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
The truth must lie somewhere between the extremes represented by
the views of Furtwaengler and Reisch. Some athlete statues may have
been votive, while others were not. Thus Rouse argues[386] that
originally all victor statues at Olympia were as truly votive as
equestrian groups, and as truly as those athlete statues continued to
be, which were dedicated in the victors’ native towns. Those inscribed
with ἀνέθηκε at Olympia must have been votive, for we should take
the dedicator at his word, instead of believing the formula to be
added merely to make the verse scan.[387] There is no reason why an
athlete should not dedicate a statue of himself, representing himself
as forever standing in the presence of the god, as well as a diskos
or jumping-weights; for it was customary to make votive offerings
representative of the events, and this could be done best by presenting
the athlete in a statue which showed the characteristic attitude or the
appropriate attributes. Rouse furthermore believes that a change was
slowly wrought in the course of centuries, by which the original votive
offering became a means of self-glorification. Equestrian victors owed
their victories not to themselves, but to their horses, cars, drivers,
and jockeys; in such cases the group was a thing apart from the owner.
Only seldom did such victors dedicate statues of themselves alone. Even
when the victor added a statue of himself to the group, still it was
the chariot and not the statue which was emphasized.[388] On the other
hand the ordinary gymnic victor relied on himself—on his strength,
endurance, courage, and other qualities; and in representing the
contest the victor himself had to be represented. Consequently, by the
fifth century B. C., if not earlier, the statues of athletes had become
memorials of personal glory.
MISCELLANEOUS MEMORIALS TO VICTORS.
A statue was not the only memorial erected in honor of an Olympic
victor, though it was by far the commonest. We have already mentioned
the bronze inscribed diskos dedicated by the pentathlete P. Asklepiades
in the third century A. D.[389] A green stone leaping-weight inscribed
with the name Κῳδίας appears to have been dedicated by a victor.[390]
In two cases stelæ were set up in honor of victors.[391] A curious
dedication was a bronze chapel, which the Sikyonian tyrant Myron
dedicated to Apollo at Olympia.[392] In later days it became part of
the treasury of the Sikyonians.[393] Outside Olympia various monuments
commemorating Olympic victors were set up. These will be discussed in
Chapter VIII.
HONORARY STATUES.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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