The entire right arm and parts of both legs are missing, but the other portions of the statue show the god's position. He is leaning against a tree trunk, holding on his left arm the infant Bacchus, who was, as we have seen, consigned to his care by Zeus. Hermes is not, however, looking at the child, but gazes dreamily before him, his head bent in the pensive pose which we see. The features are cut with typical Greek regularity, but the countenance has besides its own individual charm. The droop of the upper eyelid suggests a dreamy nature, and in the curve of the smiling lips is a hint of playfulness. The lower forehead is full, showing over the eyes the bar of flesh which marks the strongly masculine nature. The closely cropped curls preserve the perfect contour of the head. The small, beautiful ear is as daintily modeled as the ringlets of hair. The face wins us at once with its gentle amiability. It is tender and playful, and withal exquisitely refined and courteous. What a deferential listener is suggested in that pose of the head! The pure outline of the face calls to mind those knights of chivalry who gathered about King Arthur's Round Table, and one wonders if Sir Galahad himself might not have looked like this. This statue is the work of the great sculptor Praxiteles, and is the only original marble in existence direct from his hands. All the rest of his work is known from descriptions and copies. We can understand, then, how sculptors and critics the world over have examined it to study the sculptor's methods. It is of Parian marble, much stained with iron rust from its long entombment under the soil. XII THE DISCOBOLUS (THE DISK-THROWER) We have seen how important a part in the Greek national life was occupied by the Olympic Games. They were regarded as a sacred institution of the gods, and to contend in them was a religious consecration. None could enter them who had been guilty of dishonorable conduct or sacrilege, and young men from the noblest families were not above taking part. The prizes were wreaths of wild parsley, olive, and pine, having no intrinsic worth, but of priceless value to the recipients. To win them was the highest ambition of many a Greek youth. The victor was led forth before the people, crowned with the wreath and bearing a palm branch in his hand. Heralds proclaimed his name and that of his father. Banquets were spread in his honor, and songs were composed in his praise.[26] From thenceforth he was a person of distinction. Finally his statue was set up in the _altis_ or sacred grove of Olympia. There were at one time as many as three thousand such statues in the place. [26] See, for instance, Pindar's _Olympic Odes_.