of  the  opposing  forces 
are  admirable  in  their  effect.  Here,  too,  although  the  guardian 
snake  of  Athena  attacks  her  adversary,  there  is  less  of  the 
conventional  weapons  and  their  physical  effect  than  in  the 
opponents  of  Zeus.  The  vanquished  Giant  has  no  wound  nor 
Athena  any  weapon  of  offence ;  and  his  agonising,  upturned 
glance,  as  his  head  is  drawn  irresistibly  back  by  the  goddess,  is 
most  dramatic  in  effect.  The  helplessness  of  the  Giant  in  the 
hand  of  his  divine  conqueror  is  expressed  also  by  the  vain  grasp 
of  his  right  hand  at  her  arm  over  his  head ;  and  the  attitude 
gives  to  his  figure  a  certain  grace  even  in  its  agony  such  as  we 
do  not  often  see  in  this  frieze.  Another  wonderfully  dramatic 
effect  is  gained  by  the  appearance  of  the  Earth  herself,  who 
rises  to  the  waist  above  the  ground  in  front  of  Athena,  begging 
with  a  gesture  of  prayer  and  a  despairing  upward  gaze  for  her 
children  the  Giants,  while  Victory  floats  over  her  head  to  crown 

1  This  is  really  almost  as  absurd  as  if  a  savage  killed  in  battle  with  a  civilised 
enemy  were  represented  with  a  Maxim  gun  stuck  through  his  body. 


466  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

Athena.  Yet,  in  spite  of  all  balance  of  composition  and  of 
dramatic  action,  the  mind  of  the  spectator  is  bewildered  here, 
as  everywhere  else  in  the  frieze,  by  a  too  restless  variety  of 
line.  There  is  nowhere  any  fixed  point  on  which  the  eye  can 
rest,  nor  any  surface  free  from  the  turbulent  waves  of  hair  and 
wings  and  drapery,  unless  it  be  a  nude  body,  in  which  the 
strained  muscles  and  contorted  position  give  a  similar  impression. 
The  struggle  is  continued  in  a  succession  of  groups  all  varying 
in  their  motives  and  circumstances.  One,  which  is  preserved 
upon  several  continuous  blocks,  shows  the  deities  of  light- 
Helios  (the  sun)  driving  a  pair  of  horses  in  the  long,  floating 
drapery  of  a  charioteer,  while  before  him  rides  a  goddess  on  a 
horse,  who  probably  symbolises  the  dawn  (Eos).  However 
suitable  such  a  representation  may  be  on  a  vase  representing 
the  sunrise,  one  cannot  help  feeling  it  rather  out  of  place  in 
the  midst  of  a  battle  where  every  god  is  engaged  with  his  own 
adversary.  Selene  (the  moon),  who  is  seated  on  a  mule, 
with  her  back  to  the  spectator,  her  head  turned  to  the  lef 
is  among  the  most  pleasing  in  the  frieze,  both  for  figure  an 
drapejy.  Artemis  appears  in  the  guise  of  a  huntress  with  he 
dogs ;  close  to  her  is  Hecate,  who  offers  yet  another  exampl 
of  the  attempt  of  the  artist  to  combine  a  traditional  form  wit 
a  new  and  almost  incompatible  motive.  Her  triple  figure  i 
represented,  but  what  we  see  appears  at  first  glance  to  be  onl 
a  single  figure,  seen  from  the  back  and  advancing  into  th 
ground  of  the  relief ;  the  extra  heads  and  limbs  that  appea 
behind  it  have  no  apparent  organic  connection  with  it.  Apoll 
stands  almost  facing  the  spectator  as  an  archer,  his  chlamy 
hanging  over  his  left  arm,  and  his  body  entirely  nude — a  fin 
and  effective  piece  of  modelling,  and  quieter  in  its  pose  than  mos 
of  the  combatants,  especially  in  contrast  to  the  writhing  Gian 
around.  Dionysus  appears  with  his  panther  and  his  satyr 
The  deities  of  the  sea,  Poseidon,  and  Amphitrite,  and  Triton,  an 
the  rest  occupy  a  whole  wing  on  one  side  of  the  staircase. 
prominent  position  is  found  also  for  Cybele,  with  her  lions  an 
attendants.  For  the  Giants  it  was  impossible  to  find  as  muc 
variety  as  for  the  Gods,  but  every  device  has  been  used  to  attai 
a  similar  impression.  Some,  as  the  Giants  of  earlier  art,  a 
like  human  warriors,  only  of  wilder  aspect  and  greater  strength 
This  is  the  character  under  which  we  saw  them  portrayed 
tjie  dedication  of  Attalus  at  Athens,  But  the  later  Pergamen 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  467 

sculptors  did  not  content  themselves  with  this  type.  Whether 
they  first  gave  to  the  Giants  the  snake-footed  form  in  which 
many  of  them  appear  on  the  altar  is  a  matter  of  dispute ;  but 
in  any  case  they  did  not  originate  the  combination ;  it  was 
already  familiar  in  the  representation  of  Typhoeus  and  of  the 
earth-born  hero  Cecrops.  It  appears  in  every  variety  on  the 
frieze :  sometimes  the  snaky  legs  begin  at  the  thigh,  sometimes 
not  till  below  the  knee ;  and  many  of  the  Giants  have  wings 
also  like  Typhoeus.  Some  are  still  more  strange  mixtures 
of  different  natures,  like  a  lion-headed  monster,  with  lion's  claws 
and  human  body  and  limbs,  who  is  strangled  by  one  of  the 
Gods.  But  what  is  most  characteristic  throughout  is  the  writh- 
ing serpent  coils,  which  are  seen  almost  everywhere  in  the 
frieze,  and  contribute  in  no  little  degree  to  the  feeling  of 
struggle  and  restless  motion  that  pervades  the  whole. 

The  relief  is  high ;  many  of  the  figures,  or  parts  of  them, 
being  entirely  detached  from  the  background.  The  architec- 
tural frame  in  which  the  frieze  is  set  is  itself  of  peculiar  con- 
struction ;  it  projects  to  an  exceptional  extent  both  above  and 
below,  and  thus  the  relief  gains  a  depth  of  setting  which 
enhances  its  effect.  The  chief  technical  peculiarity  of  the 
relief  is  that  there  is  not  here,  as  usually  in  Greek  sculpture, 
a  normal  front  plane  which  is  never  exceeded  by  the  projecting 
portions;  the  limbs " of  the  combatants  seem  to  project  almost 
at  the  artist's  caprice  as  they  advance  or  retreat  in  or  out 
of  the  background ;  and  this  motion  itself  is  not  only  along 
the  direction  of  the  frieze,  but  at  right  angles  to  it  towards 
or  away  from  the  spectator.  Thus  we  have  a  still  further 
increase  of  the  bewilderment  and  confusion  which  indeed 
challenge  our  admiration,  but  also  offend  a  finer  artistic  sense. 
We  see,  indeed,  a  living  and  moving  mass  ;  but  it  is  more  like 
the  phantasmagoria  of  a  troubled  dream  than  the  calm  dignity 
and  breadth  of  the  Greek  sculpture  of  an  earlier  age.  The 
drapery,  too,  adds  to  this  impression ;  it  is  full  of  flow  and  life, 
with  a  wonderful  sense  of  texture  and  motion ;  yet  it  has  no 
single  broad  and  intelligible  scheme.  Here  we  see  a  device 
studied  from  an  earlier  model,  there  a  piece  of  direct  and  real- 
istic observation  from  nature — but  all  confused  with  an  eclectic 
yet  indiscriminating  desire  to  use  every  resource  of  art  at  once. 
When  we  come  to  the  modelling  of  the  nude,  we  must  assign 
a  higher  merit  to  the  Pergamene  work,  as  was  to  be  expected 


468  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

in  a  school  directly  dependent  on  the  pupils  of  Lysippus. 
Nothing  could  surpass  the  mastery  with  which  the  heavy  and 
muscular  torsoes  of  the  Giants  are  rendered,  whether  they  are 
strained  in  the  combat  or  contorted  in  the  agony  of  death ;  and 
we  have  noted  in  some  of  the  torsoes  of  the  Gods,  such  as  Zeus 
and  Apollo,  almost  the  only  surfaces  on  which  the  eye  could 
rest  for  a  moment  from  the  confused  detail  around.  The 
expression,  again,  which  we  see  in  faces  like  that  of  Earth,  or 
of  the  young  Giant  seized  by  Athena,  are  worthy  of  the  suc- 
cessors of  Scopas,  and  have  all  his  dramatic  power,  though 
more  distorted  and  less  restrained  in  character.  And  the  way 
in  which  the  marble  is  worked  to  represent  whatever  the  artist 
has  in  his  mind  has  never  been  excelled  in  mere  technical  skill, 
though  this  very  facility  has  sometimes  led  to  a  lack  of  true 
sculptural  instinct  in  the  choice  of  what  ought  to  be  repre- 
sented. 

The  smaller  frieze  of  the  same  altar  was  never  finished,  and 
in  some  parts  was  only  blocked  out  in  the  rough ;  it  represented 
scenes  from  the  life  of  the  local  hero  Telephus.  The  chief 
interest  of  the  frieze  lies  in  its  resemblance  in  background  and 
setting  to  the  Hellenistic  reliefs  of  Alexandrian  origin ;  it  is, 
indeed,  a  work  of  the  same  nature  in  a  continuous  composition 
instead  of  separate  panels ;  the  same  landscape  background 
occurs  throughout.  We  may  weir  see  in  this  an  influence  of 
Alexandria  on  the  art  of  Pergamum,  such  as  was  probable 
enough  from  their  literary  rivalry. 

The  Great  Altar  was  probably  built  during  the  most  pros- 
perous and  quiet  time  of  the  reign  of  Eumenes,  between  180 
and  170  B.C.  The  names  of  the  artists  employed  were  inscribed 
upon  it,  but  have  almost  entirely  disappeared.  Only  one  name 
is  of  interest,  which  appears  in  the  genitive,  that  of  Menecrates, 
the  adoptive  father  of  the  sculptors  of  the  Farnese  bull.  This 
probably  implies  that  his  sons  were  among  the  sculptors  of  the 
great  frieze. 

§  67.  The  Rhodian  School :  the  Laocoon. — The  activity  of  the 
Rhodian  school  of  sculpture  is  attested  by  a  large  number  of 
signatures  of  artists  which  have  been  found  in  the  island,  as 
well  as  by  the  statement  of  Pliny  that  there  were  a  hundred 
colossal  statues  in  the  island  which,  though  eclipsed  by  the 
huge  work  of  Chares,  would  each  have  sufficed  to  make  any 
other  place  famous.  Apparently  many  sculptors  were  attracted 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  469 

from  Asia  Minor  by  the  great  prosperity  of  the  island  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  Hellenistic  age.  The  inscriptions  of  these 
Rhodian  sculptors  fall  into  two  groups.1  Of  the  earlier  of  these 
groups,  which  belongs  to  about  200  B.C.,  we  have  no  extant 
works.  One  of  the  sculptors  belonging  to  it  was  Aristonidas, 
who  made  a  statue  of  Athamas,  in  the  remorse  which  followed 
the  fit  of  madness  in  which  he  slew  his  son.  This  statue  is  one 
of  those,  like  the  Jocasta  of  Silanion,  in  which  we  hear  of 
strange  admixtures  of  other  metals  with  bronze  to  produce  a 
certain  tint.  Here  a  mixture  of  iron  is  said  to  have  rendered 
the  blush  of  shame  and  contrition.  The  technical  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  believing  such  a  story  are  apparently  insuperable.2 
rTo  the  later  group  of  sculptors,  who  worked  at  the  beginning 
of  the  first  century  B.C.,  belong  Agesander,  Polvdorus,  and 
Atjbenodorus,  the  sculptors  or  the  Laocoon  (Fig.  116).  Though 
this  work  may,  in  actual  date,  be  assigned  to  the  Koman  rather 
than  the  Hellenistic  period  of  art,  it  is  better  to  treat  the  whole 
Ehodian  school  together  in  continuous  succession,  and  not  to 
separate  from  its  antecedents  a  work  which  shows  so  clearly 
the  influence  of  Pergamum. 

The  Laocoon  has  acquired  an  almost  fictitious  importance 
from  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  exhibited  in  the 
palace  of  Titus  at  Rome,  from  the  essay  on  the  principles  of 
art,  of  which  Lessing  made  it"  the  theme,  and  from  the  contro- 
versy which  has  arisen  about  its  date  and  affinities.  Now  that 
we  have  the  Pergamene  frieze  for  comparison,  and  are  able  from  . 
inscriptions  to  fix  the  date  of  Agesander  and  his  colleagues 
within  narrow  limits,  the  Laocoon  falls  naturally  into  its  place  • 
in  the  history  of  Greek  sculpture,  as  the  last  and  most  extreme 
example  of  Pergamene  art,  which  strives  after  exaggerated 
pathos  by  an  actual^i^presentation  of  pain  and  agony,  and 
refuses  no  devicTthat  may  add  to  the  dralmatic","almbst  theatrical"" 
effects,  because  such  a  device  does  not  readily  harmonise  with 
the  principles  of  sculpture.  Yet  Pliny  speaks  of  the  Laocoon 
as  a  work  to  be  set  above  all  others,  whether  in  painting  or 
sculpture,  and  Lessing,  instead  of  quoting  it  as  an  example  of 
what  sculpture  should  not  attempt,  uses  it,  in  comparison  with 
Virgil's  description,  as  an  illustration  of  the  difference  between 
the  principles  of  poetry  and  sculpture.  If  Lessing  had  been  able 

1  See  Loewy,  159-205  ;  Hiller  von  Gartringen,  Jahrb.,  1894,  p.  23. 
2  See  Introduction,  p.  32. 


470  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

to  see  all  the  examples  of  Greek  sculpture  which  now  fill  our 
museums,  from  the  Elgin  marbles  to  the  Pergamerie  altar,  we 
can  hardly  doubt  that  he  would  have  estimated  the  Laocoon  in 
a  different  way.  With  this  group,  indeed,  we  enter  upon  the 
study  of  a  series  of  works,  such  as  the  Apollo  Belvedere  and  the 
Venus  dei  Medici,  which  we  shall  find  ourselves  compelled  to 
judge  by  a  different  standard  from  that  of  Winckelmann  and 
his  associates.  To  them  these  late  works  were  representative 
of  Greek  art,  simply  because  they  had  never  seen  any  monu- 
ments of  better  period,  such  as  we  now  may  study  in  any 
museum ;  and,  instead  of  disparaging  their  criticism  when  we 
may  find  reason  to  modify  it  in  the  light  of  fuller  evidence,  we 
cannot  but  wonder  at  the  intuition  which  led  them  to  recognise, 
in  the  products  of  a  decadent  age,  the  trace  of  those  virtues 
which  had  distinguished  the  highest  period  of  Greek  sculpture. 
Now  that  we  know  the  group  of  Laocoon  to  have  been  made 
some  fifty  years  before  Virgil's  description  of  the  same  subject 
was  written,  our  comparison  of  the  literary  and  the  sculptural 
treatment  of  the  same  theme  is  freed  from  a  good  deal  of  vain 
speculation.  The  group  cannot  be  intended  as  an  illustration 
of  Virgil's  description ;  and  although  both  are  doubtless  derived 
from  a  common  tradition,  what  we  know  of  Virgil's  method  in 
other  cases  will  warn  us  against  assuming  any  very  close  imita- 
tion of  the  original  from  which  he  copied,  especially  in  the 
pictorial  realisation  of  the  scene  which  must  have  been  in  his 
mind.  On  the  other  hand,  the  description  of  Virgil  does  not 
appear  to  be  derived  directly  from  the  group  made  by  Ages- 
ander  and  his  colleagues.  It  is  by  the  succession  of  the  narra- 
tive, as  Lessing  points  out,  that  the  poet  attains  his  effect,  not 
by  an  elaborate  description  of  the  pose  of  his  subjects  at  any 
one  dramatic  moment.  The  awful  approach  of  the  serpents 
across  the  sea,  their  first  attack  on  the  two  children,  and  their 
turning  on  Laocoon  himself,  when  he  rushes  to  the  aid  of  his 
sons,  cannot  find  any  expression  in  sculpture,  though  on  these 
things  the  pathos  and  terror  of  the  poetical  description  mainly 
depend.  But  when  we  turn  to  the  group  itself,  we  cannot  help 
feeling  that  the  object  of  the  sculptor  was  not  so  much  to 
express  in  marble  the  story  ^of  Laocoon  as  to  make  use  of  the 
theme  as  a  pretext  for  a  group  of  figures  struggling  in  the 
agony  of  a  cruel  death  :  and,  however  much  we  may  admire  the 
skill  with  which  he  has  rendered  his  repulsive  subject,  the 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  471 

choice  of  such  a  subject  in  itself  suffices  to  show  that  he — or 
rather  the  age  in  which  he  lived — had  lost  the  finer  instinct  for 


FIG.  116. — Laocoon  (Rome,  Vatican). 


sculptural  fitness.  Death  in  itself,  when  met  with  a  fortitude 
like  that  of  the  dying  Galatian,  may  reveal  the  character  as 
nothing  else  can,  and  show  a  quiet  dignity,  which  affords  an  ad- 


472  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

mirable  subject  for  sculpture  ;  but  the  case  is  different  when  such 
a  subject  leads  to  a  mere  pathological  study  of  agony  and  con- 
tortion. There  is  not  here  even  that  grace  of  composition  and 
bodily  form  which  distinguishes  the  young  Giant  conquered  by 
Athena  upon  the  Pergamene  altar — a  figure  which  somewhat 
resembles  the  Laocoon  in  pose,  if  we  remember  that  the  upraised 
right  hand  of  the  Laocoon  is  a  false  restoration,  and  that  his 
arm  should  be  restored,  as  on  ancient  reproductions  of  the 
group,  with  his  elbow  bent  back  so  as  to  bring  his  hand  close 
to  his  head. 

The  technical  excellence  of  the  group,  no  less  in  com- 
position than  in  execution,  must  be  acknowledged.  It  is  of 
a  pyramidal  form,  and  the  contrast  between  the  father  and 
the  "two  sons  ^ives  it  variety.  The  one  on  the  right  seems 
as  if  about  to  escape,  a  version  of  the  story  in  which  the 
sculptors  followed  the  early  poet  Arctinus.  The  expression 
of  agony  in  the  drawn  brow  and  open  mouth  of  the  father, 
and  in  the  despairing  glance  of  the  younger  son,  is  borne  out 
in  every  line  of  muscle  and  limb ;  we  see  throughout  the  strain 
of  intense  physical  torture.  Such  pathological  study,  how- 
ever" far  from  the  true  domain  of  sculpture,  would  be  justified 
in  a  sense,  and  even  have  a  peculiar  merit  of  its  own,  if  its 
realism  was  equalled  by  its  correctness.  But  one  cannot  help 
feeling  that  the  motive  of  the  whole  is  inadequately  rendered. 
The  snakes  have  no  truth  to  nature,  but  are  zoological  mon- 
strosities. They  clearly  are  not  of  the  poisonous  order,  but  kill 
their  victims  by  crushing  them  in  their  irresistible  coils ;  but 
for  such  a  process  they  have  not  the  girth  or  muscular  develop- 
ment, and  the  coils  in  which  they  are  wound  about  Laocoon 
and  his  children  give  them  no  real  grip,  but  are  merely  designed 
in  a  conventional  and  ^decorative  manner")  to^  suit,  the  .artistic 
^effect,  and  one  of  them"  is  BrETng~lrke  a  aog.  It  is  the  same 
mixture  of  realism  and  convention  which  we  saw  in  the  great 
frieze  of  the  Pergamene  altar ;  and  although  we  cannot  deny  to 
the  sculptors  a  wonderful  power  of  design,  of  modelling,  and  of 
expression,  their  work  lacks  the  truth  to  nature,  which  alone 
can  justify  so  extreme  a  realism. 

§  68.  Trailed — the  Farnese  Bull. — Another  great  group  of 
sculpture,  which,  like  the  Laocoon,  was  originally  set  up  in 
Rhodes  and  later  transferred  to  Rome,  has  been  preserved  to 
our  time.  This  is  the  group  at  Naples  known  as  the  Farnese 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  473 

Bull  (Fig.  117).  It  represents  the  cruel  punishment  inflicted  by 
Zethus  and  Amphion,  the  Theban  heroes,  upon  their  step-mother 
Dirce,  at  the  instigation  of  their  mother  Antiope,  who  looks  on  as 
an  unmoved  spectator.  They  have  caught  a  young  bull,  to  which 
they  are  in  the  act  of  tying  their  victim  by  a  rope ;  she  lies  on 
the  ground,  and  lifts  her  hand  in  vain  supplication.  The 
sculptors,  Apollonius  and  Tauriscus,  were  brothers,  and  prob- 
ably lived  early  in  the  first  century  B.C.1  Thus,  in  date,  this 
group  also  falls  into  the  next  period ;  but  it  belongs,  like  the 
Laocob'n,  to  the  works  of  the  Rhodian  school,  dependent  on 
Pergamum,  and  it  seems  better  not  to  separate  it  from  this 
connection.  In  its  pyramidal  composition  this  group  recalls 
the  Laocoon,  and  it  shows  the  same  skill  in  dealing  with  a  huge 
mass  of  marble ; 2  but  here  the  skill  of  the  design  is  still  greater, 
since  the  group  produces  a  similar  effect  from  whatever  side  it  be 
seen,  and  is  not  intended  only  for  a  front  view,  like  the  Laocoon. 
The  choice  of  subject  is  clearly  due  to  a  desire  for  an  ostentatious 
display  of  the  sculptor's  skill,  and  so  is  characteristic  of  the 
school  and  period. 

The  setting  of  the  group  is  of  interest,  as  showing  another 
influence  which  we  have  already  noticed  at  work  in  another 
example  of  Pergamene  art — the  smaller  frieze  of  the  Great 
Altar ;  it  is  really  a  translation  into  the  round  of  those  pictorial 
accessories  which  we  have  first  seen  translated  into  relief  in  the 
Hellenistic  panels,  probably  of  Alexandrian  origin.  So  here 
we  have  a  rocky  field  on  which  the  scene  takes  place,  and  it  is 
diversified  not  only  by  plants  and  animals,  wild  and  tame,  but 
also  by  a  small  seated  figure,  a  personification  of  the  mountain 
Cithaeron,  on  which  the  action  takes  place.  But  the  minute 
size  of  these  accessory  figures,  and  their  disproportion  to  the 
main  group,  offends  us  by  its  incongruity.  It  is  yet  another 
example  of  that  excessive  and  undiscriminating  use  of  convention 
which  seems  peculiarly  unfitting  in  a  work  which  claims  our 
admiration  for  the  skill  of  the  sculptor  and  his  realistic  power. 
Another  attribute  which  seems  out  of  place,  though  in  a 
different  way,  is  the  lyre  of  Amphion,  which  leans  against  a 

1  See  Hiller  von  Gartringeu,    Mitth.   Ath.    1894,  p.    37,   who  publishes  an 
inscription  belonging  to  a  son  or  grandson  of  one  of  them. 

2  Here,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Laocoon,  Pliny  states,  the  work  was  made  ex  uno 
lapide.     Either  he  is  wrong,  or  he  means  merely  "in  one  continuous  piece  of 
marble  "  ;  several  blocks  are  joined  together  in  the  case  of  both  works. 


FIG.  117.— Farnese  Bull  (Naples). 


CIIAV.  v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  475 

tree-trunk  at  his  feet,  while  he  is  in  the  act  of  seizing  and 
mastering  the  bull.  Here,  we  again  see  the  same  use  of  conven- 
tion, which,  though  it  does  not  seem  incongruous  in  an  archaic 
work,  is  here  even  less  appropriate  than  on  the  Pergamene 
frieze. 

§  69.  The  Ephesian  School — Agasias. — We  have  already,  in 
the  case  of  Rhodes  and  Tralles,  transgressed  the  limit  which  we 
assigned,  on  general  grounds,  to  the  Hellenistic  period,  in  order 
to  follow  out  the  ultimate  development  in  Asia  Minor  of  those 
schools  of  sculpture  which  were,  in  their  origin,  dependent  on 
the  associates  and  pupils  of  Lysippus.  At  Ephesus  we  find  yet 
another  school,  which  shows  clear  traces  of  the  influence  of  the 
great  Sicyonian  master,  at  a  time  separated  by  more  than  two 
centuries  from  the  age  of  Alexander.  This  school  is  not 
mentioned  by  ancient  authorities,  but  is  known  to  us  only  from 
inscriptions  ; 1  its  two  chief  names  are  Agasias  and  Menophilus  ; 
but  Agasias  is  the  name  of  more  than  one  artist.  Besides  the 
Agasias,  son  of  Dositheus,  who  made  the  famous  statue  of  the 
Borghese  warrior,2  now  in  the  Louvre,  there  is  another  Agasias, 
son  of  Menophilus,  whose  name  occurs  at  Delos  on  a  basis 
which  fits  a  statue  of  a  wounded  and  fallen  warrior  found  close 
by.  The  two  statues  are  very  similar  in  style,  and  are  probably 
the  work  of  two  cousins  of  the  same  name.3 

The  Borghese  warrior  stands  with  his  feet  planted  far  apart, 
and  stretching  out  his  shield  to  the  utmost  reach  of  his  left  arm, 
while  his  right  arm  holds  his  sword  in  reserve  (Fig.  1 1 8).  The 
attitude  is  that  of  a  combatant  on  foot  attacking  a  horseman ; 
it  is  evidently  chosen  because  it  strains  every  muscle  of  the  body, 
and  so  gives  an  opportunity  for  display  of  the  sculptor's  know- 
ledge of  anatomy  ;  and  in  this  display  consists  the  main  interest 
of  the  work.  We  see  here  the  last  development  of  the  great 
school  of  Argos  and  Sicyon,  which  had  devoted  itself  to  the 
study  of  athletic  forms.  It  is  true  that  we  have  before  us  a 
combatant,  not  an  athlete ;  and  in  this  we  may  see  the  influence 
of  Lysippus  and  his  pupils  who  represented  the  battles  of 
Alexander,  and  of  the  Pergamene  artists  who  celebrated  the 

1  See  Loewy,  287-292. 
Usually  called,  in  old  books,  the  Borghese  Gladiator. 

3  It  has  been  asserted  that  because  the  Borghese  statue  was  found  at  Antium 
it  must  date  from  Imperial  times  ;  but  it  is  probable  enough  that  it  was  transferred 
from  elsewhere  to  the  Imperial  villa  there.  The  inscription,  according  to  Loewy, 
is  about  contemporary  with  those  of  the  other  Agasias. 

2  I 


476 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


CHAP. 


Galatian  wars  ;  but  the  opportunity  for  rendering  the  nude  male 
form  in  the  utmost  tension  is  hindered  by  no  clothes  or  defensive 


Fio.  118. — Borghese  Warrior,  by  Agasias  (Louvre). 


armour,  and  so  the  subject  suits  the  sculptor's  purpose  as  well 
as  if  it  had  been  athletic.  The  Borghese  warrior  is  essentially 
an  anatomical  study  ;  every  muscle  and  sinew  stands  out  clearly, 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  477 

and  is  rendered  with  great  knowledge  and  accuracy  ;  but  the 
figure  looks  almost  as  if  it  had  been  skinned,  and  there  is  no 
covering  of  flesh,  nor  any  attempt  to  render  the  actual  texture 
of  the  surface  of  the  body.  We  may  compare  this  treatment 
with  the  almost  equally  dry  and  muscular  rendering  of  the  body 
and  limbs  in  the  statues  of  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton  ;  and  we 
can  at  once  recognise  the  difference  between  the  early  work  and 
the  late.  Critius  and  Nesiotes  are  indeed  carried  away  by  their 
mastery  of  athletic  form,  which  is  too  new  and  too  hardly  won 
by  observation  and  diligence  to  be  unconscious,  like  that  of  the 
great  sculptors  of  the  finest  period  ;  and  as  a  natural  result  they 
emphasise  unduly  many  details  which  in  a  living  body  are  only 
to  be  seen  by  close  study  ;  but  their  object  is  to  make  a  worthy 
monument  to  the  slayers  of  the  Tyrants,  and  in  the  splendid 
dash  and  vigour  of  the  onset  we  can  forget  the  too  dry  and  hard 
treatment  of  the  muscles.  But  in  the  work  of  Agasias  we  feel 
that  the  muscular  exaggeration  is  the  purpose  of  the  statue, 
and  that  the  attitude  of  attack  is  merely  chosen  as  a  pretext  for 
its  display.  And,  moreover,  the  work  bears  the  impress  of 
academical  and  anatomical  study,  such  as  the  scientific  schools 
of  Alexandria  and  Asia  Minor  had  encouraged,  rather  than  of 
fresh  and  diligent  observation  of  the  living  and  moving  body. 
For  this  reason  the  Borghese  warrior  is  excellent  as  an 
anatomical  model;  but,  as  a  work. of  art,  it  merely  excites  our 
admiration  of  the  sculptor's  knowledge  and  skill,  but  in  no  way 
interests  us  in  his  theme. 

.  §  70.  Later  Ideals  of  the  Gods;  Apollo  Belvedere,  Aphrodite  of 
Melos,  etc. — In  speaking  of  the  Apollo  Belvedere,  it  is  needful 
for  us  to  bear  in  mind  the  increase  of  our  knowledge  of  Greek 
art  since  the  end  of  the  last  century ;  the  same  caution 
was  needed  in  the  case  of  the  Laocoon.  Since  the  days  of 
Winckelmann  and  his  followers,  the  Apollo  Belvedere  has 
acquired  a  sort  of  prescriptive  right  to  rank  as  a  typical  example 
of  a  Greek  god  as  rendered  by  the  finest  Greek  sculpture ;  and, 
as  a  natural  consequence,  many  excellences  have  been  attributed 
to  this  statue  which  it  does,  in  some  degree,  actually  possess,  as 
a  more  or  less  direct  product  of  the  art  of  Greece.  Now  that 
we  can  see  those  same  qualities  exhibited  in  a  less  contaminated 
form  by  many  other  extant  works  of  better  period  and  more 
authentic  character,  we  do  not  think  of  turning  to  the  Apollo 
Belvedere  for  their  illustration ;  but,  in  comparing  the  estimate 


478  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  v 

of  the  Apollo  Belvedere  which  is  forced  upon  us  by  modern 
criticism  with  the  enthusiastic  admiration  of  earlier  writers  on 
Greek  art,  we  must  remember  that  he  is  now  being  judged  by 
a  different  standard.  If  it  is  his  defects  rather  than  his 
perfection  on  which  we  have  to  dwell,  this  is  because  we  now 
compare  him  with  the  genuine  products  of  Hellenic  art,  instead 
of  with  the  mass  of  Graeco-Roman  works  among  which  he  stands 
out  in  conspicuous  excellence. 

The  statue  (Fig.  119)  stands  in  the  Belvedere  of  the  Vatican, 
from  which  it  takes  its  name,  and  is  a  marble  copy  of  a  bronze 
original.  This  is  evident  both  from  the  character  of  the 
modelling,  especially  in  the  hair,  and  from  the  design ;  a  large 
thin  expanse  of  garment,  like  the  chlamys  which  hangs  from  the 
left  arm  of  the  god,  is  easily  enough  rendered  by  a  sheet  of 
bronze,  but  in  marble  is  clearly  unsuitable.  The  god  stands 
with  his  left  arm  extended,  his  right  lowered,  and  his  feet  rather 
widely  apart ;  his  glance  follows  the  direction  of  his  extended 
left  arm,  and  the  position  suggests  an  archer,  who  has  just  shot 
an  arrow  and  watches  its  flight.1  Such  is  the  most  usual  Greek 
conception  of  Apollo,  and  the  correctness  of  the  interpretation 
is  confirmed  by  the  Apollo  of  the  Pergamene  frieze,  who  stands 
in  a  similar  position,  and  is  certainly  shooting  with  bow  and 
arrow.2  This  Pergamene  figure,  however,  also  offers  a  con- 
trast ;  he  is  standing  firmly  on  his  two  feet  as  an  archer  should, 
and  is  full  of  life  and  vigour.  The  Apollo  Belvedere,  on  the 
other  hand,  seems  gracefully  posing  as  an  archer  rather  than 
actually  shooting,  and  there  is  something  theatrical  about  the 
disdainful  smile  of  his  parted  lips.  The  eyeballs,  though 
shadowed  by  the  projecting  brow,  are  in  themselves  remarkably 
prominent,  and  show  a  strongly  convex  curve ;  this  is  best 
visible  when  the  face  is  seen  from  below.  The  modelling  of  the 
body  is  in  many  ways  the  very  opposite  to  what  we  see  in  the 
Pergamene  figures ;  there  every  muscle  is  emphasised  and  even 

1  A  statue  in  St.  Petersburg,  evidently  reproducing  the  same  original,  known 
as  the  Apollo  Stroganoff,  holds  in  the  left  hand  the  folds  of  some  object  like  an 
aegis  or  goat-skin — not,  it  seems,  the  end  of  the  chlamys.    Accordingly  some  have 
asserted  that  the  Apollo  Belvedere  also  held  the  aegis,  not  a  bow.     The  matter  is 
one  of  endless  and  not  very  profitable  controversy.     Furtwangler  cuts  the  knot  by 
declaring  the  Apollo  Stroganoff  a  modem  forgery  (Meisterwerke,  p.  660  ;  Eng. 
trans,  p.  406). 

2  Furtwangler,  I.e.,  says  that  the  Belvedere  statue  held  also  a  branch  of  bay 
and  woollen  fillets  in  the  right  hand.     This  would  make  the  motive  of  the  out- 
stretched bow  absurd. 


FIG.  119.— Apollo  Belvedere  (Rome,  Vatican). 


480  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  v 

exaggerated ;  here  all  strong  modelling  is  refined  away  until 
we  have  a  form  which  may,  perhaps,  be  called  ethereal,  but  is 
certainly  lacking  in  human  vigour.  It  is  perhaps  a  reaction 
against  the  realistic  tendency  which  was  at  the  time  so  strong 
in  Pergamum  and  elsewhere ;  but  the  Apollo  Belvedere  is 
certainly  open  to  an  objection  which  some  critics  make,  un- 
justly, against  the  idealistic  tendency  in  sculpture;  in  him 
generalisation  and  avoidance  of  individualistic  traits  has  gone 
so  far  as  to  lose  touch  with  nature.  If  we  had  not  other  works 
of  better  period  to  correct  our  impression,  we  might,  when  we 
look  at  this  statue,  be  inclined  to  sympathise  with  the  charge 
which  has  been  brought  against  Greek  art  generally  by  those 
ignorant  of  its  history  and  conditions — that  it  cares  more  for 
mere  grace  and  beauty  of  form  than  for  truth  to  nature  and 
expression  of  character.  How  little  such  a  general  criticism  is 
justified  we  can  see  from  the  whole  study  of  Greek  sculpture ; 
but  it  nevertheless  does  apply  in  this  instance.  As  to  the 
precise  school  and  period  to  which  the  Apollo  Belvedere  is  to  be 
assigned  we  have  no  certain  evidence.1  More  than  one  copy 
from  the  same  original  exists,  and  therefore  that  original  must 
have  been  a  well-known  work ;  the  character  of  its  style  which 
we  have  already  noticed,  and  above  all  the  rather  theatrical 
nature  of  the  pose,  seem  to  show  that  we  must  assign  it  to  the 
Hellenistic  age ;  but  we  have  no  clue  to  guide  us  to  any  more 
definite  conclusion.2 

The  Artemis  of  Versailles  (or  Diane  a  la  biche),  now  in  the 
Louvre  (Fig.  120),  has  been  universally  recognised  as  the  coun- 
terpart of  the  Apollo  Belvedere,  and  by  a  correct  instinct ;  the 
modelling  and  conception  are  similar  in  character,  and  most  of 
what  has  been  said  about  the  Apollo  applies  to  the  Artemis  also. 
The  figure  of  the  virgin  huntress,  tall  and  slim,  rushing  through 
the  woods  in  pursuit  of  her  quarry,  and  reaching  an  arrow  from 
her  quiver  with  her  right  hand,  is  one  with  which  we  are  familiar 
in  Greek  art,  from  the  time  of  Strongylion  down  ;  it  is  finely 

1  Winter,  Jahrb.  1892,  p.  164,  assigns  the  Apollo  Belvedere  to  Leochares,  on 
the  ground  of  its  resemblance  to  that  artist's  Ganymede,  and  Furtwangler  agrees 
with  him.     I  must  confess  myself  unable  to  see  the  least  resemblance  in  style 
between  the  two  works  ;  also,  on  more  general  grounds,  we  cannot  regard  the 
Apollo  Belvedere  as  even  in  origin  a  possible  creation  of  the  fourth  century. 

2  There   is   no   evidence   for   the   theory  that  this   Apollo,    the   Artemis   of 
Versailles,  and  a  certain  Athena  should  be  grouped  together  as  an  offering  set  up 
at  Delphi  after  the  repulse  of  the  Gauls  in  279  B.C. 


Fio.  120.— Artemis  of  Versailles  (Louvre). 


482  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

embodied  in  this  statue,  with  a  successful  striving  for  the  desired 
effect ;  but  all  is  marred  by  an  addition  like  so  many  we  have 
already  noted  in  Hellenistic  art ;  the  stag  which  she  holds  by 
the  horn  with  her  left  hand  is  merely  a  conventional  attribute, 
such  as  we  find  often  enough  on  early  vases  and  statues ;  but  it  ; 
is  remarkably  out  of  place  in  a  work  like  this,  which  depends  . 
for  its  effect  on  the  reality  and  truth  of  the  impression  conveyed. 
The  way  in  which  the  drapery  is  turned  back  above  the  left 
knee,  merely  in  order  to  display  the  beauty  of  the  thigh,  is 
another  touch  that  betrays  a  master  of  the  decadence. 

We  must  now  turn  to  a  work  which,  though  it  must  be 
assigned  to  the  same  period,  is  of  an  entirely  different  character. 
This  is  the  famous  statue  known  as  the  Venus  of  Melos  (Fig. 
121),  which  is  the  chief  treasure  of  the  Louvre,  and  is  considered 
by  many,  not  without  reason,  to  be  the  most  beautiful  of  all  the 
statues  that  have  survived  from  antiquity.  There  is  a  breadth 
and  simplicity  about  the  modelling  of  this  statue  which  recall  at 
first  glance  the  character  of  the  fifth  century,  and  its  attribu- 
tion to  so  late  a  period  always  excites  a  conscious  or  unconscious 
protest.  Yet  we  shall  see  good  reason  for  the  place  to  which 
it  is*  assigned  in  the  history  of  sculpture.  The  statue  was 
found  at  Melos,  in  a  grotto,  together  with  some  other  antiqui- 
ties, among  them  a  portion  of  a  plinth,  which  had  on  it  an 
inscription  recording  that  the  statue  it  bore  was  made  by  a 
sculptor  whose  name  ended  either  in  -xander  or  -sander,  of 
Antioch  on  the  Maeander.1  The  name  is  otherwise  unknown ; 
but  the  character  of  the  writing  suffices  to  show  that  he 
probably  lived  about  100  B.C.  This  plinth  is  said  to  have 
joined  on  to  the  plinth  of  the  Venus  of  Melos  at  the  place  where 
that  plinth  is  cut  away  under  her  left  foot;  but  it  has  now 
disappeared,  and  some  have  even  suggested  that  its  disappear- 
ance was  not  accidental,  but  was  contrived  by  those  who  wished 
to  claim  a  more  distinguished  authorship  for  the  statue.  There 
has  been  much  controversy  about  this  question.  On  the  whole 
it  is  probably  safest  to  follow  the  verdict  of  Loewy,  who,  after 
a  careful  summing  up  of  the  evidence,  decides  that  the  connec- 
tion of  plinth  and  statue  must  be  regarded  as  "  not  proven." 2 

1  See  Loewy,  p.  298. 

2  Furtwangler,    in   his  Masterpieces,    accepts   the   plinth   as   belonging,   and 
even  restores  the  statue  on  its  authority  as  resting  the  left  arm  on  a  pillar,  for 
which  the  basis  has  a  socket.      But  his  restoration  is  not  convincing,  and  he 
himself  acknowledges  it  to  be^  awkward  in  pose. 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  483 

The  goddess  stands,  her  left  foot  raised  on  a  slight  inequality 
of  the  ground,  and  her  drapery  wrapped  about  her  lower  limbs, 


FIG.  121.— Aphrodite  from  Melos  (Louvre). 


the  upper  part  of  her  body  being  bare.     The  motive  of  her 
position   cannot   be    ascertained,    unless   we    can    discover   the 


484  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GKEEK  SCULPTURE  CH. 

correct  restoration  of  her  arms — a  problem  which,  in  spite  of 
endless  discussion,  has  hitherto  found  no  final  solution.  The  pose 
of  the  figure  is  almost  identical  with  that  which  we  see  in  a  type 
of  Aphrodite  grouped  with  Ares,  of  which  we  have  several 
copies.  In  another  type  she  rests  her  left  foot  on  a  helmet,  and 
holds  in  her  hands  the  shield  of  Ares,  which  she  uses  as  a  mirror; 
and  a  later  modification  of  the  same  type  is  seen  in  the  Victory 
of  Brescia,  who  is  engraving  on  a  shield  the  names  of  those 
whose  exploits  she  celebrates.  But  it  does  not  seem  probable 
that  the  pose  of  the  Aphrodite  found  in  Melos — for  her  identi- 
fication as  Aphrodite  follows  an  instinct  that  cannot  be  gain- 
said— was  due  to  her  holding  a  shield.  She  may  have  been 
holding  up  her  drapery  with  her  right  hand ;  for  without  such 
assistance  it  could  not  stay  where  it  is  for  any  length  of  time ; 
but  this,  too,  is  not  a  satisfactory  explanation,  and  it  is  prob- 
ably wiser  to  acknowledge  that  we  are  at  fault. 

In  the  arrangement  of  the  drapery  we  see  the  stamp  of  the 
Hellenistic  age.  The  artist  wishes  to  represent  the  bodily 
beauty  of  the  goddess  unveiled,  but  he  also  has  a  feeling  that 
nudity  is  inconsistent  with  her  majesty  and  dignity ;  and, 
halting  between  the  two  opinions,  he  adopts  a  compromise 
which  once  more  brings  us  back  to  the  strange  relapse  into 
convention  so  common  in  Hellenistic  art.  The  drapery, 
like  that  of  Zeus  in  the  Pergamene  frieze,  is  so  designed  as  to 
allow  of  an  effective  display  of  the  figure  while  lending  its 
dignity  to  the  deity ;  but,  in  order  to  attain  this  end,  it  is 
placed  in  a  position  where  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to 
arrange  it,  and  whence  it  certainly  must  fall  at  the  slightest 
movement.  A  sculptor  of  the  fifth  century  would  not,  probably, 
have  ventured  to  represent  Aphrodite  except  in  complete 
drapery :  a  sculptor  of  the  fourth  century  represented  her 
completely  nude  without  hesitation.  It  remained  for  the 
eclectic  art  of  the  Hellenistic  age  to  attempt  to  combine  two 
irreconcileable  conceptions,  and  to  be  forced  by  the  attempt 
into  an  unnatural  convention. 

But,  in  spite  of  this  defect,  we  must  acknowledge  that  the 
artist  has  caught  much  of  the  spirit  and  the  dignity  of  the  best 
period  of  Greek  art.  For  a  conception  of  the  female  figure  at 
once  so  dignified  and  so  beautiful  we  have  to  go  back  to  the 
sculpture  of  the  Parthenon ;  and  we  see  the  same  breadth  and 
simplicity  of  modelling  in  the  drapery  as  in  the  nude.  The 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  485 

expression  of  the  face,  too,  has  the  grace  and  charm  which  we 
admire  in  the  work  of  Praxiteles,  without  a  hint  of  the  too 
soft  and  sensual  tendency  which  we  may  trace  in  his  followers, 
if  not  in  himself.  The  sculptor  who  made  this  Aphrodite  of 
Melos  must  have  lived,  in  spirit,  in  the  age  of  Phidias,  even 
although  he  could  not  entirely  escape  the  contaminating  influ- 
ences of  his  own  day,  and  he  has  given  us  a  work  which,  now 
that  we  have  lost  the  originals  from  which  he  drew  his  inspira- 
tion, is  not  unworthy  to  transmit  something  of  the  beauty  and 
majesty  of  the  great  works  of  the  fifth  century. 

§  71.  Other  Works  of  the  Hellenistic  Age. — Amongst  the  works 
made  to  glorify  the  victories  of  Alexander  and  his  successors, 
those  that  we  have  hitherto  noticed  have  either  portrayed  the 
actual  scenes  of  combat  or  the  portrait  of  the  monarch  in  whose 
honour  they  were  made,  and  some  combined  the  two.  But  the 
custom  of  setting  up  a  statue  of  the  goddess  Victory  (NtK?/) 
in  celebration  of  a  successful  battle  or  campaign  was  usual  in 
Hellenistic  times  as  it  had  been  in  earlier  Greece ;  and  the 
Louvre  possesses  a  statue,  found  on  Samothrace,  which  is  a 
magnificent  example  of  the  custom  (Fig.  122).  This  Victory 
was  set  up  by  Demetrius  Poliorcetes  to  celebrate  a  naval  victory 
in  306  B.C.  We  do  not  know  who  was  the  sculptor  of  the  statue, 
but  it  is  reproduced  upon  the  coins  of  Demetrius,  and  has  been 
identified  with  their  help ;  hence  we  may  infer  that  it  was  greatly 
admired  at  the  time,  and  it  ranks  as  a  typical  work  of  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Hellenistic  age. 

The  goddess  is  represented  as  standing  on  the  prow  of  a 
ship.  With  her  right  hand  she  holds  a  trumpet  to  her  lips, 
with  her  left  she  carries  a  cross-tree,  the  framework  of  a  trophy. 
Her  wings  are  outspread  behind  her,  and  her  drapery  is  swept 
by  the  wind  so  as  to  cling  close  to  her  body  in  front,  and  to 
stream  in  heavy  masses  away  from  her  limbs  ;  her  knees  are 
hardly  bent,  and  so  the  figure,  in  spite  of  its  rush  of  forward 
motion,  does  not  seem  to  advance  by  its  own  speed,  but  by  that 
of  the  ship  on  which  it  stands.  The  effect  of  the  statue  is  most 
powerful,  and,  like  that  of  the  Pergamene  frieze,  overwhelming 
at  first  glance  ;  but  it  must  be  admitted  to  be  sensational  in 
character.  In  order  to  realise  this  we  may  compare  it  with  the 
Victory  of  Paeonius,  or  even  with  the  figures  in  rapid  motion 
from  the  Nereid  monument,  which  are  intermediate  between  it 
and  the  earlier  work.  There  is  a  realistic  vigour  and  dramatic 


486  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

force  about  the  Victory  of  Samothrace  which  carry  us  away  at 
the  first  impulse  ;  but  from  it  the  eye  turns  with  relief  to  rest 


Fio.  122.— Victory  from  Samothrace  (Louvre). 

on  the  simpler  conception  and   execution   of  the  fifth  century. 
This   is   chiefly  the   effect  of    the  treatment    of    the   drapery, 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  487 

which  has  no  breadth  or  system ;  some  of  it  reminds  us  of  the 
finest  bits  of  modelling  in  earlier  work,  and  is  doubtless  imitated 
from  them ;  other  parts  of  it  show  a  close  and  careful  study 
from  nature ;  but  in  the  whole  there  is  a  restlessness  that  is 
distracting — an  impression  similar,  though  less  in  degree,  to 
that  produced  by  the  Pergamene  frieze.  Theatrical  power  and 
mastery  of  technique  are  there ;  and  there  is  something  pictorial 
about  the  design  which  must  have  been  peculiarly  effective  in 
the  surroundings  amidst  which  the  statue  was  erected,  in  the 
open  air  and  in  the  open  country.  Then  it  must  have  been  almost 
startling  to  come  upon  this  effective  Victory,  rushing  through 
the  air  on  her  ship  to  announce  her  tidings ;  and  if  there  is  too 
conscious  a  straining  after  effect  on  the  part  of  the  artist,  we 
must  also  recognise  that  he  has  been  successful  in  his  effort.  / 
Another  work  which  cannot  be  placed  far  from  the  beginning 
of  the  Hellenistic  age  is  a  head  found  at  Eleusis  of  remarkable 
workmanship  (Fig.  123).  Owing  to  a  certain  theory  as  to  its 
identity  it  has  come  to  be  known  by  the  name  of  the  "  Eubu- 
leus,"  which  it  seems  likely  to  retain,  even  when  spoken  of  by 
writers  who  deny  the  correctness  of  the  identification.  This  is 
unfortunate,  though  not  unnatural,  since  any  name  is  better  than 
none  by  which  to  refer  to  an  extant  work.1  It  consists  of  the 
head  and  shoulders  of  a  young  and  beardless  man,  more  than  life 
size.  It  was  never  part  of  a  complete  statue,  nor  on  the  other 
hand,  is  it  either  cut  away  below  the  neck  into  a  square  pillar,  as 
is  usual  with  herms  both  in  earlier  and  later  times,  nor  finished 
off  as  the  conventional  bust  which  has  been  common  since 
Hellenistic  times.  It  is,  in  fact,  transitional  in  form  between 
the  two ;  and  this  is  consistent  with  a  position  in  the  history 
of  sculpture  at  the  beginning  of  the  Hellenistic  age.  Such  a 
position  we  may  assign  to  it  also  on  the  ground  of  its  artistic 
character.  The  full  and  wonderfully  soft  modelling  of  the 
flesh,  the  deeply  undercut  and  overhanging  masses  of  the  hair, 

1  It  was  found  in  the  sanctuary  of  Pluto  at  Eleusis,  and  was  called  Eubuleus 
because  that  god,  or  hero  (he  is  both  in  myth),  was  there  associated  with  Hades 
in  worship.  And  further,  on  the  authority  of  a  headless  herm  at  Rome  with  the 
inscription  Ev(3ov\et>$  Hpa^iT^Xovs,  it  was  claimed  by  both  Benndorf  and  Furt- 
wangler  as  an  original  work  by  Praxiteles.  Kern,  in  Mitth.  Ath.,  1891,  p.  1, 
showed  that  the  identification  was  mythologically  improbable.  There  is  certainly 
no  such  resemblance  to  the  Hermes  or  other  attested  works  of  Praxiteles  a  to 
incline  us  to  the  artistic  inference  ;  and  the  meaning  of  the  Roman  inscription 
and  its  applicability  are  extremely  doubtful. 


488  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

are  such  as  are  unlikely  at  an  earlier  date ;  and,  above  all,  the 
distinctly  Alexandroid  type  of  the  head  shows  its  approximate 
date.  It  is  not  a  portrait  of  Alexander,  but  it  has  a  strong 
resemblance  to  his  features,  such  a  resemblance  as  reminds  us  of 
other  works  of  about  the  same  age  that  have  been  brought  into 
relation  with  him  ;  for  example,  the  Inopus  of  the  Louvre. 


FIG.  123. — Head  from  Eleusis,  known  as  "  Enbuleus    (Athens,  National  Museum) 

The  small  eyes  and  sensual  mouth  suggest  Alexander  with  tl 
stronger  and  better  parts  of  his  character  omitted ;  and,  moi 
over,  the  head  seems  to  have  much  of  the  nature  of  a  portrait 
and  has  more  than  once  been  identified  as  a  portrait,  though 
without  convincing  success.     It  is  either  some  mythical  person 
represented  under  the  features  of  a  man,  or  a  man  posing  as  a 
hero  or  god ;  and  the  man  either  had  or  affected  to  have  a  close 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  489 

resemblance  to  Alexander,  and  cannot  have  lived  long  after  his 
time.  We  cannot  say  more  than  this  with  any  confidence ;  but 
the  extraordinary  delicacy  and  softness  of  the  modelling,  which 
is  such  as  we  see  only  in  the  finest  Attic  treatment  of  marble, 
cannot  blind  us  to  the  unpleasing  and  unworthy  nature  of  the 
subject  represented.  In  spite  of  this  drawback,  however,  the 
head  is  a  most  characteristic  example  of  the  idealising  por- 
traiture, or  of  the  assimilation  of  an  ideal  subject  to  the  features 
of  an  individual — we  can  hardly  say  which  it  is ;  but  both  alike 
are  typical  of  the  beginning  of  the  Hellenistic  age,  when  the 
decline  of  the  religious  conception  of  the  gods  was  matched  by 
a  corresponding  exaltation  of  men  who  seemed  to  have  acquired 
almost  divine  power  and  attributes. 

The  two  works  which  we  have  just  considered  must  be 
assigned  to  the  beginning  of  the  Hellenistic  age.  One  of  them, 
indeed,  the  "Eubuleus,"  is  claimed  by  some  high  authorities  for 
the  fourth  century.  We  must  conclude  by  a  brief  mention  of 
some  works  which  give  us  a  notion  of  the  versatile  activity  of 
the  Pergamene  school,  of  which  we  hav.e  already  seen  the  chief 
monuments.  One  of  them  is  a  representation  of  the  flaying  of 
Marsyas,  in  which  one  of  the  more  morbid  of  the  Pergamene 
masters  found  a  congenial  subject.  It  had  been  represented 
before  by  the  painter  Zeuxis  among  others,  and  we  possess  repro- 
ductions of  the  group  on  sarcophagi  and  on  other  minor  works 
of  art,  which  show  that  the  satyr  was  represented  tied  up  to  a 
tree,  suspended  by  his  arms,  which  are  secured  above  his  head. 
In  front  of  him  crouched  a  barbarian  slave,  sharpening  the  knife 
with  which  the  cruel  punishment  was  to  be  performed ;  and 
Apollo  was  probably  represented  as  a  spectator.  We  have 
already  noticed  scenes  from  the  same  myth  in  earlier  sculpture 
among  the  works  of  Myron  and  Praxiteles.  But  the  repre- 
sentation of  its  painful  conclusion  was  reserved,  at  least  in 
sculpture,  for  a  Hellenistic  artist.  The  actual  flaying  is  not 
indeed  portrayed ;  but  its  agony  seems  to  be  anticipated  in  the 
expression  of  the  face  and  the  whole  body  of  the  satyr  Marsyas. 
His  muscles  seem  riot  only  horribly  strained  by  his  suspension, 
but  also  shrinking  from  the  pain  of  the  operation  for  which  the 
slave  is  preparing  his  knife.  The  Marsyas  exists  in  several 
copies,  more  than  one  in  Florence ;  but  in  execution  they  are 
all  surpassed  by  the  statue  of  the  crouching  slave  which  is  in 
the  Tribuna  of  the  Uffizi  Gallery  at  Florence.  This  statue  is 


490  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAR 

of  the  same  marble  as  the  replicas  of  the  dedications  of  Attains,1 
arid  has  the  same  polished  surface.  It  also  shows  the  same 
skilful  rendering  of  the  barbarian  figure  which  we  saw  in  the 
Dying  Gaul.  It  is  these  characteristics  that  make  it  most 
probable  that  we  must  assign  the  group  to  a  Pergamene 
sculptor. 

There  is  another  set  of  works  of  playful  and  realistic  genre 
which  we  may  also  assign  to  the  Pergamene  school.  One  of 
these  is  a  bronze  found  at  Pergamum,  and  now  at  Berlin.  It 
represents  a  young  satyr,  who  is  hardly  to  be  distinguished 
from  a  shepherd  boy,  who  springs  back  and  defends  himself 
with  his  short  club  from  the  attack  of  some  animal.  The  figure 
is  full  of  life  and  action ;  alike  in  face  and  body  we  see  that 
fulness,  almost  excess  of  expression,  that  the  Pergamene  artists 
affect.  The  choice  of  such  a  subject,  which  in  its  character 
reminds  us  of  the  idylls  of  Theocritus,  once  more  shows  us  that 
love  for  wild  and  country  life  which  we  have  already  noticed 
as  characteristic  of  the  age.  Another  similar  work  is  a  statuette 
in  marble,  in  the  British  Museum,  of  a  boy  drawing  a  thorn 
from  his  foot 2  — another  touch  of  country  life  such  as  was  dear 
to  the  art  of  such  cities  as  Alexandria  and  Pergamon.  In  these 
works,  as  in  the  pastoral,  we  see  an  affectation  of  rustic  sim- 
plicity which  is  a  sure  symptom  of  the  artificiality  of  a  decadent 
age. 

§  72.  Summary. — The  leading  characteristics  of  the  art  of 
the  Hellenistic  age  have  shown  themselves  clearly  in  the  various 
works  of  the  period  which  have  come  before  us.  One  of  the 
chief  influences  at  its  beginning  was  the  dominant  personality 
of  Alexander,  which  not  only  gave  a  new  impulse  to  portrait 
sculpture  in  celebrating  him  and  his  successors,  but  actually 
affected  the  artistic  type  of  the  period,  so  that  even  gods  were 
created  after  his  image.  The  sculptor  who  was  mainly  employed 
by  Alexander  was  Lysippus,  and  therefore  it  is  not  surprising 
to  find  him  looked  upon  by  many  of  the  Hellenistic  schools  as 
their  master,  and  to  find  his  pupils  directing  the  activity  of 
Greek  art  in  the  new  centres  it  had  found  in  the  East.  But 
Scopas  had  been  before  him  in  Asia  Minor,  and  his  power  of 

1  See  p.  458. 

2  It  is  a  matter  of  dispute  whether  the  famous  bronze  boy  of  the  Capitol,  the 
Spinario,  is  an  early  version  of  this  same  subject,  or  a  late  archastic  modification 
of  a  theme  invented  in  the  Hellenistic  period. 


v  THE  HELLENISTIC  AGE— 320-100  B.C.  / 

expression  and  of  pathos  was  likely  to  impress  the  sculptors  of 
later  time,  and  to  excite  their  emulation.  We  have  seen  in  the 
art  of  Pergamum,  and  of  the  later  schools  dependent  upon 
Pergamum,  the  dramatic  and  sensational  development  of  which 
Hellenistic  sculpture  was  capable. 

We  have  noticed  the  craving  for  an  artificial  simplicity 
which  was  the  natural  result  of  the  crowding  of  the  population 
into  great  cities  like  Alexandria,  and  the  expression  which  that 
craving  found  in  art  as  well  as  in  literature.  Following  the 
bent  of  pastoral  poetry,  sculpture  also  represented  the  scenes 
and  the  characters  of  country  life,  sometimes  actual  fishermen 
and  shepherds,  sometimes  satyrs,  who  are  no  longer  the  personal 
attendants  of  Dionysus,  but  mere  personifications  of  country 
life,  sharing  the  character  of  the  rude  and  simple  peasants 
among  whom  they  are  imagined  to  live.  Children,  too,  are 
represented  with  truth  to  nature,  and  even  the  gods  are  some- 
times represented  in  childish  form. 

It  is  above  all  in  the  conception  of  the  function  of  art  that 
the  Hellenistic  age  differs  from  the  earlier  periods.  Sculpture 
is  no  longer  mainly  concerned,  as  in  the  fifth  century,  with  the 
embodiment  of  the  sublimest  ideals  of  the  gods,  nor  even  with 
their  more  human  and  personal  characterisations  as  in  the  fourth 
century.  The  types  of  the  chief  deities  have,  so  to  speak, 
become  stereotyped  and  conventional,  and  the  artist  can  only 
add  colossal  size  or  brilliancy  of  execution  to  the  attainments 
of  his  predecessors.  It  is  partly  due  to  this  fact,  partly  to  the 
employment  of  art  almost  exclusively  in  the  service  of  the 
kings  of  those  regions  into  which  the  empire  of  Alexander  was 
divided,  that  a  desire  for  what  was  magnificent  and  imposing 
almost  superseded  the  need  for  artistic  expression  of  the  ideas 
of  the  sculptor  or  of  the  people.  Great  works  like  the  Colossus 
of  Rhodes  and  the  Pergamene  altar  ranked  among  the  wonders 
of  the  world,  and  by  that  very  fact  satisfied  to  a  great  extent 
the  aim  of  those  who  had  erected  them. 

An  age  of  decadence  is  often  an  age  of  study  and  criticism, 
and  the  Hellenistic  period  is  perhaps  the  most  conspicuous 
example  of  this  tendency.  The  study  of  nature  in  detail,  of 
botany  and  zoology  and  anatomy,  has  left  many  traces  in 
Hellenistic  sculpture.  The  great  libraries  of  Alexandria  and 
Pergamum  were  the  chief  centres  of  intellectual  activity ;  and 
a  study  and  criticism  of  earlier  sculpture  came  to  have  an 

2  K 


492  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  v 

excessive  influence  on  the  art  of  the  day.  Of  course  in  earlier 
times  each  school  had  had  its  tradition,  and  its  succession  of 
masters  and  pupils  ;  and  the  chief  schools  had  also  acted  and  re- 
acted upon  one  another,  especially  during  the  times  of  the  greatest 
activity.  But  we  now  for  the  first  time  find  the  details  and 
mannerisms  of  earlier  artists  studied  and  imitated ;  and  this, 
combined  with  the  academic  study  of  anatomy  and  of  the 
model,  gives  a  lack  of  spontaneity  and  freshness  to  most  of  the 
chief  monumental  works  of  the  time,  in  spite  of  their  dramatic 
power  and  imposing  effect.  In  smaller  works,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  often  find  a  freshness  and  humour  that  remind  us  of 
the  poems  of  Theocritus.  But  throughout  we  feel  that  the 
sculptor  chooses  the  subject  for  the  sake  of  its  effect,  and  its 
scope  for  exhibiting  his  own  skill  or  fancy.  He  is  rarely 
inspired  with  a  great  idea,  which  it  is  his  aim  to  embody ;  and 
even  when  the  result  is  a  work  so  beautiful  as  the  Aphrodite 
of  Melos,  it  is  not  the  spontaneous  growth  of  the  sculptor's 
own  period  and  personality,  but  is  due  to  his  devotion  to  the 
types  and  ideals  of  a  greater  age. 

Nevertheless,  the  great  works  of  the  Hellenistic  age,  and 
especially  those  which  belong  to  the  Pergamene  school,  are  the 
products  of  a  living  art,  full  of  vigour  and  force.  We  hear 
but  little  of  Greece  itself  during  this  period ;  and  when  the 
sculptors  of  Athens  again  become  prominent,  they  but  confirm 
the  impression  that  all  the  strength  and  originality  of  the  Greek 
genius  had  followed  Alexander  in  the  spread  of  Hellenism  over 
the  Eastern  world. 


CHAPTER   VI 

GRAECO-ROMAN    AND    ROMAN    SCULPTURE 

• 

§  73.  Historical  and  Social  Changes. — So  far  we  have  been 
concerned  with  the  history  of  sculpture,  if  not  in  Greece  itself, 
at  least  among  people  of  Greek  nationality  and  civilisation. 
When  Hellenic  art,  as  well  as  Hellenic  language  and  literature, 
followed  the  conquests  of  Alexander  to  the  East,  it  did  not 
change  its  essential  nature  ;  and  it  was  the  pride  alike  of  patron 
and  of  sculptor  to  claim  Greek  birth  and  nationality,  and  to 
trace  a  direct  succession  from  the  highest  period  of  Hellenic 
art.  There  are  indeed  some  apparent  exceptions — notably  in 
the  case  of  the  sarcophagi  found  at  Sidon,  where  Greek  artists 
must  have  been  employed  by  princes  of  a  foreign  dynasty ; 
but  those  princes  appear  to  have  left  the  sculptors  a  free  hand, 
and  to  have  been  the  better  pleased  the  more  closely  the  work 
resembled  what  was  made  among  the  Greeks  themselves. 

It  is  true  that  Hellenism  spread  to  the  West  as  well  as  to 
the  East,  but  it  was  under  different  conditions.  Alexander  was 
of  Greek  race,  and  posed  as  the  champion  of  Hellenism ;  so  that 
the  influence  of  Greece  upon  the  East  came  with  all  the  prestige 
of  a  system  imposed  by  a  conqueror  upon  his  subjects ;  and 
although  it  found  a  ready  acceptance,  and  was  assimilated  with 
enthusiasm  by  its  new  devotees,  it  did  not  forget  the  pride  of 
its  origin.  But  Greek  influence  on  Rome  was  the  reaction  of  a 
conquered  people  upon  its  conquerors,  and  was  never  free  from 
the  tinge  of  dependence  and  contempt  to  which  such  a  relation 
naturally  gave  rise.  It  is  a  trite  saying — 

Graecia  capta  ferum  victorem  cepit ; 
but  neither  conqueror  nor  conquered  forgot  their  political  and 


494  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

social  position.  Of  course  there  were  men  of  finer  taste  and 
higher  culture  in  Rome,  by  whom  the  literature  and  art  of 
Greece  were  estimated  at  their  true  value.  But,  in  the  main, 
the  Roman  regarded  the  artistic  and  intellectual  attainments  of 
Greece  as  things  either  to  be  despised  or  at  most  to  be  patron- 
ised as  an  ornamental  addition  to  the  luxuries  of  life.  The 
tone  of  even  so  refined  and  cultured  a  poet  as  Virgil  is  not  to 
be  mistaken  :— 

Excudent  alii  spirantia  mollius  aera, 
Credo  equidem,  vivos  ducent  de  marmore  voltus  ; 
Orabunt  caussas  raelius,  caelique  meatus 
Describent  radio,  et  surgentia  sidera  dicent : 
Tn  regere  iraperio  populos,  Romane.  memento  ; 
Hae  tibi  erunt  artes  ;  pacisque  impOnere  morem, 
Parcere  subiectis,  et  debellare  superbos. 

Macaulay's  cruder  expression  of  the  same  sentiment — 

Leave  to  the  Greek  his  marble  nymphs 
And  scrolls  of  wordy  lore — 

probably  represents  fairly  enough  the  feelings  of  the  average 
Roman  upon  the  matter.  But  the  Roman  populace  demanded 
that  the  arts  of  Greece  should  be  made  a  show  in  its  triumphs, 
just  as  it  demanded  wild  beasts  from  Africa,  or  gold  and  silver 
treasures  from  Asia.  And  Roman  amateurs  also  came  to  affect 
a  taste  for  Greek  statues  and  other  works  of  art,  such  as  was 
sure  to  create  a  supply  to  meet  the  demand.  The  record  of 
Greek  art  under  such  conditions  cannot  but  be  painful  and 
humiliating,  and  here  we  will  be  content  with  the  merest  sketch 
of  its  later  activity. 

Rome,  indeed,  is  not  without  sculpture  of  its  own,  which, 
though  dependent  upon  Greece  for  its  technical  expression,  is 
national  in  character ;  this  is  historical  sculpture,  and  its  pro- 
ducts are  of  two  kinds — the  portraits  of  men  whose  features 
are  worth  recording  because  of  the  personality  they  represent, 
and  reliefs  which  record  the  exploits  of  Roman  emperors,  their 
campaigns,  and  the  people  against  whom  they  fought,  with  an 
accuracy  that  makes  them  invaluable  to  the  historian  and  the 
ethnologist.  But  here  it  is  the  subject  rather  than  its  artistic 
treatment  that  interests  us.  Reliefs  like  those  of  Trajan's 
column  rank,  from  the  point  of  view  of  sculpture,  with  the 
wall  reliefs  of  Assyrian  palaces ;  and  both  alike  are  outside 
the  domain  of  Greek  sculpture,  which  is  our  present  theme. 


vi  GRAECO-ROMAN  AND  ROMAN  SCULPTURE  495 

Graeco-Roman  sculpture,  in  the  stricter  sense  of  the  word,  is 
interesting  to  us  mainly  because  it  was  the  medium  through 
which  much  of  the  art  of  Greece  was  transmitted  to  the 
Renaissance,  and  also  because  we  ourselves,  though  to  a  less 
degree  than  our  predecessors,  are  dependent  upon  it  for  our 
knowledge  of  the  originals  which  it  imitates  or  reproduces. 

§  74.  The  Carrying  off  of  Masterpieces.  —  The  first  material 
result  of  the  conquest  of  Greece  by  Rome,  so  far  as  sculpture 
is  concerned,  affected  the  great  works  of  the  artists  of  earlier 
periods  rather  than  the  art  of  the  day,  and  those  who  were 
employed  in  its  practice.  The  first  Greek  cities  to  suffer  the 
loss  of  their  artistic  treasures,  carried  off"  as  plunder  to  decorate 
the  triumph  of  a  victorious  Roman  general  and  then  to  be  set 
up  by  him  at  Rome,  were  those  of  Southern  Italy  and  Sicily. 
When  Syracuse  and  Capua  and  Tarentum  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Rome,  though  Hannibal  was  still  in  Italy,  the  terror  of  his 
victories  was  waning ;  and,  in  the  confidence  of  ultimate  suc- 
cess, the  Romans  began  to  decorate  their  city  with  the  spoils 
of  the  Greek  colonies.  The  great  Roman  victories  that  soon 
followed  in  Macedonia  and  in  Asia  Minor  each  added  to  the 
artistic  plunder,  and  a  whole  day  in  the  triumph  of  the  general 
was  given  to  the  mere  procession  of  captured  statues.  It  is 
said  that  M.  Fulvius  Nobilior  carried  off  from  Ambracia  no  less 
than  785  statues  in  bronze  and  230  in  marble;  and  these  had 
doubtless  been  already  accumulated  there  by  Pyrrhus.  The 
triumphs  of  Flamininus,  of  Scipio  Asiaticus,  and  of  Aemilius 
Paulus  were  as  rich  in  sculpture.  But  so  far  Greece  itself 
was,  at  least  by  a  political  fiction,  regarded  as  independent, 
and  its  central  shrines  were  spared.  A  new  epoch  begins  with 
the  sack  of  Corinth  by  Mummius  in  146  B.C.,  and  the  reduction 
of  Greece  to  a  Roman  province.  From  this  time  forward  even 
the  most  sacred  centres  of  Greek  religion — Athens  and  Olympia 
and  Delphi — were  not  only  open  to  plunder  by  generals  like 
Sulla,  who  respected  no  place  or  person,  but  also  to  the  more 
quiet  and  gradual  robbery  of  Roman  proconsuls,  who  carried  oft 
the  most  famous  works  of  Greek  masters,  either  to  enrich  their 
own  private  collections,  or  to  set  up  in  public  buildings  at 
Rome,  and  so  to  win  the  favour  of  the  people.  The  extent  to 
which  this  practice  was  carried  is  sufficiently  attested  by  Cicero's 
Verrine  orations.  In  Imperial  times  the  shrines  of  Greece  were 
again  and  again  denuded  of  their  choicest  treasures  :  no  statue 


496  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

was  spared  for  its  sanctity  or  for  the  difficulty  of  its  transport. 
Caligula  is  said  to  have  attempted  to  move  even  the  colossal 
Olympian  Zeus  of  Phidias,  though  portents  prevented  the  com- 
pletion of  the  work.  It  is  true  that  occasionally  a  statue  was 
sent  back  to  its  own  place  by  the  compunction  of  an  emperor 
for  the  rapacity  of  his  predecessors  ;  but  these  few  exceptions 
made  no  appreciable  difference  to  the  steady  influx  of  master- 
pieces from  Greece  to  Eome.  Nero  is  said  to  have  carried  off 
500  bronze  statues  from  Delphi  alone.  In  the  great  fire  at  Rome 
countless  works  of  art  must  have  perished  ;  and  he  sent  envoys 
to  ransack  Greece  in  order  to  fill  up  the  gaps.  After  all  these 
depredations,  it  is  astonishing  to  find  how  much  was  still  left 
for  the  traveller  to  see  in  the  days  of  Pausanias. 

With  the  foundation  of  Constantinople  there  was  a  yet 
further  drain  on  the  apparently  inexhaustible  resources  of 
Greece.  Not  only  were  numerous  statues  transferred  from 
Rome  to  the  new  capital  of  the  world,  but  works  like  the  great 
bronze  Athena  of  Phidias  at  Athens,  and,  according  to  some 
accounts,  his  Olympian  Zeus,  were  carried  off  to  Constantinople, 
there  to.  await  their  final  destruction  at  the  hands  of  ignorant 
mobs  or  barbarian  conquerors. 

§  75.  Centres  of  Art  and  Migration  of  Artists. — We  have 
already  followed  the  developments  of  the  local  schools  of  Asia 
Minor,  mainly  dependent  upon  Pergamum,  even  beyond  the 
strict  chronological  limits  of  the  period  to  which  we  assigned 
them  upon  artistic  grounds.  The  sculptors  of  these  schools,  how- 
ever, were  mainly  devoted  to  working  for  those  among  whom 
they  lived ;  and  if  their  works  found  their  way  to  Rome,  it  was 
mostly  as  a  result  of  the  same  system  of  plunder  that  carried 
away  the  statues  made  by  earlier  masters.  They  did  not  lay 
themselves  out  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  Roman  market.  In 
Greece,  and  especially  in  Athens,  it  was  otherwise.  We  have 
already  noticed  the  absence  of  any  original  work  of  merit  or 
interest  in  Greece  during  the  Hellenistic  age,  and  so  we  are 
prepared  to  find  the  artists  of  Athens  ready  to  turn  their  skill 
to  the  service  of  their  new  masters,  and  to  supply  either  copies 
of  well-known  works  of  art,  or  new  statues  of  a  more  or  less 
conventional  and  imitative  character.  Such  statues  were 
required  to  furnish  the  galleries  and  villas  and  gardens  which 
were  considered  necessary  by  a  rich  Roman  who  had  any  pre- 
tension to  taste  or  culture.  And  it  was-  natural  that  sculptors 


vi  GRAECO-ROMAN  AND  ROMAN  SCULPTURE  497 

working  under  such  conditions  should  also  transfer  themselves 
and  their  studios  to  the  place  where  they  found  the  best  market 
for  their  wares.  We  accordingly  find  many  Greek  sculptors, 
especially  of  Attic  origin,  working  in  Italy  and  in  Rome.  Their 
signatures  are  found  upon  works  of  sculpture  which,  in  some 
cases,  we  can  identify  as  copies  of  earlier  works  by  known 
masters;  and  to  their  name  is  usually  added  the  adjective 
'A^vcuos,  which  suffices  to  show  that  they  were  working  away 
from  their  home.1  And  the  only  schools  of  sculpture  in  which 
we  notice  any  coherence  or  growth  of  tradition  are  those  which 
flourished  in  Rome  itself,  to  supply,  both  for  public  dedications 
and  for  the  collections  of  amateurs,  the  examples  of  Greek  art 
which  were  indispensable. 

Though  the  extant  statues  of  Roman  period  are  for  the  most 
part  signed  by  Attic  artists,  they  are  not  to  be  taken  as  repre- 
senting exclusively  a  continuation  of  the  Attic  school  of  sculp- 
ture. The  fact  is  that  in  art,  as  in  dialect,  there  was  by  this 
time  established  a  KOIV-JJ — a  stock  of  types  and  traditions  which 
were  regarded  as  the  common  property  of  all  sculptors,  irrespec- 
tive of  their  origin ;  and  if  an  Athenian  received  a  commission 
from  a  Roman  amateur,  he  was  just  as  ready  to  reproduce 
a  work  of  Lysippus  as  of  Praxiteles.  And  we  may  expect  him, 
if  a  faithful  copyist,  to  introduce  less  of  his  own  Attic  training 
into  his  work  than  we  should  expect  to  find  at  an  earlier  period. 
Of  course  every  case  must  be  judged  separately,  and  we  must 
allow  for  the  modifications  introduced  by  the  copyist  in  the 
original.  But  the  mere  assertion  of  nationality  in  a  sculptor's 
inscription  need  not  in  itself  count  for  very  much,  and  certainly 
does  not  imply  that  he  regards  the  statue  on  which  it  occurs  as 
a  specimen  of  Attic  workmanship. 

§  76.  Statues  of  the  Gods. — The  galleries  of  all  the  museums  of 
Europe  are  full  of  statues  of  the  gods,  of  the  most  various 
degrees  of  excellence  in  execution ;  and  the  great  majority  of 
these  were  made  by  late  Greek  sculptors  to  meet  the  Roman 
demand.  Most  of  them  are  merely  variations  upon  a  limited 
number  of  well-known  and  conventional  types.  Some  are 
doubtless  direct  copies  from  earlier  originals ;  such  copies  can 
in  some  cases  be  recognised,  but  more  often  we  have  no  data  to 

1  The  artist's  signature  in  these  cases  is  usually  on  some  part  of  the  statue 
itself,  not  on  the  basis.  This  implies  that  the  artist  merely  supplied  the  work, 
and  did  not  superintend  its  erection. 


498  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAJ 

help  us  in  their  identification.  Many  are  not  so  much  copie 
from  any  one  well-known  original  as  reproductions  of  the 
established  type  of  some  deity ;  and  though  this  type  may  hav< 
been  originated  by  one  of  the  great  sculptors  of  the  fifth 
fourth  century,  it  has  been  repeated  so  frequently  and  with  sue! 
freedom  of  modification  that  it  is  hard  to  say  exactly  wh* 
belongs  to  the  original  conception.  The  type,  in  fact, 
become  common  property ;  and  when  a  sculptor  of  Grace 
Roman  period  made  a  Zeus  or  an  Aphrodite,  we  cannot  conside 
him  as  copying  the  work  of  Phidias  or  Praxiteles,  althougl 
those  masters  had  contributed  in  the  highest  degree  to  th( 
formation  of  the  type  on  which  their  successors  worked  witl 
more  or  less  ingenuity  of  variation. 

Now  that  most  of  the  original  masterpieces  of  Greek  sculpture 
are  lost,  and  cannot  even  be  identified  with  certainty  in  dire 
copies,  the  work  of  Graeco-R-oman  artists  is  chiefly  of  value 
us  because  it  reflects,  however  indirectly,  the  conceptions  of  ai 
earlier  age.  Inferences  from  later  works  as  to  the  earlier  froi 
which  they  were  derived,  where  there  is  no  direct  extern, 
evidence  to  serve  as  a  clue,  offer  a  fascinating  scope  for  stud;; 
and  conjecture ;  but  with  such  we  are  not  here  concerned.  T< 
wander  through  a  gallery  of  statues,  and  to  gather  from 
number  of  later  productions  and  variations  the  character 
the  original  from  which  they  are  derived,  requires  a  memorj 
and  a  faculty  for  generalisation  such  as  few  possess,  and  evei 
those  few  cannot  exercise  without  long  and  patient  study, 
that  we  can  do  now  is  to  notice  one  or  two  of  the  more  coi 
spicuous  examples  which  preserve  to  us  the  form  recognised  ii 
later  art  as  appropriate  to  one  or  another  deity. 

The  bust,  or  rather  mask,1  found  at  Otricoli,  is  the  finest 
example  we  possess  of  the  normal  Greek  conception  of  the  head 
of  Zeus.  It  is  of  Carrara  marble,  and  so  is  doubtless  the  work 
of  a  Greek  sculptor  resident  in  Italy ;  and  even  if  it  be  a 
direct  copy  from  an  earlier  original,  that  original  cannot  be 
earlier  than  the  Hellenistic  age.  Though  it  is  most  impressive 
in  its  majesty  and  dignity,  it  lacks  the  breadth  and  simplicity 
of  the  great  age  of  Greece ;  the  modelling  is  emphasised  in  all 
details,  and,  above  all,  the  heavy  overhanging  mass  of  the  mane- 
like  hair  is  not  such  as  we  should  find  before  the  days  of 

1  The  back  of  the  head  is  cut  away,  and  it  is  intended  to  be  seen  from  the 
front  only. 


vi  GRAECO-ROMAN  AND  ROMAN  SCULPTURE  499 

Lysippus.  It  gives  to  the  god  a  certain  leonine  aspect  which 
reminds  us  of  Alexander,  and  is,  indeed,  derived  from  him.  We 
can  see  the  transformation  from  the  earlier  and  simpler  type 
actually  in  process  on  the  coins  of  the  beginning  of  the  Hellen- 
istic age.  When  we  turn  to  the  Zeus  of  Otricoli,  we  can 
recognise  in  it  every  feature  that  we  expect  in  the  King  and 
Father  of  gods  and  men,  the  expression  of  energy  and  benignity  ; 
and  the  skill  of  the  artist  in  rendering  them  compels  our  admira- 
tion. Yet  there  is  a  certain  restlessness  and  lack  of  repose  about 
the  face ;  it  shows  energy  rather  than  power ;  and  when  we 
compare  it  even  with  the  inadequate  representations  on  coins  of 
the  Olympian  Zeus,  we  can  see  how  far  it  is  from  the  ideal  of 
Phidias,  with  its  severe  and  divine  calm. 

Another  conception  which,  though  it  does  not  start  upon  so 
high  a  level,  has  sunk  much  lower  in  Graeco-Roman  art,  is  that 
of  Aphrodite.  The  Zeus  of  Otricoli,  whatever  be  its  defects,  has 
preserved  the  majesty  and  grandeur  that  befit  a  god.  But  we 
can  hardly  say  as  much  of  the  numerous  statues  of  Aphrodite 
that  reflect  with  more  or  less  variation  the  great  Cnidian  statue 
of  Praxiteles.  The  best  known,  and  perhaps  the  most  typical, 
is  the  "  Venus  dei  Medici "  at  Florence  (Fig.  124).1  The  motive 
of  the  Cnidian  statue,  which  is  but  delicately  hinted  in  the  work 
of  Praxiteles,  is  differently  treated  in  these  later  modifications. 
Praxiteles  had  represented  the  goddess  as  preparing  for  the 
bath,  with  a  gesture  of  almost  unconscious  modesty  at  the 
unveiling  of  her  beauty.  There  is  nothing  unconscious  about 
the  gesture  of  the  Venus  dei  Medici ;  it  is  an  affected  coquetry, 
and  gives  us  the  impression  that  it  is  assumed  rather  to  attract 
the  gaze  of  the  spectator  than  in  any  modest  desire  to  veil  her 
charms.  And  it  is  in  accordance  with  this  effect  that  while  the 
eyes  of  the  Praxitelean  goddess  are  dreamy  and  vague,  as  those 
of  one  who  is  alone  and  is  lost  in  a  soft  reverie,  the  eyes  of  the 
Medicean  figure  are  directed  upon  a  certain  spot,  doubtless  upon 
the  spectator,  of  whose  gaze  she  is  conscious.  Nevertheless  we 
must  not  ignore  the  high  merit  of  the  work  in  its  own  sphere. 
The  modelling  is  exquisitely  soft ;  the  form  is  one  of  great 
physical  beauty  ;  and  if  it  has  not  the  breadth  and  grandeur 
that  we  might  expect  in  a  goddess,  it  certainly  represents  a 
woman  of  the  most  perfect  proportions  and  the  most  graceful 

1  The  artist's  signature  on  this  statue,  Cleomenes  son  of  Cleomenes  of  Athens, 
is  now  generally  admitted  to  be  a  forgery  of  the  seventeenth  century. 


124.— Venus  dei  Medici  (Florence,  Uffizi). 


CHAP,  vi        GRAECO-ROMAN  AND  ROMAN  SCULPTURE  501 

contour.  It  is  neither  a  mere  study  from  a  beautiful  model,  nor 
a  conventional  and  academic  reproduction  of  a  normal  type,  but 
shows  us  what  a  Greek  sculptor  could  do,  even  at  so  late  a 
period,  to  rise  above  the  individual  to  the  creation  of  an  ideal 
type,  without  losing  touch  with  nature  in  a  lifeless  convention- 
ality. His  ideal  was  not  a  high  one ;  but  he  is  successful  in  its 
attainment. 

§  77.  Works  of  the  Neo- Attic  School. — We  have  already  noticed 
the  preponderance  of  Attic  artists  among  those  who  worked, 
whether  in  Greece  or  Italy,  for  Eoman  patrons.  A  description 
of  some  of  the  sculpture  which  is  certainly  to  be  assigned  to 
such  artists,  on  the  authority  of  inscriptions  or  other  clear 
evidence,  will  show  the  varied  nature  of  the  work  they  under- 
took. They  are  usually  classed  together  by  the  convenient 
name  of  the  Neo- Attic  school ;  and  their  activity  is  sometimes 
described  as  "  the  Attic  renaissance,"  a  title  hardly  deserved  by 
a  movement  so  limited  in  its  aims  and  so  imitative  in  its 
character. 

The  first  work  with  which  we  have  to  deal  may  surprise  us 
for  the  moment.  The  Farnese  Hercules  (Fig.  125)  is  obviously 
a  copy  of  a  Lysippean  original,1  though  full  of  the  exaggeration 
which  is  the  chief  fault  -of  the  later  schools  which  are  derived 
from  the  art  of  Lysippus.  We  have  seen  that  the  conception  of 
Heracles  as  a  man  tired  of  his  superhuman  task,  and  resting  a 
little  from  his  labours  as  if  in  weariness,  almost  in  depression, 
was  due  to  Lysippus.  Here  we  see  a  variation  on  the  theme  :  the 
hero  is  not  seated,  but  standing ;  he  leans  heavily  on  his  club, 
covered  with  the  lion  skin ;  in  his  right  hand  2  he  holds  behind 
his  back  the  apples  of  the  Hesperides,  which  testify  to  the  com- 
pletion of  one  of  his  labours.  But  the  sculptor,  in  his  attempt  to 
portray  the  superhuman  strength  of  the  hero,  has  simply  given 
to  all  his  muscles  of  body  and  limbs  a  heaviness  and  clumsiness 
that  are  little  short  of  grotesque;  they  suggest  the  "strong 
man "  of  a  show  rather  than  the  chief  of  Greek  heroes.  Al- 
though the  pathos  of  the  Lysippean  conception  is  not  entirely 
lost,  the  execution  goes  far  towards  destroying  its  effect. 

1  Another  copy  of  the  same  work  has  the  inscription  A  wiinrov  tpyov  :  but  this 
inscription  is  a  modern  forgery,  f  The  tope  appears  in  the  Telephos  group  on  the 
smaller  frieze  of  the  altar  at  Pergamum  ;!  but  that  also  is  borrowed  from  an  earlier 
statue,  which  is  reproduced  on  coins  as  early  as  300  B.C.     See  Friederichs-Wolters, 
No.  1265,  where  further  references  are  given. 

2  The  right" arm  is  a  restoration,  but  probably  a  correct  one. 


502  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP,  vi 

On  the  rock  below  the  club  is  an  inscription,  recording  as  the 
sculptor  Glycon  the  Athenian  :  it  is  in  characters  which  probably 
belong  to  an  early  date  in  the  Imperial  epoch.  Thus  we  have 
an  indication  of  the  weight  we  must  attach  to  such  signatures,  of 
which  we  shall  come  across  other  examples.  We  have  seen  that 
the  type  of  the  statue  is  a  well-known  one,  and  that  it  did  not 
originate  in  Athens;  the  signature  of  the  Attic  sculptor  simply 
means  that  he  is  responsible  for  this  particular  copy,  in  which  he 
has  emphasised  the  external  signs  of  bodily  strength,  probably  to 
suit  the  demand  of  his  patrons  for  what  they  could  at  once 
recognise  as  a  typical  Heracles.  The  result  is  creditable  neither 
to  them  nor  to  the  artist. 

Another  work  which  will  serve  as  an  example  of  the  same 
school  of  sculpture  is  the  famous  Torso  Belvedere  of  the  Vatican, 
signed  by  Apollonius  son  of  Nestor,  an  Athenian.  Here  again 
modern  criticism  is  at  variance  with  the  admiration  with  which 
the  statue  was  regarded  by  Winkelmann  and  his  followers, 
because  we  now  judge  such  works  by  a  different  standard.  It 
represents  a  man  whose  powerful  build  and  finely  developed 
muscles  are  rendered  with  wonderful  skill ;  he  is  seated  upon  a 
rock,  and  turns  the  upper  part  of  his  body  to  his  left  in  a  way 
that  affords  excellent  scope  for  the  sculptor  to  show  his  know- 
ledge of  the  human  form.  Various  restorations  of  the  statue 
have  been  proposed.  It  was  usually  supposed  to  represent 
Heracles  resting  from  his  labours,  and  either  holding  out  a  wine- 
cup  or  playing  the  lyre ;  recently  it  has  been  maintained  with 
much  probability  that  the  statue  should  be  restored  as  the 
Cyclops  Polyphemus,1  with  one  hand  raised  to  shade  his  eyes  as 
he  looks  out  across  the  sea,  perhaps  to  look  for  his  beloved 
Galatea.  If  so  we  have  a  subject  characteristic  of  Hellenistic 
art ;  in  any  case  the  original  from  which  the  statue  is  derived 
is  probably  later  than  the  time  of  Lysippus.  Of  the  actual 
workmanship  of  Apollonius  it  may  well  seem  presumptuous 
to  say  anything  in  disparagement,  when  we  remember  that 
the  torso  is  said  to  have  excited  the  admiration  of  Michael 
Angelo,  and  that  Winckelmann  saw  in  its  absence  of  veins  an 
intention  to  represent  the  deified  Heracles,  with  body  etherial- 
ised.  We  shall  rather  see  here  a  conventional  and  academic 
representation  of  the  human  form,  for  which  the  copyist  alone  is 
responsible ;  of  the  original  we  may  get  some  notion  from  the 

1  Sauer,  Torso  von  Belvedere. 


Fio.  125.— Farnese  Heracles,  by  Glycon  (Naples). 


504 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


CHAP. 


Pergamene  treatment  of  kindred  subjects.  Yet  Apollonius 
has  preserved  enough  of  the  merit  of  his  original  to  make  mV 
statue  seem  filled  with  life  and  vigour,  when  compared  with  the 
more  ordinary  specimens  of  Graeco-Koman  art. 

There  is  a  whole  class  of  imitative  reliefs  proceeding  from 
the  same  Neo-Attic  school;  one  of  them,  which  is  signed  by 
Sosibius  of  Athens,  will  suffice  to  show  us  the  character  of  all.1 


FIG.  126.— Marble  Vase  with  relief  by  Sosibius  (Louvre).     After  Bouillon  III. 

Vases  et  Urnes,  PI.  8. 

It  is  a  marble  vase,  now  in  the  Louvre,  with  a  rich  and  delicate 
decoration  that  reminds  us  of  the  sarcophagi  from  Sidon,  partly 
of  architectural  ornaments,  partly  of  carved  wreaths.  Eound 
the  vase  is  a  row  of  figures  which  show  the  strangest  medley  of 
types  collected  from  the  most  various  periods  and  styles  of  art. 
It  appears  to  be  useless  to  seek  any  explanation  of  the  subject, 
which  merely  represents  a  series  of  figures  advancing  from 

1  A  complete  and  thorough  study  of  these  reliefs  has  been  made  by  Hauser. 
die  Neu-attische  Reliefs. 


vi  GRAECO-ROMAN  AND  ROMAN  SCULPTURE  505 

either  side  towards  an  altar,  some  walking,  some  in  dancing 
step.  The  first  figure  on  the  left  is  Artemis,  with  bow  and 
stag  as  conventional  attributes ;  the  stiffness  and  zig-zag  folds 
of  her  drapery  betray  archaistic  imitation ;  but  she  has  both 
feet  planted  firmly  on  the  ground,  the  left  advanced,  and  so 
looks  like  a  copy  from  a  really  early  statue.  She  is  followed 
by  Apollo  playing  the  lyre,  in  a  tolerably  free  style,  with  only 
one  or  two  touches  of  convention ;  and  behind  him  is  a  satyr 
dancing  and  playing  the  flute,  and  poised  on  tip-toe — a  figure 
impossible  before  the  fourth  century.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
altar  the  front  figure  is  Hermes — the  most  stiff  and  conventional 
of  all,  with  the  usual  archaistic  tricks  of  the  walk  on  tip- 
toe, the  curved  zig-zag  ends  of  drapery,  and  a  short  caduceus 
held  up  between  finger  and  thumb.  Behind  him,  in  strange 
contrast,  comes  a  raving  maenad,  with  a  sword  and  half  of  a  kid 
she  has  slain,  an  ecstatic  dancing  figure,  with  rich  folds  of 
drapery,  dating  originally  from  the  epoch  of  Scopas  and  Praxi 
teles.  She  is  followed  by  a  Pyrrhic  dancer,  nude,  with  sword 
and  shield,  like  those  on  Attic  votive  reliefs.  On  the  side 
opposite  the  altar  are  two  more  dancing  figures  in  rich  drapery, 
of  a  familiar  type.  Though  so  great  a  mixture  as  this  is 
exceptional,  the  character  of  the  work  of  Sosibius  is  that  of  all 
these  Neo-Attic  reliefs.  They  have  a  certain  limited  repertoire 
of  figures,  which  are  repeated  again  and  again  on  different 
reliefs,  in  various  permutations  and  combinations,  sometimes 
appropriate,  sometimes  inappropriate.  The  skill  of  the  artist 
consists  merely  in  the  use  he  makes  of  this  stereotyped  material, 
and  the  decorative  effect  he  produces  by  its  arrangement.  How- 
ever graceful  the  result  may  sometimes  be,  it  is  of  little  interest 
for  the  history  of  sculpture  except  to  show  how  mechanical  the 
repetition  of  the  well-worn  types  had  become.  When  such  was 
the  case  in  relief,  we  need  not  be  surprised  to  find  something  of 
the  same  wearisome  monotony  in  free  sculpture  also. 

§  78.  Arcesilaus. — Among  the  Greek  sculptors  working  in 
Rome  about  the  middle  of  the  first  century -B.C.,  Arcesilaus  is 
the  most  conspicuous.  He  was  much  admired  by  the  antiquarian 
Varro,  to  whom  we  probably  owe  a  good  deal  of  our  information 
about  Greek  art.  Our  chief  interest  in  Arcesilaus  lies  in  the 
fact  that  he  made  a  statue  of  Venus  Genetrix  for  the  Forum  of 
Julius  Caesar.  This  statue  was  adopted  as  the  embodiment  of 
Venus,  as  patron  goddess  of  Rome,  and  ancestress  of  the  Julian 


506  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

family — Aeneadum  genetrix,  as  Lucretius  calls  her.     A  statue 
of   Venus,   with    the    superscription    Veneri    Genetrici,    occurs 


FIG.  127. — Venus  Genetrix,  probably  after  Arcesilaus  (Louvre). 

upon  more  than  one  series  of  Imperial  coins,  and  it  is  natural  to 
recognise  upon  these  coins  a  copy  of  the  work  of  Arcesilaus. 


vr  GRAECO-ROMAN  AND  ROMAN  SCULPTURE  507 

The  difficulty  is  that  the  figure  varies  upon  different  coins ;  but 
upon  some  of  them  is  a  statue  similar  to  one  of  which  several 
copies  exist  in  our  museums  (Fig.  127).  The  goddess  is  clad  in  a 
long  transparent  chiton,  on  her  left  shoulder  it  has  slipped  down, 
leaving  the  breast  bare ;  a  short  mantle  hangs  over  her  left 
arm,  and  with  her  right  she  holds  the  other  end  of  it  over  her 
right  shoulder ;  in  her  left  hand  she  holds  the  apple  awarded  to 
her  when  she  was  victorious  at  the  contest  of  beauty  decided  by 
the  judgment  of  Paris.  The  statue  is  a  remarkable  study  of 
the  forms  of  the  body  and  limbs  as  seen  through  clinging, 
transparent  drapery.  Everything  is  in  favour  of  the  attribution 
of  this  statue  to  Arcesilaus.  His  fame  among  Eoman  amateurs, 
and  the  popularity  of  the  subject  in  Imperial  Rome,  suffice  to 
explain  the  number  of  the  copies  that  have  been  discovered. 
And  the  work  itself,  with  its  affected  pose,  and  its  elaborate 
study  of  clinging  drapery,  is  just  what  we  should  expect  from  a 
sculptor  like  Arcesilaus,  who  was  renowned  for  his  technical 
skill  and  his  delicate  fancy.  The  attribution  is  confirmed  when 
we  notice  the  resemblance  of  the  figure  to  the  Electra  grouped 
with  Orestes  (Fig,  128),  especially  in  the  pose  of  the  legs  and 
the  arrangement  of  the  transparent  drapery  over  them  and  on 
the  left  arm,  and  the  straight  folds  falling  between  the  knees 
and  outside  the  left  hip.  For  this  group  of  Electra  and  Orestes 
comes  from  the  school  of  Pasiteles,  a  sculptor  who  was,  as  we 
shall  see,  a  contemporary  of  Arcesilaus,  and  the  representative 
of  the  same  artistic  tendencies. 

This  brings  us  to  the  question  whether  the  Yenus  Genetrix 
of  Arcesilaus  was,  like  several  of  the  works  of  the  school  of 
Pasiteles,  a  reproduction  of  some  statue  by  an  earlier  master. 
There  seems  to  be  little  doubt  that  the  type,  in  its  general 
character,  dates  from  an  earlier  age,  though  we  cannot  identify 
with  certainty  the  original  from  which  it  is  derived.1  However 
this  may  be,  the  execution  of  the  work  may  be  taken  as  charac- 
teristic of  Greek  sculpture  in  Rome,  with  its  imitation  of  earlier 
models,  and  the  delicate  affectation  with  which  it  transforms 
them  to  suit  the  taste  of  the  day. 

Arcesilaus  also  made  a  fanciful  group,  representing  a  lioness 

1  The  Aphrodite  in  the  Gardens  by  Alcamenes  has  been  suggested,  but  there  is 
not  sufficient  evidence  for  the  identification.  Furtwangler,  in  Reseller's  Mytliologie, 
p.  413,  accepts  it,  and  also  admits  the  probability  that  Arcesilaus  adopted  the  type 
originated  by  Alcamenes. 

2  L 


508  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

in  marble,  with  whom  winged  cupids  were  playing,  some  holding 
her  captive,  while  others  made  her  drink  from  a  horn,  and  others 
put  boots  on  her  feet.  Such  themes  of  playful  genre  are 
common  enough  in  Pompeian  paintings  and  mosaics.  In 
sculpture  they  seem  less  appropriate,  and  their  translation  into 
marble  is  probably  to  be  regarded  as  a  tour  de  force  on  the  part 
of  the  sculptor.  He  also  made  groups  of  nymphs  riding  on 
Centaurs,  another  subject  familiar  from  Pompeian  paintings  ;  we 
shall  meet  with  a  repetition  of  a  similar  subject  in  the  time  of 
Hadrian,  but  we  have  no  evidence  as  to  how  it  was  treated  by 
Arcesilaus.  The  only  other  fact  we  know  about  him  is  that  he 
made  models  in  clay  or  plaster  (proplasmata),  which  were  bought 
by  artists  at  a  higher  price  than  the  finished  works  of  others,  and 
that  he  supplied  a  plaster  model  for  a  vase  for  which  he  charged 
a  talent.  This  shows,  in  the  first  place,  that  he  undertook  the 
design  of  decorative  work,  like  Sosibius ;  but  it  also  shows  that 
the  art  of  sculpture  had  sunk  to  a  low  ebb,  since  one  of  its  chief 
masters  contented  himself  with  making  a  model,  and  took  no 
further  care  about  its  execution  whether  in  marble  or  in  bronze. 
When  we  contrast  this  with  the  care  with  which  the  surface  of 
the  statue,  in  its  final  form,  was  finished  by  earlier  sculptors,  we 
realise  that  Greek  sculpture  in  Rome  had  degenerated  into  a 
mere  commercial  pursuit. 

§  79.  Pasiteles  and  his  School. — Pasiteles  was  a  contemporary 
of  Arcesilaus.  He  was  an  Italian  Greek,  and  obtained  Roman 
citizenship  when  it  was  given  to  the  other  inhabitants  of  Italy 
after  the  social  war,  in  87  B.C.  He  was  a  most  versatile  artist : 
we  hear  of  works  from  his  hand  in  silver  and  in  gold,  and 
ivory,  as  well  as  more  ordinary  materials;  and  he  is  said  to 
have  possessed  consummate  skill  in  all  these  branches  of  sculp- 
ture. It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  he  was  not  content  to  simply 
make  a  clay  model  for  others  to  execute,  although  he  declared 
the  art  of  modelling  in  clay  to  be  the  mother  of  all  kinds  of 
sculpture,  whether  in  the  precious  metals,  in  bronze,  or  in 
marble ;  and  he  is  said  never  to  have  worked  free-hand,  without 
a  complete  model  before  him.  He  is  also  one  of  the  writers 
whom  Pliny  quotes  as  his  authorities  for  the  history -of  art. 
Though  he  was  prolific  as  well  as  versatile,  Pliny  cannot  tell 
the  names  of  many  of  his  works ;  one  of  those  recorded  is  an 
ivory  statue  of  Jupiter,  which  stood  in  a  temple  erected  by 
Metellus.  We  must  probably  recognise  in  this  an  attempt  on 


vi  GRAECO-ROMAN  AND  ROMAN  SCULPTURE  509 

the  part  of  Pasiteles  to  imitate  the  materials  as  well  as  the 
style  of  the  great  chryselephantine  statues  of  the  fifth  century. 
Another  of  his  works  was  in  silver,  and  represented  Roscius, 
the  great  actor,  as  a  young  child,  with  a  snake  coiled  about 
him.  This  representation  of  an  early  incident  in  the  actor's 
life  reminds  us  of  the  skill  in  silver  work  and  in  the  representa- 
tion of  children  that  characterised  Boethus. 

We  are,  however,  mainly  dependent  upon  the  works  of  his 
pupils  for  our  knowledge  of  the  artistic  character  of  Pasiteles. 
He  founded  a  school  which  lasted  through  at  least  two  genera- 
tions, since  we  have  works  signed  both  by  Stephanus,  who  calls 
himself  in  the  inscription  a  pupil  of  Pasiteles,  and  by  Menelaus, 
who  calls  himself  the  pupil  of  Stephanus.  Such  forms  of 
signature  imply  an  organised  and  well-known  school ;  but  even 
without  them  the  uniformity  in  style  and  character  of  a  certain 
class  of  works  which  dates  from  the  early  Imperial  period  would 
suffice  to  show  that  such  a  school  existed.  Its  products  consist 
chiefly  of  a  set  of  statues  which  reproduce,  in  all  probability, 
certain  works  of  the  fifth  century  that  are  now  lost ;  but  they 
are  not  ordinary  copies ;  for  they  all  show  a  certain  mannerism 
and  affectation  in  style,  and  a  certain  system  of  proportion, 
which  must  be  attributed  to  the  sculptors  who  actually  made 
them,  rather  than  to  the  originals  in  imitation  of  which  they 
were  made.  They  have  a  squareness  of  shoulders  which  recalls 
Polyclitus,  joined  to  a  slimness  of  body  and  limbs  which 
resembles  the  canon  of  Lysippus ;  and,  in  general,  they  give  us 
an  impression  of  eclectic  art.  The  sculptor  has  neither  worked 
directly  from  nature  nor  followed  the  tradition  of  any  one 
earlier  school,  but  has  combined  such  features  as  pleased  him 
in  various  early  works  to  form  a  new  convention  for  himself. 
The  face,  too,  with  its  eyes  set  in  too  shallow  sockets,  and  the 
meaningless  imitation  of  an  archaic  smile,  is  a  recollection  of 
various  specimens  of  transitional  works  rather  than  a  close 
imitation  of  any  one  style.  But  apart  from  these  mannerisms 
we  may  recognise  a  more  direct  imitation  of  a  particular  school 
in  a  male  figure  like  that  signed  by  Stephanus,  which  reappears 
combined  with  a  similar  female  figure  in  a  group  of  Pasitelean 
style  (Fig.  128).  When  we  compare  this  figure  with  the  bronze 
found  at  Ligourio  (Vol.  I.,  fig.  39),  the  resemblance  of  the  two, 
both  in  pose  and  in  general  character,  is  striking,  in  spite  of 
the  affected  mannerisms  which  we  have  already  noticed  as  char- 


510  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 


acteristic  of  the  school  of  Pasiteles.  When  these  mannerisms 
are,  so  far  as  possible,  eliminated  in  our  imagination,  we  realise 
that  the  figure  which  supplied  the  type  of  which  Stephanus  has 
given  us  a  Pasiteleari  version  must  have  been  very  like  this 
small  bronze.  Since  the  bronze  is,  as  we  have  seen,1  a  char- 
acteristic product  of  the  Argive  school  of  the  earlier  part  of  ' 
the  fifth  century,  the  time  of  Ageladas,  it  seems  a  fair  inference 
that  the  Pasitelean  sculptors  who  made  these  works  were  con- 
sciously imitating  the  statues  of  Ageladas  and  his  associates, 
though  they  introduced  into  them  much  that  was  foreign  to  the 
severe  simplicity  and  strength  of  the  early  Argive  school. 

The  figure  above  quoted  as  closely  resembling  that  made 
by  Stephanus  is  repeated  in  conjunction  with  a  female  figure 
to  form  the  group  now  at  Naples,  and  commonly  known  as 
Orestes  and  Electra  (Fig.  128).  The  interpretation  is  probably 
correct.  The  relation  of  the  two  figures  is  clearly  that  of 
affection  such  as  that  of  an  elder  sister  and  a  younger  brother ; 
and  the  raggedness  of  Electra's  garment  fits  her  neglect  and 
poverty  as  described  by  the  dramatists.  But  it  is  clear 
that,  whatever  was  the  meaning  of  the  sculptor  in  this  group, 
it  cannot  be  regarded  as  an  original  work,  except  in  the 
same  sense  in  which  a  decorative  composition  like  that  of 
Sosibius  is  original ;  for  one  of  the  figures  at  least  is  a  mere 
repetition  of  a  type  already  familiar.  The  female  figure 
may  or  may  not  be  an  original  conception.  Its  resemblance 
to  the  Venus  Genetrix,  probably  made  by  Arcesilaus,  has 
already  been  noticed,  but  it  is  less  graceful  and  less  skilful 
in  design ;  it  has  the  same  mannerisms  as  the  nude  figure 
of  which  it  is  a  feminine  counterpart ;  and  the  way  in  which 
the  left  breast  is  seen  through  a  hole  in  her  garment  con- 
trasts with  the  same  effect,  as  attained  by  a  simpler  and 
more  natural  treatment,  in  the  Venus  Genetrix;  there  is  a 
contrast,  too,  between  the  naturalistic  touches  in  the  drapery 
on  the  upper  part  of  the  body  with  the  conventional  treatment 
of  its  lower  portion.  There  is  no  spontaneity  about  the  work, 
whether  in  design  or  in  execution.  All  that  it  can  claim  is  a 
certain  skill  in  the  adaptation  and  combination  of  certain  given 
types.  It  is  interesting  to  compare  this  group  with  another, 
representing  the  same  subject,  by  Menelaus,  the  scholar  of 

1  P.  197.     Furtwangler,  50th  Programm  zum  Winckelmannsfeste,  Berlin. 


FIG.  128.— Orestes  and  Electra,  Pasitelean  group  (Naples). 


512  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CH 

Stephanus.1  His  work  is  translated  from  Greek  into  Romai 
surroundings,  both  in  figures  and  in  drapery,  and  so  has  mucl 
more  claim  to  originality  of  work ;  yet  it  is  merely  a  variatior 
on  the  same  theme,  and  testifies  again,  though  in  a  differen 
way,  to  poverty  of  invention. 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  examples  of  Pasitelean  figures 
Some  have  been  found  even  in  Greece  itself,  and  the  influence 
and  fame  of  Pasiteles  were  evidently  very  great.  But  what  we 
have  already  noticed  will  suffice  to  give  us  a  notion  of  the 
character  of  his  school,  and  of  the  strict  limits  within  which  its 
work  was  confined.  Pasiteles  himself  may  have  been  a  master 
of  more  originality,  but  it  is  hardly  to  be  supposed  that  his 
own  work  differed  in  its  essential  nature  from  that  of  his  pupils. 

§  80.  Portraiture. — The  study  of  Roman  portraiture  is  inter- 
esting, both  for  its  own  sake  and  for  the  light  which  it  throws 
upon  history  by  its  vivid  portrayal  of  the  features  and  the 
characters  of  those  it  represents.  Iconography,  however,  is  a 
subject  for  separate  treatment,  and  it  would  be  impossible  here 
even  to  consider  its  more  general  aspects.  But  even  in  a 
history  of  Greek  art  it  cannot  be  entirely  omitted ;  for  Roman 
portraiture  is  in  many  ways  only  a  continuation  of  the  por- 
traiture of  the  Hellenistic  age  in  Greece,  though  there  are 
certain  elements  of  realism  in  it  which  may  claim  a  more  or  less 
independent  origin.  The  continuity  is  most  obvious  when  we 
compare  the  coins  made  by  Greek  die-cutters  of  the  Hellenistic 
age2  for  Eastern  princes  with  the  portraits  which  appear  on 
Roman  Republican  and  Imperial  coins.3  In  both  classes  we  see 
the  same  skill  in  catching  the  individual  likeness,  which  some- 
times almost  approaches  caricature  in  its  lifelike  expression. 
And  what  is  true  of  coins  is  doubtless,  in  the  main,  true  of 
sculpture  also.  But  we  must  not  ignore  another  factor  which 
counts  for  something  in  Roman  portraiture.  It  was  the  custom 
in  all  Roman  families  of  rank  to  preserve  a  series  of  waxen 
masks  representing  the  ancestors  of  the  house ;  these  were 
made  as  lifelike  as  possible,  being  coloured  in  imitation  of 
nature ;  and  at  the  funeral  of  any  member  of  the  family  the 
masks  were  actually  worn  by  men  who  personated  the  ancestors 

1  Baumeister,  Fig.  1393. 

2  See  P.  Gardner,  Types  of  Greek  Coins,  PI.  xiii.  33-35  ;  xiv.  29,  32. 

3  These  may  be  found  under  the  various  names  in  Baumeister.     For  a  collection 
see  Tmhoof-Blumer,  Portraitkopfe  auf  Rb'mischen  Munzen. 


vi  GRAECO-ROMAN  AND  ROMAN  SCULPTURE  513 

of  the  deceased.  We  do  not  know  whether  these  wax  masks 
were  actually  moulded  from  the  faces  of  those  they  represented  ; 
but  they  cannot  have  been  mere  death-masks.  Such  things 
would  have  been  too  ghastly  for  the  purpose  ;  we  may,  however, 
suppose  that  the  custom  attributed  to  Lysistratus,  of  taking  a 
wax  impression  from  a  mould  made  on  the  face  of  his  subject, 
and  then  working  on  the  wax,  would  commend  itself  to  the 
Komans,  whose  chief  object  was  to  have  as  exact  a  presentment 
as  possible  of  the  features  of  their  ancestors.  Every  house 
of  any  pretension  to  nobility  and  fame  had  a  whole  gallery  of 
these  masks,  which  were  kept  in*  shrines  like  frames ;  and  such 
collections  cannot  have  failed  to  influence  portraiture  when  it 
began  to  be  practised  in  more  durable  materials.  The  close 
study  of  individual  characteristics  and  the  realistic  style  of 
some  Hellenistic  sculptors  would  recommend  itself  to  people 
accustomed  to  the  life-like  masks. 

Honorary  statues  appear  to  have  been  set  up  in  Rome  from 
early  times.  Varro  l  quotes,  in  corroboration  of  his  statement 
that  barbers  were  first  introduced  into  Rome  in  300  B.C.,  the 
fact  that  statues  earlier  than  that  date  are  bearded  and  have 
long  hair.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that  perhaps  the  first  historical 
record  of  an  honorary  statue  refers  to  the  Greek  Hermodorus, 
who  helped  the  Decemvirs  in  their  legislation.  From  the  fifth 
century  B.C.,  honorary  statues  to  distinguished  Romans  are  not 
uncommon ;  but  this  is  no  proof  of  an  indigenous  art,  since  in 
the  Greek  colonies  of  Italy  there  was  no  dearth  of  sculptors 
who  could  supply  the  Roman  demand,  and  to  them  we  must 
probably  attribute  all  statues  of  distinguished  Romans  which 
have  come  down  to  us  from  Republican  times.  The  portrait  of 
Julius  Caesar  in  the  British  Museum  (Fig.  129)  will  serve  as  a 
specimen  of  the  portraiture  of  Rome  at  the  end  of  the  Republic. 
It  shows  us  the  man  as  he  lived,  his  features  and  expression 
rendered  with  the  most  unsparing  realism,  no  detail  softened, 
if  it  could  add  to  the  individuality  of  the  portrait,  and  it  shows 
in  its  lean  and  expressive  features  the  wear  and  waste  due  to  a 
restless  and  fiery  genius.  If  we  contrast  this  face  with  that  of 
Pericles  and  with  that  of  Alexander,  we  see  the  difference  not 
only  between  the  men,  but  also  between  the  art  that  portrayed 
them.  Pericles  is  almost  an  ideal  abstraction,  representing  the 
calm  and  moderation  of  the  statesman  and  leader.  In  Alexander 
1  R.  R.  ii.  11,  10. 


514  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


... 


there  is  more  individuality,  but  it  is  tempered  with  an  idealism 
which  raised  him  above  mortality,  and  gives  to  his  face  the 
character  of  one  whose  career  was  too  astonishing  to  be  due  to 
mere  human  aims  or  means.  But  in  Caesar  the  sculptor  has 
portrayed  the  conqueror  who  owed  his  success  to  his  own 
consummate  genius,  which  was  too  strong  for  the  human  frame 


Fia.  129.— Portrait  of  Julius  Caesar  (British  Museum). 

that  it  wasted  and  consumed  in  its  service.  It  is  the  man 
himself  that  the  sculptor  brings  before  us.  This  criticism 
implies  that,  viewed  merely  as  portraiture,  the  work  of  the 
Roman  sculptor — or  rather  of  the  Greek  sculptor  working  for 
Romans— fulfils  its  object  the  most  completely.  But,  for  that 
very  reason,  it  is  of  the  less  importance  for  the  history  of 
sculpture.  Though  it  is  a  more  valuable  document  for  the 


vi  GRAECO-ROMAN  AND  ROMAN  SCULPTURE  515 

character  of  the  man  it  represents,  it  does  not  show  in  the  same 
way  the  impression  he  produced  upon  his  contemporaries.  The 
portraits  of  Pericles  and  of  Alexander  embody  a  conception  of 
wider  and  more  lasting  influence  than  the  individual  traits  of 
the  man  they  represent ;  and  there  are  other  portraits  of  Caesar 
himself  which  seem  more  adequate  to  represent  a  name  that 
has  become  synonymous  with  empire. 

At  the  end  of  the  Eepublican  period,  and  in  Imperial  times, 
portrait  statues  usually  belonged  to  one  of  two  classes ;  they 
were  either  effigies  togatae — that  is  to  say,  they  represented  men 
in  the  usual  garb  of  civil  life — or  statuae  Achilleae — fancy 
portraits  in  a  conventional  heroic  pose,  usually  nude,  and  hold- 
ing a  spear.1  Examples  of  both  kinds  are  to  be  seen  in  our 
museums.  The  heroic  convention  was  sometimes  carried  even 
further,  and  Eoman  men  or  matrons  were  represented  in  the 
character  of  gods.  This  practice  was  especially  common  in  the 
case  of  members  of  the  Imperial  family.  An  example  is  the 
statue  known  as  Germanicus,  which  represents  a  Roman, 
probably  an  ambassador,  in  the  act  of  speaking,  with  his  right 
arm  raised.  He  is  nude,  and  has  the  attributes  of  Hermes,  the 
god  of  ambassadors.  This  statue  is  also  valuable  for  its  signa- 
ture by  Cleomenes  of  Athens,  and  shows  the  nationality  of  at 
least  one  of  the  artists  employed  upon  this  kind  of  sculpture. 
The  convention  of  the  nudity  is  the  more  remarkable,  as  the 
statue  is  a  very  fine  portrait.  In  Imperial  times  it  was  usual 
to  represent  the  emperors  in  gorgeously  ornamented  breast- 
plates, which  offered  considerable  scope  for  decoration  and 
allegorical  design.  Most  statues,  especially  those  of  women, 
follow  the  fashion  of  the  day  in  hair  and  other  details,  and  some 
even  have  movable  wigs,  of  the  same  material  as  the  statue. 
The  character  and  even  the  features  of  the  reigning  emperor 
and  empress  are  often  reflected  in  contemporary  portraits  of 
other  persons,  so  that  it  is  often  possible  to  date  them  by  this 
resemblance.  Such  a  change  as  the  custom  of  allowing  the 
beard  to  grow,  under  the  Antonine  emperors,  is  one  of  the 
most  obvious  criteria. 

The  freaks  of  emperors  like  Nero  or  Domitian,  who  caused 

their  own  heads  to  be  set  upon  statues  of  the  gods,  colossal  and 

others,  are  but  an  extreme  example  of  the  common  practice  of 

making  use  of  old  statues  with  a  new  application.     Sometimes 

1  Overbeck,  8.  Q.  2350. 


516  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CH, 

the  statues  were  left  as  they  were,  sometimes  they  were  altered 
to  suit  the  new  conditions.  Many  works  of  Greek  sculpture 
owed  their  destruction  to  this  practice. 

§  81.  Historical  Monuments. — The  magnificent  series  of  his- 
torical reliefs  in  Rome,  which  record  the  exploits  and  the 
administration  of  various  emperors,  from  Augustus  to  Con- 
stantine,  are  in  the  first  place  of  the  highest  value  as  historical 
documents.  They  also  teach  us  much  about  the  life  and  in- 
stitutions not  only  of  the  Romans  themselves,  but  also  of 
the  various  peoples  with  whom  they  come  in  contact  during 
this  period.  We  depend  on  Roman  reliefs  for  our  knowledge 
alike  of  an  object  like  the  Golden  Candlestick  of  Jerusalem, 
and  of  the  dress,  houses,  and  customs  of  the  people  of  Dacia. 
Here,  however,  we  are  concerned  only  with  the  artistic  side  of 
these  representations,  and  even  that  to  a  limited  degree.  For 
these  historical  monuments  have  considerable  claim  to  be 
regarded  as  the  products  of  a  national  Roman  art,  and  although 
Greek  influence  must  count  for  something  in  their  execution, 
their  subjects  and  designs  are  really  outside  the  sphere  of  a 
study  of  Greek  sculpture. 

Roman  historical  monuments  fall  also  under  the  class  of 
architectural  sculpture ;  but  there  is  a  difference  from  most  of 
the  examples  of  architectural  sculpture  which  we  have  noticed  in 
Greece.  Most  of  those  were  intended  to  decorate  the  exterior 
or  interior  of  some  temple  or  other  building,  and  were  sub- 
servient to  its  architectural  purpose  and  design.  But  in  the 
Roman  monuments,  which  were  set  up  to  record  great  events, 
whether  of  peace  or  war,  the  sculpture  was  at  least  as  important 
as  its  architectural  frame.  They  were  not  designed  for  any 
purpose  of  use  or  worship,  but  were  merely  set  up  in  Rome  or 
elsewhere  as  memorials  of  those  by  whom  they  were  erected. 
Their  most  conspicuous  forms  were  the  triumphal  arch  and  the 
huge  single  column,  surrounded  with  a  spiral  band  of  sculpture 
and  surmounted  by  a  statue.  The  finest  of  all  is  the  column  of 
Trajan,  which  records  all  the  details  of  his  campaigns  against 
the  Dacians.  It  is  an  invaluable  document  for  the  historian, 
the  student  of  Roman  antiquities,  and  the  ethnologist.  The 
sculptors  employed  shrink  from  nothing  in  their  representation, 
whether  it  be  the  building  and  crossing  of  a  bridge,  the  con- 
struction of  fortified  posts,  the  attack  and  defence  of  towns  and 
stockades,  or  any  other  incident  of  the  campaign.  But  there 


vi  GRAECO-ROMAN  AND  ROMAN  SCULPTURE  517 

is  no  artistic  composition  ;  scene  succeeds  scene  without  a  break 
in  the  continuous  sculptured  chronicle.  It  is  evident  that  the 
desire  of  the  artist  and  his  employer  is  merely  to  record  facts, 
not  to  translate  the  impression  they  give  into  sculptured  form. 
The  technical  skill  with  which  everything  is  rendered  is  due 
to  the  influence  of  Greece ;  but  the  selection — or  rather  want 
of  selection — of  the  subjects,  and  the  way  in  which  scene  after 
scene,  objects  possible  and  impossible  to  represent,  follow  one 
another  on  the  long  winding  band  of  relief,  remind  us  of  the 
reliefs  of  Egyptian  tombs  or  Assyrian  palaces  rather  than  of 
the  compositions  of  a  Greek  artist.  We  saw  the  essential 
distinction  in  this  matter  between  Greek  sculpture  and  what 
had  preceded  it.  In  Rome,  again,  we  find  the  same  conditions 
and  requirements  leading  to  a  similar  result  as  soon  as  the  con- 
trolling genius  of  Greece  ceased  to  guide  the  hand  of  the  artist. 

There  is  a  continuous  development  in  style  to  be  seen  in  the 
historical  reliefs  of  Rome.  In  the  time  of  Augustus  they  are 
of  a  more  conventional  and  dignified  character.  We  have 
already  noticed  the  variety  and  vigour  that  mark  the  monu- 
ments of  Trajan.  After  the  Antonine  age  we  can  see  a  rapid 
decline,  until  the  sense  for  sculptural  composition  and  execu- 
tion is  almost  entirely  lost.  The  Contrast  is  clearest  on  the 
arch  of  Constantine,  where  the  pieces  of  sculpture  taken  from 
the  demolished  arch  of  Trajan  stand  out  in  marked  superiority 
to  the  scenes  added  at  the  time  when  the  arch  was  built.  The 
wearisome  iteration  of  type  and  gesture,  and  the  absence  of 
life  or  reality  in  the  figures  make  one  realise  that  the  power  of 
classical  sculpture  had  passed  away,  and  that  its  lifeless  forms 
alone  remained  to  offer  material  for  the  new  inspiration  of 
Byzantine  and  Mediaeval  art. 

§  82.  Antinous  and  the  Hadrianic  Revival. — The  gradual  and 
steady  decadence  of  ancient  art  was  relieved  by  a  brief  revival, 
due  chiefly  to  the  personal  influence  of  the  Emperor  Hadrian. 
He  not  only  travelled  throughout  the  civilised  world,  and  made 
his  visits  the  occasion  for  erecting  the  most  sumptuous  build- 
ings and  monuments,  but  showed  a  real  devotion  to  art,  and 
did  his  utmost  to  encourage  its  practice.  It  is  true  that  a 
considerable  proportion  of  the  sculpture  set  up  during  his 
reign  consisted  of  statues  of  the  emperor  himself ;  but  we  may 
quote  as  a  specimen  of  his  munificence  the  temple  of  the  Olym- 
pian Zeus  at  Athens,  which  he  not  only  completed  after  it  had 


518 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


CHAP. 


remained  unfinished  since  the  time  of  Pisistratus,  but  provided 
with  a  colossal  gold  and  ivory  statue,  which  must  have  rivalled 
in  its  cost  the  great  chryselephantine  works  of  the  fifth  century. 
Of  course  he  could  not  make  a  new  Phidias  arise  at  his  bidding; 
but  his  encouragement  appears  to  have  really  raised  the  tone 


FIG.  130.— Relief ;  portrait  of  Antinous  (Rome,  Villa  Albani). 

of  sculpture.  To  his  period  we  owe  many  of  the  finest  copies 
of  Greek  masterpieces  that  exist,  and  also  many  original  works 
which,  if  slighter  and  more  fanciful  in  their  subjects,  are  not 
devoid  of  artistic  skill  and  merit. 

Examples  of  this  class  are  the  Centaurs,  one  fettered  by  a 
Cupid,  another  snapping  his  fingers  at  the  little  god,  made  by 
Aristeas  and  Papias  of  Aphrodisias.1  The  theme,  indeed,  is  not 

1  See  Baumeister,  fig.  132. 


vi  GRAECO-ROMAN  AND  ROMAN  SCULPTURE  519 

a  new  one,  and  is  probably  imitated  more  or  less  closely  from 
originals  of  the  Hellenistic  age.  But  the  execution  in  hard 
black  marble  shows  high  technical  skill,  and  the  figures  are  full 
of  life  and  humour.  The  statues  were  set  up  in  the  emperor's 
villa  at  Tivoli,  which  has  been  the  richest  of  mines  for  the 
recovery  of  the  treasures  of  ancient  art  accumulated  there  by 
the  emperor. 

There  is  another  figure,  beside  that  of  the  emperor  himself, 
which  exercises  an  influence  on  the  art  of  the  time  similar  in 
nature  and  in  degree  to  that  of  Alexander  upon  his  own  age. 
Antinous  was  a  Bithynian  youth,  famous  for  his  beauty,  and 
was  a  favourite  of  the  emperor.  It  is  said  that  while  Hadrian 
was  travelling  in  Egypt  some  mystic  rite  required  the  sacrifice 
of  a  life  on  the  emperor's  behalf,  and  Antinous  voluntarily 
offered  himself  as  the  victim,  and  drowned  himself  in  the  Nile. 
Hadrian,  in  his  grief  for  his  loss  and  appreciation  of  the  devotion 
of  Antinous,  ordered  that  divine  honours  should  be  paid  to  him. 
Statues  were  set  up  in  his  honour  throughout  the  empire,  and 
his  features  influenced  contemporary  sculpture  so  strongly,  that 
many  works  have  been  called  Antinous  from  their  resemblance 
to  him,  though  there  is  no  direct  intention  to  represent  him  on 
the  part  of  the  sculptor.  A  relief  in  the  Villa  Albani  (Fig.  130) 
is  among  the  finest  of  the  portraits  of  Antinous.  It  shows 
him  to  have  possessed  features  of  great  beauty  and  regularity, 
though  of  a  somewhat  heavy  type.  The  same  heaviness,  almost 
clumsiness,  of  proportions  may  be  seen  in  the  limbs  and  body, 
which  are,  however,  well  formed  and  symmetrical.  The 
expression  is  melancholy,  almost  morose  in  character;  but 
we  can  readily  believe  that  the  man  to  whom  it  belonged  was 
capable  of  true,  if  fanatical,  devotion  in  giving  up  his  life  for 
his  friend.  The  fact  that  such  a  type,  which  has  little  of 
intellectual  character  about  it,  could  influence  the  whole  course 
of  art,  suffices  to  indicate  the  poverty  of  ideas  and  the  lack  of 
originality  which  mark  the  sculpture  of  the  time,  although  it 
still  retained  a  considerable  amount  of  technical  skill. 

§  83.  Sarcophagi.1 — The  monuments  erected  over  the  dead 

1  The  name  sarcophagus  as  applied  to  a  stone  coffin  is  so  well  established  that 
it  is  useless  to  protest  against  it.  Even  St.  Augustine  says  that  the  Tise  of  the 
word  had  come  in  at  his  time.  The  flesh-eating  stone  of  Assos,  \tdos  <rapKO(j>dyos, 
was  not,  as  far  as  we  know,  extensively  used  for  coffins.  It  is  hard  to  find  how 
the  confusion  arose. 


520  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

have  furnished  us  with  material  for  the  history  of  sculpture  in 
every  period  of  Greek  art.  These,  however,  are  usually  erected 
above  the  ground,  over  the  spot  where  the  deceased  was  buried. 
The  practice  of  decorating  with  sculpture  the  actual  receptacle 
in  which  the  body  of  the  deceased  was  placed  is  foreign  to  the 
Greeks.  It  was,  of  course,  usual  among  the  Egyptians,  who 
often  gave  to  the  stone  coffin  the  form  of  a  house,  since  it  was 
the  dwelling  of  the  dead,  and  this  form  survives  even  in  the 
Roman  sarcophagus.  We  have  already  noticed  how  the  sarco- 
phagi found  at  Sidon  were  made  in  the  form  of  temples.  These 
sarcophagi  from  Sidon  are  also  an  example  of  the  imitation, 
common  enough  in  Phoenicia,  of  the  Egyptian  custom.  Though 
the  art  which  decorated  them  is  Greek,  the  burial  customs  that 
they  represent  are  foreign  to  Greece.  In  Lycia  it  appears  to 
have  been  usual  to  combine  the  functions  of  coffin  and  of 
monument  by  erecting  the  receptacle  in  which  the  body  was 
placed  upon  a  lofty  pedestal,  and  giving  it  an  architectural  form. 
We  do  not  find  sarcophagi  commonly  employed  in  Greece  itself 
until  the  Hellenistic  age.  Then  they  are  mere  empty  monu- 
ments, set  up  over  the  grave,  and  their  coffin -like  shape  is 
purely  conventional.  Such  sarcophagi  usually  have  a  dis- 
tinctly architectural  form.  The  design  is  often  only  decorative  ; 
when  it  consists  of  figures,  they  are  not  usually  allowed  to 
interfere  with  the  structural  lines ;  and  often  the  subject  is 
subordinated  to  the  decorative  effect.  Thus  groups  of  children 
are  preferred,  because  their  short  and  chubby  forms  adapt 
themselves  easily  to  the  available  fields  on  the  sides  of  the 
sarcophagus. 

The  Eoman  sarcophagus  is  intended  for  a  different  purpose. 
Like  the  boxes  to  hold  ashes  commonly  found  in  Etruria,  they 
were  intended  to  contain  the  remains  of  the  deceased,  and  were 
buried  in  a  subterranean  chamber,  usually  with  one  side  set 
against  its  wall.  It  was  a  natural  result  of  this  arrangement 
that  only  the  front  and  sides  of  the  sarcophagus  came  to  be 
decorated  with  sculpture,  while  the  back  was  left  plain.  At 
the  same  time  its  architectural  design  was  obscured,  and  the 
sculptured  scenes  covered  all  the  available  space,  the  figures 
often  projecting  beyond  the  limits  of  the  field,  and  standing 
out  at  the  corners. 

Such  sarcophagi  were  made  in  enormous  numbers  after  the 
second  century  of  our  era,  and  afforded  the  chief  scope  for  such 


vi  GRAECO-ROMAN  AND  ROMAN  SCULPTURE  521 

sculpture  as  existed  outside  public  monuments.  Even  now 
they  are  counted  by  the  thousand  in  museums  and  collections. 
The  subjects  are  usually  mythological,  and  they  offer  a  whole 
gallery  of  illustration  for  ancient  myths.1  Their  artistic  value 
lies  mainly  in  the  fact  that  they  repeat  conventional  notions 
which  are  often  derived  from  original  Greek  treatments  of  the 
same  themes.  Sometimes  the  subjects  are  appropriate  to  the 
tomb,  as  when  we  find  scenes  symbolical  of  the  course  of 
human  life,  or  myths,  like  that  of  Prometheus  or  of  Cupid  and 
Psyche,  which  are  connected  with  the  origin  and  destiny  of 
humanity,  and  a  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  But 
almost  all  classes  of  myth  are  represented,  including  even  such 
as  seem  to  us  offensive  to  nature  and  to  morality.  It  is  not 
probable  that  in  these  cases  we  have  to  look  for  any  occult  or 
mystic  significance  to  justify  the  selection ;  but  when  once  the 
custom  of  carving  mythological  scenes  upon  sarcophagi  had 
become  prevalent,  the  whole  stock  of  mythical  types  was  open 
to  the  choice  of  the  sculptor,  and  the  less  refined  of  his  patrons 
probably  looked  no  farther  if  they  got  something  showy  for 
their  money. 

The  execution  of  the  Roman  sarcophagi  varies  from  a  fairly 
high  level  of  excellence  to  the  rudest  and  most  careless  work- 
manship. But  their  value  for  the  history  of  art  lies  mainly  in 
the  fact  that  they  preserve  much  of  what  would  otherwise  have 
been  entirely  lost  to  us ;  and  that  they  were  instrumental  in 
transmitting  to  the  Italian  sculptors  of  the  Renaissance  some 
faint  reflection  of  the  art  of  Greece. 

§  84.  Summary. — The  story  of  the  decadence  of  Greek  art 
under  Roman  patronage  forms  but  a  sorry  sequel  to  the  tale  of 
its  origin  and  development ;  yet  it  is  a  necessary  part  of  our 
study,  partly  for  the  sake  of  the  warnings  which  it  offers, 
partly  because  we  should  hardly  be  in  a  position  without  it  to 
estimate  the  true  value  of  the  contents  of  our  museums.  We 
have  but  few  originals  of  Greek  workmanship,  and  consequently 
we  are  dependent  to  a  great  extent  upon  copies  or  imitations 
made  for  the  Roman  market.  When  we  realise  the  conditions 
under  which  those  copies  were  made,  we  are  better  able  to 
appreciate  their  relation  to  their  originals,  to  eliminate  what 
the  copyist  has  himself  contributed  to  the  work,  and  so  to 

1  For  illustrations  of  sarcophagi,  see  Robert,  Die  antike  Sarcophagreliefs.    See 
also  Baumeister,  passim,  in  illustration  of  various  myths. 


522  A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE  CHAP. 

carry  back  our  imagination  to  the  originals  themselves.     This 
is  the  most  difficult,  as  it  is  the  most  fascinating  branch  of  th< 
study  of  sculpture.     No  better  training  for  the  eye  and  for  tl 
mind  can  be  thought  of ;  but  the  greatest  care  and  circumspec 
tion  must  be  used  in  its  pursuit.     Above  all,  no  conclusioi 
attained  by  this    method    can  be  made  the  basis  for  furth( 
inference  until  it  has  been  subjected  to  the  most  searching 
tests. 

The  archaistic  and  conventional  character  of  all  the  work  of 
this  period  that  is  not  crudely  realistic  or  historical  shows  how 
completely  the  originality  of  Greek  art  had  become  extinct. 
The  limits  of  our  subject  have  compelled  us  to  notice  only  the 
decline  and  final  extinction  of  sculpture.  There  is  no  need  to 
recapitulate  its  phases,  as  they  have  been  traced  in  the  various 
sections  of  this  chapter.  The  rise  of  Byzantine  art  in  the  East 
was  precluded  by  the  tenets  of  the  Greek  Church  from  a  renewal 
of  religious  sculpture;  and  so  it  was  reserved  for  Italy  to 
renew  with  a  fresh  inspiration  the  art  which  her  patronage  had 
previously  destroyed.  It  was  reserved  for  the  Tuscan  sculptors 
to  break  the  repose  of  ten  centuries ;  and  even  in  the  last 
degradation  of  the  sculpture  of  Greece  they  could  find  material 
aid,  such  as  the  early  sculptors  of  Greece  had  themselves 
borrowed  from  the  decadence  of  their  predecessors. 


INDEX 


ACARNANIA,  sculpture  from,  141 
Achaeans,  employers  of  Onatas,  198 
Achilles,    apotheosis   of,    by  Scopas, 
383  ;  shield  of,  in  Iliad,  67,  68  ;  on 
Tegean  pediment,  379  ;  statue  by 
Silanion,  370 
Achilles  and  Memnon  in  group  by 

Lycius,  at  Olympia,  315 
Achilles  and  Telephus,  pediment  at 

Tegea,  40 
Acragas,  colossal  figures  in  Temple  of 

Zeus  at,  347  (see  Agrigentum) 
Acrolithic  statues,  17  ;  statue  of  Ares 
at  Halicarnassus,  375  :   works,  by 
Damophon,  401 

Acropolis  at  Athens,  offerings  at,  3  ; 

I    sack  of,   5  ;  terra  cottas,  27,   28  ; 

\    statues  on,  30 ;   pediments  from, 

[    38 ;  name  of  Archermus  in  Ionic 

inscription,  101;  name  of  Theodorus 

on  sixth-century  base,  101  ;  style 

of  two  statues  like  that  dedicated 

to  Hera  of  Samos,  114,  115  ;  female 

statues    on,    164  - 175  ;     beautiful 

1     archaic  head  from,   172  ;    athlete 

head  on,  187  ;  basis  of  statue  of 

I    Athena  by  Cresilas  on,  319 ;  colossal 

'    wooden  horse  by  Strongylion  on, 

I    319 

Acroteria,  37  ;  at  Rome,  by  Bupalus 
IT  and  Athenis,  101  ;  at  Olympia,  by 
t    Paeonius,   230,  341  ;   victories  as, 
:     248  ;  by  Timotheus,  372 
Actaeon  on  Selinus  metope,  346 
Actium,  statues  found  at,  19,  141 
Aegean  Islands  peopled  by  Greeks, 

57,  112 

Aegiria,  sculpture  from,  8,  22  ;  pedi- 
I  ments,  36,  38,  201;  restoration,  by 

2 


Thorwaldsen,  201;  wounded  warrior 
on,  201,  202 ;  composition  and 
style,  202  ;  difference  between  the 
two  in  treatment  of  wounded 
warriors,  203,  204,  206  ;  modelling 
of  figures,  203  ;  figure  of  Athena 
on,  204  ;  date  of,  206 

Aeginetan  bronze,  24  ;  used  by  Poly- 
clitus,  242 

Aeginetan  figures,  modelling  of,  223  ; 
school,  colossal  bronze  statues  of, 
200  ;  evidence  of  inscriptions,  200  ; 
artistic  affinities  of,  200  ;  history 
of,  200  ;  sculptors,  181,  197,  198  ; 
sculpture,  197  ;  work,  difference 
between  Attic  and,  179  ;  influence 
in  Attic  sculpture,  315 

Aegis  of  Athena,  163. 

Aegospotami,  group  in  commemora- 
tion of,  by  scholars  of  Polyclitus, 
338 

AemiKus  Paulus,  statues  carried  off 
by,  495 

Affectation  of  simplicity  a  sign  of 
decadence,  490,  491 

Agamemnon,  58 

Agasias,  inscription  with  name  of, 
475  ;  son  of  Dositheus,  Borghese 
warrior  by,  475  ;  son  of  Meno- 
philus,  basis  at  Delos,  with  name 
of,  475 

Aged  seer  from  eastern  pediment  of 
Olympia,  226 

Ageladas,  Pasitelean  imitations  of 
works  of,  510 

Ageladas'  career,  length  of,  192 

'Ayefjub,  inscription  on  statue,  138 

Agesander,  one  of  the  sculptors  of 
Laocobn,  469 

M 


524 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


Agoracritus  of  Paros,  Nemesis  at 
Rhamnus  by,  305 

Agrigentum,  dedication  of  bronze 
boys  of  Calamis  by  people  of, 
235  (see  Acragas) 

Ajax  and  Cassandra  on  throne  of 
Olympian  Zeus,  261 

Alcamenes  and  the  statue  of  Neme- 
sis at  Rhamnus,  305  ;  contrasted 
with  Polyclitus  by  Quintilian,  312 

Alcestis,  Thanatos,  and  Hermes  Psy- 
chopompus,  scene  on  Ephesus 
drum,  421 

Alcinous,  golden  youths  in  palace  of, 
69 

Alcmaeonidae,  rebuilding  of  temple 
at  Delphi  by,  314 

Alcmena  by  Calamis,  235 

Alexander,  admission  to  Olympian 
games  of,  435  ;  character  of,  488  ; 
connection  of  Lysippus  with,  412  ; 
descent  from  Heracles  of,  435  ; 
dying,  436  ;  features  of,  488  ;  | 
hunting  and  in  battle  by  Lysippus, 
409 ;  as  a  hunter  by  Euthycrates, 
413  ;  influence  of,  on  sculpture, 
433,  434-437  ;  in  literature,  435  ; 
portraits  of,  by  Lysippus,  409,  412, 
435,  436  ;  portraits  of,  432, 
451  ;  statuette  of  Hercules  made 
by  Lysippus  for,  411  ;  portraits 
of  companions  of,  by  Tisicrates, 
414 

Alexander  sarcophagus,  428-431 

Alexander's  successors,  portraits  of, 
451 

Alexandria,  school  of  sculpture  at, 
437 

Alexandroid  type,  origin  of,  451  ; 
of  so-called  Eubuleus  head,  488  ; 
of  Inopus  in  Louvre,  488 

Allegorical  subjects,  preference  of 
Cephisodotus  for,  354 

Altar  of  Zeus  at  Pergamum,  460-468  ; 
small  frieze  from,  468 ;  mytho- 
logical character  of  gods  on,  462  ; 
names  of  gods  incised  above  each 
on,  462  ;  probable  date  of,  468 

Alypus,  pupil  of  Naucydes,  338 

Amazon  Hippolyta  on  metope  at 
Olympia,  229  ;  competition  statue 
for  Ephesus  by  various  sculptors, 
248,  332,  336 ;  at  Ephesus  by 
Phidias,  25 8;  wounded,  by  Cresilas, 
319 ;  Eucnemus,  by  Strongylion, 


320 ;  queen,  on  Phigalian  frieze, 
323  ;  by  Polyclitus,  332 ;  using 
spear  as  jumping  pole,  336  ;  from 
Epidaurus,  374  ;  frieze  of  Mauso- 
leum, 387,  389,  392 

Amazons  on  throne  of  Olympian  Zeus, 
263  ;  fallen  figures  from  Attalid 
battle-groups,  457-459 

Ambracia  and  Amphilochian  Argos, 
141  ;  statues  taken  from,  495 

Amphiaraus  on  Tegean  pediment, 
379 

Amphicrates,  statue  of  Leaena  by, 
316 

Amphion  in  group  with  bull,  473 

Amphitrite  on  Parthenon  pediment, 
278 

Amyclae,  throne  of  Apollo,  36,  134  ; 
sculptors  of  group  dedicated  to 
commemorate  Aegospotami  at,  378 ; 
tripods  and  statue  of  Cora  at, 
198 

Anatomical  study,  Borghese  warrior 
an,  475,  477 

Anatomy,  Myron's  treatment  of,  194 

Ancaeus  at  Tegea,  379 

Androsthenes,  pediments  of  temple 
of  Apollo  at  Delphi  by,  313 

Ancient  sites,  change  of  level  in,  7 

Animal  forms  borrowed  from  Assyrian 
art  by  early  Greek  artists,  49 

Antenor  inscription,  181 

Anthropomorphic  symbolism  in  sculp- 
ture, 446 

Anticyra,  statue  of  Artemis  by 
Praxiteles  at,  368 

Antigonus,  sculptor  employed  by 
Attalus,  456 

Antinous  and  the  Hadrianic  revival, 
517  ;  influence  of,  519 

Antioch,  Fortune  of,  by  Eutychides, 
446-448 

Antiope  in  group  with  bull,  473 

Autonine  age,  decline  of  sculpture 
after,  517 

Apelles,  artificial  allegory  of,  411 

Aphrodite  from  Pompeii,  30  ;  at 
Naucratis,  offerings  at  temple  of, 
82,  101  ;  from  Cythera,  139  ;  type 
found  on  coins  of  Cnidus,  139  ;  at 
Sicyon,  statue  of,  195 ;  probably 
the  Sosandra  by  Calamis,  235  ; 
competition  statue  by  Alcamenes 
and  Agoracritus,  248  ;  rising  from 
waves  on  pedestal  of  throne  of 


INDEX 


525 


Olympian  Zeus,  261,  263  ;  Pan- 
demus  by  Scopas  at  Elis,  263  ; 
Urania  at  Elis,  263  ;  of  Melos, 
'  drapery  of,  286  ;  in  the  gardens, 
statue  by  Alcaraenes,  308,  309, 
310,  313 ;  at  Amyclae  by  Poly- 
clitus,  332  ;  of  Cnidus  by  Praxi- 
teles, 359,  360-362;  by  Praxiteles 
compared  with  Hermes,  362  ;  by 
Praxiteles,  influence  of  in  later 
art,  363  ;  of  Melos,  477  (see 
Venus  of  Melos)  ;  and  Ares, 
motive  of  group  as  a  clue  to  re- 
store arms  of  Venus  of  Melos,  484  ; 
drapery  of,  at  different  dates,  484  ; 
in  Graeco-Roman  times,  498,  499 
Apobatae  on  Parthenon  frieze,  289 
Apollo,  of  Amyclae,  24,  81  ;  with 
Muses  at  Delphi,  39  ;  Telchinius 
at  Rhodes,  66  ;  throne  of,  at  Amy- 
clae, 74,  78 ;  of  Delos,  temple 
statue  of,  by  Tectaeus  and  An- 
gelion,  82,  153,  198  ;  at  Bran- 
chidae,  date  of  statue,  82 ;  name 
applied  to  statues,  93,  94,  127,  139, 
164  ;  Pythius  at  Samoa,  100  ;  at 
Branchidae,  105,  194  ;  Ptous  in 
Boeotia,  male  statues  from  sanctu- 
ary of,  116, 147,  149,  207  ;  at  Delos, 
great  shrine  of,  126  ;  of  Tenea, 
139 ;  at  Actium,  two  headless 
statues  of,  141  ;  of  Orchomenus, 
141,  147  ;  at  Tegea,  gilt  statue  of, 
by  Chirisophus,  153  ;  at  Olympia, 
head  at  Athens  similar  to,  189  ;  of 
'Piombino,  in  Louvre,  190,  209 ; 
Ismenius  at  Thebes,  194 ;  at  Aegira, 
statue  of,  195  ;  atPergamus,  bronze 
statue  of,  by  Onatus,  199 ;  Strang- 
ford,  207 ;  Sciarra,  209  ;  at  Phig- 
alia,  221  ;  from  Olympian  pedi- 
ment, style  of,  225  ;  Alexikakos  by 
Calamis,  234  ;  on  the  Omphalos, 
235,  247  ;  colossal,  by  Calamis,  235  ; 
by  Myron,  242 ;  transfixing  the 
serpent  with  arrows,  by  Pythagoras, 
246  ;  Choiseul-Gouffier,  247  ;  Par- 
nopius  at  Athens,  258  ;  [and  Ar- 
temis slaying  Niobids  on  throne  of 
Olympian  Zeus,  260  ;  on  eastern 
pediment  of  temple  of  Apollo  at 
Delphi,  313  ;  Epicurius,  temple  of, 
at  Bassae,  321  ;  and  Artemis  on 
Phigalian  frieze,  322  ;  Sauroctonus 
by  Praxiteles,  366  ;  on  Mantinean 


relief,  366  ;  at  Daphne,  near  Anti- 
och,  by  Bryaxis,  374  ;  Musagetes, 
374  ;  Citharoedus  by  Scopas, 
384  ;  Smintheus  by  Scopas,  384  ; 
Niobe  group  set  up  at  Rome,  in 
temple  of,  421  ;  Rhodian  Helios, 
a  variant  of,  444  ;  from  Pergamene 
frieze,  466  ;  Belvedere,  470,  477- 
480 ;  Stroganoff,  478  ;  as  an  archer, 
478  ;  Belvedere,  attribution  by 
modern  writers  to  Leochares,  480  ; 
as  spectator  of  flaying  of  Marsyas, 
489  ;  on  Neo- Attic  relief,  505 

Apollodorus,  statue  by  Silanion  of, 
370,  371 

Apollonia  in  Epirus,  group  dedicated 
at  Olympia  by,  315 

Apollonius,  bronze  head  by,  327  ;  one 
of  the  sculptors  of  Farnese  bull, 
473  ;  son  of  Nestor,  torso  Belvedere 
signed  by,  502 

Apoxyomenus  of  Lysippus,  331,  406, 
408  ;  later  version,  414 

Arcesilaus,  Venus  Genetrix  by,  505; 
sale  of  proplasmata  by,  508 

Arch  of  Constantine,  517 

Archaic  decorative  art,  64,  65  ;  sever- 
ity of  Gallon's  style,  198  ;  smile, 
133  ;  smile,  meaningless  imitation 
of,  in  Graeco-Roman  times,  509  ; 
technique  of  Myron,  243 

Archaistic  character  of  all  late  work, 
521  ;  works,  14 

Archer,  Apollo  as  an,  478 

Architectural  orders,  37 

Archon  Basileus  on  Parthenon  frieze, 
291 

Archons  on  Parthenon  frieze,  290 

Arctinus,  version  of  Laocoon  story  by 
poet,  472 

Areia,  statue  of  Athena,  250 

Ares,  statue  by  Alcamenes,  309  ; 
acrolithic  statue  at  Halicarnassus, 
375 ;  statue  at  Pergamum  by 
Scopas,  384 

Argive  art,  its  influence  on  Attic 
during  fifth  century,  249  ;  reliefs, 
24  ;  style,  female  statue  from 
Acropolis  of,  187 ;  school,  Poly- 
clitus  head  of,  325 

Argonauts,  statues  of,  by  Lycius,  315 

Argos,  statue  of  Hera  at  Heraeum  by 
Polyclitus,  331  ;  American  excava- 
tions at,  339  ;  Parian  marble  head 
from,  339  ;  statue  of  Leto  at,  by 


526 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


Praxiteles,  369  ;  works  by  Scopas 
at,  382 

Argos  and  Sicyon,  190 ;  athletic 
school,  211 ;  connection  of,  325  ; 
latest  development  of  school  of, 
475 

Ariadne  in  Crete,  dance  devised  for, 
by  Daedalus,  80 

Aristeas,  Centaurs  and  Cupids  by,  518 

Aristion,  early  Attic  relief  at  Athens 
by  Aristocles,  179,  293 

Aristogiton,  Lysippean  head  of,  183 
(see  Harmodius) 

Aristonidas,  statue  of  Athamas  by, 
469 

Aristophanes,  group  for  Tegeans  by, 
338 

Aristotle,  Alexander  and,  435 

Arrhachion,  statue  of,  at  Olympia, 
191 

Arria  and  Paetus  in  Museo  Boncam- 
pagni,  455 

Artemis  at  Ephesus,  offerings  of 
Croesus  at  temple  of,  55  ;  at  Ephe- 
sus, columns  dedicated  by  Croesus, 
79 ;  mask  of,  at  Chios,  101  ;  at 
Eph.esus,  105 ;  name  applied  to 
statues,  127  ;  on  coins  of  Patras, 
154  ;  at  Rhamnus,  306  ;  on  eastern 
pediment  of  temple  of  Apollo  at 
Delphi,  313  ;  Brauronia,  temenos  of, 
315  ;  Soteira  at  Megara  by  Stron- 
gylion,  319 ;  in  late  Greek  art, 
dress  of,  319 ;  Amazons  in  temple 
of,  at  Ephesus,  332  ;  of  Versailles, 
drapery  of,  337  ;  on  Selinus  metope, 
346  ;  in  group  at  Megalopolis,  354  ; 
Brauronia  at  Athens,  statue  of,  by 
Praxiteles,  368  ;  at  Anticyra,  by 
Praxiteles,  368  ;  at  Rome,  by  Tim- 
otheus,  374  ;  later  temple  of,  at 
Ephesus,  382,  419  ;  in  group  at 
Lycosura,  400,  401  ;  from  Perga- 
mene  frieze,  466  ;  of  Versailles  in 
the  Louvre,  480-482  ;  on  Neo-Attic 
relief,  505 

Artemisia,  death  of,  378 ;  commission 
to  Scopas  by,  382 

Asclepius  by  Calamis,  235  ;  on  pedi- 
ment of  Parthenon,  279  ;  at  Cyl- 
lene,  statue  of,  by  Colotes,  307  ; 
statue  at  Mantinea  by  Alcamenes, 
310  ;  Timotheus  supplying  sculp- 
ture for  temple  of,  at  Epidaurus, 
372 ;  statue  by  Scopas,  382 ;  at 


Epidaurus  by  Thrasymedes,  397, 
416  ;  at  Epidaurus,  ceilings  and 
doors  of  temple  by  Thrasymedes, 

398  ;   on  reliefs   from    Epidaurus, 

399  ;  on  coins,  399  ;  or  Zeus  from 
Melos,  416 

Asea  in  Arcadia,  statue  from,  138 

Asia  Minor,  influence  of,  52,  60 ; 
works  from,  109  ;  sculptors  of,  211 ; 
sculpture  brought  to  Rome  from, 
421  ;  monuments  of  Greek  sculp- 
ture in,  435  ;  artistic  plunder  from, 
495  ;  local  schools,  subsequent  to 
Pergamene,  496 

Assos,  sculptured  architrave  from, 
36 ;  sculptures,  subjects  of,  111, 
112  ;  Centaurs,  272 

Assyrian  art,  influence  of,  48,  60 ; 
close  observation  of  nature  in,  50 

Astylos  of  Croton,  statue  of,  by  Py- 
thagoras, 245 

Atalanta  at  Tegea,  378 

Athamas,  statue  of,  by  Aristonidas, 
469 

Athena  Alea  at  Tegea,  heads  from  the 
temple  of,  11  ;  Parthenos,  13,  251, 
255,  264,  265,  267  ;  and  Poseidon 
on  Parthenon  pediment,  39  ;  Tel- 
chinia  atTeumessus  in  Boeotia,  66  ; 
in  Troy,  statue  of,  68  ;  at  Erythrae, 
99  ;  Chalcioecus  at  Sparta,  79,  153 ; 
head  of,  from  gigantomachy  at 
Athens,  163 ;  seated  figure  on 
Acropolis,  180  ;  Alea  at  Tegea, 
of  ivory,  180;  Polias  at  Erythrae, 
of  wood,  180  ;  Sthenias  at  Troezen, 
statue  of,  198;  temple  of,  at  Aegina, 
201 ;  in  Aegina  pediment,  201,  204 ; 
on  metope  at  Olympia,  229  ;  and 
Marsyas  on  Acropolis  at  Athens,, 
by  Myron,  240,  242  ;  competition 
statue  by  Phidias  and  Alcamenes, 
248  ;  colossal  bronze  on  Acropolis  of 
Athens  by  Phidias,  249,  250,  255  ; 
promachos,  249  ;  of  gold  and  ivory 
by  Phidias  for  Pellene,  249,  250  ; 
described  by  Mcetas,  250  ;  Areia, 
statue  by  Phidias  for  Plataeans, 
250 ;  Lemnian  by  Phidias,  255 ; 
Parthenos,  256  ;  Parthenos,  Pandora 
on  pedestal  of,  257  ;  Parthenos,  por- 
traits of  Pericles  and  Phidias  on 
shield  of,  257  ;  chariot  and  horses 
of,  in  pediment  destroyed,  269 ; 
birth  of,  on  Parthenon  pediment, 


. 


INDEX 


527 


274  ;  oil  coins,  276  ;  and  Poseidon, 
vase  from  Kertch  representing  con- 
test of,  277  ;  chariot  of,  on  Par- 
thenon pediment,  278  ;  birth  of, 
assistant  figures,  279 ;  puteal  in 
Madrid,  with  birth  of,  280  ;  mourn- 
ing, from  Acropolis,  301  ;  Itonia, 
statue  by  Agoracritus  at  Coronea, 
306  ;  at  Elis,  statue  by  Colotes  or 
Phidias,  307  ;  and  Hercules,  group 
by  Alcamenes,  310 ;  Hygieia,  bronze 
statue  by  Pyrrhus,  316  ;  on  Acro- 
polis, by  Cresilas,  319  ;  and  Giant 
on  Selinus  metope,  346  ;  statue  by 
Cephisodotus,  354  ;  Alea  at  Tegea, 
temple  rebuilt  by  Sco'pas,  378  ;  of 
Phidias  taken  to  Constantinople, 
496  ;  on  Pergamene  altar,  462,  464  ; 
and  Giant,  from  Pergamene  altar, 
464 

Athenians  and  Amazons,  battle  on 
Attalid  dedication  on  Acropolis, 
457  ;  and  Persians,  battle  on  Attalid 
dedication  on  Acropolis,  457 

Athenodorus  one  of  the  sculptors  of 
the  Laocoon,  469 

Athens,  early  sculpture  of,  132,  133  ; 
male  head  from,  in  Paris,  177  ; 
male  torso  in,  177  ;  statue  of  rider 
in  Acropolis  museum,  177  ;  male 
head  from,  in  Copenhagen,  177  ; 
statue  of  Heracles  Alexicacos  at, 
193  ;  results  of  Persian  wars  at,  214  ; 
under  Pericles,  215  ;  Phidias  work- 
ing at,  251  •;  statue  of  the  Mother 
of  the  gods  by  Agoracritus  at,  306  ; 
fourth-century  head  in,  417,  418  ; 
girlish  type  of  head  in,  419  ;  figures 
dedicated  by  Attalus,  on  Acropolis 
at,  457  ;  statues  taken  from,  495 

Athlete  head  on  Acropolis,  187  ; 
statues  by  Polyclitus,  1 90  ;  statues, 
material  of,  usually  bronze,  190  ; 
statues  at  Olympia,  191,  227  ; 
wooden  statues  at  Olympia,  191  ; 
statues,  Canachus'  study  of,  195  ; 
by  Alcamenes,  311;  statues  atOlym- 
pia  by  Polyclitus,  326  ;  with  strigil 
by  Polyclitus,  331  ;  athletes, 
statues  of,  432 

Athletic  female  type,  336  ;  festivals, 
influence  upon  sculpture,  191  ; 
school  of  Polyclitus,  338;  last 
development  of,  475 

Atlas  and  the  apples  of  the  Hesper- 


ides,  on  metope  at  Olympia,  227 ; 
and  Heracles  enthrone  of  Olympian 
Zeus,  261 

Attalids,  dedication  of,  452 ;  and 
Galatians,  452 

Attalus,  sculptors  employed  by,  456  ; 
works  dedicated  on  Acropolis  at 
Athens  by,  457 

Attic  art,  exuberance  of,  shown  in 
metopes  of  Parthenon,  273  ;  artists, 
reproductions  by,  in  Graeco-Roman 
times,  498  ;  colonists  in  Lemnos, 
258 ;  influence  in  Lycia,  427 ; 
lecythus  with  wounded  warrior, 
conjecturally  by  Cresilas,  318  ;  pro- 
file on  early  tombstones,  178  ;  relief, 
man  mounting  chariot,  178  ;  re- 
naissance, so-called,  501  ;  school, 
examples  of,  in  museums  at  Athens, 
157  ;  schools,  athletic  and  graceful, 
238  ;  sculptors,  relations  between, 
193,  194,  313  ;  tombstones,  sculp- 
ture on,  393,  394  ;  farewell  scenes 
on,  397  ;  influence  of  Scopas  shown 
on,  433  ;  analogies  of,  with 
mourners'  sarcophagus,  428  ;  vases, 
birth  of  Athena  on,  279 

Auge,  at  Tegea,  378 

Augean  stable  on  metope  at  Olympia, 
228 

Augustus,  statue  of  Apollo  by  Scopas 
set  up  by,  384 

Ausonius,  epigrams  on  statuette  of 
Heracles  by,  411 

avrdpKeia,  238 

Autolycus,  athlete  statue,  by  Lycius, 
315 

BABYLONIAN  empire,  primitive  sculp- 
ture of,  48 

Bacchante  of  Scopas  in  Byzantium, 
384 

Balustrade  of  temple  of  Wingless 
Victory,  298 

Basis  of  Mantinean  group  by  Prax- 
iteles, with  Muse  and  Marsyas, 
366  ;  found  with  Venus  of  Melos, 
482 

Bassae,  temple  of  Apollo  Epicurius 
at,  321  ;  Corinthian  capital  at,  321 

Bath,  as  a  motive  for  Aphrodite,  362, 
499 

Battle,  Greeks  and  Amazons,  on 
cross  bars  of  throne  of  Olympian 
Zeus,  260  ;  Athenians  and  Amazons 


528 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


on  Attalid  dedication  on  Acropolis, 
457  ;  Greeks  and  Amazons  on  west- 
ern front  of  Parthenon,  270  ;  Greeks 
and  Amazons  on  Epidaurus  pedi- 
ment, 374  ;  Athenians  and  Persians 
on  Attalid  dedication  on  Acropolis, 
457  ;  Centaurs  and  Lapiths  on 
Parthenon,  270  ;  Greeks  and  Cen- 
taurs from  Epidaurus  pediment, 
374  ;  Gods  and  Giants  on  eastern 
front  of  Parthenon,  270 ;  Gods 
and  Giants  on  metopes  at  Argos, 
339  ;  Gods  and  Giants  on  Attalid 
dedication  on  Acropolis,  457  ;  Gods 
and  Giants  from  altar  of  Zeus  at 
Pergamum,  461  ;  Pergamenes  and 
Galatians  on  Attalid  dedication  on 
Acropolis,  457  (see  Combats) 

Battle  scene,  treatment  of,  on  Alex- 
ander sarcophagus,  430 

Battles  in  art  typifying  struggle 
between  Greeks  and  barbarism,  215 

Battles  on  tomb  from  Trysa,  344 

Bearded  Asclepius,  by  Thrasymedes, 
382,  399  ;  statues  in  Rome,  513 

Beardless  Asclepius,  by  Scopas,  382, 
399. 

Belvedere,  Apollo,  477-480;  torso, 
restorations  of,  502 

Berlin,  torso  after  Polyclitus,  327  ; 
praying  boy  in,  414  ;  Pergamene 
sculpture  in,  8,  461  ;  bronze  satyr 
from  Pergamum  at,  490 

Birth  of  Athena,  assistant  figures, 
279  ;  local  setting  of,  on  Parthenon 
pediment,  280  ;  on  puteal  in  Ma- 
drid, 280  ;  on  early  Attic  vases, 
279 ;  of  Pandora  on  pedestal  of 
Athena  Parthenos,  257 

Black  Demeter  at  Phigalia,  198 

Blush  represented  by  mixture  of 
metals,  32,  469 

Boedas,  scholar  of  Lysippus,  414 

Boeotia,  statues  found  in,  19  ;  inde- 
pendent development  of,  147  ; 
foreign  influences  on,  in  the  fifth 
century,  151  ;  statue  from,  show- 
ing veins,  203 

Boethus,  children  by,  441,  442 

Boetian,   style    of    early    sculpture, 

148  ;  head  resembling  Attic  work, 

149  ;  figure  with  dedication,  show- 
ing    Aeginetan    influence,     149  ; 
style,    female  figure  on  Acropolis 
of,  149 


Boghaz  Kevi  in  Cappadocia,  momi/ 
ments  from,  53 

Bologna,  head  of  Athena  at,  265 

Boreas  carrying  off  Orithyia,  37 

Borghese  warrior  by  Agasias,  475 

Bowmen  on  Aegina  pediment,  201. 
202 

Boxer,  Euthymus,  247 

Boxers  in  Olympian  Games,  statues 
by  Pythagoras  of,  245,  246 

Boys,  statues  of,  by  Lycius,  315 ; 
boy,  statue  by  Strongylion,  320  ; 
with  strigils  by  Daedalus,  338 ; 
boy  and  goose  by  Boethus,  442  ; 
boy  drawing  thorn  from  his  foot, 
marble  statuette  in  British  Mu- 
seum, 490 

Branchidse,  Apollo  of,  194 

Brass,  use  of,  24 

British  Museum,  marbles  in,  8 ; 
Elgin  marbles  in,  269  ;  Parthenon 
pediments  in,  274  ;  Caryatid  in, 
300  ;  fragments  of  Nemesis  from 
Rhamnus  in,  305  ;  Phigalian  frieze 
in,  322  ;  Vaison  Diadumenus  in, 
329  ;  Nereid  monument  in,  345 ; 
Mausoleum  frieze  in,  386  ;  head 
from  Melos  in,  416  ;  boy  drawing 
thorn  from  his  foot  in,  490  ;  por- 
trait of  Julius  Caesar  in,  513-515 

Brocklesby  Park,  head  of  Niobe  at, 
426 

Bronze,  melting  down  of,  6  ;  sculp- 
tors' workshop,  26 ;  plate  from 
Crete  with  ibex,  64  ;  reliefs, 
mostly  Argive  or  Corinthian,  75  ; 
foundry,  invention  of,  96,  100  ; 
usual  material  for  statues  of 
athletes,  190  ;  material  in  which 
Onatas  worked,  198  ;  material  used 
by  Aeginetan  masters,  200  ;  head 
at  Naples,  210  ;  boys  for  people 
of  Agrigentum  by  Calamis,  235  ; 
heifer  by  Myron  moved  from 
Athens  to  Rome,  240,  243  ;  used 
by  Myron,  242  ;  colossal  Athena 
by  Phidias  on  Acropolis  at  Athens, 
249,  250,  255  ;  statues  by  Poly- 
clitus, 326  ;  head  by  Apollonius, 
327  ;  statuette  in  Louvre,  Diadu- 
menus, 329  ;  works  of  Lysippus 
entirely,  404,  411  ;  vessels  with 
subjects  similar  to  those  on 
Hellenistic  reliefs,  440  ;  Colossus 
of  Rhodes  by  Chares,  442  ;  original, 


INDEX 


529 


Apollo  Belvedere  a  marble  copy  of  I 
a,  478  ;  from  Pergamum  at  Berlin,  j 
490  ;  Athena  of  Phidias  at  Athens, 
taken  to  Constantinople,  496 

Broom    Hall,     marble     chair     from 
Athens  at,  183 

Bryaxis,  basis  by,  with  horsemen  on 
three  sides,  374 

Budrum,  castle  of,  386 

Burial  customs,  520 

Byzantine  art,  exclusion  of  sculpture 
from,  521 

CABIRI,  66 

Cadmus,  introduction  of  alphabet  by, 

97  ;  and  Phoenicians  in  Thebes,  51 
Caelatura,  26,  60 
Caeneus  and   Lapiths    on   Theseum 

frieze,    297  ;    011  Phigalian   frieze, 

323 
Calamis,  his  place  among  sculptors, 

232,     234  ;      animals     by,     287  ; 

scholars  of,  313 
Caligula,  attempts  to  move  colossal 

Zeus  from  Olympia  by,  496 
Callias,  statue  made  by  Endoeus  for, 

102 

Callimachus,  works  by,  320,  321 
Callirhoe  on  pediment  of  Parthenon, 

279 

Callistratus,  3 

Calydonian  boar  at  Tegea,  40,  378 
Canephori,  300 

Canon  of  Polyclitus,  326,  327  ;  modi- 
fied by  Lysippus,  405 
Canova,  10 
Capitoline  Amazon,  333  ;  with  name 

Sosicles  inscribed,  336 
Capitoline  faun,  364 
Caria,  art  of,  55  ;  Greek  sculpture  in, 

435 

Carian  armour,  55  ;  statuettes,  55 
Carians  said  by  Thucydides  to  have 

shared     the     Aegean     with     the 

Phoenicians,  55 
Carrara  marble,  20  ;  Otricoli  head  of, 

498 

Carrey's  drawings  of  Parthenon  pedi- 
ment, 247,  274 

Carrying  off  of  masterpieces,  495 
Carthage,  Boethus  a  native  of,  441 
Caryatids  of  Erechtheum.  37;  carrying 

Pandroseum  at  Erechtheum,  300  ; 

dancing  maidens  of  Artemis,  320 
Castor  on  Tegean  pediment,  379 


Casts  first  taken  from  the  face  of  the 
model,  413 

Catatexitechnus,  320 

Cecrops  on  pediment  of  Parthenon, 
279;  and  heroes  of  Attica  as  judges 
in  Athena's  quarrel  with  Poseidon, 
276 

Centauromachy  on  Phigalian  frieze, 
323 

Centaurs  at  Assos,  112,  272  ;  on 
western  pediment  at  Olympia,  221, 
225,  272,  273 ;  on  metopes  of  Par- 
thenon, 270,  272,  273  ;  on  frieze  of 
Mausoleum,  387  ;  nymphs  riding 
on,  by  Arcesilaus,  508  ;  and  Cupids, 
time  of  Hadrian,  518 

Cephisodotus,  relationship  of,  to 
Praxiteles,  352  ;  works  of,  352, 
353 

Cephisus  on  pediment  of  Parthenon, 
279,  284  ;  liquid  surface  of,  448 

Ceramicus,  tombs  from,  393,  395 

Cerberus  on  metope  at  Olympia,  228 

Cerynian  stag  on  metope  at  Olympia, 
229 

Chalcidian  vases,  76 

Changes  in  Greece  before  600  B.C.,  84 

Chares  of  Tichiussa,  106  ;  scholar  of 
Lysippus,  414  ;  bronze  Colossus  by, 
442 

Charges  against  Phidias,  247 

Chariot  on  pediment  at  Olympia, 
218  ;  of  Athena  arid  Poseidon  on 
Parthenon  pediment,  277  ;  by 
Pythis,  386  ;  frieze  of  Mausoleum, 
387,  389 

Charioteer  from  Mausoleum,  390 

Chessboard  patterns  on  Phrygian 
tombs,  53 

Chest  of  Cypselus,  36,  72,  75  ;  re- 
storation, 74,  77 

Chian  artists,  101,  116,  151 

Chiaramonti  Gallery,  Niobe's  daughter 
in,  423  ;  Niobid,  drapery  of,  287 

Child,  statue  by  Pasiteles  of  Roscius 
as  a,  509 

Children  in  fourth-century  sculpture, 
354,  356  ;  in  sculpture  in  Hellen- 
istic age,  441 

Chionis  of  Sparta,  191 

Chios,  mask  of  Artemis  at,  101 

Chiton  in  early  Attic  sculpture,  167, 
168 

Choice  of  subject  for  display  of  skill 
in  Hellenistic  art,  473 


530 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


Choiseul-Gouffier  Apollo,  223,  247 

Christian  saints,  statues  venerated 
as,  6 ;  church,  Parthenon  converted 
into,  269 

Chryse,  Apollo  Smintheus,  by  Scopas, 
at,  384 

Chryselephantine  work  of  Phidias, 
251  ;  statues,  256  ;  technique, 
workers  in,  398,  399  ;  statues,  imi- 
tations of,  402,  509  (see  Gold  and 
ivory) 

Cimmerians,  devastation  of  Phrygia 
by,  54 

Cimon  erects  trophy  at  Delphi,  249  ; 
Phidias  working  for,  251  ;  and 
Pericles,  influence  of,  on  art,  216 

Circumlitio,  29,  430 

Cire  perdue  process,  25  ;  used  by 
Lysippus,  413 

Cithaeron,  seated  figure  personify- 
ing, on  small  frieze  from  Pergamum, 
473 

Cities,  impersonations  of,  on  vases, 
reliefs,  and  decrees,  446  ;  imper- 
sonations of,  as  statues,  446  ;  plun- 
dered by  Romans,  495 

Cladeus,  220 

Claw  chisel,  use  of,  22 

Clay  models,  33,  34 

Cleomenes  of  Athens,  statue  by,  515 

Cleon  of  Thebes,  statue  of,  by  Pytha- 
goras, 245 

Clinging  drapery  of  Venus  Genetrix, 
507 

Cnidian  Aphrodite  of  Praxiteles,  233, 
359,  360-362 

Cnidus,  statue  of  Demeter  from,  414  ; 
precinct  of  deities  of  lower  world 
in,  414 

Cnossus,  marble  relief  at,  80 

Coans,  choice  of  draped  statue  by, 
362 

Cockerell,  Phigalian  sculptures  ex- 
cavated by,  322 

Coins,  evidence  concerning  sculpture 
afforded  by,  5  ;  early  statues  on,  81 ; 
of  Athens,  Apollo  with  three 
Graces,  153  ;  with  Athena  and 
Marsyas,  240 ;  Olympian  Zeus  on 
late,  259  ;  figure  of  Athena  derived 
from  Parthenon  pediment  on,  276  ; 
of  Athens,  with  Eirene  and  Plutus, 
353  ;  with  replicas  of  statues  by 
Praxiteles,  368  ;  with  statue  of 
Asclepius  at  Epidaurus,  397,  399  ; 


with  statue  of  Apollo,  from  Chrys 
384  ;    resemblance    between    Hel- 
lenistic and  Roman,  512 

Colonists  of  Ionia,  historical  kings 
known  to,  52 

Colossal  statues  by  Onatas,  199 
bronze  Athena  by  Phidias  on 
Acropolis  at  Athens,  249,  250,  255  ; 
Athena  Parthenos,  254  ;  Zeus  at 
Olympia,  259  ;  Athena  by  Phidias, 
288,  311  ;  Athena  by  Alcamenes, 
311 ;  wooden  horse  by  Strongylion, 
319 ;  figures  as  pilasters  in  temple 
of  Zeus  at'Acragas,  347  ;  figures 
from  Mausoleum,  386  ;  statue  of 
Mausolus,  387,  388  ;  chariot  from 
Mausoleum,  387  ;  group  at  Lyco- 
sura  by  Damophon,  400  ;  statues 
of  gods,  432 ;  works  in  Greek  art, 
445  ;  statues  in  Rhodes,  469  ; 
statues  of  gods,  heads  of  emperors 
set  on,  in  Roman  times,  515  ;  gold 
and  ivory  statue  given  by  Hadrian 
to  temple  of  Olympian  Zeus  at 
Athens,  518 

Colossus  of  Rhodes  by  Chares,  442  ; 
overthrown  by  an  earthquake,  444 ; 
cost  of,  445  ;  of  Tarentum  by 
Lysippus,  409 

Colotes,  works  of,  306,  307 

Colour  in  sculpture,  28  -  32,  175  ;  in 
architectural  friezes,  31 ;  effect  left 
to,  142  ;  on  female  statue,  187  ;  on 
Olympian  sculptures,  227,  229  ;  on 
Sidon  sarcophagi,  427,  431  ;  on 
throne  of  Olympian  Zeus,  260 

Column,  early  sculptured,  atEphesus, 
108  ;  of  temple  of  Artemis  at 
Ephesus  by  Scopas,  382 ;  as  a 
support  for  right  hand  of  Athena 
Parthenos  by  Phidias,  256  ;  of 
Trajan,  516 

Combatants,  statues  of,  in  museums, 
457 

Combats  with  Persians  in  sculpture 
206  ;  between  Athenians  and  Pal- 
lenians  on  Theseum  frieze,  297  ; 
on  frieze  of  temple  of  Wingless 
Victory,  298  ;  on  Phigalian  frieze, 
322  (see  Battles) 

Cometes  at  Tegea,  379 

Competition  in  making  a  statue  be- 
tween Agoracritus  and  Alcamenes, 
305  ;  between  Phidias  and  Alca- 
menes, 310,  311 


INDEX 


531 


Constantine,  Marcus  Aurelius  taken 
for.  6  ;  arch  of,  517 

Constantinople,  sarcophagi  in  museum 
at,  427  ;  statues  taken  from  Greece 
to,  496 

Contest  of  Athena  and  Poseidon  on 
Parthenon  pediment,  274  ;  on  vase 
from  Kertch,  277 

Contrast  of  subject  on  front  and  back 
pediments  of  temples,  39,  314 

Convention,  in  early  art,  45 ;  in 
Aeginetan  pediments,  204 ;  and 
realism  in  conjunction  on  Perga- 
mene  altar,  464  ;  and  realism  in 
Laocoon,  472  ;  undiscriminating 
use  of,  in^Hellenistic  art,  473  ;  in 
attributes^'  Hellenistic  art,  482 

Copenhagen,  male  head  in,  177 

Copies  as  evidence,  11  ;  of  earlier 
statues  by  Greek  sculptors  in 
Roman  times,  496,  497  ;  of  Greek 
masterpieces  in  Hadrian's  time, 
518 

Cora,  statue  of,  at  Amyclae,  198 

Corinna,  statue  by  Silanion,  370 

Corinth,  statues  of  Poseidon  at,  410  ; 
sack  of,  by  Mummius,  495 

Corinthian  artists,  153  ;  capital,  in- 
vention of,  attributed  to  Calli- 
machus,  321  ;  capital  at  Bassae, 
321 ;  general,  portrait  by  Demet- 
rius, 450 ;  reliefs,  24 ;  vases,  analogy 
with  chest  of  Cypselus,  75 

Coronea,  statue  of  Athena  Itonia  by 
Agoracritus  at,  306 

Cows  and  sheep  on  Parthenon  frieze, 
289 

Cratisthenes,  with  Victory  in  a 
chariot,  statue  of,  by  Pythagoras, 
245 

Cresilas,  works  by,  317,  318 ;  Ama- 
zon attributed  to,  336  ;  portrait  of 
Pericles  by,  317,  351 

Cretan  bull  on  metope  at  Olympia, 
229 

Crete  as  centre  of  early  civilisation, 
65  ;  sculpture  from,  133 

Critius,  school  of  athletic  sculpture 
of.  273  ;  and  Nesiotes,  Tyranni- 
cides by,  183  ;  compared  with 
Agasias,  447  ;  technique  of,  295 

Croesus,  gold  and  silver  craters  made 
by  Theodoras  for,  101  ;  probable 
date,  107 

Croton,    statue   of  Astylos   of,   245  ; 


Apollo   transfixing    the   snake    on 

coins  of,  246 

Crouching  slave  in  Florence,  489 
Cupid    and    Psyche    myth    on    late 

sarcophagi,  521 
Curetes,  66 
Cybele,  worship  of,  in   Asia   Minor, 

52  ;  from  Pergamene  frieze,  466 
Cyclades,  artistic  affinities  of,  112 
Cyclopes,  65  ;  from  Lycia  authors  of 

Mycenae  lions,  59 
Cyclops,  torso  Belvedere  restored  as, 

502 

Cyllene,  statue  of  Asclepius  at,  307 
Cyniscus,    statue  of,   by  Polyclitus, 

326 
Cyprus,  stone  used  for  sculpture  in, 

19  ;   statuettes,  27  ;    and  Etruria, 

silver  and  bronze  bowls  from,  50, 

51  ;  characteristics  of  art  of,  84, 

85 

Cypselids  of  Corinth,  26,  75 
Cypselus,  16 
Gyrene,  Mnaseas  of,  245  ;  pottery  of, 

86 

Cythera,  connection  with  the  main- 
land. 112  ;  bronze  head  from,  in 

Berlin,  139 

DACIA,  people  of,  516 

Dactyli,  in  Phrygia  or  Crete,  66 

Daedalids,  17,  22;  works  of,  at 
Ambracia,  98  ;  works  of,  at  Sicyon, 
etc.,  99 

Daedalus,  wooden  statues  by,  16  ; 
statues  attributed  to,  by  Pausanias, 
79  ;  value  of  name,  80  ;  his  con- 
nection with  Athens  and  Crete, 
80 ;  pupils  of,  98 ;  Clearchus  of 
Rhegium,  a  pupil  of,  102,  154 ; 
accompanied  by  Endoeus  to  Crete, 
102  ;  Endoeus  a  companion  of,  180 

Daedalus  of  Sicyon,  scholar  of  Poly- 
clitus, 338  ;  group  for  Tegeans  by, 
338 

Damophon,  works  by,  399-402 

Daphne,  statue  of  Apollo  by  Bryaxis 
at,  374 

Darius,  golden  vine  and  plane-tree 
made  by  Theodorus  for,  101 

Death  genius  carrying  off  souls,  110 ; 
early  beliefs  concerning,  111  ;  on 
sculptured  drum  from  Ephesus, 
421  ;  treatment  of,  in  Niobids, 
423  ;  in  sculpture,  471,  472 


532 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


Decadence,  final,  of  Greek  art  under 
Roman  patronage,  521  ;  affectation 
of  rustic  simplicity  a  sign  of,  490, 
491  ;  study  and  criticism  charac- 
teristics of  an  age  of,  491 

Decay  of  sculpture,  508 

Decorative  works,  73  ;  at  Alexandria 
in  Hellenistic  times,  437 

Dedicated  statues,  nature  of,  83,  191 ; 
multitudes  of,  164  ;  on  Acropolis 
of  Athens,  164-177 

De  Laborde  head  from  Parthenon,  283, 
284 

Delian  bronze,  24  ;  used  by  Myron, 
242 

Delian  confederacy,  end  of,  215 

Delos,  acroteria  at,  37  ;  Carian  graves 
at,  55  ;  and  Lesbos,  works  of 
Archermus  at,  101 ;  as  representing 
Ionia  in  art,  112 ;  early  winged 
figure  from,  116,  117  ;  works  from, 
126  ;  draped  female  type  at,  126  ; 
statue  of  Apollo  at,  198  ;  Diadu- 
menus  from,  329  ;  basis  with  name 
of  Agasias  at,  475  ;  wounded 
warrior  at,  475 

Delphi,  5,  9  ;  Alyattes'  and  Croesus' 
offerings  at,  55  ;  group  at,  Apollo 
and  Heracles  struggling  for  tripod, 
153  ;  nude  male  statues  at,  192  ; 
trophy  by  Cimon  at,  249  ;  group 
of  statues,  from  spoil  of  Marathon, 
by  Phidias  at,  249  ;  dedication  by 
Spartans  at,  >in  405  B.C.,  307  ; 
Attic  artists  employed  by  Alcmae- 
onidae  at,  314 ;  pediments  and 
metopes  of  temple  referred  to  by 
Euripides,  314 ;  statues  taken  from, 
495,  496 

Delta,  sites  in,  7 

Demeter  at  Phigalia  as  a  horse  - 
headed  monster,  82 ;  Persephone 
and  Triptolemus  on  relief  from 
Eleusis,  303 ;  Chthonia  at  Her- 
mione,  by  Cresilas,  319  ;  in  group 
at  Lycosura,  400 ;  .  of  Cnidus, 
414 

Demetrius,  portrait  of  Pellichus  by, 
351 ;  portraits  by,  450  ;  Phalereus, 
honorary  statues  to,  451  ;  Polior- 
cetes,  Colossus  made  from  spoils 
left  by,  444  ;  Victory  set  up  by, 
485 

Demosthenes,  statue  of,  351  ;  Alex- 
ander and,  435 


Depredations  of  Roman  emperors, 
496 

Dermys  and  Citylus,  147 

Despoena  in  group  at  Lycosura,  400 

Dexileos,  tombstone  of,  394 

Diadumenus  of  Polyclitus,  27,  326, 
329 

Diane  ci  la  biche,  in  the  Louvre,  480- 
482 

Diitrephes,  statue  by  Cresilas  of, 
318  ;  compared  to  Myron's  Disco- 
bolus and  Ladas,  319 

Diomed,  horses  of,  on  metope  at 
Olympia,  227 

Dionysus  at  Thebes,  24  ;  with 
Maenads  at  Delphi,  39  ;  Moryclms 
at  Athens,  99  ;  by  Calamis,  235  ; 
by  Myron,  242  ;  statue  in  gold  and 
ivory  by  Alcamenes,  309 ;  on 
western  pediment  of  temple  of 
Apollo  at  Delphi,  313  ;  as  an 
infant  with  Hermes,  356  ;  at  Elis, 
by  Praxiteles,  368  ;  statue  of,  from 
Attalid  dedication  blown  over, 
458  ;  from  Pergamene  frieze,  466 

Dioscuri  of  Monte  Cavallo,  445 

Diplois  in  early  Attic  sculpture,  167 

Dirce  in  group  with  bull,  473 

Discobolus,  by  Myron,  236,  238,  243  ; 
by  Naucydes,  338 

Display  of  skill  in  Hellenistic  art, 
473  ;  in  Borghese  warrior,  477 

Dog  as  attribute  of  Asclepius,  399  ; 
by  Myron,  242 

Doliana,  marble  from,  20 ;  marble 
used  at  Bassae,  322 

Dolphins  as  an  attribute  of  Poseidon, 

Domitian,  heads  of,  OR  colossal 
statues  of  gods,  515 

Doric  order,  37,  40  ;  sculpture,  early, 
133 

Doryphorus,  by  Cresilas,  319 ;  by 
Polyclitus,  326,  327  ;  bronze  head 
by  Apollonius,  327  ;  of  Polyclitus, 
proportions  of,  327  ;  influence  of, 
404  ;  attitude  of,  408 

Dramatic  groups  by  Asia  Minor 
School,  influence  of  Scopas  on, 
433 

Draped  female,  early  sculptural  type, 
92 

Drapery,  primitive,  92  ;  treatment  of, 
in  archaic  female  statues  011  Acro- 
polis at  Athens,  115,  116;  onThes- 


INDEX 


533 


salian  reliefs,  132;  early  Attic  treat- 
ment of,  167,  168  ;  of  Attic  relief  of 
charioteer,  178  ;  of  seated  Athena, 
181  ;  of  Calamis,  234  ;  of  metopes 
of  Parthenon,  270  ;  of  the  three 
Fates,  285,  286,  287  ;  of  Aphrodite 
of  Melos,  286  ;  of  Chiaramonte 
Niobid,  287  ;  of  Iris  from  eastern 
Parthenon  pediment,  287  ;  of  Vic- 
tories on  balustrade  of  temple  of 
Wingless  Victory,  298  ;  on  Phy- 
galian  frieze,  323  ;  of  Mattei  Ama- 
zon, 337  ;  of  Aphrodite  of  Melos, 
337  ;  of  Artemis  of  Versailles,  337  ; 
of  fragments  from  Argos,  339  ;  of 
Victory  by  Paeonius,  343  ;  of 
Hermes  of  Praxiteles,  359 ;  of 
Cnidian  Aphrodite,  362  ;  of  Tan- 
agra  statuettes,  368  ;  of  Acrotina 
by  Timotheus,  372  ;  of  Mausolus, 
388  ;  of  Amazons  on  Mausoleum 
frieze,  389  ;  from  Lycosura,  tech- 
nique of,  401 ;  of  Demeter  of  Cnidus, 
414 ;  on  sculptured  drum  from 
Ephesus,  419,  420  ;  of  Niobe  group, 
426  ;  addition  of  colour  to,  on 
Alexander  sarcophagiis,  430 ;  of 
terra  -  cotta  statuettes,  448  ;  of 
Antioch  by  Eutychides,  448  ;  of 
Zeus  on  great  Pergamene  altar, 
464  ;  translated  from  bronze  to 
marble,  478  ;  of  Artemis  of  Ver- 
sailles, 482  ;  of  Venus  of  Melos, 
483,  484  ;  of  Aphrodite  at  different 
dates,  484  ;  of  Zeus  in  Pergamene 
frieze,  484  ;  of  Victory  of  Samo- 
thrace,  485-487  ;  of  Maenad  on 
Neo- Attic  relief,  505  ;  of  Venus 
Genetrix,  507,  511 

Dresden  Athena,  265 

Drill,  use  of,  in  marble,  22,  321 

Dromeus  of  Stymphalus,  statue  by 
Pythagoras,  245 

Drunken  flute-player  by  Lysippus, 
412 

Dying  Alexander,  436 

Dying  Gaul,  204,  454;  and  TuUcen 
of  Pliny,  457 

EARTH,  dramatic  figure  from  Perga- 
mene altar,  464,  468 

Echidna,  Heracles  fighting,  159 

Effigies  togatae  at  Rome,  515 

Egypt,  introduction  of  bronze  foundry 
from,  23  ;  wooden  statues  from,  16 


Egyptian  art,  influence  of,  on  Greek 
art,  47,  60  ;  general  effects  of  con- 
tour sought  for  in,  50 

Egyptian  influence,  100  ;  in  Boeotia, 
149 

Egyptian  records  of  Hittite  empire, 
53  ;  of  Libyan  invasions,  58 

Eleans,  Phidias  employed  by,  252  ; 
temple  at  Olympia  built  by,  231 

Electra  with  Orestes  at  Naples,  510 

Eleusinian  relief,  302 

Eleusinian  stone,  21 ;  in  front  of 
pedestal  of  Olympian  Zeus,  262  ; 
black,  used  in  Erechtheum,  300, 
302 

Eleusis,  head  from,  in  Athens,  487, 
488 

Eleutherna,  statue  from,  133 

Elgin  marbles,  8,  10,  36,  269 

Elis,  Aphrodite  Urania  at,  263  ;  statue 
of  Dionysus  by  Praxiteles  at,  368 

Embroidery  the  means  of  transmitting 
Oriental  types  to  Greece,  49 

Encrinomenos,  311 

Eos  carrying  off  Cephalus,  37  ;  from 
Pergamene  frieze,  466 

Ephesus,  sculpture  from,  8,  37,  107  ; 
frieze  of  temple  of,  109  ;  and 
Miletus,  artistic  affinities  of,  112  ; 
Amazon  at,  by  Phidias,  258  ;  Ama- 
zons in  temple  of  Artemis  at,  332  ; 
temple  of  Artemis  at,  419  ;  sculp- 
tured drum  of  column  from,  419, 
420 ;  school  of  sculpture  at,  in 
Hellenistic  times,  438  ;  as  an 
Amazon,  449  ;  a  geographical  im- 
personation of  Hellenistic  times, 
449 

Ephesian  school,  475 

Epicharinus,  statue  of,  by  Critius 
and  Nesiotes,  190 

Epidaurus,  pediments  of  the  temple 
at,  374  ;  sculptures  by  Timotheus 
at,  392 ;  Asclepius  by  Thrasymedes 
at,  397,  416 

Epigonus,  child  and  dead  mother  by, 
456  ;  trumpeter  by,  456 

Epochus  at  Tegea,  379 

Equestrian  statues  on  Acropolis  by 
Lycius,  315  ;  of  Mausoleum,  387 

Erechtheum  frieze,  uses  of  Eleusinian 
marble  and  Pentelic  marble  in,  262, 
300 

Erechtheum,  symbols  of  Athena  and 
Poseidon  preserved  in,  276  ;  sculp- 


534 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


tures,  300  ;  Ionic  frieze,  300,  Carya 
tids  or  Maidens,  300,  347  ;  lamp 
by  Callimachus  in,  321 

Erechtheus  by  Myron,  242 

Erichthonius  snake  as  attribute  of 
Athena  Parthenos,  256 

Erinna,  portrait  of,  by  Naucydes,  338 

Erinnys  in  Athens  by  Calamis,  235 

Eros,'of  Thespiae,  31;  development  of, 
95  ;  on  pedestal  of  throne  of  Olym- 
pian Zeus,  261  ;  by  Praxiteles  at 
Parium  on  the  Propontis,  363  ;  of 
Thespiae  by  Praxiteles,  363  ;  type 
introduced  by  Praxiteles,  363  ; 
statue  by  Scopas,  382  ;  on  sculp- 
tured drum  from  Ephesus,  421  ; 
Pothos  and  Himeros  of  Scopas,  446 

Erymanthian  boar  on  metope  at  Olym- 
pia,  227 

Eteocles  and  Polynices,  group  by 
Pythagoras,  245 

Ethiopians,  bowl  wrought  with  figures 
of,  in  hand  of  Nemesis  at  Rhamnus, 
306 

Etrurian  ashboxes,  520 

Eubuleus,  Alexandroid  type  of,  488 ; 
head,  so-called,  date  of,  487,  488 

Eucnemus,  statue  of  Amazon  by 
Strongylion,  320 

Eumenes  II.,  dedications  of,  459 

Euphorbus,  shield  of,  70 

Euphranor,  works  by,  371 

Eupompus,  influence  of,  404 

Europa  on  the  bull,  statue  by  Pytha- 
goras, 245 ;  on  early  Selinus  metope, 
346 

Eurotas  by  Eutychides,  279,  448 

Eutelidas  of  Sparta,  statue  of,  at 
Olympia,  191 

Euthycrates,  characteristics  of,  413 

Euthymus  the  boxer  of  Locri  in  Italy, 
245,  247 

Eutychides,  statue  of  Eurotas  by, 
279  ;  scholar  of  Lysippus,  414  ;  as 
a  painter,  448  ;  fortune  of  Antioch 
by,  446-448 

Explosion  destroying  Parthenon  in 
1687,  269 

Exportation  of  antiquities  from 
Greece,  7 

Eyes  in  bronze  statues,  32  ;  treat- 
ment of,  in  early  Attic  work,  160, 
169,  171,  175 ;  in  athlete  head  on 
Acropolis,  187 ;  by  Scopas,  380  ; 
in  Demeter  of  Cnidus,  416  ;  on 


Alexander    sarcophagus,    430 ;    in 
the  Apollo  Belvedere,  478 

FACE  and  hands  of  statue,  Pentelic 
marble  used  for,  251 

Faces  in  early  work  not  displaying 
conventional  beauty,  160 

Family  groups  on  tombstones,  395 

Fantastic  winged  animals,  where 
derived  from,  49 

Farnese  bull,  472  ;  Hercules,  a  copy 
of  a  Lysippean  original,  501 

Fates  on  Parthenon  pediment,  281, 
282,  285  ;  style  and  technique  of, 
286,  287  ' 

Fayum,  tenanted  by  foreign  allies  of 
the  Libyans,  58 

Fekedamos,  tomb  relief,  131 

Female  draped  statues  on  Acropolis 
at  Athens,  164-175,  187 

Fetish  stones  as  symbol  of  a  god,  81 

Fifth  century,  style  in  Athens  at 
beginning  of,  189  :  statues  of  the 
gods,  349 

Files,  use  of,  22 

Finlay  vase  at  Athens,  240 

Fish  forms  in  pedimental  sculptures, 
159 

Flamininus,  statues  carried  off  by, 
495 

Florence,  crouching  slave  in  Uffizi 
gallery  at,  489  ;  Niobe  statues  in, 
425  ;  Venus  dei  Medici  in,  499 

Flute  player  by  Lysippus,  412 

Footstool  at  throne  of  Olympian  Zeus, 
261 

Foreshortening  in  fallen  figures  on 
Theseum  frieze,  298  ;  ou  temple  of 
Wingless  Victory,  298 

Fourth  -  century  sculpture,  personal 
character  of,  350 

Fran9ois  vase,  76 

Frieze  of  Parthenon,  268,  270,  288, 
289,  292,  293;  of  Theseum,  296, 
297  ;  of  temple  of  Wingless  Vic- 
tory, 298  ;  of  temple  at  Bassae, 
322 ;  on  tomb  from  Trysa,  343, 
344  ;  of  Nereid  monument,  345, 
346  ;  in  Munich,  383  ;  from  Mau- 
soleum, small,  387  ;  of  Greeks  and 
Centaurs  from  Mausoleum,  387  ;  of 
Greeks  and  Amazons  from  Mauso- 
leum, 387  ;  from  altar  of  Zeus  at 
Pergamum,  461  ;  from  Pergamum, 
high  relief  of,  467  ;  small,  from 


INDEX 


535 


altar  of  Zeus  at  Pergamum,   468, 

473 
Fulvius  Nobilior,  statues  carried  off 

by,  495 
Funeral  banquets  on  tomb  reliefs,  137 

GALATIAN  warrior  and  his  wife,  455, 
456 

Galatians  and  Attalids,  452;  fallen 
figures  of,  from  battle-groups,  457- 
459 

Games,  influence  of,  on  sculpture, 
86,  87 

ydvttxris,  29 

Ganymede,  by  Leochares,  375, 376, 392 

Gaul,  Dying,  of  Capitol,  454 

Gelon  of  Gela,  chariot  made  for,  by 
Glaucias,  199 

Gems,  evidence  concerning  sculpture 
afforded  by,  5 

Genre,  religious,  316  ;  athletic,  329, 
406  ;  in  Pergamene  school,  490  ; 
group  by  Arcesilaus,  508 

Geometric  style  of  bronze  work,  23 

Geometry  and  optics  in  colossal  statue 
of  Athena  by  Phidias,  311 

Germanicus,  so-called,  515 

Geryon  on  metope  at  Olympia,  227 ; 
in  Theseum  metopes,  295 

Giants  on  Selinus  metope,  145  ;  fallen 
figures  from  Attalid  battle-groups, 
457,  458  ;  from  Pergamene  group, 
459,  466,  467,  468;  with  wings 
from  Pergamene  frieze,  467  ;  snake  - 
footed  form,  467 

Gigantomachy  (see  Gods  and  Giants) 

Gilded  wood  as  a  material  for  a  statue, 
251 

Gilding  of  statues,  31 

Gjolbaschi,  tomb  from,  343 

Glycon  the  Athenian,  name  inscribed 
on  Farnese  Hercules,  502 

Gods  on  Parthenon  pediment,  290  ; 
heads  of  emperors  set  on  colossal 
statues  of,  415  ;  on  Pergamene 
altar,  attributes  of,  462 ;  later  ideals 
of,  477  ;  as  children,  491 

Gods  and  Giants,  battle  between,  on 
Megarian  pediment,  142  ;  on  early 
Attic  pediment,  163  ;  on  eastern 
metopes  of  Parthenon,  270  ;  on 
temple  of  Apollo  at  Delphi,  314  ; 
on  Attalid  dedication  on  Acro- 
polis, 457  ;  on  great  frieze  from 
altar  of  Zeus  at  Pergamum,  461 


Gold  and  ivory,  use  of,  26  ;  at  Sparta, 
152  ;  statues  by  Phidias,  255,  259, 
268,  288  ;  portraits  of  family  ot 
Philip  by  Leochares,  374;  technique, 
reproduction  of,  inmarbleand  gilded 
wood,  403  (see  Chryselephantine') 

Golden  candlestick  of  Jerusalem,  516 

Golden  shield  at  Olympia,  231 

Gorgon  in  Selinus  metopes,  144 

Gorgoneion  of  Athena  Parthenos,  256 

Gortyna,  coins  resembling  Selinus 
metopes,  145 

Graces  and  Hours  in  sculpture,  180  ; 
on  back  of  throne  of  Olympian  Zeus, 
260 

Graeco  -  Roman  work,  influence  of 
Praxiteles  on,  370  ;  sculpture,  493  ; 
copies  of  ^earlier  works,  497,  498  ; 
sculpture  a  clue  to  lost  master- 
pieces, 498 

Graver,  use  of,  for  details,  26 

Great  altar  of  Zeus  at  Pergamum, 
457,  468  ;  smaller  frieze,  473 

Greek  colonies  in  Aegean,  52 ;  in 
Asia  Minor,  52  ;  spread  of,  84 

Greek  influence  on  Rome,  493 ; 
monuments  in  Asia  Minor,  435  ; 
statues,  Roman  demand  for,  494 

Greek  and  Trojan  heroes  in  group  by 
Lycius  at  Olympia,  315 

Group  by  Myron,  Zeus,  Athena,  and 
Heracles,  242 ;  by  Polyclitus, 
Apollo,  Artemis,  and  Leto,  332 ; 
dedicated  at  Megalopolis,  354  ; 
at  Mantinea  by  Praxiteles,  repre- 
senting Leto,  Apollo,  and  Artemis, 
366 

Groups  of  statues  by  Praxiteles,  368, 
369  ;  of  Hellenistic  period,  370 

Gryphons  supporting  crests  of  Athena 
Parthenos,  256 

Gyges  of  Lydia  tributary  of  Assur- 
banipal,  49,  52 

HADES,  statue  by  Agoracritus  of, 
306 

Hadrian,  personal  influence  of,  517; 
statues  of  Antinous  made  for,  519 

Hair,  early  treatment  of,  93  ;  treat- 
ment of,  in  early  winged  figure 
from  Delos,  119 ;  in  Apollo  of 
Thera,  123  ;  in  statue  from  Eleu- 
therna,  133  ;  in  Hera  at  Olympia, 
138  ;  in  Tegean  statue,  138  ;  in 
Tenean  Apollo,  139 ;  in  early 


536 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


Attic  work,  160  ;  in  Aeginetan 
pediments,  204  ;  in  early  bronze 
head  at  Athens,  208 ;  corkscrew 
treatment  of,  210  ;  treatment  of, 
in  Olympian  metopes,  229  ;  by 
Myron,  243,  329 ;  by  Polyclitus, 
329  ;  in  Cnidian  Aphrodite,  362  ; 
in  Mausolus,  388  ;  bronze  devices 
for  representing,  405,  406  ;  treat- 
ment of,  by  Lysippus,  405  ;  by 
Praxiteles,  406  ;  by  Polyclitus, 
406  ;  on  Alexander  sarcophagus, 
430  ;  in  head  of  Zeus  from  Otricoli, 
498  ;  in  Roman  female  statues, 
515 

Halicarnassus,  Mausoleum  at,  385  ; 
acrolithic  statue  of  Ares  at,  375  ; 
excavated  by  Newton,  386 

Hannibal,  statuette  by  Lysippus,  in 
possession  of,  411 

Hare,  figures  carrying,  on  tomb 
relief,  131 

Harmodius  and  Aristogiton,  181-183, 
185,  238,  475 

Harpy  tomb,  subjects  of  reliefs,  55, 
109 

Head  of  Harmodius,  not  belonging, 
185  . 

Heads  in  Aeginetan  pediments,  differ- 
ence of  style  from  bodies,  204 

Hebe  of  gold  and  ivory  by  Naucydes, 
338 

Hecate  by  Myron,  242 ;  by  Alca- 
menes,  309 ;  from  Pergamene  frieze, 
466 

Hector  in  Aegina  pediment,  201 

Hegeso,  tombstone  of,  394 

Hegias,  note  concerning,  265 

Heifer  in  bronze  by  Myron,  240,  243 

Helen,  the  daugher  of  Nemesis,  306 

Helios  on  pedestal  of  throne  of 
Olympian  Zeus,  261  ;  Parthenon 
pediment,  280,  287  ;  statue  at 
Rhodes  by  Lysippus,  410  ;  colossal 
statue  of,  at  Rhodes,  444  ;  from 
Pergamene  frieze,  466 

Hellas  and  Salamis  on  throne  of 
Olympian  Zeus,  261 

Hellenes,  56 

Hellenism,  spread  of,  in  the  East, 
431,  434,  435,  493 

Hellenistic  age,  characteristics  of 
beginning  of,  411,  412  ;  centres, 
437  ;  reliefs,  438  -  441  ;  scenes 
from  country  life  in,  440  ;  treat- 


ment of  landscape  in,  440  ;  panels 
in  walls,  of  Alexandrian  origin, 
440,  473  ;  art,  character  of,  480, 
490 ;  drapery,  484 ;  sculpture, 
botany,  zoology,  etc.,  in,  491  ; 
coins  compared  with  Roman,  512  ; 
sarcophagi,  520 

Helmet  of  Athena  Parthenos,  256 

Hephaestus  as  a  metal  worker,  66  ; 
gold  and  silver  dogs  and  maidens 
made  by,  69 

Hephaestus  and  Daedalus  compared, 
80 

Hephaestus  assisting  at  the  birth  of 
Athena,  279 

Hephaestus,  statue  by  Alcamenes, 
309 

Hera  Telchinia  at  Rhodes,  66  ;  at 
Samos,  100,  197  ;  statue  dedicated 
to,  by  Cheramyes,  114 ;  at  Olym- 
pia,  138  ;  Lacinia,  statue  in  temple, 
245  ;  at  Plataea,  statue  of,  by  Cal- 
limachus,  320  ;  in  gold  and  ivory 
at  Heraeum  of  Argos  by  Polyclitus, 
331  ;  type  of,  in  art,  331 ;  on  coins 
of  Argos  and  Elis,  331 

Heracles,  Telamon  of,  69  ;  on  Seli- 
nus  metope,  144  ;  on  Acropolis  at 
Athens,  159  ;  Alexicacos,  statue  of, 
at  Athens,  193  ;  at  Sicyon,  statue 
of,  by  Laphaes  of  Phlius,  195  ;  at 
Olympia  by  Onatas,  199 ;  as  a 
kneeling  archer  in  Aegina  pedi- 
ment, 202  ;  on  metope  at  Olympia, 
228,  230  ;  statue  of,  by  Ageladas 
of  Argos,  235 ;  by  Myron,  242 ; 
and  the  Nemean  lion  on  throne  of 
Olympian  Zeus,  261  ;  on  Theseum 
metopes,  40,  295  ;  and  Perseus  on 
temple  of  Apollo  at  Delphi,  314  ; 
on  Phigalian  frieze,  323  ;  jit  Rome 
byPol^clitiis^  332  ;  and  Hippolyta 
onSelmus  metope,  346  ;  at  Tegea, 
378  ;  in  Lansdowne  House,  385  ; 
statues  of,  by  Lysippus,  410 ; 
statuette  by  Lysippus,  411  ;  by 
Euthycrates,  413  ;  descent  of 
Alexander  from,  435  ;  Lysippean 
conception  of,  501  ;  Farnese,  501  ; 
resting  from  his  labours,  502 

Heraeum,  statue  of  Hera  at  Argos  by 
Polyclitus  in,  331 ;  Hebe  by  Nau- 
cydes  as  pendant  of  Hera  by  Poly- 
clitus in,  338  ;  at  Olympia,  Hermes 
by  Praxiteles  in,  355 


INDEX 


537 


Herculaneum,  bronzes  from,  9 
Herm  and  bust,   intermediate  form 

between,  487 

.  Herm-portrait  of  Pericles,  450 
Hermes  of  Praxiteles,  8,  10,  20,  27, 
31,  355-360  ;  at  Olympia   by  On- 
atas,     199  ;     by     Calamis,     235  ; 
Criophorus  at  Wilton  House,  236  ; 
on  Parthenon  pediment,  277  ;   in 
Lysimachia  by  Polyclitus,  332  ;  by 
Naucydes,     338  ;     on     sculptured 
drum  from  Ephesus,  420  ;  on  Neo- 
Attic  relief,  505 
Hermione  by  Calamis,  235 
Hermione,  statue  of  Demeter  Chtho- 

nia  at,  319 

Hermodorus,  honorary  statue  to,  513 
Hermolycus,  statue  dedicated  by,  318 
Hermon,  statue  by  Theocosmus,  308 
Herostratus,  of  Naucratis,  85 
Heroum  of  Trysa,  344-346 
Hesiodic    poems,    art  contemporary 

with,  64 

Hesperides  on   throne  of  Olympian 
Zeus,  261  ;  on  metope  at  Olympia, 
229 
Hiero    of   Syracuse,    a    commission 

given  to  Calamis  by,  234,  235 
Hieron  of  Gela,  chariot  made  for,  by 

Onatas,  199! 
High  relief  of  Olympian  metopes, 

229 

High  relief  of  Pergamene  frieze,  467 
Himerius  on  Lemnian  Athena,  258, 

265 

Himeros,  statue  by  Scopas,  382 
Hippodamia,  217 ;  on  throne  of  Olym- 
pian Zeus,  261 
Hippolytus  at  Troezen,  by  Timotheus, 

374 
Hipponax,  his  deformity  caricatured, 

101 

Hippothous  on  Tegean  pediment,  379 
Historical  reliefs  in  Rome,  494,  516 
Hittite  art  derived  from  Babylonia 

and  Assyria,  53 
Holy  water  sprinkler  on  Acropolis, 

315 

Homer,  4  ;  sculpture  in,  16  ;  decora- 
tive bronze  work  familiar  to,  23  ; 
decorative  works  in,  36  ;  poetical 
description  of  shield  by,  47  ;  social 
state  depicted  by,  57  ;  and  Hesiod, 
art  in,  66-70 ;  decorative  metal 
work  in,  69  ;  portrait  of,  451 


Honorary  statues  in  Rome,  513 

Hoplite-runner,  statue  of,  by  Pytha- 
goras, 245 

Horae  on  Parthenon  pediment,  281 
(see  Hours) 

Horse  from  Parthenon  pediment  in 
British  Museum,  280  ;  from  Acro- 
polis, 287  ;  from  Olympia,  287  ; 
colossal,  by  Strongylion,  319  ;  and 
bulls  by  Strongylion,  318 ;  and 
rider  from  Mausoleum,  389 

Horses,  statues  of,  dedicated  by  Tar- 
en  tines,  193  ;  by  Calamis,  199  ; 
Calamis  famous  for,  235 

Hours  and  Fates  on  throne  of  Zeus  at 
Megara,  307 

Humorous  treatment  occurring  on 
vases,  162 

Humour  of  treatment  of  monsters, 
162 

Huntress,  Artemis  as  a,  319,  480 

Hyacinthus,  tomb  of,  78 

Hygieia  on  pediment  of  Parthenon, 
279  ;  Athena,  by  Pyrrhus,  316  ; 
statue  by  Scopas,  382 

Hymettian  marble,  20  ;  statue  of,  on 
Acropolis,  175 

IAPYGIAN,  King  Opis,  death  in  battle, 
199 

Ictinus,  temples  on  which  he  worked, 
321 

Idaean  Dactyli  as  early  metal  workers, 
66 

Ideal  statue  described  by  Lucian,  233  ; 
character  of  works  by  Phidias  and 
Polyclitus,  243 

Idealism  of  Apollo  Belvedere  a  re- 
action against  realism  of  Perga- 
mene sculpture,  480 

Ideals,  later,  of  the  gods,  477 

Ilissus  on  pediment  of  Parthenon,  279 

Ilithyiae  at  birth  of  Athena,  279 

Ilium,  capture  of,  on  metopes  at 
Argos,  339 

Imitative  reliefs,  Neo- Attic  school, 
504,  505 

Individual  character  given  to  gods  by 
Praxiteles,  432 

Infant  Asclepius  by  Boethus,  442 

Inopus  in  the  Louvre,  436 

Inscriptions  concerning  sculpture,  4 

lolaus  with  chariot  of  Heracles,  159  ; 
at  Tegea,  378 

Ion  of  Euripides,   subjects  of  pedi- 


538 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


ments  of  temple  of  Apollo  at  Delphi 
referred  to  in,  314 

Ionia,  art  of,  427 

lonians  and  Danai  as  allies  of  the 
Libyans,  58  ;  influence  of,  211 

Ionic  order,  place  of  frieze  in,  40  ; 
frieze  of  Erechtheum,  300  ;  and 
Attic  art,  preference  of  female 
draped  figure  by,  102  ;  style,  107  ; 
drapery.  111  ;  art,  influence  of, 
in  Lycia,  344 ;  S,  introduction 
of,  181  ;  temple,  tomb  as  a  minia- 
ture model  of,  458 

Irene  and  Plutus,  by  Cephisodotus^s 
353,  356 

Iris  on  Parthenon  pediment,  277,  281, 
287 

Isigonus,  sculptor  employed  by  Atta- 
lus,  456 

Island  gems,  subjects  on,  62,  63  ; 
provenance  of,  63 ;  and  early  bronze 
reliefs,  62  ;  connection  with  My- 
cenaean art  of,  63 

Island  schools  of  sculpture,  98,  112 

Isocephalism,  112 

Isocrates,  portrait  by  Leochares,  374, 
376 

Isthmian  Poseidon  by  Lysippus,  410 

Italy,  sculpture  in  museums  of,  12 

Ivory,  used  for  nude  parts  of  female 
figures,  75  ;  statue  of  Jupiter  by 
Pasiteles,  508  (see  Gold  and  Ivory) 

JERUSALEM,  golden  candlestick  of,  7, 

516 
Jocasta,  statue  by  Silanion,  32,  371  ; 

colour  of,  469 

Julius  Caesar,  portrait  of,  513-515 
Jupiter,    ivory   statue  by  Pasiteles, 

508  ;  Tonans,    Zeus   by  Leochares 

as,  375 

Kai/)6s,  statue  of,  by  Lysippus,  411 

Kertch,  vase  from,  representing  con- 
test of  Athena  and  Poseidon,  277  ; 
resemblance  of,  to  Madrid  puteal, 
280 

Knights  on  Parthenon  frieze,  289 

Knights  of  St.  John,  destruction  of 
Mausoleum  by,  386 

KOIVTJ  in  art  in  late  times,  497 

/c6\7ros,  168 

Kdpcti,  architectural  figures,  320 

LABOURS  of  Heracles  and  Theseus  on 


friezes,  40  ;  on  throne  of  Olympian 
Zeus,  263 

Labyrinth  at  Lemnos,  100,  197 
Laconian    maidens,    dancing   figur 

by  Callimachus,  320 
Ladas,  statue  of,  by  Myron,  239 
Lamp  in  Erechtheum  by  Callimaclius, 

321 
Lancelotti,    Discobolus    in    Palazzo, 

238,  243 

Landscape,  treatment  of,  in  Hellen- 
istic reliefs,  440 

Lansdowne  House,  Heracles  in,  385 
Laocoon,  sculptors  of,  J#8\  468,  499  ; 
essay  by  Lessing  on,  469  ;  Virgil's 
description  of,  476  ;  false  restora- 
tion of,  472  ;  only  meant  for  front 
view,  473 

Lapiths    on    western    pediment    at 
Olympia,  221,  223,  225  ;  and  Cen- 
taurs on  sandals  of  Athena  Par- 
thenos,  257  ;  and  Centaurs  on  Phi- 
galian  frieze,  322  ;  and  Centaurs  on 
tomb  from  Trysa,  344  (see  Centaurs) 
Larissa,  tombstone  from,  131 
Lateran,  Marsyas  in  museum,  240 
Leaena,  statue  of,  on  Acropolis,  316 
Lebadeia,   statue  of  Trophonius  by 

Euthycrates  at,  413 
Lemnian   Athena,    by    Phidias,    32, 
233,  255  ;  Himerius  on,  258  ;  note 
concerning,  265,  266 
Lemnian  labyrinth,  100,  197 
Lenormant  statuette,  254,  255 
Leochares,  works  by,  374-376 
Leonine    conception    of   Alexander, 

409  ;  of  Zeus,  499 
Leontiscus    of   Messina,    statue    by 

Pythagoras,  245 
Lernaean  Hydra,  Heracles  attacking, 

159  ;  on  metope  at  Olympia,  229 
Lessing  on  Laocoon,  469 
Leto  on  eastern  pediment  of  temple 
of  Apollo  at  Delphi,  313  ;  at  Argos, 
statue  by  Praxiteles,  369  ;  and  her 
children,  group  by  Praxiteles,  366  ; 
by  Euphranor,  372 ;  and  Niobe,  421 
Libyan,   statue  by  Pythagoras  of  a, 

245 

Libyans,  Greek  allies  of,  47 
Ligourio,    near     Epidaurus,    bronze 
from,    195,    196  ;    compared    with 
statue  by  Stephanus,  509 
Lioness,  Leaena  as,  316  ;  and  cupids, 
by  Arcesilaus,  507,  508 


in 

•• 


INDEX 


539 


Lions,  horses,  and  dogs  in  Assyrian 
art,  49 

Lions  on  gold   plaque  from  Fayum, 

'    59 

Lions  and  bull,  group  in  Athens 
museum,  161 

Lions  of  gold  flanking  footstool  of 
throne  of  Olympian  Zeus,  261 

Lions  from  Mausoleum,  387 

Literary  evidence  not  coincident  with 
monumental,  155 

Long-haired  statues  in  Rome,  513 

Louvre,  Hera  from  Samos  in,  113  ; 
Thasian  relief  in,  128 ;  bronze 
statuette  in,  329  ;  Inopus  in,  436  ; 
Artemis  of  Versailles  in,  481 ;  Venus 
of  Melos  in,  482  ;  Victory  of  Samo- 
thracein,  485-487  ;  Venus  Genetrix 
in,  506 

Lozenge  pattern  on  sculpture,  178 

Lucian,  3 

Luna,  marble  of,  20 

Lycia,  Greek  sculpture  in,  435 

Lycian  monuments,  55  ;  sculpture  in 
the  fifth  century,  343  ;  sarcophagus 
with  ogival  top,  427  ;  sarcophagi, 
520 

Lycius,  equestrian  statues  on  the 
Acropolis  by,  315 ;  group  by  at 
Olympia,  315 

Lycone,  group  by  Polyclitus  at, 
332 

Lycosura,  group  by  Damophon  from, 
8 ;  sculptures  by  Damophon  at, 
8,  259,  400 

Lydia,  art  of,  similar  to  that  of 
Phrygia,  55  • 

Lysias  and  Isocrates,  compared  to 
Phidias  and  Polyclitus,  234 

Lysimache,  portrait  by  Demetrius, 
450 

Lysippean  athlete,  influence  of  Scopas 
shown  in,  433  ;  heads  at  Monte 
Cavallo,  445  ;  original,  Farnese 
Hercules  a  copy  of,  501 

Lysippus,  works  of,  403-410 ;  posi- 
tion of,  404,  405  ;  weary  Heracles, 
characteristic  of,  411  ;  pupils  of, 
412  ;  influence  of,  432  j  portraits  of 
Alexander  by,  435  ;  colossal  Zeus 
at  Tarentum  by,  444  ;  influence  of, 
in  Borghese  warrior,  475 

Lysistratus,  pupil  of  Lysippus,  casts 
from  the  face  of  model  first  taken 
by,  413,  513 


MACEDONIA,  artistic  plunder  from, 
495 

Macedonian  warriors  on  sarcophagus, 
430  ;  kings,  spread  of  Hellenism 
by,  434,  435 

Madrid,  portrait  of  old  man  at,  210  ; 
puteal  with  birth  of  Athena  at, 
280,  281 

Maenad  by  Scopas,  369,  384 ;  on  Neo- 
Attic  relief,  505 

Maenads,  groups  of,  by  Praxiteles, 
369 

Magna  Graecia,  artistic  peculiarities 
of,  146 

Maidens  of  Erechtheum,  300 

Male  forehead  in  fourth  century 
sculpture,  359 

Man  carrying  calf,  statue  on  Athenian 
Acropolis,  176  ;  sacrificing  ram  by 
Naucydes,  338 

Mannerisms  of  earlier  artists  imitated 
in  Hellenistic  times,  492  ;  of  Pasi- 
telean  copies,  15,  509 

Mantinea,  Pratolaus  ofj"245 

Mantinean  relief  with  Marsyas,  366  ; 
analogy  of,  with  mourner's  sarco- 
phagus, 428 

Marathon,  relief  found  on  a  tomb 
near,  179 ;  temple  statues  dedicated 
from  spoils  of  battle  at,  249,  250 

Marble,  preponderance  of  sculpture 
in  museums,  9  ;  use  and  technique 
of,  18-23  ;  used  in  Athens  in  sixth 
century,  162  ;  use  of,  for  faces  and 
hands  of  female  figures  in  Selinus 
metopes,  346  ;  perfection  of  tech- 
nique in,  by  Praxiteles,  432 

Marcus  Aurelius,  statue  of,  preserved 
by  mistake,  6 

Marpessa,  marble  from,  20 

Marsyas  in  Lateran  museum,  240  ; 
on  Mantinean  relief,  366  ;  subject 
as  treated  by  Myron  and  Praxiteles, 
489  ;  flaying  of,  by  Zeuxis,  489  ; 
flaying  of,  in  Pergamene  art,' 
489 

Mask  of  Zeus  from  Otricoli,  498 

Masks  of  wax  in  Roman  times,  use  of, 
512,  513 

Masquerading  as  a  god,  expression  of 
the  custom  in  sculpture,  451 

Massive  build  of  figure  chosen  by 
Peloponnesian  sculptors,  284 

Masterpieces,  carrying  off  of,  by 
Romans,  495 


540 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


Mattel  Amazon,  335,  336  ;  period  of, 
337 

Mausoleum  of  Halicarnassus,  decora- 
tion of,  42,  345,  385-393  ;  share  of 
Bryaxis  in,  374  ;  Scopas  employed 
on,  382  ;  sculptures  compared  with 
Alexander  sarcophagus,  428  ;  pa- 
nels in  walls  of,  440 

Mausolus,  colossal  statue  of,  387,  388 

Medusa,  head  of,  at  Argus,  65 

Megalopolis,  group  dedicated  in 
temple  of  Zeus  Soter  at,  354 ; 
temple  statue  hy  Damophon  at, 
399 

Megara,  early  sculpture  from,  142  ; 
treasury  of,  at  Olympia,  142 ;  colos- 
sal torso  from,  142 ;  Hours  and 
Fates  above  the  head  of  Zeus  at, 
307  ;  unfinished  statue  of  Zeus 
at,  307  ;  statue  of  Artemis  Soteira 
hy  Strongylion  at,  319 ;  group  by 
Scopas  at,  382 

Megarian  treasury,  pediment  of,  142 

Melas  family,  22 

Meleager  at  Tegea,  378 

Melos,  sculpture  in  museums  from, 
124  ;  Apollo  from,  125  ;  head  in 
British  Museum  from,  416  ;  Aphro- 
dite of,  477  ;  objects  found  at, 
with  Venus  of  Melos,  482  ;  Venus 
of,  482 

Mende,  victory  by  Paeonius  of,  247 

Menecrates,  name  of,  on  Great  Altar 
of  Zeus  at  Pergamum,  468 

Menelaus,  bowl  given  to,  by  king  of 
Sidon,  69  ;  or  Ajax  in  Agina  pedi- 
ment, 201 

Menelaus,  pupil  of  Stephanus  (school 
of  Pasiteles),  509  ;  group  by,  510- 
512 

Menophilus,  inscription  with  name 
of,  475 

Messene,  temple  statues  by  Damo- 
phon at,  399 

Messenians  of  Naupactus,  victory 
made  by  Paeonius  for,  231,  232 

Messina,  bronze  group,  by  Gallon, 
for,  154  ;  Samian  exiles  at,  244  ; 
Leontiscus  of,  245 

Metal  as  a  material  for  sculpture,  15, 
23-26 

Metopes,  40,  41  ;  of  Selinus,  142  ;  at 
Olympia,  227,  228,  229  ;  of  Par- 
thenon, 268,  270,  273  ;  Cen- 
taurs on,  272,  273  ;  in  place  before 


cornice   of  outer   colonnade,   27* 

uneven  quality  of,  288  ;  of  The 

eum,  295  ;  at  Argos,  339  (see 

inns) 
Michael  Angelo,  35  ;  restorations  of 

ancient  sculpture  by,  9 
Midas,  52  ;  tomb  of,  53 
Migration  of  artists  in  Grseco -Roman 

age,  496 

Miletus,  Apollo  at,  194;  sack  of,  194 
Miltiades,  central  figure  of  group  by 

Phidias  at  Delphi,  249 
Minos  in  Crete,  57  ;  and  Agamemnon, 

mention  of,  by  Thucydides,  55 
Mithridates,  statue  made  by  Silanion 

for,  370 
Mnaseas    of    Gyrene,    statue    of,   by 

2thagoras,  245 
lling  of  the  body,   beginnings 
of,  92  ;  in  clay,  invention  of,  100 

Models  for  sculpture  made  by  Timo- 
theus,  372,  373 

Monotony  of  early  types,  reason  of, 
96 

Monsters  in  early  Attic  art,  162;  in 
early  Attic  pediments,  202 

Monte  Cavallo  Dioscuri,  445 

Morosini's  secretary,  De  Laborde  head 
brought  to  Venice  by,  284 

Mother  of  the  gods,  statue  by  Agora- 
critas  at  Athens,  306 

Motye,  people  of,  235 

Mount  Olympus  on  Parthenon  pedi- 
ment, 280 

Mourner's  sarcophagus,  427 

Mouth,  development  of,  in  early 
Attic  sculpture,  171,  172 ;  treat- 
ment of,  by  Scopas,  381 ;  in  Artemis 
at  Lycosura,  400  ;  in  Demeter  of 
Cnidus,  416 

Mummius,  sack  of  Corinth  by,  495 

Munich,  sculpture  in,  8  ;  pediments 
from  Aegina  at,  201  ;  Aphrodite 
in,  362  ;  frieze  in,  383 

Muscles  and  sinews,  treatment  of,  in 
early  Attic  work,  160 

Muscular  exaggeration  of  Borghese 
warrior,  477 

Muse  by  Ageladas,  193 

Muses  on  eastern  pediment  of  temple 
of  Apollo  at  Delphi,  313  ;  on 
Helicon,  by  Strongylion,  320  ;  on 
Helicon,  group  by  Cephisodotus, 
354  ;  on  Mantinean  basis,  368 

Mycenae,  civilisation  of,  57  ;  art  of, 


INDEX 


541 


59-62 ;  lion  gate  at,  54,  59,  60  ; 
dagger  blades,  70 

Mycenae  and  Tiryns,  work  of  Cy- 
clopes, 65 

Mycenaean  period,  23 

Myrina,  figurines,  27 

Myron,  place  of,  among  sculptors, 
236 ;  literary  traditions  concerning, 
239  ;  works  of,  242  ;  athletic  sculp- 
ture of,  273,  276;  animals  by,  287; 
technique  of,  295  ;  scholars  of, 
313  ;  treatment  of  hair  by,  329  ; 
scene  from  myth  of  Marsyas  by, 
489 

Myrtilus,  the  charioteer,  217,  218, 
220 

Mys,  shield  of  statue  embossed  by, 
249 

Mythical  traditions,  Cyclopes,  Dac- 
tyli,  and  Telchines,  65 ;  person- 
ages in  Hellenistic  reliefs,  440 

Mythological  canon,  formation  of,  76 

Myths,  unscientific  treatment  of,  66 ; 
on  late  sarcophagi,  521 

NAPLES,  bronzes  at,  8 ;  relief  like 
that  of  Alxenor  of  Naxos  in,  130  ; 
group  of  Harmodius  and  Aristogi- 
ton  at,  183  ;  bronze  head  of  youth 
at,  210 ;  Doryphorus  at,  327  ; 
Farnese  bull  at,  472  ;  Orestes  and 
Electra  at,  510 

Naucratis,  alabaster  used  for  sculp- 
ture at,  19  ;  artistic  importance  of, 
85  ;  name  of  Rhoecus  at,  101 

Nancy des,  scholar  of  Poly clitus,  works 
by,  338 

Naupactus,  artists  of,  154 

Naxian  colossus,  121,  122 

Naxos,  statues  found  in,  19  ;  marble 
of,  119 ;  sculptures  from,  119 ; 
three  examples  of  nude  male  type 
from,  121 ;  statue  dedicated  by 
Nicandra  of,  to  Artemis,  121 ;  work 
by  Alxenor  of,  122  ;  small  bronze 
from,  122 

Nemean  lion  on  metope  at  Olympia, 
229 

Nemesis  by  Agoracritus,  legends 
about,  305  ;  originally  intended  to 
represent  Aphrodite  in  the  gardens, 
305,  310  ;  Victories  and  stags  on 
crown  of,  306  ;  subjects  on  pedestal 
of  statue  of,  306 

Neo-Attic  reliefs,  14,  42,  299  ;  origin 


of,  320  ;  limited  repertoire  of  fig- 
ures in,  505  ;  school,  501  ;  school, 
imitative  reliefs  of,  504,  505 

Nereid  monument,  37,  345 

Nereids  on  Assos  sculptures,  112  ;  by 
Timotheus,  372 

Nero,  statue  carried  about  with,  320  ; 
statues  taken  from  Delphi  by,  496  ; 
heads  of,  on  colossal  statues  of  gods, 
515 

Nestor,  statue  at  Olympia  by  Onatas, 
199 

Nicias,  circumlitio  applied  by,  430 

Night,  statue  of,  at  Ephesus,  100 

Nike,  first  with  wings,  101  ;  winged, 
117;  by  Calamis,  235  ;  as  an  ac- 
cessory of  Athena  Parthenos  by 
Phidias,  256  ;  in  Hellenistic  times, 
485  (see  Victory) 

Nimrud,  reliefs  from,  48 

Nineveh,  reliefs  from,  49 

Niobe  of  Mount  Sipylus,  52  ;  and  her 
children,  368,  421-426;  attributed 
to  Scopas  and  to  Praxiteles,  421, 
422  ;  various  copies  of,  426 

Niobid,  drapery  of  Chiaramonti,  287 ; 
male,  424 

Niobids,  slaying  of,  on  throne  of 
Olympian  Zeus,  260,  263;  treat- 
ment of  death  in,  423 

Nude  female,  early  sculptural  type 
of,  94  ;  male,  early  sculptural  type 
of,  93,  94  ;  male  form  in  Aeginetan 
pediments,  202 ;  male  figure  on 
metopes  from  Argos,  339 ;  male 
form  in  Borghese  warrior,  475 

Nudity  in  art  influenced  by  athletics, 
93  ;  during  gymnastic  exercises, 
191  ;  preparation  for  the  bath  as 
motive  for,  362  ;  as  a  convention 
in  a  Persian,  459 ;  in  Roman 
statues,  515 

Nymphs,  groups  of,  by  Praxiteles, 
369  ;  riding  on  Centaurs,  group  by 
Arcesilaus,  508 

ODYSSEUS  on  tomb  from  Trysa,  344 

Old  man  from  Olympian  pediment, 
218 

Oli ve- tree J  symbol  of  Athena,  274, 
277 

Olympia,  5,  8,  9 ;  workshop  of 
Phidias  at,  18  ;  works  of  Spartan 
masters  at,  134,  152  ;  treasury  of 
Megara  at,  142 ;  statues  of  ath- 


542 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


letes  at,  191;  great  group  by  Onatas 
at,  199  ;  Hermes  by  Onatas  at, 
199  ;  Heracles  by  Onatas  at,  199  ; 
Megarian  gigantomachy  at,  202  ; 
chariot  on  pediment,  218  ;  demand 
for  statues  of  athletes  at,  227  ; 
sculptured  metopes  over  colonnade 
of  temple,  227 ;  acroteria  by 
Paeonius  at,  230  ;  temple  built  by 
Eleans  at,  231 ;  golden  shield  at, 
231  ;  Ladas  a  runner  at,  239 ; 
Phidias  working  at,  251  ;  Centaurs 
at,  272,  273  ;  table  of  gold  and 
ivory  by  Colotes  at,  306,  403  ; 
group  by  Lycius  at,  315  ;  statues  of 
athletes  at,  by  Polyclitus,  326; 
portraits  in  Philippeum  at,  374  ; 
statues  taken  from,  495,  496 

Olympian  excavations,  heads  from, 
138  ;  games,  statues  by  Pythagoras 
of  victors  in,  245  ;  games,  admis- 
sion of  Philip  and  Alexander  to, 
435 ;  metopes,  subjects  on,  227, 
230  ;  metopes,  resemblance  of  Sel- 
inus  metopes  to,  346  ;  pediments, 
216-231 ;  pediments,  differences 
betw.een  eastern  and  western,  221 ; 
pediments,  Pentelic_marble  in,  222 ; 
pediments,  use  of  colour  in,  227  ; 
pediments,  Pausanias'  attribution 
of,  to  Paeonius  and  Alcamenes  dis- 
cussed, 231  ;  pediments,  composi- 
tion of,  282 ;  pediments,  author- 
ship of  discussed,  308,  310  ;  Zeus, 
statue  of,  by  Phidias,  26,  251,  259, 
262-267 ;  Zeus,  throne  of,  259-261  ; 
Zeus,  dimensions  of  statue  of,  262  ; 
Zeus,  religious  character  of,  262  ; 
Zeus,  made  by  Phidias  and  Colotes, 
306  ;  Zeus  type  reproduced,  397 ; 
Zeus,  statue  of,  repaired  by  Damo- 
phon,  399  ;  Zeus,  Niobe  story  on 
throne  of,  421  ;  Zeus  at  Athens, 
temple  of,  finished  by  Hadrian, 
517,  518 

Omphalos,  Apollo  on  the,  235,  247 

Opis,  death  in  battle,  199 

Opportunity,  statue  of,  by  Lysippus, 
411 

Orchomenus,  Apollo  from,  141,  147 ; 
tomb  relief  signed  by  Alxenor  at, 
149 

Orestes  and  Clytemnestra,  135  ;  and 
Electra  at  Naples,  510 

Oriental   models,    influence    of,    52 ; 


influences  in    early  times,   direct 

channel  of,  84 
Orontes,  swimming  figure  to  represent 

the  river,  446 
Otricoli,  mask  of  Zeus  from,  498 

PAEONIUS,  his  connection  with  Olym- 
pian pediments,  231,  341,  343  ; 
Victory  by,  342 

Pagae,  statue  of  Artemis  Soteira  by 
Strongylion  at,  319 

Paint,  used  with  coarse  stone,  158  (see 
Colour) 

Painting,  technique,  translated  into 
marble,  141 ;  influence  of,  on  sculp- 
ture of  Lycia,  344 

Paintings  on  throne  of  Olympian 
Zeus,  261 

Palatine,  statue  of  Apollo  by  Scopas, 
in  temple,  384 

Palermo,  metopes  of  Selinus  at,  142, 
346 

Palladium,  69 

Pallene,  combat  between  Athenians 
and  wild  inhabitants  of,  on  Theseum 
frieze,  9-97 

Panaenus,  paintings  by,  on  throne  of 
Olympian  Zeus,  261  ;  shield  of 
Athena  at  Elis  painted  by,  307 

Panathenaic  amphorae  at  Gyrene, 
and  in  Italy,  87 

Pancratiast  at  Delphi,  statue  of,  244 

Pandion,  statue  of,  242 

Pandora,  on  pedestal  of  Athena  Par- 
thenos,  257 

Panels  from  Mausoleum,  387;  Hellen- 
istic, 440,  473 

Panhellenic  Zeus,  255 

Pantarces,  statue  of,  at  Olympia,  263 

Papias,  Centaurs  and  Cupids  by,  518 

Parallel  folds  in  Delian  works,  127 ; 
planes  in  sculpture,  137 

Parian  marble,  19  ;  in  Theseum 
metopes,  295 ;  head  from  Argos, 
339  ;  in  Nereid  monument,  346 ; 
Hermes  by  Praxiteles  of,  355 ; 
head  of  Demeter  of  Cnidus  of,  416 

Paris  on  Aegina  pediment,  201  ; 
statue  of,  by  Euphranor,  371 

Parium,  Eros  by  Praxiteles  at,  363 

Parnopius,  Apollo  by  Phidias,  258 

Paros,  statues  found  at,  19  ;  draped, 
seated  statue  from,  125  ;  flying 
Gorgon  from,  125 ;  nude  male 
statue  from,  125 


INDEX 


543 


Parrliasius,  designs  by,  for  shield  of 
Phidias'  colossal  bronze  Athena, 
249 

Parthenium,  herbal  remedy,  316 

Parthenon,  as  a  church,  6,  269  ;  sculp- 
tures, 10  ;  place  of  frieze  on,  40, 
41;  destruction  of,  by  gunpowder 
in  1687,  269  ;  sculpture,  267,  293  ; 
metopes,  270-273  ;  resemblance  to 
Theseum  frieze,  296  ;  pediments, 
274-289  ;  Carrey's  drawings,  274  ; 
connection  of  Phidias  with,  288  ; 
frieze,  289-293 

Parthenos,  statue  of  Athena,  by 
Phidias,  251,  255-258,  264,  267 

Pasitelean  copies  of  fifth  -  century 
statues,  peculiarities  of,  509  ;  group, 
Orestes  and  Electra,  510 

Pasiteles  and  his  school,  508  -  512  ; 
works  by  pupils  of,  509 

Pastoral  tendency  in  Hellenistic  times, 
438 

Pathology  in  sculpture,  472 

"  Pathos  "  in  Greek  sculpture,  385 

Patrocles,  brother  of  Polyclitus,  338 

Patroclus  in  Aegina  pediment,  201 

Pausanias,  3 

Peace  nursing  the  infant  "Wealth, 
statue  by  Cephisodotus,  352,  446 

Pedestal  of  Athena  Parthenos,  sculp- 
ture on,  257  ;  of  throne  of  Olym- 
pian Zeus,  relief  in  gold  on,  261  ; 
of  Nemesis  at  Rhamnus,  306 

Pediments,  sculpture  of,  38  ;  chariots 
on,  38  ;  combat  scenes  on,  38  ;  at 
Olympia,  38,  39,  216-227  ;  contrast 
of  eastern  and  western  scenes  on, 
39  ;  river  gods  in,  39  ;  of  Athena 
Alea  at  Tegea,  40,  378,  379;  of 
Megarian  Treasury,  142  ;  in  Athens 
museum,  158  ;  fish  and  snake  forms 
in,  159  ;  of  Aegina,  201-206  ;  mon- 
sters in  early,  202  ;  of  Parthenon, 
268,  274-289 

Pegasus  on  Selinus  metope,  144 

Peitho  on  pedestal  of  throne  of  Olym- 
pian Zeus,  261 

Pelasgians,  56 

Peleus  at  Tegea,  378 

Pellene  in  Achaea,  Athena  by  Phidias 
for,  249,  250 

Pellichus,  portrait  by  Demetrius  of, 
351,  450 

Pelopid  dynasty  of  Atridae,  origin  of, 
54 


Pelopids  in  Mycenae,  57 

Peloponnese,  marble  from,  20  ;  sculp- 
ture from,  137  ;  and  Sicily,  artistic 
connection  between,  154 

Peloponnesian  war,  18  ;  sculptors, 
type  of  figure  preferred  by,  284 

Pelops,  legend  of,  217 

Pentathlus,  by  Alcamenes,  311 

Pentelic  marble,  20 ;  in  Olympian 
pediment,  222  ;  used  for  face  and 
hands  of  statue,  251  ;  in  Erectheum 
frieze,  262  ;  used  by  Alcamenes, 
310  ;  used  in  metopes  from  Argos, 
339 ;  Alexander  sarcophagus  of,  428 

Penthesilea  and  Achilles  on  throne  of 
Olympian  Zeus,  261 

Peplos,  in  early  Attic  sculpture,  167, 
168  ;  of  Athena,  289,  291,  292 

Pergamene  sculptor,  methods  con- 
trasted with  Aeginetan,  204  ;  art, 
character  of,  385  ;  sculptures,  re- 
plicas of  earlier,  453  ;  under  At- 
tains I.,  453-459  ;  under  Eumenes, 
II.,  459-468  ;  artists  trained  in  the 
school  of  Lysippus,  454  ;  altar, 
460-468;  art,  last  example  of, 
469  ;  art,  morbid  taste  of  later, 
489 

Pergamenes  and  Galatians,  battle  on 
Attalid  dedication  on  Acropolis, 
457 

Pergamum  sculpture  in  Berlin  from, 
8  ;  statue  by  Onatas  at,  198  ;  statue 
of  Ares  brought  to  Rome  from,  384  ; 
school  of  sculpture  at,  437;  position 
in  Hellenistic  art,  452  ;  altar  of 
Zeus  at,  457,  460  -  468  ;  bronze 
satyr  at  Berlin  from,  490 

Pericles,  influence  of,  in  art,  216  ; 
portrait  of,  on  shield  of  Athena  Par- 
thenos, 257  ;  Phidias'  connection 
with,  251,  258,  288,  301  ;  statue  of 
slave  of,  on  Acropolis,  315  ;  portrait 
of,  by  Cresilas,  317,  351,  450 ; 
Attic  artists  under,  394 

Perseus  on  Selinus  metope,  144  ;  by 
Myron,  242  ;  with  wings  by  Pytha- 
goras, 245 

Persia  brought  into  relation  with 
Greece  by  the  fall  of  Croesus,  56 

Persian  art,  56  ;  enamelled  brick- 
work, 56  ;  wars,  and  their  results, 
5,  43,  157,  214,  347, -434  ;  dress  in 
sculpture,  389 ;  nude,  with  cap 
from  Pergamene  group,  459 


544 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


Persians,  combat  scenes  with,  in 
sculpture,  206  ;  on  Alexander  sarco- 
phagus, 430  ;  fallen  figures  from 
Attalid  battle  groups,  457,  458 

Petasus,  on  tomb  relief  from  Larissa, 
130 

Petworth,  Amazon  at,  337 

<f>a,idpvvTal,  252 

Phalaris  of  Agrigentum,  104 

Pharsalus,  tomb  relief  from,  131 

Pheneans,  employers  of  Onatas,  198 

Pherecydes,  portrait  of,  210 

Phidias,  only  copies  after,  extant,  248; 
pupil  of  Ageladas,  248  ;  works  by, 
249-266  ;  connection  of,  with  Par- 
thenon, 267,  273,  288  ;  portrait  of, 
on  shield  of  Athena  Parthenos, 
257  ;  and  Pericles,  251,  258,  288, 
301  ;  scholars  of,  302 ;  and  the 
statue  of  Nemesis  at  Rhamnus, 
305  ;  colossal  Athena  by,  311  ;  in- 
fluence of,  312,  313,  351  ;  Amazon 
attributed  to,  336 

Phigalia,  temple  of  Apollo  near,  221, 
321 

Phigalian  frieze,  8,  41,  322-324 

Phigalians,  employers  of  Onatas,  198 

Philetaerus,  founder  of  Attalid  dyn- 
asty, 452 

Philip,  gold  and  ivory  portraits  of 
family,  374,  376  ;  conquests  of,  434 

Philippeum  at  Olympia,  gold  and 
ivory  portraits  in,  374 

Philo,  victor  at  Olympia,  199 

Philoctetes,  by  Pythagoras,  245, 
309  ;  on  gems,  246  ;  treatment  of 
wounded,  337 

"Philosophers,"  statues  of,  307 

Phoenician  art,  influence  of,  50  ;  as 
known  to  Homer,  51 

Phoenician  traders  in  Thera  and 
Rhodes,  51  ;  in  Corinth,  51  ;  in  the 
Aegean,  50,  51  ;  bowls,  concentric 
bands  of  relief  on,  70  ;  princes,  em- 
ployment of  Greek  sculptors  by,  427 

Phrixus  on  Acropolis,  statue  of,  338 

Phrygia  and  Lydia,  their  art  derived 
from  Hittite  conquerors,  53 

Phrygian  lions  on  tombs,  53  ;  art, 
resemblance  to  early  Greek  54 ; 
tombs,  59 ;  slave  with  knife  on 
Mantinean  basis,  368 

Phryne,  statue  presented  to,  by  Praxi- 
teles, 363,  364  ;  statues  of,  by 
Praxiteles,  369 


Phyromachus,  sculptor  employed  by 

Attains,  456 
Pilasters,  colossal  figures  in  temple  of 

Zeus  at  Acragus  as,  347 
Piombino,  Apollo  of,  190,  209 
Piraeus  stone  used  for  sculpture,  19 
Pirithous   on  western  pediment    at 

Olympia,  221,  225  ;   bridal  of,  on 

Parthenon,  270  ;  on  Tegean  pedi- 
ment, 379 

Pisatans,  conquered  by  Eleans,  231 
Plaque  in  r£pouss6  work  from  Olym- 
pia, 64 
Plaster  model  of  statue  of  Zeus  at 

Megara,   307  ;   models  by  Arcesi- 

laus,  508 
Plataeans,   statue  of   Athena    Areia 

by  Phidias  for,  250 
Plato  the  philosopher,  statue  by  Si- 

lanion,  370 
Pliny,  2,  3 
Pliny's    comparison    of    Myron    and 

Polyclitus  examined,  243,  244 
Pointing  from  a  modelj  32 
Polish    of  surface  characteristic    of 

later  Pergamene  art,  458 
Polished  surface  of  crouching  slave  in 

Uflizi  Gallery  at  Florence,  490 
7r6Xos,  195 
Polychromy  in  sculptural  reliefs,  144, 

145  ;  of  early  sculpture,  158,  162, 

163  (see  Colour). 

Polyclitan  Amazon,  332 ;  canon  modi- 
fied by  Lysippus,  405 
Polyclitus,  pupil  of  Ageladas,  324  ; 

works  by,  326-332;  treatment  of 

hair  by,  329  ;  scholars  of,  337  ;  the 

younger,  338 
Polycrates,  ring  of,  100 
Polydeuces  at  Tegea,  378 
Polydorus,  one  of  the  sculptors  of  the 

Laocoon,  469 
Polygnotus,  influence  of  paintings  of, 

344,  348  ;  paintings  at  Athens  and 

Delphi  by,  348 
Polynices  and  Eriphyle,  135 
Polyphemus,  Torso  Belvedere  restored 

as,  502 

Polyxena,  tomb  relief,  131 
Pomegranate   in   hand  of  statue   on 

Acropolis  of  Athens,  115 
Pompeian    paintings     and    mosaics, 

genre  scenes  on,  508 
Pompeii,  bronzes  from,  9 
7rc6pu>os  \i6os,  158 


INDEX 


545 


Portrait  of  athlete  at  Olyrapia  by 
Phidias,  263  ;  work  in  fifth  century, 
318  ;  of  Mausolus,  388  ;  statues  in 
libraries,  etc.,  451  ;  head  from 
Eleusis,  487,  488  ;  of  a  man  posing 
as  a  god,  488  ;  sculpture,  Roman, 
494  ;  of  Julius  Caesar  in  British  Mu- 
seum, 513-515  ;  of  Antinous,  519  ; 
portraits  of  Pericles  and  Phidias  on 
shield  of  Athena  Parthenos,  257  ; 
of  Alexander,  432  ;  by  Demetrius 
of  Alopece,  450  ;  of  kings  as  gods, 
451  ;  in  early  times  always  herms 
or  statues,  452  ;  in  Roman  times, 
resemblance  of,  to  reigning  em- 
peror, 515 

Portraiture,  449-452  ;  Roman,  as  a 
phase  of  Greek  art,  512 

Poseidon  and  Athena  on  Parthenon 
pediment,  274,  276  ;  dolphins  as 
an  attribute  of,  277  ;  crowning  Ly- 
sander,  338  ;  Thetis  and  Achilles 
group  in  Rome  by  Scopas,  383  ;  in 
Isthmian  sanctuary  by  Lysippus, 
410  ;  and  Amphitrite  from  Perga- 
mene  frieze,  466 

Pothos,  statue  by  Scopas,  382 

irbrvia.  0rjpuv,  306 

Pourtales  torso  at  Berlin,  327 

Pratolaus  of  Mantinea,  statue  of,  by 
Pythagoras,  245 

Praxias,  a  pupil  of  Calamis,  313  ; 
pediments  of  temple  of  Apollo  at 
Delphi  by,  313 

Praxidamas  of  Aegina,  statue  of, 
191 

Praxiteles,  characteristics  of  style 
of,  355 ;  copies  after,  by  Roman 
sculptors,  355  ;  resemblance  to  style 
of,  in  sculpture  on  drum  from 
Ephesus,  421  ;  influence  of,  on 
succeeding  age,  432 ;  work  done 
for  barbarians  by,  435  ;  scenes  from 
myth  of  Marsyas  by,  489 

Praxiteles,  Pergamene  artist,  456 

Praying  boy  in  Berlin,  414 

Priestess  of  Athena,  portrait  by  De- 
metrius, 450 

Pristae,  statues  of,  by  Myron,  242 

Promachos,  epithet  of  Athena,  249 

Prometheus  and  Heracles  on  throne 
of  Olympian  Zeus,  261  ;  assisting 
at  the  birth  of  Athena,  279  ;  myth 
on  late  sarcophagi,  521 

Proplasmata  by  Arcesilaus,  508 


Propylaea,  date  of,  315  ;   equestrian 

statues  on  buttresses  of,  315 
Prothoiis  at  Tegea,  378 
irpoTojAal,  452 

Provenance,  importance  of,  156 
Psammetichus  I.,  Greek  and  Carian 

mercenaries  of,  48,  58 
Ptous  Apollo,  207 
Punch  and  mallet,  use  of,  22 
Punic  wax,  use  of,  29 
Puntelli,  33,  34,  35 
Puteal    in    Madrid,    with    birth    of 

Athena,  280,  281 
Puteoline  basis,  449 
Pyramidal  composition  of  Laocoon 

and  of  Farnese  bull,  473 
Pyrrhic  dancer  on  Neo- Attic  relief, 

505 

Pyrrhus,  statues  accumulated  by,  495 
Pythagoras,  confusion  concerning,  of 

Rhegium  and  Samos,  245  ;  artistic 

affinities  and  date,  244,  246 
Pythis,  chariot  on  Mausoleum  by,  386 

RAMPIN  head,  style  of,  177 

Realism  and  impressionism  in  fourth- 
century  sculpture,  352  ;  in  sculp- 
ture, 405  ;-  of  Lysippus,  413  ;  and 
convention  in  Laocoon,  472 ;  of 
Pergamene  art,  reaction  against, 
480  ;  in  portraiture,  Julius  Caesar, 
513 

Relations  of  archaic  schools,  literary 
evidence  as  to,  151 

Relief,  high,  of  metopes  of  Par- 
thenon, 270  ;  technique  of  Erech- 
theum,  300  ;  of  Pergamene  frieze, 
467 

Reliefs,  different  planes  in,  293  (see 
Hellenistic  and  Neo-Attic) 

Religious  spirit  of  Greek  sculpture, 
81  ;  conservatism  in  sculpture,  82  ; 
character  of  Olympian  Zeus,  262, 
263  ;  genre,  316 

Repetitions  of  figures  in  Neo-Attic 
work,  505 

Repousst  work,  24 

Reproductions  of  earlier  statues  in 
Graeco-Roman  times,  497,  498 

Restoration  of  sculpture,  9,  10 

Rhamnus,  Nemesis  by  Agoracritus 
at,  305 

Rhegium,  Samian  exiles  at,  244 

Rhexibius  the  Opuntian,  statue  of, 
191 


546 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


Rhodes,  art  of  pottery  in,  85  ;  statue 
of  Helios  by  Lysippus  at,  410  ; 
school  of  sculpture  at,  438  ;  bronze 
Colossus  by  Chares  at,  442  ;  pros- 
perity of,  in  Hellenistic  age,  469  ; 
Farnese  bull  set  up  at,  472 

Rhodes  and  Crete,  early  art  in,  66 

Rhodian  art,  character  of,  385 ; 
school,  468 

River  gods  on  pediments,  39,  220, 
279 

Rock-cut  sculptures  in  Asia  Minor, 
52 

Roman  copy  of  Athena  Parthenos, 
253  ;  sculpture,  493,  494  ;  view  of 
Greek  art,  494  ;  portrait  sculpture, 
494  ;  province,  reduction  of  Greece 
to,  495  ;  proconsuls,  statues  taken 
by,  495  ;  portraiture  as  a  phase 
of  Greek  art,  512  ;  historical 
monuments,  516,  517  ;  sarcophagi, 
520  ;  copies  of  Greek  originals,  12, 
521 

Romans  as  gods,  515  ;  carrying  off  of 
statues  by,  495 

Rome,  statues  conveyed  to,  6  ;  statues 
set  up  in  public  buildings  at,  495 

Roscius,  silver  portrait  of,  by  Pasiteles, 
509 

Round  chisel,  use  of,  22 

Roundness  of  shape  a  characteristic 
of  early  Boeotian  statues,  148 

pv6fj.bs,  attributed  to  Pythagoras, 
247,  248 

SACK  OF  CORINTH,  by  Mummius,  6, 
495 

Samian  exiles  at  Rhegium  and 
Messina,  244  ;  school  of  sculptors 
in  the  time  of  Croesus  at  Ephesus 
and  Magnesia,  78 

Samos,  18,  19  ;  the  Heraeum  at,  as  a 
museum  of  early  sculpture,  112  ; 
artistic  affinities  of,  112,  156,  157  ; 
Hera  at,  197  ;  Pythagoras  born  at, 
244  ;  and  Rhegium,  connection  of, 
244  ;  and  Athens,  treaty  between, 
with  relief  of  Hera  and  Athena, 
301 

Samothrace,  relief  from  the  arm  of  a 
chair  from,  129  ;  victory  of,  485-487 

Sandals  of  Athena  Parthenos,  sculp- 
ture on,  257 

Sappho,  statue  by  Silanion,  370 

Sarcophagi    with   Niobe,  421  ;  from 


Sidon,  427  ;  flaying  of  Marsyas  on, 
489  ;  in  form  of  temples,  520  ;  left 
plain  at  back,  520 ;  in  Roman 
times,  520 ;  late,  with  mythological 
subjects,  521 

Sarcophagus,  Lycian,  with  ogival  top, 
427  ;    les  pleureuses,    427  ;    Alex-  • 
ander,  428 

Sargon,  extension  of  his  rule  to  Syria 
and  Cyprus,  49 

Satan,  throne  of,  461 

Satrap,  tomb  of  the,  427 

Satyr  with  flutes  by  Myron,  240  ;  by 
Praxiteles,  364 ;  in  bronze  from 
Pergamum  at  Berlin,  490 

Satyrs,  groups  of,  by  Praxiteles,  369 

Sauroctonus,  Apollo  by  Praxiteles, 
366 

Scenes  from  country  life  in  Hellenistic 
reliefs,  440 

Schools  of  sculpture,  local,  when 
established,  90 ;  in  the  sixth 
century,  152 

Sciarra,  Apollo  in  the  Palazzo,  209 

Scipio  Asiaticus,  statues  carried  off 
by,  495 

Scopas,  dramatic  tendency  of,  276  ; 
works  by,  377  ;  rivals  of,  385  ; 
influence  of,  in  Asia  Minor,  412  ; 
column  of  Ephesus  temple  by,  419  ; 
employment  of,  in  Asia  Minor, 
431  ;  influence  of,  432,  433  ;  work 
done  for  barbarians  by,  435 

Scythian  archer,  statue  of,  in  Athens, 
178 

Sea-creatures  after  Scopas,  383 

Selene  on  pedestal  of  throne  of 
Olympian  Zeus,  261  ;  on  Parthenon 
pediment,  280,  281,  287 ;  from 
Pergamene  frieze,  466 

Seleucus,  restoration  of  Apollo  of 
Branchidse  to  Milesians  by,  194  ; 
portrait  of,  by  Bryaxis,  374 

Selinus,  metopes  of,  17,  36,  142-145 ; 
treatment  of  wounded  giant,  204  ; 
fifth-century  set,  346 

Sentimental  pathos  in  later  Per- 
gamene art,  458 

Seventh-century  work  in  Egypt,  48 

Shape  of  primitive  statue,  17 

Shield  of  Achilles,  69,  71,  74  ;  Flax- 
man's  conception  of,  68  ;  of  Her- 
acles, 72,  73  ;  of  Athena  Par- 
thenos, portraits  on,  257 

Sicilian  sculptures  (see  Selinus) 


INDEX 


547 


Sicily,  cities  of,  plundered  of  statues 
by  Romans,  495 

Sicyon,  Dipoenus  and  Scyllis  at,  98  ; 
gold  and  ivory  Aphrodite  at,  195  ; 
works  by  Scopas  at,  382,  385 

Sicyonian  sculptors,  194 ;  school, 
Lysippus,  head  of,  404  (see  Argos) 

Sidon  sarcophagi,  409,  427  ;  com- 
pared with  relief  by  Sosibius,  504 

Silanion,  works  by,  370,  371 

Silver,  use  of,  26  ;  statuette  from 
Alexandria  in  British  Museum, 
boy  and  goose,  442 ;  vessels  with 
subjects  similar  to  those  on 
Hellenistic  reliefs,  440  ;  portrait  of 
Roscius,  509 

ffKLafia'x&v,  199 

Smintheus,  Apollo  by  Scopas,  384 

Snake  forms  in  pedimental  sculptures, 
159 ;  as  an  attribute  of  Athena,  256, 
277  ;  as  attribute  of  Asclepius,  399 

Snake-footed  Giants,  467 

Snakes  of  Laocoon  group,  472 

Solid  bronze  statues,  24 

Sosandra,  233 

Sosias,  Niobe  group  brought  to  Rome 
by,  421 

Sosibius,  work  of,  compared  with 
Sidon  sarcophagi,  504 ;  typical 
Neo-Attic  artist,  505 

Sosicles'  name  inscribed  on  Capito- 
line  Amazon,  336 

Southern  Italy,  cities  of,  plundered 
of  statues  by  Romans,  495 

Sparta,  cups  from  Vaphio,  58 ; 
migration  of  Bathycles  to,  79 ; 
sculpture  from,  133 ;  school  founded 
by  Cretan  sculptors  at,  152 ;  bronze 
Zeus  at,  154  ;  and  Argos,  archaic 
statues,  numerous  at,  154 

Spartan  tomb  reliefs,  analogy  of,  with 
Harpy  tomb,  17,  110  ;  school  of 
sculptors,  134,  152,  244 ;  reliefs, 
135,  136,  137  ;  sculpture,  gold  and 
ivory,  152 

Spartans,  group  dedicated  by,  after 
Aegospotami,  338 

Spearmen  on  Aegina  pediment,  201, 
202 

Sphinx  on  Selinus  metopes,  145  ;  on 
helmet  of  Athena  Parthenos,  256 

Sphyrelata,  26 

Squareness  of  early  statues,  127 

Staining  the  face  of  statue  with  wine 
lees  at  vintage  time,  99 


State  documents  with  sculpture,  301 
Statuae  Achilleae  of  Rome,  515 
Statuettes,  usual  material  for  early, 

91 

Stephanus,  male  figure  by,  509 
Sterope  on  pediment  at  Olympia,  217 
Stolidity     of    expression    of    early 

Boeotian  work,  148 
Stone  as  a  material  for  sculpture,  15, 

19 
Strangford  Apollo,    207  ;    shield    in 

British  Museum,  257 
Stratford  de  Redcliffe,  slabs  of  Mauso- 
leum frieze  given  to  British  Museum 
by,  386 
Stratonicus,    sculptor    employed    by 

Attains,  456 
Strigil,  athlete  with,  by  Polyclitus, 

331 

Strongylion,  works  by,  319,  320 
Stuart's   drawings,   7  ;    drawings   of 

Theseum  metopes,  295 
Study  of  nature  by  Lysippus,  404 
Stymphalian    birds     on    metope    at 

Olympia,  229 

Stymphalus,  Dromeus  of,  245 
Styppax  of  Cyprus,  statue  of  slave 

roasting  entrails  by,  315 
Subjects  of  fifth-century  art,  347 
Sulla,  statuette  by  Lysippus  in  pos- 
session of,   411  ;    states  plundered 
by,  495 
<rv/j,fj.eTpia  attributed  to  Pythagoras, 

247 
Symmetry  the  aim  of  Poly  cly  tus,  243, 

244 
Syracuse,    statue     of    chariot     and 

charioteer  for,  by  Onatas,  198 
Syro-Cappadocians,  Hittites  of  Scrip- 
ture, 53 

TABLE  of  sculptors  known  from  litera- 
ture, 104 

Tanagra,  golden  shield  dedicated  at 
Olympia  by  Spartans  after  victory 
at,  231  ;  drapery  of  statuettes,  368 

Taras  and  Phalanthus  by  Onatas, 
199 

Tarentines,  employers  of  Onatas,  198 

Tarentum,  statue  of  Europa  at,  245  ; 
colossal  Zeus  by  Lysippus  at,  409, 
444  ;  statue  of  Heracles  by  Lysip- 
pus at,  410 

Tauriscus,  one  of  the  sculptors  of 
Farnese  bull,  473 


548 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


Technical    improvements    attributed 

to  Theodorus,  100 

Technique  of  Greek  sculpture,  15-35; 
of  gold  and  ivory  statues,  307 ;  of 
statue  of  Jocasta  by  Silanion,  371 
Tegea,    marble     from,     20  ;     seated 
statue  from,  138  ;  temple  of  Athena 
Alea  rebuilt  by  Scopas  at,  378 
Tegean  heads  by  Scopas,  36,  137,  381, 
383,  385,  391,  392,  393,  416,  418, 
430 ;   pediments,    extant   remains, 
379. 

Tegeans,  group  dedicated  by,  338 
Telamon  at  Tegea,  378 
Telchines  as  early  metal  workers,  66 
Telephus  at  Tegea,  378,  379  ;  small 
frieze  from  Pergamum,  with  scenes 
from  the  life  of,  468 
Temple  offerings,  number  of,  82 
Tenea,  Apollo  from,  139,  141 
Terra-cotta  idols,   91  ;  as  a  material 

for  sculpture,  15,  26,  27 
Terra-cottas,  drapery  of,  448 
Teucer  on  Aegina  pediment,  201 
ddXaaffa  symbol  of  Poseidon,  274 
Thalassa  and  Gaia  on  Parthenon  pedi- 
ment, 281 

Thasians,  employers  of  Onatas,  198 
Thasos  and  Samothrace,  artistic  affi- 
nities of,  112  ;  peculiar  alphabet  of, 
127  ;    relations    with    Paros     and 
Siphnos,  127  ;  relief  from,  127,  129; 
tombstone  of  Philis,  129 
Theagenes,  Olympian  victor,  199 
Theban     sphinxes     on     throne      of 
Olympian  Zeus,  263  ;  sage,  portrait 
by  Tisicrates,  414 

Thebes,  statue  of  Apollo  Ismenius  at, 
194  ;  singer  Cleon  of,  245  ;  statue 
set  up  by  Thrasybulus  at,  310  ; 
statue  by  Xenophon  at,  354 
Theocritus,  subjects  chosen  by  Perga- 
mene  artist  similar  to  those  in 
idylls  of,  490 

Theodorus,  statue  of,  by  himself,  100 
Thera,  nude  male  statue  from,  123 
Theseum,   place  of  frieze  on,  40,  41 ; 
date  of,   294  ;  sculptures  of,    294- 
298 ;    metopes,    Stuart's  drawings 
of,    295  ;    frieze,    resemblance    to 
Parthenon  metopes,    296  ;    frieze, 
foreshortening  of  fallen  figures,  298 
Theseus  and  Minos,  legends  concern- 
ing, 80  ;    on  western  pediment  at 
Olympia,  221  ;    and    Pirithous  on 


throne  of  Olympian  Zeus,  261 ;  and 
Amazons  on  throne  of  Olympian 
Zeus,  261 ;  on  Parthenon  pediment, 
280,  283,  284,  285  ;  bringing  back 
by  Cimon  from  Scyros  of  bones  of, 
294,  295  ;  and  the  bull  in  Theseum 
metopes,  295  ;  on  tomb  from  Trysa, 
344  ;  statue  by  Silanion,  370  ;  at 
Tegea,  378 

Thespiae,  statue  of  Eros  by  Praxiteles 
at,  363 

Thessaly,  marble  of,  20  ;  tomb-reliefs 
from,  131 

Thorwaldsen,  restorations  of  ancient 
sculpture  by,  9  ;  restoration  of 
Aegina  pediment  by,  201 

Thrasybulus,  statue  set  up  at  Thebes 
by,  310 

Thrasymedes,  works  by,  397-399 

Throne  of  Apollo  at  Amyclae,  78  ;  of 
Olympian  Zeus,  259  ;  of  Satan,  461 

Thyiades  on  western  pediment  of 
temple  of  Apollo  at  Delphi,  313  ; 
groups  of,  by  Praxiteles,  369 

Tiber,  bronzes  from,  7 

Tiberius  and  cities  of  Asia  Minor,  449 

Timotheus,  one  of  the  sculptors  em- 
ployed on  Mausoleum,  372  ;  and 
Leochares,  374 

Tisicrates,  pupil  of  Euthycrates,  413; 
portraits  by,  414 

Titan  Anytus  in  group  at  Lycosura, 
400 

Tivoli,  statues  at,  519 

Tombstones  with  reliefs,  early  Attic, 
178  ;  not  portraits,  449 

Torso  in  Pourtales  collection,  327  ;  in 
Louvre,  Satyr,  364  ;  Belvedere,  re- 
storation as  Polyphemus,  502 

Traditional  preservation  of  composi- 
tions, 91 

Trajan's  column,  516,  517  ;  historical 
interest  of,  494 

Tralles,  school  of  sculpture  at,  in 
Hellenistic  times,  438,  472 

Triton  (see  Heracles) 

Triumphal  arches  at  Rome,  516 

Troezen,  statue  of  Athena  Sthenias  at, 
198  ;  Hippolytus  at,  374 

Trojan  war  on  metopes  at  Argos,  339 

Trojans  and  Dardanians  as  allies  of 
the  Libyans,  58 

Trophonius,  statue  by  Praxiteles,  368; 
statue  of,  at  Lebadeia,  by  Euthy- 
crates, 413 


INDEX 


549 


Troy,  wooden  horse  of,  16  ;  statues  of 
nine  of  the  Greek  heroes  before,  199 

Trysa,  tomb  from,  343 

Tiibicen  of  Pliny  and  Dying  Gaul,  457 

Tuscan  sculptors  indebted  to  Greek 
art,  522 

Tyche,  statue  of,  at  Thebes,  354  ;  or 
Fortune  as  a  tutelary  deity,  446 

Tyndareus  and  Trojan  heroes  on 
pedestal  of  statue  of  Nemesis  at 
Rhamnus,  306 

Type,  in  early  Greek  sculpture  not 
invented,  64  ;  of  early  sculpture 
inherited  and  borrowed,  91,  96  ; 
sculptural,  nondescript  draped,  91 ; 
early  sculptural,  male  and  female 
standing,  92,  93;  seated,  95,  107; 
characteristic  of  school,  155  ;  of 
faces  of  Argos  metopes,  339  ;  influ- 
enced by  features  of  Alexander, 
435,  437 ;  of  deities  convention- 
alised in  Hellenistic  times,  491 

Typhon,  in  pediment,  28,  159 

Tyrranicides,  223,  238  (see  Harmo- 
dius) 

>    UFFIZI  Gallery  (see  Florence) 
1    Ulysses,  brooch  of,  69 

Unfinished  statues  in  National  Mu- 
seum at  Athens,  21  ;  statue  from 
Naxos,    now   in   Athens,    122 ;    of 
Zeus  at  Megara,  307 
Uranian  Aphrodite  at  Elis,  263 

VAISON  Diadumenus,  329 

Vaphio  cups,  60,  62 

Varro,  2 

Varvakeion  statuette,  13,  253,  255, 
256 

Vase  with  Athena  and  Marsyas,  240 

Vase  of  Sosibius,  504 

Vatican,  Amazons  in,  333-337;  Aphro- 
dite in,  362 ;  Ganymede  in,  376  ; 
Apoxyomenus  in,  406,  408  ;  Niobid 
in,  424 ;  Antioch  by  Eutychides 
in,  446  ;  fighting  Persian  in,  460  ; 
Apollo  Belvedere  in,  478  ;  Zeus  of 
Otricoli  in,  498 

Veins,  first  indicated  by  Pythagoras 
of  Rhegium,  203,  244  ;  omitted  on 
Torso  Belvedere,  502 

Venus  as  patron  goddess  of  Rome, 
505  ;  of  Melos,  where  found,  6,  15, 
482 ;  basis  found  with,  482 ;  restora- 
tion of  arms,  484  (see  Aphrodite) 


Venus  del  Medici,  470,  499 

Venus  Genetrix  by  Arcesilaus,  505- 
507 

Versailles,  Artemis  of,  480-482 

Victories  as  acroteria,  37  ;  at  Olym- 
pia,  231  ;  by  Timotheus,  372  ;  as 
legs  of  throne  of  Olympian  Zeus, 
260  ;  on  balustrade  of  temple  of 
Wingless  Victory,  298 

Victors,  honours  paid  to  athletic, 
191 

Victory  of  Paeonius,  8,  216,  247,  341  ; 
development  of,  95  ;  in  a  chariot, 
figure  of,  by  Pythagoras,  245 ;  on 
right  hand  of  Olympian  Zeus,  259  ; 
as  an  attribute  of  Athena,  277  ; 
crowning  newly -born  Athena  on 
puteal  at  Madrid,  280 ;  on  Par- 
thenon pediment,  281  ;  of  Samo- 
thrace  compared  with  victory  of 
Paeonius,  343,  485  ;  on  frieze  of 
Pergamene  altar,  464  ;  of  Brescia, 
motive  of  figure  as  a  clue  to  restore 
arms  of  Venus  of  Melos,  484  ;  in 
Hellenistic  times,  485  ;  of  Samo- 
thrace,  485-487 

Vienna,  tomb  from  Trysa  at,  343 

Villa  Albani,  relief  in,  130  ;  Antinous 
in,  519 

WAIST-CLOTHS  on  early  vases,  94 

Warrior,  head  of,  from  Athens,  207 

Waxen  masks  in  Roman  times,  use 
of,  512,  513  ;  impressions  from 
mould,  their  influence  on  portrait- 
ure, 513 

Wig  of  early  statue,  bronze,  406 

Wigs  of  Roman  statues,  marble,  515 

Wilton  House  statue  of  Hermes  Crio- 
phorus,  236 

Winckelmann,  point  of  view  of,  470, 
477 

Winged  figures,  95  ;  Artemis,  95  ; 
Giants  from  Pergamene  frieze,  467 

Wingless  Victory,  frieze  of  temple  of, 
298  ;  balustrade  of  temple  of,  298  ; 
decoration  of  temple  of,  346 

Wings,  treatment  of,  95 

Wood  as  a  material  for  sculpture,  15, 
17 

Wooden  statues  of  athletes  at  Olym- 
pia,  191 

Wounded  Amazon,  333, 336  ;  wounded 
warrior  in  Aegina  pediment,  201, 
202  ;  warrior  at  Delos,  475 


550 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


XANTHUS,    examples  of   Lycian   art 

from,  109 

Xenocrates,  Pergamene  artist,  456 
Xenophon,     victory     by     Athenian 

knights  under,  314 
Xerxes,  sack  of  Acropolis  of  Athens 

by,  211 
£6avov,  81,  82,  242 

ZETHUS  in  group  with  bull,  473 
Zeus  at  Girgenti,  Giants  in  temple  of, 
14  ;  at  Olympia,  18  ;  at  Megara, 
18 ;  at  Sparta,  24 ;  at  Olympia, 
36  ;  the  arbiter  at  Olympia,  39  ; 
at  Olympia,  two  heads  of,  138  ; 
Ithomatas,  statue  of,  192  ;  and 
Heracles,  youthful  Aegium  type, 
193  ;  at  Olympia,  colossal  statue  of, 
by  Ascarus  of  Thebes,  195  ;  colos- 
sal statue  of,  by  Anaxagoras,  199 ; 
statue  of,  by  Ptolichus,  199  ;  of 
Phidias  a  national  ideal,  215  ;  at 
Olympia  on  pediment,  217  ;  Ammon 
for  Pindar,  by  Calamis,  235  ;  at 
Olympia,  statue  by  Phidias  of, 
251,  259,  264,  267  ;  decorations  on 
different  parts  of  throne  of,  at  Olym- 


pia, 260  ;  of  Homer,  265  ;  statue  by 
Agoracritus  of,  306  ;  in  the  Olym- 
pieum  at  Megara,  statue  of,  307  ; 
Thetis  and  Eos,  in  group  by  Lycius 
at  Olympia,  315  ;  weighing  the  souls 
of  heroes  in  a  balance,  315  ;  Meili- 
chius  at  Argos,  by  Polyclitus,  332  ; 
birth  of,  on  metopes  at  Argos,  339  ; 
and  Hera,  wedding  of,  on  Selinus 
metopes,  346  ;  at  Acragas.  colossal 
figures  in  temple  of,  347  ;  Soter, 
group  dedicated  in  temple  of,  at 
Megalopolis,  354  ;  at  the  Piraeus, 
statue  by  Cephisodotus,  354 ;  set  up 
as  Jupiter  Tonans  at  Rome,  375  ; 
Olympian  type  reproduced,  397  ; 
four  statues  of.  by  Lysippus,  409  ; 
or  Asclepius  from  Melos,  416 ; 
bearded  type,  417  ;  colossal  statue 
of,  at  Tarentum,  444  ;  altar  of,  at 
Pergamum,  460-468 ;  on  Pergamene 
altar,  462  ;  at  Olympia,  Caligula's 
attempt  to  move,  496  ;  in  Graeco- 
Roman  times,  498 ;  from  Otricoli, 
498  ;  leonine  aspect  of,  derived 
from  Alexander,  499 
Zeuxis,  flaying  of  Marsyas  by,  489 


INDEX  OF  SCULPTOBS 

(FOR  PART  II.) 


AGASIAS,  475,  477 

Ageladas,  324,  325,  510 

Agesander,  469,  470 

Agoracritus,  304-307,  310 

Alcamenes,  304,  305,  308-313,  343 

Amphicrates,  316 

Androsthenes,  313 

Apelles,  411 

Apollodorus,  370 

Apollonius  (son  of  Arcliias),  327 

Apollonius  (of  Tralles),  473 

Apollonius  (son  of  Nestor),  502,  504 

Arcesilaus,  313,  505-508,  510 

Aristandros,  378 

Aristeas,  518  ; 

Aristocles,  293 

Aristonidas,  469 

Aristophanes,  338 

Atlienodorus,  469 

Antigonus,  456 

BOEDAS,  414 

Boethus,  441,  442 

Bryaxis,  372,  374,  385,  386,  392 

CALAMIS,   287,   308,    309,  313,    314, 

320,  347 

Callimachus,  320,  321 
Cephisodotus,  352-355,  356,  441,  446 
Chares,  414,  442-445,  468 
Cleomenes,  499,  515 
Colotes,  304,  403 

Cresilas,  317-319,  332,  336,  351,  450 
Critius  and  Nesiotes,  273,  477 
Critius,  295 

DAEDALUS,  338 
Damophon,  397,  399-403 
Demetrius,  351,  450 


EPIGONUS,  456 
Euphranor,  370-372 
Eupompus,  404 
Euthycrates,  413 
Eutychides,  414,  446-449 

GLYCON,  502 

ICTINUS,  315,  321,  324 
Isigonus,  456 

LEOCHARES,  372,  374-376,  385,  386, 

392,  480 
Lycius,  314-316 
Lysippus,  331,  403-412,  414,  428,  432- 

435,  444-446,   451,  454,  475,  490, 

497,  499,  501,  502,  509 
Lysistratus,  413,  513 

MENELAUS,  509,  510 
Menophilus,  475 

Myron,  273,  276,  287,  295,  313-315, 
319,  329,  347,  368,  489 

NAUCYDES,  338 
Nesiotes,  273,  477 
Nicias,  430 

ON  AT  AS,  315 

PAEONIUS,  308,  341-343,  485 

Papias,  518 

Pasiteles,  313,  508-512 

Patrocles,  338 

Phidias,  267-293,  301,  304,  305,  SOS- 
SIS,  320,  324-326,  332,  336-339, 
341,  348-353,  363,  394,  397,  399, 
403,  448,  485,  496,  498 

Phradmon,  332 


552 


A  HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  SCULPTURE 


Phyromachus,  456 

Polyclitus,  311,  312,  320,  324-332, 
336,  339,  348,  371,  378,  404,  406, 
408,  413,  509 

Polyclitus,  the  younger,  332,  338 

Polydorus,  469 

Polygnotus,  344,  348 

Praxias,  313 

Praxiteles,  286,  309,  351-353,  355-370, 
376,  377,  380,  384,  394,  406,  416, 
419,  421,  426,  428,  430,  432,  433, 
435,  441,  487,  489,  497,  498,  499, 
505 

Praxiteles  (Pergamene),  456 

Pyrrhus,  316 

Pythagoras,  308,  309,  337,  347 

SCOPAS,  351,  360,  368,  371,  376-385, 
391-394,  399,  412,  416,  418-421, 
426,  430-435,  446,  490,  505 

Silanion,  370,  371 

Sosibius,  504,  505,  508,  510 


Sosicles,  336 

Stephanus,  509,  510,  512 
Stratonicus,  456 
Strongylion,  319,  320,  337,  480 
Styppax,  315,  316 


TAUBISCUS,  473 

Theocosmus,  304,  307,  308 

Theotimus,  372 

Thrasymedes,  382,  397-399,  416 

Timotheus,  372-374,   375,   386,  392, 

399 
Tisicrates,  413,  414 

XENOCRATES,  403,  405,  456 
Xenophon,  354 

ZEUXIS,  489 

-gonos,  456 

-xander,  or  -sander  482 


THE   END 


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