Discobolus

The ''Discobolus'' by Myron (" discus thrower", , ''Diskobólos'') is an ancient Greek sculpture completed at the start of the Classical period in around 460–450 BC that depicts an ancient Greek athlete throwing a discus. Though the original Greek bronze cast is lost, the work is known through numerous Roman copies, both full-scale ones in marble, which is cheaper than bronze,Woodford, Susan. (1982) ''The Art of Greece and Rome''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 16. such as the ''Palombara Discobolus'', the first to be recovered, and smaller scaled versions in bronze.

A norm in Ancient Greek athletics, the ''Discobolus'' is presented nude. His pose appears unnatural to a human and is considered as per modern standards a rather inefficient way to throw the discus.

Myron's skill is evident in his ability to convey a sense of movement of the body at the moment of its maximum tension and splendor within a static medium, transforming a routine athletic activity into a representation of balance and harmony. Myron is often credited with being the first sculptor to master this style. However, the great effort of the athlete is not reflected in his facial expression, which displays only a tenuous concentration. The torso shows no muscular strain, even though the limbs are outflung. The other trademark of Myron embodied in this sculpture is how well the body is proportioned: the ''symmetria''. The athlete's body demonstrates a sense of proportion, with meticulous attention to detail in every muscle and sinew, capturing the dynamics of a thrower's physical actions. The contrapposto stance, subtly shifting the athlete's weight from one leg to the other, imparts a semblance of motion and adds an element of realism to the artwork. The potential energy expressed in this sculpture's tightly wound pose, expressing the moment of stasis just before the release, is an example of the advancement of Classical sculpture from Archaic sculpture.

As Clark observed, "Myron has created the enduring pattern of athletic energy. He has taken a moment of action so transitory that students of athletics still debate if it is feasible, and he has given it the completeness of a cameo. To a modern eye, it may seem that Myron's desire for perfection has made him suppress too rigorously the sense of strain in the individual muscles". Clark, Kenneth. (2010) ''The Nude: A study in ideal form''. New edition. London: The Folio Society, pp. 134–135.

The ''Discobolus'' was sculpted at a time when Greece was at the zenith of its artistic and athletic achievements. The ancient Olympic Games were not just sporting events but were deeply intertwined with Greek culture and religion. Myron's work embodies the Greek philosophy of the harmonious development of body and mind, an idea known as '' kalokagathia'', where physical beauty and prowess were celebrated as integral components of a virtuous life.

Reputation in the past

Myron's ''Discobolus'' was long known from descriptions, such as the dialogue in Lucian of Samosata's work ''Philopseudes'':

''Discobolus'' and ''Discophorus''

Prior to this statue's discovery, the term ''Discobolus'' had been applied in the 17th and 18th centuries to a standing figure holding a discus, a '' Discophoros'', which Ennio Quirino Visconti identified as the ''Discobolus'' of Naukydes of Argos, mentioned by Pliny (Haskell and Penny 1981:200).

''Discobolus Palombara'' or ''Lancellotti''

The ''Discobolus Palombara'', the first copy of this famous sculpture to have been discovered, was found in 1781. It is a 1st-century AD copy of Myron's original bronze. Following its discovery at a Roman property of the Massimo family, the Villa Palombara on the Esquiline Hill, it was initially restored by Giuseppe Angelini; the Massimo installed it in their Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne and then at Palazzo Lancellotti. The Italian archaeologist Giovanni Battista Visconti identified the sculpture as a copy from the original of Myron. It was instantly famous, though the Massimo jealously guarded access to it (Haskell and Penny 1981:200).

In 1937, Adolf Hitler negotiated to buy it, and eventually succeeded in 1938, when Galeazzo Ciano, Minister of Foreign Affairs, sold it to him for five million lire, over the protests of Giuseppe Bottai, Minister of Education, and the scholarly community. It was shipped by rail to Munich and displayed in the Glyptothek; it was returned in 1948. It is now in the National Museum of Rome, displayed at the Palazzo Massimo.

''Townley Discobolus''

After the discovery of the ''Discobolus Palombara'' a second notable ''Discobolus'' was excavated, at Hadrian's Villa in 1790, and was purchased by the English antiquary and art dealer established in Rome, Thomas Jenkins, at public auction in 1792. (Another example, also found at Tivoli at this date, was acquired by the Vatican Museums.) The English connoisseur Charles Townley paid Jenkins £400 for the statue, which arrived at the semi-public gallery Townley commissioned in Park Street, London, in 1794. The head was wrongly restored, as Richard Payne Knight soon pointed out, but Townley was convinced his was the original and better copy.

It was bought for the British Museum, with the rest of Townley's marbles, in July 1805.

Other copies

Other Roman copies in marble have been recovered, and torsos that were already known in the 17th century but that had been wrongly restored and completed, have since been identified as further repetitions after Myron's model. For one such example, in the early 18th century Pierre-Étienne Monnot restored a torso that is now recognized as an example of Myron's ''Discobolus'' as a ''Wounded Gladiator'' who supports himself on his arm as he sinks to the ground; the completed sculpture was donated before 1734 by Pope Clement XII to the Capitoline Museums, where it remains.

Yet another copy was discovered in 1906 in the ruins of a Roman villa at Tor Paterno in the former royal estate of Castel Porziano, now also conserved in the Museo Nazionale Romano.

In the 19th century, plaster copies of ''Discobolos'' could be found in many large academic collections, now mostly dispersed.

'' Bodies: The Exhibition'' includes a recreation of the ''Discobolus''. The ''Discus Thrower'' is plastinated human corpse posed like the original sculpture, discus included.

See also

* Sport in ancient Greek art
* ''Discobolus'' (Harvard University)
* ''Discus Thrower'' (Washington, D.C.)

Notes and references

External links

British Museum collection record
GR 1805.7-3.43 (Sculpture 250).


(German), 69-30/SH 948

Capitoline Museum collection record
MC0241

3D preview


A discussion about the sculpture between Beth Harris and Steven Zucker on video at Khan Academy/Smarthistory

{{Sculptures

1781 archaeological discoveries
1790 archaeological discoveries
Townley collection
Sculptures in the Vatican Museums
Collection of the National Roman Museum
Roman copies of 5th-century BC Greek sculptures
Ancient Greek athletic art
Ancient Greek bronze statues of the classical period
Archaeological discoveries in Italy
Sports sculptures
Nude sculptures of men