Winner statue

The head of a pugilist is the only remaining remnant of the several hundred victorious statues from Olympia

A victorious statue was a type of statue in ancient Greece that agons winners were entitled to erect in their hometown or at the place of their victory. Apart from the extensive description of the victorious statues in the Zeus sanctuary Olympia near Pausanias and the statue bases clearly identified with inscriptions, almost nothing of this type of statue has survived.

Winner statues were consecrated by the winners, especially athletic agons, of a deity, they could also be donated by the family or the polis of the winner. The custom of allowing victors to put up a statue first came about in the 6th century BC. BC and is closely linked to the statuary sculpture developing in Greece at that time. The usual material was bronze, although statues made of stone or wood are also known. To prevent confusion with statues of gods, they were not allowed to exceed life size.

literature

• Georg Lippold : Winner statues. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II A, 2, Stuttgart 1923, Col. 2265-2274.
• Walter Hatto Gross : Winner statues. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 5, Stuttgart 1975, Col. 178 f.

Remarks

1. ^ Pausanias 6, 1-18.