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Delphi Charioteer

Delphi Charioteer, 1.8m (5'11)

Delphi Museum, Greece

 

Famous bronze statue of a charioteer dedicated by Polyzalus, tyrant of Gela, Sicily, in thanks for his victory at the Pythian Games in 478 or 474 BCE. Originally part of a group that included the chariot, horses, and a young groom. He wears a victory-ribbon embroidered with silver and bronze. Formerly scholars though that the legs were too long to help him stand above the chariot's front, but other portraits of charioteers show they fastened their belts above the waist. So this portrait is extremely realistic.

 

It's in the so-called Severe style, typical of the earliest period of classical art, before the "wet t-shirt" look, greater movements and flying drapery that became popular later.

 

© 2005 Ellen Brundige

Illustration for Ancient Greece Odyssey Part Four: Delphi.

 

(information on Charioteer from Delphi by Basil Petrakos p. 58)

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Uploaded on September 5, 2007
Taken on September 4, 2007