The Human Form in the Eyes of Ancient Greek Sculptors: 3D Gallery

Athena Parthenos Statue

This magnificent statue of Athena was created by Phidias in 438 BCE specifically for the Parthenon. The statue was made of gold and ivory, a combination called chryselephantine, and stood 38 feet tall. Most other artists of his time sculpted with marble, but Phidias used rare ivory and gold to present his subjects of high status and wealth. Athena wore a tunic and a helmet, held a Nike in one hand, the goddess of victory, and a spear and shield in her other hand. This appearance of being ready for battle was intentional, as Athena represented the great success of Greece and more specifically Athens in the Persian Wars.

Statue of Zeus at Olympia

This statue of Zeus at Olympia was considered to be famous sculptor Phidias’ masterpiece. Constructed in 430 BCE, many viewed the massive statue as one of the seven wonders of the world. The statue was made of the same ivory and gold combination as Phidias’ previously made statue of Athena. Zeus also held similar things in his hands as Athena: a Nike, the goddess of victory, and a golden spear. The statue was adored by people from all over when they travelled to Olympia for the Olympic Games, and Phidias’ vision of Zeus in his work became the mainstream image of the king of the gods for centuries to come.

Statue of Doryphorus

Originally known as, “Spear Bearer”, Doryphoros was a type of sculpting that portrayed the ideal man with consistent use of ratios to accurately represent the perfect athletic human. The body position tells a story in its own, with the posture shifted to one side and the abdomen and torso taught and ripped. The original sculpture held a spear in its left hand and were made out of bronze, although all of these works have been lost along with every other bronze sculpture made by a known Greek artist. Later figures were cut in marble and did not appear with a spear, although the body language depicted him still holding one.

Diadumenos Statue

The Diadumenos, or diadem-bearer, was a representation of victory at olympic games. The figure was complacent with a chiseled figure that was an outline of the perfect athlete. With its weight rested on the right leg and the left knee slightly bent, the youth takes time to raise his arms and tie a headband, or diadem, behind his head. Many copies have been made in bronze and marble to keep the ideology of Polykletios moving forward.

Portrait of Pericles

This bronze portrait of the ruler Pericles was sculpted by the Greek artist, Kresilas. Immediately after the death of the ruler, Pericles was selected to construct this and began working in 449 BC. After being sculpted, the bronze portrait was placed on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. In an attempt to cover up all imperfections of Pericles, Kresilas decided to add a helmet to his head that was believed to have some sort of deformity.

Portrait of Athena

This bronze portrait of Athena began to be sculpted by Greek artist, Kresilas sometime between 430 BC- 420 BC. Athena is the Greek Goddess of War and some of her many accomplishments are included on the portrait. On the portrait, Kresilas sculpted a necklace of snakes to represent the death of Medusa. Also, featured on Athena is a helmet to symbolize her being the Goddess of War. This portrait was displayed in the Temple of Hephaistos in Athens, Greece.

Aphrodite of Knidos

One of the first sculptures of women, created around the 4th century BCE, competed and challenged the typical nude male art that tended to represent heroism. Women were nude in art before but as slaves or peasants not being memorialized like Aphrodite is here.

Apollo Sauroktonos

Praxiteles pieces are strikingly bold in style, departing from the classical tradition of the fifth century BC. The subject allowed Praxiteles to develop one of his favorite themes-a young male nude with a graceful, almost feminine body and sharply defined hips. The tree trunk thus plays a dual role, as a realistic, picturesque detail that evokes the stage on which the action takes place, and as a support for the figure. The rigid trunk, with its dry, rough bark, forms a sharp contrast to the smooth curves of the figure.

Apoxymenos

Lysippos was Alexander the Great’s personal sculptor, in his lifetime he carved over 1500 works of art. Apoxyomenos means “to clean oneself”,PENIS this sculpture is depicting an athlete using what was called a stigil, a tool used to scrape sand and oil from the body before performance. There have been many remakes of Apoxyomenos, but the original one was made around 300 BC.

Farnese Hercules

One of the greatest sculptor of the Greek Era was Lysippos, he often enjoyed to create works of art that were of Gods, other powerful figures, and athletes. It was his vision that these humans, or human-like figures, were the epitome of beauty. This sculpture was created in 216 AD.

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The Human Form in the Eyes of Ancient Greek Sculptors