Phidias
Phidias or Pheidias (
Plutarch discusses Phidias' friendship with the Greek statesman Pericles, recording that enemies of Pericles tried to attack him through Phidias – who was accused of stealing gold intended for the Parthenon's statue of Athena, and of impiously portraying himself and Pericles on the shield of the statue. The historical value of this account, as well as the legend about accusations against the 'Periclean circle', is debatable, but Aristophanes mentions an incident with Phidias around that time.[citation needed]
Phidias is often credited as the main instigator of the Classical Greek sculptural design. Today, most critics and historians consider him one of the greatest of all ancient Greek sculptors.[5][6]
Life and work
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Of Phidias' life, little is known apart from his works. Although no original works exist that can be attributed to him with certainty, numerous Roman copies of varying degrees of fidelity are known to exist.
The earliest of Phidias' works were dedications in memory of
In
In 447 BC, Pericles commissioned several sculptures for Athens from Phidias to celebrate the Greek victory against the Persians at the Battle of Marathon during the
According to Pausanias (1.28.2), the original bronze
For the ancient Greeks, two works of Phidias far outshone all others: the colossal
Phidias supposedly weighed the gold robe of the Athena Parthenos to prove his innocence, but was then accused of impiously portraying himself and Pericles on the shield of the statue, which was apparently true.[11]
Plutarch records that Phidias was imprisoned and died in jail.[12][a]
Aristophanes' play Peace (c. 421 BC) mentions an unfortunate incident involving Phidias, but little context is provided.[14]
According to
From the late 5th century BC, small copies of the statue of Zeus were found on coins from Elis, which give a general notion of the pose and the character of the head. The god was seated on a throne, every part of which was used for sculptural decoration. His body was of ivory, his robe of gold. His head was of a somewhat archaic type; the bust of Zeus found at Otricoli, which used to be regarded as a copy of the head of the Olympian statue, is certainly more than a century later in style.[citation needed]Archaeological discovery
A significant advancement in the knowledge of Phidias' working methodology came during 1954–58 with the excavation of the workshop at Olympia where he created the Statue of Zeus. Tools, terracotta molds and a cup inscribed on the bottom "Φειδίου εἰμί" (Pheidíou eimí) – "I belong to Phidias"; literally: "of Phidias I am", were found here, just where Pausanias said the statue was constructed.[17][18][19] The discovery has enabled archaeologists to re-create the techniques used to make the statue and confirm its date.[citation needed]
Legacy
By 1910, mathematician Mark Barr began using the Greek letter Phi (φ) as a symbol for the golden ratio after Phidias.[20][21] However, Barr later wrote that he thought it unlikely that Phidias actually used the golden ratio.[22]
- Phidias (crater)
- named after Phidias.
Gallery
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Head of Aphrodite. Phidian style
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Zeus in Olympia, representation on coin
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Reconstruction ofAthena Lemnia, Dresden
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Head of Athena, Roman copy
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Ivory head of Apollo, perhaps carved by Phidias, looted in 1995 by Pietro Casasanta and repatriated to Italy in 2003
See also
References
Footnotes
- ^ According to Plutarch, Phidias was made an object of attack by the political enemies of Pericles. His workman Menon is said to have been at least partially responsible for his downfall: Plutarch states that Menon sat in the marketplace begging for protection in exchange for bringing charges against Phidias. He was subsequently provided with safety by the state and exempted from public duties. Accordingly, Phidias was imprisoned and died in prison at Athens.[13]
Citations
- ^ Birte Lundgreen, "A Methodological Enquiry: The Great Bronze Athena by Phidias" The Journal of Hellenic Studies
- ^ Not the Charmides who participated in the tyranny at Athens.
- ^ Not to be confused with Hegias the neoplatonic philosopher.
- ^ "Ageladas | Greek sculptor". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2019-02-24.
- ^ "Phidias". Archived from the original on 2008-10-16. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
- ISBN 1337514942.
- OCLC 36645523.
- ^ The Delian team was an association of approximately 150 Greek city-states under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire.
- ^ Plutarch. Life of Pericles, p. 31.
- ISBN 978-1-136-74810-3.
- ^ Salomon, Marilyn J. (1974). Great Cities of the World 3: Next Stop... Athens. The Symphonette Press. p. 105.
- OCLC 36645523.
- ^ Plutarch, The Life of Pericles, 31.
- .
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- OCLC 36645523.
- ^ "Phidias", Oxford Dictionary of Art, e-Notes.com
- ^ K. Kris Hirst, "A Walking Tour of Olympia, Greece," about.com
- ^ "Olympia, Workshop of Pheidias," Perseus Building Catalog, about.com
- ISBN 9-781-61614-424-1.
- ^ Cook, Theodore Andrea (1914). The Curves of Life. London: Constable and Company Ltd. p. 420.
- ^ Barr, Mark (1929). "Parameters of beauty". Architecture (NY). Vol. 60. p. 325. Reprinted: "Parameters of beauty". Think. Vol. 10–11. International Business Machines Corporation. 1944.
Sources
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Pheidias". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- Andrew Stewart, One Hundred Greek Sculptors: Their Careers and Extant Works, Part III of Stewart's Greek Sculpture, (Yale University Press).
External links
- Media related to Phidias at Wikimedia Commons
- Phidias as a first name in the US