Charioteer from Delphi
The Charioteer of Delphi is called one of the best preserved original bronze statues from ancient Greece . The 1.80 meter tall statue was found in 1896 in the Apollo Shrine in Delphi near the Temple of Apollo . It is now in the Delphi Archaeological Museum .
The statue was made in the hollow casting process and assembled from seven separately cast parts. It was found in three parts: upper body with head, right arm and lower body. The left arm and details of the head such as the copper inlay on the lips and most of the silver eyelashes were missing. The statue is one of the few surviving specimens whose colored glass flux inlays on the eyes have been preserved.
The figure represents a charioteer in the Ephebe age who is clothed in a long robe belted under the chest, the Xystis the charioteer. Two straps around the shoulders cross on the back of the robe and prevent the fabric from puffing up during the chariot race. The finely thrown folds of the robe in the area of the shoulders, arms and chest stand in clear contrast to the deeply worked tube folds of the lower section of the robe. A headband decorated with battlements and crosses is placed around the head, which is slightly turned to his right . The right hand still holds the remains of the reins for a team of horses , of which some horse and wagon parts are still preserved. The reconstruction of the team and the positioning of the horses is controversial, but the group included at least four horses and probably two horse handlers.
The parts of the statue group were found together with the limestone base on which the group was erected. The surviving dedicatory inscription names Polyzalus von Gela as the donor of the consecration gift , which was therefore between 478 and 474 BC. Must have been created. As a well-dated monument, the charioteer is one of the key works of the strict style .
The team of four and the charioteer himself were buried and damaged in the landslide caused by an earthquake in AD 373, but they were preserved in this condition for posterity. They were not melted down for weapons like many other statues.
See also
The Charioteer of Delphi is one of only seven surviving Greek and Great Greek bronze statues. The others are the pugilist from the Quirinal , the Poseidon from Cape Artemision , the rider from Cape Artemision , the two bronze statues of Riace and the ruler of the thermal baths . The fragment of the so-called Chatsworth-Apollo should also be mentioned in this context .
literature
- Roland Hampe : The charioteer from Delphi . Munich 1941 (text and research status outdated, but informative blackboard section).
- François Chamoux : L'Aurige. Fouilles de Delphes. Tome IV, Monuments figurés: Sculpture - 5 . Paris 1955 (authoritative excavation publication).
- Ralf Krumeich : Portraits of Greek rulers and statesmen in the 5th century BC Chr. Munich 1997, ISBN 3-930609-15-0 .
- Patrick Schollmeyer: Ancient charity monuments . Hamburg 2001, ISBN 978-3-86064-660-1 .
- Frank Jünger: Team and rule . Hamburg 2006, ISBN 978-3-8300-2279-4 .
