In classifying these works of art three different attitudes may be recognized: (1) The diskobolos preparing to throw. (2) The diskobolos in the act of throwing. (3) The diskobolos having hurled the diskos and still following it with his eyes, or where he has already been declared victor. In the Museo Pio Clementino is a statue representing an athlete about to hurl the diskos. In his left hand he is testing the weight of the diskos, but holding the right ready to receive it and hurl it into space. This statue was supposed by Visconti to be a copy of a diskobolos by Naukydes, the pupil of Polykleitos. Many other copies are also seen on vases and gems. On one of Hamilton’s vases the diskobolos holds the diskos in his right hand, supporting its weight in his left. Of the statues representing the athlete in the act of throwing, we will consider only Myron’s Diskobolos, the beau ideal of athletic motion, famous even in antiquity. Eight copies in a more or less mutilated condition have come down to us. That which was found in the Villa Palombara in 1781 on the Esquiline is the best reproduction of the original. This statue passed from the palace known as that of the _Massimi alle Colonne_ to the _Lancelotti Palace_, Rome, where it still remains. The attitude of the diskobolos is very nearly that described by Lucian and Quintilian. In the _Philopseudes_--1, 8, Lucian gives the following description of Myron’s Diskobolos: “Thou speakest of the disk-thrower, who is bending forward for the throw, with his face turned away towards the hand that holds the disk, and with one foot slightly pointed, as if he would raise himself with the action of throwing.” The statue reveals probably the most approved attitude of a diskobolos just before making a throw. The centre of gravity falls upon the right foot, which, though the leg is bent in a slight curve, rests firmly on the ground; both legs are bent at the knees, but the left more acutely; the right fore-leg is perpendicular, while the left is thrust backward obliquely; the left foot, forming a noticeable curve, is upright and touches the ground only at the tips of the toes; the thighs, close together, slant upward, making an angle of over 45° with the ground; the upper part of the body is bent forward, and is steadied by the left arm whose hand rests against the right knee; the upper half of the body is twisted to the right; the right arm is extended backwards and is straight; the fingers of the right hand, which is somewhat above the level of the right shoulder, firmly grip the edge of the diskos; the head is turned so far to the right that the right side of the body is plainly visible; the eyes are fastened on the diskos. It is evident that the diskobolos must have swung the disk in a semi-circle, and have hurled it from below forward, and that the whole body must have relaxed and readjusted itself as the right arm moved forward and imparted the pent-up energy to the disk.