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
Representations of the various chariot-races are commoner than
those of any other Olympic contest, appearing on vases, reliefs,
coins, and gems.[1848] There seem to have been two distinct types
of racing-chariot in Greece.[1849] The four-horse chariot was a
modification of the heroic two-horse war-chariot, which was a low car
on two wheels, surmounted by a box consisting of a high framework,
open only at the rear, and large enough to contain the chieftain and
the charioteer. The war-chariot was known to both Mycenæan Greece and
Crete. There is a relief of uncertain date in the Museum of Candia,
which represents a chariot and charioteer.[1850] It is far superior
to the type of chariots appearing in relief on the gravestones found
at Mycenæ,[1851] though the type on both is of the same general
pattern, having the same box and four-spoked wheels. On the Mycenæan
reliefs the box seems to rest directly upon the rim of the wheel, and
the portrayal of a single horse is very inartistic. On the Candia
relief, however, there are at least two horses discernible, and
both the horses and the warrior, who is about to mount the car, are
lifelike. The Greek racing-car was much lighter than the Homeric and
Mycenæan war-chariot, and the box had room only for the charioteer.
It was drawn usually by four horses. The Athenian type appears on
Panathenaic vases throughout the whole history of the manufacture
of these vases,[1852] and also on Macedonian and Sicilian coins. On
certain vases of later date the car is still lighter and has larger
wheels. One of the earliest racing-cars is seen on a vase in the
British Museum,[1853] dating from the eighth century B. C. It seems
to be a two-horse car, as we should expect at this early date, though
the artist has drawn but one horse. The charioteer is clothed in a
long chiton, a custom which was generally kept throughout the history
of the chariot-race. The regular two-horse type of chariot appears on
vases as a cart, the body of the old war-chariot being so diminished
that nothing is left but the driver’s seat with a square open framework
on the sides. The driver rests his feet on a footboard suspended from
the pole.[1854] Perhaps this represents a peculiarly Athenian type
of chariot, since the two-horse chariot on coins of Philip II, son
of Amyntas and father of Alexander the Great, a victor at Olympia in
both horse-racing and charioteering, resembles the ordinary four-horse
car, and the driver stands instead of sits.[1855] The mule-car was
like the two-horse chariot, as we see in representations of it on
coins of Rhegion and Messana.[1856] The best illustrations of racing
with four-horse cars are afforded by coins of Sicilian cities.[1857]
We see an excellent representation of such a race on a sixth-century
B. C. Panathenaic vase recently found at Sparta, on which a chariot
driven by a standing charioteer is represented as passing a pillar on
the right, and therefore perhaps near the end of the race.[1858] The
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account