Olympic Victor Monuments and Greek Athletic ArtHyde, Walter Woodburn
History
Olympic Victor Monuments and Greek Athletic Art
Hyde, Walter Woodburn
Olympics; Sculpture, Greek; Sports -- Greece
Polykleitos, a Sikyonian by birth,[913] migrated early to Argos to
become the pupil of Hagelaïdas, and became the great master of the
Argive school in the next generation after him. We have four statues by
him at Olympia. His earliest work probably was the statue of the boxer
Kyniskos of Mantinea, who won in Ol. (?) 80 (= 460 B. C.); he made
the statues of the Elean pentathlete Pythokles and of the Epidamnian
boxer Aristion, both of whom won their victories in Ol. 82 (= 452 B.
C.); and lastly he made the statue of the boy boxer Thersilochos from
Kerkyra, who won in Ol. (?) 87 (= 432 B. C.)[914] The footprints on the
three recovered bases of the statues of the first three show that all
were represented at rest. Of Patrokles, the brother of Polykleitos,
Pausanias mentions no statues at Olympia, though Pliny says that he
made athlete statues.[915] Of Naukydes,[916] the nephew or brother
of Polykleitos, we have record of three athlete statues at Olympia:
those of the wrestlers Cheimon of Argos, who won in Ol. 83 (= 448
B. C.), and Baukis of Trœzen, who won some time between Ols. (?)
85 and 90 (= 440 and 420 B. C.); also one of the boxer Eukles of
Rhodes, who won some time between Ols. 90 and 93 (= 420 and 408 B.
C.).[917] A contemporary of Naukydes was the sculptor Phradmon, who,
according to Pliny, was a contemporary of Polykleitos;[918] he made
the statue of the boy wrestler Amertas of Elis, who won a victory some
time between Ols. 84 and 90 (= 444 and 420 B. C.).[919] In the next
century, Polykleitos Minor, the grandson or grandnephew of the great
Polykleitos, and the pupil of Naukydes,[920] had three statues at
Olympia: those of the boy boxer Antipatros of Miletos, whose victory is
given by Africanus as Ol. 98 (= 388 B. C.); of the two boy wrestlers
Agenor of Thebes, who won some time between Ols. 93 and 103 (= 408
and 368 B. C.), and Xenokles of Mainalos, who won some time between
Ols. 94 and 100 (= 404 and 380 B. C.).[921] The inscribed base of the
latter has been recovered and the footprints show that the statue was
represented at rest, the body resting equally on both feet, the left
slightly advanced. Andreas, a second-century B. C. Argive sculptor,
made a statue at Olympia of the boy wrestler Lysippos of Elis, who won
some time between Ols. 149 and 157 (= 184 and 152 B. C.).[922]
THE SCHOOL OF SIKYON.
[Illustration: FIG. 19.—Bronze Statuette of Apollo, found in the Sea off
Piombino. Louvre, Paris.]
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