"Disco Thrower": Myron's sculpture

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Ancient Greek culture is one of the greatest achievements of the ancient era, which had a direct impact on the further development of the entire human society. The people who inhabited the lands of Hellas left many examples of material and spiritual art to their descendants. The Greeks were especially successful in creating sculptural compositions. Antique statues that have survived to this day amaze with their beauty, harmony and majesty.

The most famous example of ancient Greek art is "Discobolus" - a bronze sculpture depicting a young athlete during sports competitions. Historians consider the date of creation of this ancient masterpiece to be the middle of the 5th century BC. e. - the period of the highest prosperity of Athens. The original statue disappeared without a trace in the Middle Ages, but several copies of it dating back to the times of the Roman Empire have survived.

Some facts from Miron's life

To date, it is known for certain who is the author of the sculpture "Discobolus". The name of the statue is associated with the name of Myron, the famous master who lived and worked in Athens in the 5th century. BC e. Very little is known about the sculptor himself. Historians could not determine the years of his life and death. There is information that he was born in Eleuthera, a small town located between Attica and Boeotica, later moved to Athens, where he was awarded the title of citizen of the city (such a title was given only to outstanding people). The teacher of the creator of "Discoball" was a talented sculptor Agelad from Argos. Myron was considered a popular master, he received many orders from all Greek regions. Many statues of ancient Greek heroes and gods belong to his authorship, including the figures of Hercules, Zeus and Athena on the island of Samos, the statue of Apollo in Ephesus, a number of sculptural compositions in Argos, the monument to Perseus in the Acropolis of Athens and many other works of art.

Miron was also engaged in jewelry business. His contemporaries left information that he made vessels from silver.

The connection of ancient culture with sports

Despite the fact that Myron left behind a large number of statues, the most famous of them all is the Disco Thrower. The sculpture, depicting a beautiful, physically developed athlete, is considered the first ancient monument that captured a person at the moment of movement. The ancient Greeks held sports in high esteem.

They were convinced that life is born from competition and struggle. It is not surprising that the Olympic Games appeared in this country. The theme of sports was a favorite for many ancient sculptors. Miron did not stay away from her either. In his works, the author skillfullyconveyed the perfection, beauty and strength of an athletic male body. The pinnacle of Miron's skill was "Discobolus". The author of the sculpture made it so realistic that it seems as if the figure of a young man, frozen for a moment, will now come to life and continue to move.

Description of the sculpture

It is not known exactly who Myron depicted in the statue of "Discobolus". The sculpture could be dedicated to the winner of sports competitions: most researchers of ancient culture are inclined to this opinion. Miron captured in bronze a fragment of a wrestling match, when a naked young man leaned forward with his body and pulled his hand back in order to swing and throw the disk as far as possible. Extreme tension is felt in the entire figure of the athlete.

Despite the fact that the discus thrower is frozen, his whole body is saturated with movement: the arms are in a position of strong swing, the legs are literally pressed into the ground, every muscle is visible on the inflated torso. The athlete is depicted in a pose in which it is impossible to stay for more than two or three seconds. This gives the audience the feeling that he will change position at any second, the disc will break out of his right hand and fly swiftly towards the target. Although the athlete's figure is tense, it seems light and natural. In contrast to the torso, the young man's face is unusually calm and concentrated. It looks faceless, without individual features, which is why some historians suggest that the depicted athlete is a collective image of the ideal person from antiquity.

Features of the sculpture

What is the value of the Disco Thrower statue? The author of the sculpture managed to convey dynamics in it, which no master could do before him. Attempts to depict a human figure in motion were made even before Miron, but they were all unsuccessful.

The discus throwers of the sculptors of the earlier period turned out to be constrained and frozen. They have always been represented as athletes standing in a pose of a winner with a leg extended forward. From the figure of a person it was impossible to understand what kind of competition he was engaged in. Miron was the first to create a statue of an athlete during the competition, infusing the bronze with the energy and excitement of the game.

The historical significance of the statue

"Disco Thrower" is Miron's sculpture, which perfectly reflects the ideal ancient man with such inherent features as strength, purposefulness, calmness, harmony. The ancient Greek athlete with all his appearance symbolizes the desire for victory, accompanied by concentration and true Olympian calm.