One of the most important contributors to the advancement of culture in Ancient Greece was Myron, a famous sculptor. He was known for his sculptures of gods, heroes, and athletes, normally in bronze. One of his most renowned sculptures was Discobolus, a bronze rendition of a discus thrower. It was created around 460-450 B.C. However, although the original sculpture was lost, the many copies still remind people of its influence and provide insight into the interplay of religion, science, and aesthetics of ancient Greece.
The statue was unique for its time because of its leap in the area of realism. Myron used the knowledge of science in his time to create the proportional and symmetric body of the discus thrower. The statue appears to closely embody the golden ratio, which had begun to make its way into art. The golden ratio, a measurement for the “perfect” rectangle (or most aesthetic rectangle), was probably used to determine the length of the limbs and compliments the defined muscles. However, the use of the ratio also causes the thrower to appear god-like because he is flawless. True discus throwers tend to have large legs and upper-bodies. Myron probably assumed that an athlete was as close to a god as a human could be because of the rigors his body could endure. This also implies that the Greeks valued aesthetics because of the sculpture’s beauty and flawless nature. The Greek gods were assumed to be aesthetically pleasing yet human in appearance. Discobolus provides the perfect combination of religion, science, and aesthetics.
After reading your post, our group agrees that Discobolus provides the perfect combination of religion, science, and aesthetics. Something that interested us is, despite the fact that the original statue was lost it is still remembered today through mere copies or replicas of the statue. As seen through history, even the most well known artworks are phased out throughout history because it has pasted its prime. Another idea in your post that interested us is that the use of ratio makes the thrower appear god-like. Is it really just the use of ratio that the thrower appears god-like? We feel throughout history it has been appealing to have a close to flawless appearance, but the more important thing is that there was a statue made because of the skill of the athlete. Athletes have always been held in high regards in history, like the Spartans and samurai, which were athletes in their own right. We feel that it was because it was a statue, famous statues are generally made with some meaning or importance behind them, of an athlete that made the statue appear to be god-like.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we are surprised that even as far back as 460-450 B.C there were artists or in this case sculptors that used science, ratios, to further perfect the appearance of the statue. Because in this day and age, there are people who go as far as surgery and several other extremes to look perfect and attractive. It just goes to show that despite what time in history there has always been a strive to look and be perfect.