Kleobis (Cleobis) and Biton (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: , gen.: ; , gen.: ) are two Archaic Greek Kouros brothers from Argos, whose stories date back to about 580 BCE. Two statues, discovered in

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

, represent them. The first known version of the story was described by

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

, where

Solon Solon (; ; BC) was an Archaic Greece#Athens, archaic History of Athens, Athenian statesman, lawmaker, political philosopher, and poet. He is one of the Seven Sages of Greece and credited with laying the foundations for Athenian democracy. ...

tells

Croesus Croesus ( ; ; Latin: ; reigned: ) was the Monarch, king of Lydia, who reigned from 585 BC until his Siege of Sardis (547 BC), defeat by the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 547 or 546 BC. According to Herodotus, he reigned 14 years. Croesus was ...

, the King of Lydia, about the happiest person in the world.

Legend

Herodotus' story

The legend begins with the story of

, upon his meeting with

. Solon was an Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet and Croesus was the King of

Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...

who reigned for 14 years. Croesus, concerned about his legacy over the kingdom, takes the time to ask Solon who he found to be the happiest person in the world. Upon his reply, Solon names three separate people. The first being Tellus, the second and third being the brothers known as Kleobis and Biton. When hearing about this news, Croesus was confused as to why he was not considered to be one of the happiest of men. In response, Solon shares first the tale of Tellus and then the tale of Kleobis and Biton. In the story, Solon tells of how these Argive brothers took their mother named

Cydippe The name Cydippe (Ancient Greek: Κυδίππη ''Kudíppē'') is attributed to four individuals in Greek mythology. *Cydippe, one of the 50 Nereids, sea-nymph daughters of the 'Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanids, Oceanid Doris (Oceanid) ...

, a priestess at the temple of Hera, to a festival for the goddess to be held in town. When their mother's oxen could not be found, the brothers yoked themselves to their mother's cart and drove her the six miles to the temple. Having arrived at the festival, the mother prayed for Hera to bestow a gift upon her sons for their strength and devotion, which Hera listened and rewarded the sons. When the prayers and the sacrifice were over, Kleobis and Biton fell asleep in the temple and never woke up, which was the gift Hera bestowed on the boys: Allowing them to die peacefully in their prime. To honor the two brothers, the people of Argos dedicated statues of them to the temple of

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

at Delphi, allowing for these statues to be seen as funeral memorials. Upon hearing this story, Solon's advice to Croesus were "the uncertainties of life mean that no one can be completely happy." Either one can experience the joys of having continuous prosperity, much like Tellus, or one can experience a life of death, which can be granted as a reward like it was to Kleobis and Biton. The lesson of the legend is to showcase that those who live a moderately happy life are shown to have a glamorous death. It also shows that "it was better for a man to die than to live."

Interpretation

In the context of Herodotus' narrative, Solon is communicating to Croesus that * human happiness is not dependent on wealth (which is Croesus' view at that point), and * happiness cannot be evaluated in the case of any given person until that person has died (when the story of their life is complete). "Happiness" translates the ancient Greek word ''

eudaimonia Eudaimonia (; ) is a Greek word literally translating to the state or condition of ''good spirit'', and which is commonly translated as ''happiness'' or ''Well-being, welfare''. In the works of Aristotle, ''eudaimonia'' was the term for the hig ...

'', which does not have to do with emotion but rather with the good fortune that a person has in life overall.

Statues

History

Herodotus records that "the Argives had statues of them made and set them up at

, because they had been such excellent men". These two statues are known to be similar to other funerary monuments of the Archaic time, which were set up by the parents of the fallen warriors. The Delphi Archaeological Museum displays two identical Archaic '' kouroi'' under the names of ''Cleobis'' and ''Biton'', although other archaeologists who have studied the statues, see in them the twin sons of

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

, the Dioscouri, worship of whom was quite widespread in the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

. Inscriptions on the base of the statues identify them as (''wanakōn''), i.e. the "princes", an attribute usually given to

Castor and Pollux Castor and Pollux (or Polydeuces) are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri or Dioskouroi. Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of ...

in Argos, a fact which supported the identification with the Dioscuri. The inscription also identifies Polymedes of Argos as the sculptor: Something which was very unusual at such an early date. The statues are in what is regarded as a typical Peloponnesian style: massive and muscular. Their left foot is stepping forward, whereas their hands are bent at the elbows, touching the thighs, hands closed in fists. The hair are curly over the forefront and hang on the shoulders. Their eyes are large and almond-shaped, crowned by high eyebrows. Their faces bear the typical archaic smile. They wore high-soled sandals. Each figure stood on a different stepping stone but they were both standing on the same pedestal. The date suggested for their creation is BCE. They are considered a typical specimen of the Archaic sculpture of the Peloponnese.

Connection to kouros figures

These statues share a connection with the fundamentals of what a kouros statue is, meaning that they are free-standing figures that depict the male youth that are depicted in symmetry and pattern. The earliest depiction of kouros statues can be found in Egyptian culture, where the style of the sculpture shows stability, by being depicted by a single viewpoint in the front. Here, the two sculptures can be seen with a foot movement, to imply movement, with idealized features, from the oval eyes to the fist clenched on each side of their torsos. However, these two statues do seem to suggest that the Greeks are moving away from the strict lines of the Egyptians and are beginning to move towards the ideal of depicting more realistic figures. In Greece, ''kouros'' "signifies youth and manhood, sometimes warrior status ... it is related to the word ''koros,'' that signifies seedling or shoot of a plant."

Description

Standing side by side, these marble statues stand on separate blocks that are supported by the same base that bears some part of an inscription on the bottom. The two statues are each stepping forward with one leg, arms locked to their sides. They are stocky in build, with broad shoulders and faces, and they are naked except for boots — which could be a sign of the god Apollo or could indicate that they were travelers. Their hair is a single row of large disk-like curls that line the forehead, with the rest of the hair combed then subdivided into bead-like elements that spring out from the base of the neck, each tendril being finished off with a tie.

Heroic nudity

In the case of Kleobis and Biton, the depiction of heroic nudity can be seen in the "essentially unrealistic, in so far as warriors are without clothes or body armor; yet there is still vivid interest in the postures of life deserting the heroic body." The town of Argos was not known for depicting kouroi, but the statues of these two brothers were built by the enthusiastic Argives as a message to other city-states. Though it is still not confirmed whether these statues were modeled after the legend, the legend does seem to fit in hand with the time of Herodotus' tale.

Athletic depiction

The greatest test of strength for the two young men came when they were challenged with having to take their mother to town as her oxen. The extent of their muscular depiction is emphasized to characterize them as to represent the brute strength of the Argive style, found in the High Archaic period.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kleobis and Biton Archaic Greek sculptures Ancient Argives Brother duos Statues in Greece Sculptures of men in Greece Kouroi Nude sculptures in Greece Marble sculptures in Greece Archaeological discoveries in Central Greece