The Male Body Beautiful [DISCOBOLUS (DISCUS THROWER)]

Transcription

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[KOUROI]
Painted gypsum kouros statuette
Probably Cypriot, about 560 BC,
from Naukratis, Egypt
GR 1888,1006.1 (Sculpture B438)
The Male Body Beautiful
The Strangford Apollo,
parian marble statue of a boy
Said to be from Anaphe,
Cyclades, Greece, about 490 BC
GR 1864.0220.1 (Sculpture B475)
Label text:
Kouroi
The Greek male standing nude figure known as a kouros had a very long life in the artistic
development of the male body. The earliest examples were borrowed from Egyptian figure types and
date to around 600 BC. The stiff and formulaically composed arrangement of head, torso and limbs
served as a vehicle for any identity that could be imposed upon it. Conventionally called an Apollo,
the type may sometimes represent that god but not always. Many kouroi were used as grave
markers, serving as ideal representations of the deceased. An inscription would often make the
identity person-specific.
These two representations were carved some seventy years apart and, together, they show the
development of the nude male body and its progressive tendency to greater realism. Common to
both is the schematic rendering of elements, including the frontal aspect. Long hair is also a feature
of both and, in the case of the later example, it is braided and then wrapped around the head. Each
face has a rather blank expression. The exaggerated smile of the earlier figure has subsided in the lips
of the later sculpture. The method of rendering the eyes in the later kouros is different from and
more naturalistic than the almond shaped appliqués of the earlier. This last must have relied on paint
for greater definition. It may also have had a painted moustache.
The later kouros has lost the arms and lower legs. According to the pattern of the kouros, however,
we should expect the arms to be held by the sides, while the missing feet would be placed with one
forward and the other back. The weight of the figure appeared to be shared by both feet in contrast
with the proto-type figures of Egypt, where the weight rested on the back foot.
Excellence and Honour
· In the 6th century BCE, the idea of manly virtue was captured in the statue type known as a
kouros. This idealised male figure sought to demonstrate excellence and honour, and these
values remained associated with male sculpture throughout the 5th century BCE and beyond.
· The Greek kouros was a mannequin composed to represent the essential elements of ideal
manhood. These included strong, even features; long, groomed hair; broad shoulders; developed
biceps and pectoral muscles; wasp waist; flat stomach; a clear division of torso and pelvis, and
powerful buttocks and thighs.
· The slight smile that is present on the face of the kouros represents a Greek sense of pride. The
figure is a symbol of arete, the Greek idea of virtue and excellence, and the smile transforms the
otherwise formulaic statue into an expression of a central Greek ideal.
Presented by the British Museum in collaboration with Bendigo Art Gallery
[KOUROI]
The Male Body Beautiful
Anatomical changes
• Kouroi were first carved in the late 8th century BCE in the Cycladic Islands and remained one of
the major types of Greek statuary until the early 5th century BCE.
· The Greek artists introduced contrapposto by evenly distributing the weight of the figure as
though in the act of walking. Thus the rectangular pillar of stone that is found on the back of
Egyptian statues was able to be eliminated.
· Although the kouros may look stiff and unnatural to us, it exemplifies two important aspects of
Greek Archaic art– an interest in lifelike vitality and a concern with design.
· Greek sculptors, guided by their desire to imitate nature as closely as possible, constantly
attempted to perfect the modelling of muscles and bone structure within the strict conventions
of the kouros figure.
· Early kouroi are highly structured, with linear musculature etched into the surface of the body,
while later examples show a more three-dimensional rendering of the body and a better
understanding of anatomy.
· In the earlier kouros, geometric, almost abstract forms dominate, and complex anatomical
details, such as the chest muscles and pelvic arch, are rendered in symmetrical patterns.
· As the 6th century BCE drew to a close, the later kouroi featured an increasing naturalism, as the
hard angular forms of the earlier example gave way to softer more realistic lines. These
developments coincide with the beginnings of democracy in Athens, which invested freeborn
male citizens a share in political self-determination.
· Two predominant features of the kouroi persevered despite evolution towards a more
naturalistic treatment: the stylised hair and the unchanging position of the hip, in spite of the
advancement of the left leg.
Apollo
• The kouros was a template onto which various identities could be imposed. It could be used as a
grave marker symbolically representing the deceased; it could represent the god Apollo; it could
be an offering to the gods; or it could have been awarded as a trophy.
· Due to many kouroi being found in temples to the god Apollo it is believed that they are
representations of Apollo, and offerings to the god.
· The god Apollo was associated with youth, prophecy, archery, healing, music and the sun.
· His most important daily task was harnessing his chariot and driving the sun across the sky.
Glossary
· Arete – virtue, excellence, can also mean goodness. Arete understood as ‘excellence’ is tied to
the end, goal, or purpose of something
· BCE – Before Common Era. A secular designation, utilising the universally recognised Christian
calendar; refers to the time period before the assumed year of Jesus’ birth
· Contrapposto – an asymmetrical arrangement of the human figure in which the line of the arms
and shoulders contrasts with, while balancing, those of the hips and the legs
· Kouros – a young man. The plural of kouros is kouroi
The content for these fact sheets was primarily taken from ‘The Body Beautiful in Ancient Greece’ (Jenkins, 2012) and ‘The
Greek Body’ (Jenkins and Turner, 2009). For further reading a reference sheet is available on request.
Presented by the British Museum and Bendigo Art Gallery in collaboration
[BRONZE FIGURE OF APHRODITE]
Aphrodite and the
Female Body
Bronze figure of Aphrodite
Greek, 200–100 BC, said to be from near Patras,
in mainland Greece
GR 1865,0711.1 (Bronze 282)
Label text:
Bathing beauty
The theme of Aphrodite preparing for her bath was developed in the later
Greek period to include a variety of poses. This bronze is one of the largest
and finest of all versions of a popular type of Aphrodite, where she leans over
and lifts her left foot to remove her sandal. The goddess, poised on one foot,
seems to have been captured in a fleeting moment observed from life. The
eyes are inlaid with silver.
Aphrodite: goddess of love
• Female characters in myth and literature were often portrayed as strong personalities who acted
in rebellious and shocking ways. Goddesses were powerful forces that could be nurturing,
virginal, seductive, or a combination of the same.
• Goddesses such as Aphrodite mediated between the divine and mortal worlds.
• Aphrodite is one of the Twelve Olympian gods; she is the goddess of love and beauty and the
mother of Eros. In Roman mythology Eros is known as Cupid.
• Some traditions state that Aphrodite sprang from the aphros of the sea.
• Aphrodite is the personification of the generative powers of nature and the mother of all living
beings.
• Aphrodite was the only goddess to be regularly shown nude in Greek art.
• In Roman mythology Aphrodite is known as Venus.
Women in Ancient Greece
· Female nudity was never a social norm as it was for men. In art it was restricted to certain
contexts: religion, rape scenes and images of the sex industry.
· This is reflective of the lesser position of women in ancient Greece. During the 6th to 4th
centuries BCE women were excluded from property ownership, politics, law and war.
· Women did however, hold important public offices as priestesses, and within the family home
they were not only wives and mothers, but also household managers.
· Participation in public life was restricted to religious festivals and family funerals (see the
terracotta figure of a woman Out and About).
· Women were perceived as closer to animals, in that they were wild and needed to be tamed;
their bodies were seen as problematic and so they were made to cover up.
· It was thought to be dangerous to a woman’s health if she remained childless too long, as her
womb was liable to ‘wander’ through her body, causing her to become physically ill and
psychologically disturbed; the root of the English word ‘hysterical’ is usteria, Greek for womb.
The best cure was for the young woman to marry so that she could become sexually active as
soon as possible. Girls in ancient Athens were married soon after puberty.
[BRONZE FIGURE OF APHRODITE]
·
Aphrodite and the
Female Body
In contrast to Athens, the unusual, highly militaristic Greek society of Sparta encouraged girls and
younger women to participate in outdoor life and physical activity so that they would bear strong
sons to be trained as warriors (see the bronze figure Athletic Women).
Women in ancient art
· While the male naked body was often desexualised in artistic representation, mostly through the
minimising of genitals, female nudity was almost always highly sexualised, since a woman’s
sexuality was linked to her fertility.
· The limited occasions for female nudity inspired sculptors to become inventive in their depiction
of the female form. Drapery could be used to erotically suggest the body underneath. Seethrough material clung to the feminine form emphasising the woman’s shoulder, breast,
abdomen, thighs and knees. The drape of the material linked one erogenous zone with the next,
transforming the marble into warm, living flesh and flowing cloth.
· The most famous female nude from antiquity was the Aphrodite marble carved around 360 BCE
by Praxiteles, which stood at the goddess’s temple in Knidos on the coast of western Turkey. This
statue showed the powerful goddess portrayed as a beautiful woman. The statue represented
absolute, ideal and divine beauty and it was designed to inspire religious awe as well as arouse
sexual desire.
· It is said that a young man of Knidos fell so madly in love with the statue that he hid in the temple
and was locked in for a night of passion. The light of dawn revealed both him and the stain his
lovemaking had left upon the goddess’s thigh. Shamed by the offence he had committed, the
culprit threw himself from a cliff into the sea.
· The depiction of women bathing is linked to the notion of the ‘forbidden gaze’. By showing a
woman undertaking a private task, such as undressing or bathing, the artist is exploiting the male
viewer’s natural curiosity and inviting him to become a voyeur.
Glossary
• Aphros – foam
• Voyeur – somebody who gains pleasure from watching, especially secretly, other people’s bodies
or the sexual acts in which they participate
The content for these fact sheets was primarily taken from ‘The body beautiful in Ancient Greece’ (Jenkins, 2012) and ‘The
[MARBLE FIGURINE OF A WOMAN]
Aphrodite and the
Female Body
Marble figurine of a woman, Late Spedos type
Greek, made in the Cyclades, about 2600–2400 BC
GR 1863,0213.1 (Sculpture A17)
Label text:
Abstract Bodies
This marble figurine of a woman is typical of the art of the Cycladic
islands, dating from the 3rd millennium BC. The body has been pared
down to a simplified scheme, achieved by abrasion at a time before
copper or bronze tools were regularly used. The details were originally
painted. These refined representations of the body seem to mark the
beginnings of the great Greek tradition of marble-working. They are
generally found in tombs, made not for exhibition but to accompany the
deceased into the afterlife.
Style
· Cycladic art is seen as a link between ‘prehistoric’ and ‘western’ art.
· In later Greek society female nakedness was never a social norm. In Classical art female nudity
was restricted to certain contexts: religious fertility symbols, rape scenes, and images of the sex
industry.
· Cycladic figurines usually reduced the female body to the most basic elements. Only the most
prominent body features were represented – the arms folded across the torso (always the right
over left), oval head tilted back; the only sculpted features were the nose, the breasts, pubic
area, fingers and toes.
· The simple, abstract forms of the Cyclades inspired artists of the 20th century, including Picasso.
· These figurines were originally enlivened with painted detail. Colour was used to highlight details
such as hair and facial features. Black and blue were normally used to define or emphasise
anatomical details of the head and body, such as eyebrows, hair and the pubic triangle. Red was
used to emphasise carved details and depict ornaments (necklaces, bracelets), power or status
attributes (crowns) and various decorative motifs on the face and body. Ears, mouth and nostrils
were not usually painted.
Original meanings
· The figures have been variously interpreted as representations of the deceased, substitute
concubines, servants, ancestors or even substitutes for human sacrifices.
· The feet of the figurines always point downwards and therefore they cannot stand up on their
own. It is believed that the figures were made to lie down, perhaps in graves to accompany the
deceased into the afterlife. However, their meaning and function are still very much mysteries.
They have been found in a variety of contexts in association with different objects, and their
distribution in cemeteries and settlements is very uneven.
· The overwhelming bias of Cycladic art towards female representations (only four to five percent
are male) could also explain them as symbols of a mother-goddess, associated with fertility and
rebirth, conductors of souls, good luck symbols, divine nurses or even worshippers.
[MARBLE FIGURINE OF A WOMAN]
·
·
Aphrodite and the
Female Body
The nudity of the figurines and the emphatic rendering of the breasts and pubic triangle refer
directly to the idea of fertility. This impression is reinforced by some examples that have a
swollen abdomen, which may be indicative of pregnancy.
Diversity in elements such as size, decoration and context may relate to the need for the figurines
to adhere to a particular type for various rituals. The diversity in features could also relate to
social factors, such as the availability of figurines, or their size and decoration as reflecting social
indicators of their owner such as age, lineage and status.
Glossary
· Cycladic – of Cyclades. The Cyclades is a group of islands in the south-western Aegean Sea
[BRONZE STATUETTE OF ZEUS]
The Divine Body
Bronze statuette of Zeus
Roman period, 1st–2nd century AD,
said to be from Hungary
GR 1865,0103.36 (Bronze 909)
Label text:
Ruler of the gods
This magnificent statuette splendidly represents the majesty of Zeus, ruler of
the gods on Mount Olympos and lord of the sky. He holds a sceptre and a
thunderbolt, showing his control over gods and mortals, and his destructive
power. The statuette is similar to the colossal gold and ivory statue of Zeus
in his temple at Olympia. Made by the famous sculptor Pheidias, this
reached to over 13 metres high. One of the Seven Wonders of the ancient
world, it symbolised the awesome presence of the god at his sanctuary site.
Style
· Zeus, the father of the gods stares out impressively, one hand firmly holding his sceptre, the
other his thunderbolt, symbols of his majesty and power.
· The face of this statuette was inspiration for the winner’s medal for the first modern Olympic
Games in Athens in 1896, which is also featured in the exhibition.
· The ancient Greek interest in portraying human character focused on the face. Greek artists
developed the idea of portraiture to create informative images of its cultural heroes.
Majestic Zeus
· The Greeks believed that gods and goddesses watched over them. The gods were imagined just
like mortals as they experienced human emotions and actions despite their immortality and
supernatural powers.
· The poet Homer described a family of gods living on Mount Olympus as early as the 8th century
BCE.
· The family of gods and goddesses lived in a cloud palace above Mount Olympus, the highest
mountain in Greece. The gods looked down to watch what the people were doing, and from time
to time, interfered.
· Zeus was the king of the gods. He threw thunderbolts to punish anyone who disobeyed him. His
brother Poseidon was god of the sea, and another brother Hades ruled the underworld.
· Zeus was also able to control the weather. The ancient Greek poet Hesiod called him the ‘cloudgatherer’ and the ‘thunderer’. The ancient Greeks believed that when lightning struck earth it
was a sign of Zeus being present.
· One of the Greek’s most important festivals was the Olympic Games, which was held every four
years in honour of Zeus. The games acted to unify all of the Greek city-states, spanning across
Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt and Sicily.
Greek temples
· The Temple of Zeus was created and completed in 456 BCE at Olympia (a model of Olympia can
be seen in the exhibition), the site of the original Olympic Games. It was similar to the Parthenon
in Athens, built on a raised rectangular pattern and the gently-peaked roof was supported by
columns. The triangles, or pediments, created by the sloped roof at the ends of the building were
[BRONZE STATUETTE OF ZEUS]
·
·
The Divine Body
filled with sculpture. Under the pediments were more sculptures, depicting the twelve labours of
Herakles.
The primary purpose of a Greek temple was to house a cult statue, which represented the divine
presence of that god. The statue was the focus of worship.
Cult statues were made by the best sculptors of the day and were considered great works of art.
They were often made on a colossal scale to inspire awe and wonder in worshippers, who sought
to appease their frequently fickle deities with prayer, sacrifice and gifts.
One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
· This Roman period bronze statuette was influenced by the colossal gold and ivory statue of Zeus
in his sanctuary at Olympia. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, it stood at 12 metres
tall and 7 metres wide.
· The sculptor chosen was Phidias, who had also made a 12 metre high statue of Athena for the
Parthenon in Athens. He began the sculpture in 432 BCE and it took 12 years to complete.
· The figure of Zeus was seated on an elaborate throne and his head nearly touched the ceiling.
These proportions were very effective in conveying Zeus’ size and power. By filling nearly all of
the available space the statue appeared even larger than it really was.
· The colossal figure’s skin was composed of ivory, while the beard, hair and robe were made of
gold. The throne was made of gold, ebony, ivory and inlaid with precious stones.
· To maintain the ivory the statue was constantly treated with olive oil.
· Emperor Constantine decreed that all gold was to be stripped from pagan shrines after he
converted to Christianity in the early 4th century CE and this likely included the Olympia Zeus.
· In 392 CE Emperor Theodosius I of Rome, a Christian who saw the games as a pagan rite,
abolished the Olympics. The temple and it is also believed, the statue, burnt down in 425 CE.
Glossary
· CE – Common Era is the secular term for the period coinciding with the Christian era since the
assumed year of Jesus’ birth. It is the alternate naming of the traditional calendar era AD (annō
Domini, Latin, literally ‘in the year of the Lord’)
· Colossal – extremely large or great
· Cult – a system of religious veneration and devotion directed towards a particular figure or
object
· Olympus – the modern English spelling of the original Greek ‘Olympos’
· Pediment – the triangular upper section of the facade of a classical building
· Pagan – people who observe a polytheistic (many gods) religion
· Sceptre – an ornamented staff carried by rulers on ceremonial occasions as a symbol of power
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[BLACK FIGURED PANATHENAIC PRIZE AMPHORA]
Athletes
Black-figured Panathenaic prize-amphora
Greek, made in Athens about 530–520 BC,
attributed to the Euphiletos Painter,
from Vulci, Italy
GR 1842,0314.1 (Vase B134)
Label text:
A Troop of Dancing Pentathletes
Competitors in three events of the ancient pentathlon are shown dancing in
procession – perhaps a victory celebration. The long jump, javelin and discus
are represented. The other events of this ‘five-event contest’ were running
and wrestling. The figure on the left holds weights used by jumpers. The
javelin throwers hold their javelins with the leather thongs used to make
them spin in the air and ensure a steadier flight. The other figure holds a
discus.
The Panathenaic Games
• Since 566 BCE the Panathenaic Games were held every four years in a stadium in Athens. You can
still visit the Panathenaic stadium today.
• The Panathenaic Games were modelled after the Olympic Games, which began in 776 BCE. Both
Games incorporated religious festival, ceremony, athletic competitions and cultural events.
• The Olympic Games were held in honour of Zeus and included all of the Greek city-states.
However, the Panathenaic games were held in honour of Athena and so were the most
prestigious games for the citizens of Athens.
• Boxing, wrestling, pankration (see the red-figured drinking cup No gouging or biting), a
pentathlon and chariot racing were events included in the games.
• Only Athenian men were allowed to participate in the following events: a torch race, from the
port of Piraeus to the Acropolis (the hill on which the Parthenon stands); mock infantry and
cavalry battles; a javelin throw on horseback; apobatai; pyrriche (see the red-figured water jar
Exercising to music); and the euandrion.
• Cultural events included the performance of poetry, such as Homer’s epics the Iliad and the
Odyssey, and musical competitions.
The Pentathlon
• This was a five-event combination of discus, javelin, jumping, running and wrestling. Each event
was seen to be useful in battle.
• The athletes who competed in the pentathlon were deemed the most beautiful as their bodies
were capable of extreme strength.
• Unlike participants in today’s long jump, ancient Greek athletes had the assistance of halteres,
lead or stone jump weights, which served to increase the length of their jump. The halteres were
held in front of the athlete during his ascent and thrust downward behind his back during his
descent using momentum to help propel his body further.
• The running event was called the stadion, so called after the stadium in which it was held.
Runners sprinted the length of the stadium, which was approximately 180 metres long.
• In the wrestling event athletes needed to throw their opponent on the ground, landing on a hip,
shoulder or back for a fair fall, just like in the modern event. Three throws were necessary to win
[BLACK FIGURED PANATHENAIC PRIZE AMPHORA]
Athletes
a match. Biting was not allowed, nor were genital holds. However, tactics such as breaking your
opponent’s fingers were permitted.
Greek vases: Amphora
• For the ancient Greeks amphorae were mostly functional objects, made to be used as storage
and transport vessels for olives, cereal, oil and wine.
• Amphorae were also sometimes used as grave markers or as containers for funeral offerings or
human remains.
• The skills of pottery and painting were often handed down from father to son. It was not a highly
regarded profession and some vase producers may have even been slaves. The manufacture of
the pottery was hard and dirty work that generally took place outside of city limits because of the
space needed to make the vases, and the thick smoke produced by the kilns.
• There are two types of amphora. The first is the neck amphora which is defined by the way in
which the neck meets the body of the vase at a sharp angle. This type is common from the
Geometric period (c900 BCE). The second type is the one-piece amphora, in which the neck and
body form a continuous curve. This type appeared in the 7th century BCE.
• Every community produced utilitarian pottery, but only a few main centres created fine
decorated pieces. Distinct regional styles of pottery emerged in the Archaic (700-480 BCE) and
Classical (480 – 323 BCE) periods. Athens especially produced fine decorative pots.
• Amphora with black-figure decoration (c620 – c530 BCE), in which figures were painted in black
silhouette, with details such as the hair and muscles incised using a sharp instrument, were given
as prizes at the Panathenaic Games.
• Prize amphorae at the Panathenaic Games were filled with sacred olive oil. The olive oil was the
valuable prize, rather than the container, but the vessels were often kept as souvenirs.
• Such vessels were commonly reused as evidenced by signs of repair, an indication that their
owners valued them highly.
Glossary
• Amphora – a narrow-necked jar with two handles made from clay in ancient Greece or Rome. The
plural of amphora is amphorae
• Apobatai – a chariot race in which the driver had to jump out of the chariot, run alongside and
jump back in
• Euandrion – a contest of manliness and strength between young Athenian men
• Pankration – a Greek sport that blended wrestling and boxing, but without many rules. The only
actions not acceptable were biting and the gouging of the opponent eyes, see the sculpture
marble group of two boys fighting over a game of knucklebones
• Pyrriche – an event during which military exercises were practised while accompanied by music
as it provided rhythm to encourage better and more graceful performance
[MARBLE GRAVESTONE]
Birth, Marriage and
Death
Marble gravestone
Greek, probably made in Athens,
about 330–317 BC
GR 1090,0611.1
Label text:
Beautiful in death
Girls who died unmarried were seen as especially tragic. Symbolic efforts
were made in both funerary ritual and grave monuments to compensate
the deceased for the married life that death had denied her. Here a girl is
shown dressed as an eligible virgin holding a mirror. Her so-called ‘melon’
hairstyle is especially fashionable. This is one of the last figured gravestones
to be carved in Athens before 317 BC, when a law was passed banning such
monuments as over-costly.
Style
• The mirror the young girl is holding is a symbol of her lost youthful beauty.
• Her sweet expression conveys the virtuous life of the deceased girl.
• While women and goddesses such as Aphrodite were traditionally depicted in an overtly sexual
manner, this girl is modestly draped in a tunic and cloak, which is a reflection of her virginal role
within Greek society (for more information about women in Greek society see Bronze figure of
Aphrodite fact sheet).
Rites of passage
• A series of transition rituals marked a child’s progressive integration into their family and
community.
• Girls in ancient Greece were required to become wives and mothers. On their wedding day girls
were removed from their family home in a mock abduction ritual, to live with her new husband’s
family.
• Boys were reared as soldier-citizens prepared to die the ‘glorious death’ in defence of the
freedom of their city.
• The funerals of youths, and of girls who had died virgins, could sometimes resemble weddings. In
this way funerals compensated the deceased for the marriage that death had denied them.
Ancient Greek burial tradition and practices
• The ancient Greeks believed that a proper burial was necessary and that the omission of burial
rites was an insult to human dignity.
• Relatives of the deceased, mainly women, conducted the burial ritual:
o Prothesis – the laying out of the body so that relatives and friends could pay their respects.
The body was displayed on a high bed within the home after being washed, rubbed with oil
and dressed.
o Ekphora – funerary procession during which the deceased was taken to the cemetery; this
generally took place before dawn. Very few objects were placed in the grave, however
monuments like the stele were erected to mark the grave and ensure that the deceased was
not forgotten as immortality lay in the continued remembrance of the dead.
[MARBLE GRAVESTONE]
Birth, Marriage and
Death
The Underworld
• According to Greek mythology the Underworld (also called Hades) is deep beneath the earth and
surrounded by a series of rivers. It is ruled by Hades (brother of Zeus and Poseidon) and his wife
Persephone.
• At the moment of death a deceased person’s psyche would leave the body in a puff of breath and
descend into Hades to dwell for eternity.
• Hermes (messenger of the gods and guide to the Underworld) leads souls across the Acheron
(river of woe) to the entrance of the Underworld. A ferry takes souls across the river and only
those who pay the fare, with coins placed on their lips when buried, receive passage. Souls who
cannot make payment are trapped between the world of the living and the world of the dead.
• Unlike the Christian notion of heaven and hell, all souls go to the Underworld which is made up of
several areas. Upon entering the Underworld souls appear before three judges who determine
which area they should go to.
• The very good went to the Elysian Fields, while souls judged to have led bad lives went to
Tartarus to receive punishment for their misdeeds. Examples of those who were punished
include Sisyphos who forever had to roll a rock up a hill, and Tantalos who could never quench his
thirst.
Herakles’ 12th labour
• The most dangerous of all Herakles’ labours was the twelfth and final one. King Eurystheus
ordered Herakles to go to the Underworld and kidnap Cerberus from Hades.
• Cerberus guarded the entrance to Hades, to keep the living from entering the world of the dead,
and the dead from entering the world of the living. Cerberus had three heads of wild dogs, the
tail of a dragon, and heads of snakes all over his back.
• Herakles knew that once he had entered the kingdom of Hades he might not be able to leave and
re-join the living. However, he continued to make his way through the Underworld, encountering
monsters, heroes and ghosts along the way. Finally he found Hades and asked the god for
Cerberus.
• Hades replied that he could take Cerberus, but only if he was to overpower the beast with
nothing more than his own brute strength. Of course, Cerberus was no match for our hero
Herakles, and he wrestled the beast into submission and took him to King Eurystheus, who had
set him the tasks. Unlike the other monsters that crossed Herakles’ path, Cerberus was returned
to Hades where he resumed guarding the gates to the Underworld.
• For more information on Herakles and his 12 labours see the fact sheet for Colossal head of
Herakles.
The Underworld in popular culture
• In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling, Fluffy the huge three-headed dog
guards the trapdoor that leads to the philosopher’s stone. In fact, Hagrid says that he bought
Fluffy off a ‘Greek chappie’ he met in the pub.
Glossary
• Psyche – the human spirit, or soul
• Stele – this term refers to a shaft of stone that could be funerary, honorary or votive
• Votive – an expression of a religious vow, wish or desire: offered or performed as an expression
of thanks or devotion to the gods
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[MARBLE SPHINX]
Outsiders
Marble sphinx, probably a support for a table
Roman, about 120–140 AD, from Monte Cagnolo,
outside Lanuvium, near Rome, Italy
GR 1805,0703.40 (Sculpture 1719)
Label text:
Riddle of the Sphinx
In Greek mythology, the sphinx combined the head of a woman,
body of a lion and wings of an eagle. Sphinxes often featured on
grave markers, as guardians of the tomb. The famous Theban
sphinx was said to wreak terrible vengeance on anyone who failed
to solve the riddle she set them. Oedipus solved the puzzle ‘what
animal walks on four legs, then two, then three?’ The answer is
man, who crawls as a baby, walks upright in his prime, and leans on
a staff in old age.
Outsiders in Ancient Greece
· For the people of ancient Greece mythical monsters served to contrast with their own civilised
society and behaviour.
· Many of these monsters combined human and animal parts as symbols of their otherworldliness.
· Myths also explored the boundaries of gender. Some characters changed sex, while an
hermaphroditos combined male and female sexual parts (see the bronze figure of the
Hermaphroditos).
The Sphinx in Ancient Greek Culture
· Although the sphinx is currently associated with Egypt and the Great Sphinx at Giza, the word
‘sphinx’ is actually Greek and translates to ‘the strangler’. The name may be derived from the fact
that lions kill by strangulation, biting the throat of their prey and holding them down until they
die.
· The Romans took control of Egypt in 30 BCE and many sphinx statues were bought back to Rome,
where it became fashionable to use them to adorn gardens and homes. Roman artisans also
made copies of them, exporting many throughout the Roman Empire.
· The sphinx is typically represented as a woman with a beautiful face, which contradicts her
dangerous intent.
· Greek mythology tells of how the Sphinx came to Greece from Ethiopia. She was the daughter of
Echidna, a monster that lived in the age before the Greek gods bought order to the world. She
was also the sister of other well-known monsters, such as Cerberus (see fact sheet for Marble
Gravestone) and the Nemean Lion (see the fact sheet for Herakles).
· Legend said that the sphinx plagued the entrance to the eastern Greek city of Thebes by asking all
those she encountered a riddle. Those who failed to give the correct answer were strangled or
eaten; however she was fated to die herself once the correct answer was provided.
· To calm the fears of the Thebens the ruler of the city, Creon, offered the kingship and the hand of
the queen to anyone who could solve the riddle. Oedipus rose to the challenge and answered
correctly. Shocked and angered the Sphinx threw herself from a cliff to her death.
· The sphinx has been a popular motif since the Bronze Age (roughly 2000 BCE). Sphinxes have
been found in the Middle East, Turkey and Assyria (modern day Iraq). Throughout the eastern
Mediterranean the image of a sphinx can be found on temples and monuments to ward away
evil.
[MARBLE SPHINX]
Outsiders
Popular Culture
· In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling, Harry must answer a riddle posed to him by
the sphinx guarding the Triwizard Cup:
First think of the person who lives in disguise,
Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.
Next, tell me what’s always the last thing to mend,
The middle of the middle and the end of the end?
And finally give me the sounds often heard,
During the search for a hard to find word.
Now string them together, and answer me this,
Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?
(Answer: A spider)
Other Examples of Riddles
· What belongs to you, but others use more than you? (Answer: Your name)
· You’re walking down the street trying to get to Truesville, where everyone tells the truth. You
come to a fork in the road, and all you know is that one road leads to Truesville and the other to
Liesville, where everyone lies. There is a girl in the middle of the fork, and you don’t know if she is
from Liesville or Truesville. What is the one question you can ask to get to Truesville? (Answer:
‘Where are you from?’)
Glossary
[MARBLE STATUETTE OF SOKRATES]
Character and Realism
Marble statuette of Sokrates
Hellenistic Greek or Roman period, 200 BC–AD 100,
said to be from Alexandria, Egypt
GR 1925,1118.1
Label text:
Sokrates
The philosopher Sokrates embodies the modern idea of the ancient Greek
mind with his constant questioning of received opinion in the pursuit of
moral truth. Although he attracted a loyal following of friends, he also
made enemies through his tendency to expose folly and hypocrisy in those
who pretended to wisdom. In 399 BC he was tried by the state and found
guilty of religious heresy and of corrupting the young.
Sokrates’ physical appearance was famously at odds with the beauty of his
mind. He was pot-bellied and pug-faced. His balding head, snub nose and chubby cheeks
resembled the satyr Seilenos. Made to drink hemlock, as the poison took effect, he
entered into his last dialogue with his friends, comforting and reassuring them with his
homily on the immortality of the soul. Plato’s Apology provides an eyewitness account of
this moving episode and is one of the most remarkable texts in the history of human
experience.
Representing Reality
· In early Greek art, human differences of age, sex and ethnicity were represented formulaically.
Uniform idealistic body types were used to reflect the values of the city and its ruling class of
soldier-citizens (for more on the idealistic representations of male bodies see the fact sheets on
Discobolus and Kouroi; for more on female bodies see that fact sheet for Bronze figure of
Aphrodite).
· However in the 4th century BCE, Alexander the Great’s conquests created a ‘global village’, and
Greek art and ideas were shared and cultivated by Greek and non-Greek alike. Artists and patrons
began to look to the individual subjects that made up the increasingly cosmopolitan world for
inspiration.
Sokrates
· Sokrates’ appearance, personality, and behaviour, as well as his views and methods were very
unconventional in 5th century BCE Athens.
· He was considered to be profoundly ugly with wide-set bulging eyes that darted sideways, a flat
upturned nose with flaring nostrils, and large fleshy lips like a donkey. He let his hair grow in the
long Spartan style (even while Athens was at war with Sparta) and went about barefoot and
unwashed, carrying a stick. His gait was described as so intimidating that his enemies kept their
distance.
· In the late 5th century BCE it was accepted that any Athenian male would prefer fame, wealth,
honours and political power to a life of labour. However, Sokrates neither worked to earn a living,
nor participated in affairs of state. Rather, he embraced poverty.
[MARBLE STATUETTE OF SOKRATES]
·
Character and Realism
Sokrates spoke out against the course of politics and society in a manner that made prominent
Athenians look foolish, which ultimately led to a guilty charge of corrupting the minds of the
youth of Athens and being disrespectful towards the gods. He was sentenced to death by
drinking poison.
The Socratic Method
• Although Sokrates never wrote anything during his lifetime he is considered one of the founders
of Western philosophy. All we know of Sokrates comes from his students, including Plato who
was present at his trial, other writers that lived at the same time, and later Greek historians.
• Sokrates denied that he was a teacher, arguing against the view that teachers were ‘pitchers
pouring their contents into the empty cups’ that were students. Instead Sokrates sought to help
others recognise on their own what was real, good and true. He was known for stunning his
conversation partners with the unpleasant experience of realizing their own ignorance.
• Sokrates believed that ‘the unexamined life is not worth living’, and he could be commonly found
in public places questioning people on the concepts of courage, love, reverence, moderation and
the state of their souls generally.
• By asking a continual series of questions Sokrates sought to determine the truth of a person’s
beliefs by examining the extent of their knowledge. By identifying and analysing their theories
and eliminating those that led to contradictions, an answer would ultimately be found, but not
necessarily one that supported their ideas.
• Today this system known as the Socratic Method, is still used, both in philosophical and legal
worlds, to make individuals examine their own beliefs or assumptions.
Glossary
· Socratic – relating to Socrates or his philosophies. Socrates is the Roman spelling of the original
Greek ‘Sokrates’
[BRONZE HELMET OF CORINTHIAN TYPE]
The Human Face
Bronze helmet of Corinthian type
Greek, made in Apulia, Italy, about 510 BC
GR 1865,0722.1 (Bronze 2838)
Label text:
A Warrior’s Helmet
The style of this helmet, the Corinthian type, covered most of the
wearers face, offering extensive protection. In Greece by the sixth
century BC, warfare involved ranks of heavily armed soldiers, called
hoplites, fighting on foot at close quarters. The masklike Corinthian
helmet not only protected the face but also depersonalised the wearer
by obscuring his features.
Corinthian Helmets
· The Corinthian helmet was part of the equipment for the hoplites, heavily armed soldiers whose
establishment in the 7th century BCE coincides with the gradual adoption of bronze arms.
· These helmets were widespread from the 7th to the 4th centuries BCE, as the nasal and broad
cheek plates of the style provided maximum protection.
· Made of bronze, this helmet weighs 1.5 kilograms and would partially obstruct the critical senses
of vision and hearing.
· The added detail of the eyebrows in relief indicates a later style, around the 6th century BCE.
· Hoplites were well-known for their close formation fighting, known as a phalanx. This was a
tactical formation that consisted of a block of heavily armed infantry standing shoulder to
shoulder with their shields interlocked several ranks deep.
· Corinthian helmets would also have been worn by the Greek army during the Graeco-Persian
wars.
THE GRAECO-PERSIAN WARS
· In the 5th century BCE the vast Persian Empire attempted to conquer Greece. If they had
succeeded they would likely have destroyed the beginnings of democracy. The 20 year struggle is
known as the Persian Wars.
· The fighting was most intense during the two invasions that Persia launched against mainland
Greece in 490 and 480 BCE. Although the Persian Empire was at the peak of its strength, the
collective defence mounted by the Greeks withstood seemingly impossible odds, and even
succeeded in liberating the Greek city-states on the fringe of Persia itself.
· In 500 BCE the Greek city-states on the western coast of Anatolia rose up in rebellion against
Persia. This uprising is known as the Ionian Revolt (499 – 493 BCE). Athens sent a small fleet in
support of the revolt, which motivated the Persian King Darius to launch an invasion of the Greek
mainland. However, much of his fleet was destroyed in a storm.
The Battle of Marathon
· In 490 BCE a Persian army of 25,000 men landed unopposed on the Plain of Marathon. Athens
appealed to Sparta for help; however, the Spartans were not able to come due to a religious
[BRONZE HELMET OF CORINTHIAN TYPE]
The Human Face
festival. And so 10,000 Athenians had to face the Persians aided by only 1,000 men from Plataea
(another Greek city). Despite the odds the Greeks won a decisive victory, losing just 192 men to
the Persians’ 6400, according to the historian Herodotus.
The Battle of Thermopylae
· Ten years later, in 480 BCE, Darius’ son Xerxes returned to Greece with an even bigger army.
7000 Greeks met the Persians at the narrow pass of Thermopylae.
· At sea a fleet of 200 Persian ships attempted to surprise the Greek fleet of 271 ships led by
Themistocles; however, the Greeks had been forewarned. Overnight a tremendous storm
destroyed the Persian squadron while the Greek ships were safely in port.
· On land the Persians attacked the Greeks at Thermopylae. Due to the narrowness of the battle
field the Persian army was unable to use their large numbers to great effect and suffered heavy
losses. However, on the second night a Greek traitor guided the best Persian troops around the
pass and behind the Greek army. The Spartan general Leonidas dispatched most of the Greeks to
safety; he and the Spartan and Thespian soldiers who remained fought to the death.
· The Persian fleet again attached the Greek navy, with both sides losing many ships. After
successful land and sea battles Xerxes’ army marched to Athens and burnt it down. By this time
however Athens had been evacuated.
The Battle of Salamis
· While the Persians were burning Athens, the Greeks positioned their fleet in the Strait of Salamis.
Here Themistocles feigned retreat, luring the Persians into the narrow strait. They were badly
beaten by the Greeks’ ships in the battle, after which the Persian navy retreated to Asia.
· The Persian army was finally defeated at the battle of Plataea in 479 BCE, where it was overcome
by a combined force of Spartans, Tegeans, and Athenians.
The Graeco-Persian Wars in popular culture
· The movie 300 chronicles the battle of Themopylae. The plot revolves around King Leonidas who
lead 300 Spartans into battle against the ‘god-king’ Xerxes and his army of 300,000.
· A Marathon is a long distance foot race of 49.195 kilometres. The athletic event commemorates
the legendary run of the Greek soldier Phidippides. During the Battle of Marathon the Athenians
sent Phidippides to Sparta to enlist the aid of the Spartans. He covered the distance of about 240
kilometres in less than two days.
Glossary
· Hoplite – heavily armed foot soldier whose function was to fight in close formation. They were
protected by metal helmets and breastplates, and on their left forearm carried a shield and
sword. Greek hoplites were the best fighters in the Mediterranean world and they were in great
demand in Lydia (modern day Turkey), Babylonia (modern day Iraq) and Egypt
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The Male Body Beautiful [DISCOBOLUS (DISCUS THROWER)]

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