Olympic Victor Monuments and Greek Athletic Art by Walter Woodburn Hyde
4. After Alexander’s time, in consequence of the recent building of
3511 words | Chapter 138
the Philippeion, Leonidaion, and Theekoleon to the west of the Altis,
the western side of the temple of Zeus (and, to a lesser extent, the
northern) became important, and henceforth statues surrounded the
temple on all sides. Of the thirty-three statues of this epoch, nine
stood to the west of the temple, four to the north, and seven to the
south, while the rest stood either to the east, or, perhaps, near the
Heraion. We shall see also that many later statues, known to us from
inscriptions only, stood outside the Altis, to the west and northwest.
STATUES NOT MENTIONED BY PAUSANIAS, BUT KNOWN FROM RECOVERED BASES.
Having established these data, it is not difficult, from the positions
of the many inscribed fragmentary bases found at Olympia and referred
to victor statues not mentioned by Pausanias, from the approximate
dates of the victories as gained from the age of the inscriptions, and
by again employing the system of groups already mentioned, to state
quite definitely where many of these other statues stood. Pausanias,
who mentions 187 victors with 192 monuments in his two ἔφοδοι,
expressly states that he enumerates only those “who had some title
to fame or whose statues were better made.”[2364] The reasons for
his selection and the fact that he mentions the statue of no athlete
certainly later than the middle of the second century B. C. (although
we know from inscriptions that statues were set up far into the third
century A. D., at least)[2365] have been subjects of much discussion,
but hardly concern us here.[2366] The three latest statues of victors
mentioned by Pausanias, whose dates are fixed, may be given: those of
Kleitomachos, who won παγκράτιον and πύξ in Ols. 141 and 142 (= 216
and 212 B. C.);[2367] of Kapros, victor in παγκράτιον and πάλη in
Ol. 142 (= 212 B. C.);[2368] and of Akestorides, victor πώλων ἅρματι
sometime between Ols. 142 and 144 (= 212 and 204 B. C.).[2369] Still
later statues of victors named by Pausanias, whose dates can not be
exactly determined, are those of Sodamas, who won παίδων στάδιον some
time between Ols. 142 and 145 (= 212 and 200 B. C.);[2370] of Amyntas,
victor in παίδων παγκράτιον in Ol. (?) 146 (= 196 B. C.);[2371]
of Timon, victor in πένταθλον in Ols. 146 or 147 (= 196 or 192 B.
C.);[2372] and of Lysippos, victor in παίδων πάλη some time between
Ols. 149 and 157 (= 184 and 152 B. C.).[2373] Of the first century A.
D., Pausanias mentions three victors without statues: Artemidoros,
who won παγκράτιον in Ol. 212 (= 69 A. D.);[2374] Polites, victor
in στάδιον, δίαυλος and δόλιχος in Ol. 212;[2375] and Hermogenes,
victor in στάδιον twice, δίαυλος once, and as ὁπλίτης thrice, in Ols.
215, 216, 217 (= 81-89 A. D.).[2376] The words of Pliny, _Olympiae,
ubi omnium qui vicissent statuas dicari mos erat_[2377] refer, of
course, as we have already pointed out, only to the privilege and not
to the actual fact, for many victors would have no statues, as it
was necessary for them or their relatives or city-states to meet the
expenses of their erection.[2378] No more is the rest of his statement
to be taken literally, _i. e._, that those victors who were victorious
three times had the right to erect portrait statues in their honor;
for we have, as has already been shown, at least one exception.[2379]
Besides we know that portrait statues were practically unknown
before the fourth century B. C. Most of the victor statues were mere
types—those of Hermes and Herakles being common—without individualized
features, simply representing the various contests by position or
some characteristic, _e. g._, the helmet and shield for “hoplite”
victors.[2380]
Five of these inscriptions have been referred to the sixth and fifth
centuries B. C.[2381] Of these the inscribed base of Pantares was
found near the South Altis wall, and the statue must originally have
stood east of the temple of Zeus, near the chariot of Gelo (90), for
these two were the only victors from Gela, and won in the same kind
of contest and at nearly the same date.[2382] The statues of Phrikias
of Pelinna and Phanas of Pellene, both representing victors in the
heavy-armed race, to which I have ascribed the two archaic marble
heads (Fig. 30), the former found west of the temple of Zeus and the
latter to the south of it, must originally have stood in the area of
the later temple and then have been removed.[2383] That of an unknown
victor, whose name ended in ...αδας,[2384] the two fragments of whose
base were found, one near the Heraion and the other to the east of the
temple of Zeus, should have stood near the statues of the only other
pancratiasts of a similar age, either near those of Dorieus (61), who
won in Ols. 87 to 89 (= 432 to 424 B. C.), and Damagetos (62), who won
in Ols. 82 and 83 (= 452 and 448 B. C.), in the zone of the _Bull_, or
near that of Timasitheos (82), who won some time between Ols. (?) 65
and 67 inclusive (= 520 and 512 B. C.), in the zone of the _Victory_.
Lastly, the second inscribed base of Xenombrotos (133), found near
the Council-house outside the South Altis wall, doubtless once stood
near the first (the epigram from which is preserved by Pausanias, VI,
14.12), along this wall to the east of the base of Telemachos.[2385]
No inscribed fragments of bases dating from the fourth century B. C.
have been found.
Beginning with the third century B. C., we shall see that most of the
recovered bases were found either in the western part of the Altis,
in the neighborhood of the Philippeion, Theekoleon, and Leonidaion,
on both sides of the West Altis wall, or still farther west and
northwest, especially in or near the Palaistra and Prytaneion. We have
already seen that most of the statues named by Pausanias dating from
Alexander’s time stood to the west (and north) of the temple of Zeus.
As Pausanias enumerates only statues ἐν δεξιᾷ of his route around the
temple to the Great Altar, these statues farther west and northwest
are omitted from his account. Of the four bases of statues referred
to the third century, all belong to Elean victors; three were found
west and northwest of the Prytaneion and beyond, showing that these
statues once stood in the vicinity of this building, and the fourth
was found farther south, by the Palaistra, where it probably stood.
Thus the base of the wrestler Nikarchos, son of Physsias, was found
in a late wall west of the Prytaneion;[2386] that of the statue of an
unknown victor, son of Taurinos, was found at the southeast corner of
the Palaistra;[2387] that of another unknown victor, the son of
...phinos, was found in the _Nordwestgraben_;[2388] the base of the
statue of Thersonides, son of Paianodoros, victor κέλητι πωλικῷ, was
found northwest of the Prytaneion, between the Roman baths and east
hall of the Gymnasion.[2389]
Of the four statues referred with certainty to the second century
B. C., all but one were found to the west of the Altis, in a region
ranging from the Philippeion, northwest of the temple of Zeus, to the
Leonidaion southwest of it. Two of them were found outside the West
Altis wall, between the Leonidaion and the Byzantine church. Thus the
base of the statue of D...gonos, twice victor in πύξ, was found
outside the apse of the Byzantine church and west of the West Altis
wall;[2390] the fragments of that of an unknown boy victor in wrestling
or the pankration were found in the East Byzantine wall;[2391] that
of an unknown victor, συνωρίδι τελείᾳ (twice), and ἅρματι τελείῳ, was
found south of the Philippeion.[2392] The fragment of the base of the
statue of another unknown victor in wrestling, the son of the Elean
Aigyptos, was found to the northeast of the Leonidaion.[2393]
Of the seven bases referred to the second and first centuries B. C.,
three were found in or near the Byzantine church, showing that such
statues may have stood in the Greek building which was later converted
into the church.[2394] Two more were found near the southwest corner
of the Altis, and therefore may once have stood near the statue of
Philonides, which Pausanias mentions as standing in that vicinity.
Two others stood farther away, one inside the Prytaneion, the other
northeast of the temple of Zeus. Thus the base of an unknown victor,
the son of Aristotle, συνωρίδι πωλικῇ, was found in front of the north
side of the Byzantine church;[2395] that of Aristodamos, the son of
Aleximachos of Elis, was found in the floor of the church;[2396] that
of an unknown victor was found northeast of the temple of Zeus;[2397]
that of a victor συνωρίδι πωλικῇ, whose name ended in ...chos, the
son of the Elean Nikodromos, was found southwest of the Altis before
the West Altis wall;[2398] the base of two unknown victors from Elis
were found respectively in the Prytaneion[2399] and northwest of the
Byzantine church,[2400] while that of another Elean, Antigenes, the son
of Jason, victor συνωρίδι πωλικῇ, was found in the southwest corner of
the Altis.[2401]
The positions of the twenty-four bases (belonging to monuments of
twenty-two victors) with certainty referred to the first pre-Christian
century were very scattered. One large Pentelic marble _bathron_,
supporting the monuments of seven victors of the family of Philistos,
must have stood just south of the Philippeion, where most of the
fragments were found. The bases of the statues of two other sons and
a grandson of the same victor have been recovered, and doubtless
stood near by, thus forming a family group of ten, outnumbering that
of Diagoras (59-63 and 52) mentioned by Pausanias. The omission of
so important a monument in the description of the Periegete has, of
course, been used as an indication of his employment of earlier lists.
Of the other bases, two were found outside the South Altis wall, west
of the Council-house, and two east of it; two east of the temple of
Zeus (one of them that of the youthful Tiberius, afterwards Roman
emperor, which must have stood near the _Eretrian Bull_, where it was
found); one southwest of the temple, along the South Terrace wall,
pointing to a position among the statues there named by Pausanias;
one east of the Byzantine church, pointing to a position south of
the Theekoleon, two to the northwest of the Altis in the vicinity of
the Prytaneion; while the others were found scattered all the way
from the northeastern part of the Altis to the bed of the Kladeos.
Thus over half (13) of these statue-bases were found in the west and
northwest of the Altis and beyond; the space to the east of the temple
of Zeus—called _frequentissimus celeberrimusque_ by Scherer—seems now
not to have been greatly prized. Most of these victories were gained
in hippic contests. Horse-racing had early been discontinued, but
was revived at the end of the first century B. C., when members of
the imperial family, emulating the earlier triumphs of the princes
of Sicily and Macedonia, became competitors. Thus Tiberius won in
the chariot-race, and a few years later his nephew Germanicus in the
same event. The list of these bases of victor statues of the first
century B. C. and their provenience follows. A fragment of the base
of the victor Agilochos, son of Nikeas of Elis, victor κέλητι πωλικῷ,
was found in the East Byzantine wall.[2402] One fragment of the
_bathron_ of the family group of the Elean Philistos,[2403] victors
in hippic contests, was found southwest of the Pelopion, while four
others were discovered south of the Philippeion; the base of the
statue of Philonikos, a son of Philistos, was also found south of the
Philippeion,[2404] and that of another unnamed son was discovered to
the west of the Prytaneion,[2405] while the place of finding of that
of Charops, the son of Telemachos, has not been recorded.[2406] The
base of the monument of Aristarchos was found east of the Byzantine
church,[2407] that of Damaithidas, son of Menippos of Elis, a victor
συνωρίδι πωλικῇ, west of the Council-house (south building),[2408] and
that of Thrasymachos (or Thrasymedes) in the _Nordostgraben_.[2409] A
fragment of the base of the statue of Demokrates of Antioch in Karia
was found in the bed of the river Kladeos,[2410] that of a victor whose
name began with Demo..., northeast of the Prytaneion,[2411] while
that of Thaliarchos, the son of Soterichos of Elis, victor πὺξ παίδων
καὶ ἀνδρῶν, was found east of the Council-house.[2412] Bases from
two statues of Menedemos, son of Menedemos of Elis, victor συνωρίδι
πωλικῇ, were found, one east of the temple of Zeus, the other inside
the Heraion.[2413] Lykomedes, the son of Aristodemos of Elis, victor
συνωρίδι πωλικῇ, also had two statues; the base of one was found in
front of the West Byzantine wall on the south side of the temple of
Zeus, that of the other in the _Westgraben_.[2414] The front part of
the base of the statue of Archiadas, the son of Timolas of Elis, who
won κέλητι πωλικῷ, was discovered southwest of the temple of Zeus, on
the Terrace wall.[2415] That of an unknown victor in the δίαυλος, the
son of ...krates of Miletos, was found near the _Osthalle_,[2416]
while that inscribed with the name of Tiberius Claudius Nero of Rome,
who won a victory τεθρίππῳ just before the end of the century, was
found south of the _Eretrian Bull_.[2417]
Nineteen inscribed base-fragments have been referred to the
post-Christian centuries, thirteen to the first, three to the
second, and three to the third. The spaces around the temple of Zeus
(especially its eastern front) are again the favorite ones. Thus the
bases of three statues were found east of the temple (one _in situ_),
two near its southeastern corner, three at the northeastern corner
(one, that of Germanicus Cæsar, the nephew of Tiberius, just to the
north of the _Eretrian Bull_, and so originally standing here near
that of his uncle), while another stood opposite the fifth column from
the east on the north side of the temple. Most of these statues must
have been passed by Pausanias in his first ἔφοδος, which is, perhaps,
another evidence of his dependence on older lists in compiling his
own. Two other bases were found to the southwest of the temple, one of
them near its corner, and the other nearer the corner of the Altis,
_i. e._, near the base of the statue of Philonides (154a). Thus eleven
statues stood near the temple. Of the others, four were found in the
vicinity of the Palaistra (one inside _in situ_), one to the northeast
of the Prytaneion, another northeast of the Byzantine church, while the
two remaining ones were found in the eastern part of the Altis, near
the entrance to the Stadion and before the Echo Colonnade respectively.
The base of the last statue of a victor known to have been erected at
Olympia, that of Valerios Eklektos of Sinope, previously mentioned, was
found _in situ_ in the Palaistra. We append a detailed list of these
bases, giving the provenience of each.
Of the first century A. D., the fore part of the base of the monument
of Germanicus, son of Nero Claudius Drusus, was found east of the
temple of Zeus, north of the _Eretrian Bull_;[2418] the base of that
of Gnaios Markios was found opposite the southeast corner of the
temple;[2419] that of Markos Antonios Kallippos Peisanos, son of M.
Antonios Alexion of Elis, who won κέλητι πωλικῷ in Ol. 177 (= 72 A.
D.), was found in the West Byzantine wall at the southwest corner
of the temple.[2420] The base of the monument of Polyxenos, son of
Apollophanes of Zakynthos, victor in πάλη παίδων, was discovered at
the southwest corner of the Altis far from its probable original
location;[2421] that of P. Kornelios Ariston, son of Eirenaios of
Ephesos, victor in παγκράτιον παίδων in Ol. 207 (= 49 A. D.), in front
of the north wall of the Palaistra;[2422] the marble plate from that
of Tiberios Klaudios Aphrodeisios of Elis (?), who won κέλητι τελείῳ
in Ol. 208 (= 53 A. D.), was unearthed near its semicircular base,
which was found _in situ_ east of the temple.[2423] Four fragments
of the base of the monument of the boy pancratiast Nikanor, son of
Sokles of Ephesos, were recovered east of the temple, and another one
near its southeastern corner.[2424] The base of that of Markos Deida
of Antioch, victor in πάλη παίδων in Ol. 219 (= 97 A. D.), was found
southeast of the temple;[2425] that of an unknown victor in the δίαυλος
and as ὁπλίτης (three times) in the North Byzantine wall;[2426] that of
Hermas, son of Ision of Antioch, a victor in παγκράτιον, between the
West Altis wall and the southeastern corner of the Palaistra;[2427]
that of Diogenes, son of Dionysios of Ephesos, victor σαλπίγγι five
times, before the centre of the Echo Colonnade.[2428] The inscribed
fragments of the bronze legs of the statues of two unknown victors
have also been excavated, the one near the starting-place in the
Stadion,[2429] the other near the fifth column from the east on the
north side of the temple of Zeus.[2430]
Of the second century A. D., we have the following bases: that of Kasia
M[nasithea], daughter of M. Betilenos (or Vetulenos) Laitos of Elis,
who won ἅρματι πωλικῷ, was found northeast of the Prytaneion;[2431] the
upper part of the pedestal of the _quadriga_ of L. Minicius Natalis of
Rome, victor ἅρματι τελείῳ in Ol. 227 (= 129 A. D.), was unearthed in
the east wall of the Palaistra.[2432] The base of the statue erected to
the herald P. Ailios Artemas of Laodikeia (in Phrygia?) was found 20
meters north of the northeastern corner of the temple of Zeus.[2433]
Of the third century A. D., _i. e._, after the time of Pausanias, we
have these bases: that of P. Ailios Alkandridas, son of Damokratidas of
Sparta, twice victor in (?) πάλη, was found northeast of the Byzantine
church;[2434] that of Theopropos of Rhodes, who won κέλητι, was
unearthed east of the temple of Zeus, just south of the basis of the
_Nike_ of Paionios;[2435] the base of the statue of Valerios Eklektos
of Sinope, victor as κῆρυξ in Ols. 256, 258-260 (= 245, 253-261 A.
D.), was found _in situ_ in the Palaistra.[2436] We should add for
this century also the inscribed bronze diskos, the votive (not victor)
offering of Poplios (Publius) Asklepiades of Corinth, which was found
2.5 meters south of the Southwest gate of the Altis.[2437]
A study of these inscriptions shows that the practice of setting up
victor statues decreased in the fourth and third centuries B. C., but
was revived in the second and first, only to decrease again after
the first century A. D. On the other hand, the inscriptions show that
the number of “honor” statues correspondingly increased. Of the later
statues, most were erected to Eleans; names of victors from Sicily and
Italy, and from the older Greek states, as Sparta and Athens, are rare,
being replaced by those from Asia Minor and the newer towns of the
Greek mainland. This falling off of interest in the games was largely
due to professionalism. In the second century B. C., we begin to read
in the inscriptions of περιοδονῖκαι, _i. e._, victors winning prizes
at all the four national games, a sure indication of the professional
spirit. Even Pausanias mentions two such victors.[2438]
From these inscribed base-fragments, we have knowledge of 61 victors
(63 monuments)[2439] who had statues erected to them, though they are
not named in the lists of Pausanias. Of the 192 monuments mentioned by
Pausanias, 40 are known to us from recovered fragments of bases and
statues. So if we assume the same ratio between known and unknown for
those not mentioned by Pausanias, we should have the proportion 40 :
192 : : 63 : _x_, where _x_ would equal 302, making a grand total of
494 monuments, which number can not be far from the actual number of
victor statues adorning the Altis.[2440]
OLYMPIC VICTOR MONUMENTS ERECTED OUTSIDE OLYMPIA.
In Chapter I, we showed that frequently statues or other monuments
were erected in their native towns as a part of the honor paid to
Olympic victors. We shall now give a list of all such monuments set
up in various parts of the Greek world which are known to us from
notices in ancient literature and from inscriptions.[2441] These, like
the statues in the Altis, range in date from the seventh century B.
C. to the fourth A. D., and offer still greater variety in the kinds
of dedication. It will be best to arrange the list as far as possible
chronologically and in numerical sequence, adding the authorities for
the dates of the various victories in the footnotes.[2442]
Victors with monuments of the seventh century B. C.:
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