Leonidas | |
---|---|
Artist | Unknown |
Year | 480–470 BC |
Medium | Parian marble |
Dimensions | 78 cm (31 in) |
Location | Archaeological Museum of Sparta |
Leonidas is a sculpture of a hoplite made of Parian marble in 480–470 BC and unearthed in 1926. The sculpture was dubbed "Leonidas" by a local Greek workman after its discovery, in reference to Spartan king Leonidas I. [1] It was found southwest of peribolos of the Athena Chalkioikos on the Acropolis of Sparta. [2] The sculpture is housed in the Archaeological Museum of Sparta, which acquired it from the British School at Athens in 1926. [3] The sculpture features a Corinthian helmet with ram-shaped cheek pieces. While most of the plume is a restoration, fragments of a leg, foot, shield and helmet were also found nearby. [3]
The sculpture was part of a group, probably affixed to the sanctuary pediment. According to several scholars, it formed part of the memorial on the Spartan acropolis to honor Leonidas on his reburial. [4] Paul Cartledge, however, argued it would have represented a mythical hero or a god rather than the historical person of Leonidas. [1] One estimation dates the sculpture before rather than after 480 BC, the year of the Battle of Thermopylae where Leonidas died. [1]
Leonidas | |
---|---|
Artist | Unknown |
Year | 480–470 BC |
Medium | Parian marble |
Dimensions | 78 cm (31 in) |
Location | Archaeological Museum of Sparta |
Leonidas is a sculpture of a hoplite made of Parian marble in 480–470 BC and unearthed in 1926. The sculpture was dubbed "Leonidas" by a local Greek workman after its discovery, in reference to Spartan king Leonidas I. [1] It was found southwest of peribolos of the Athena Chalkioikos on the Acropolis of Sparta. [2] The sculpture is housed in the Archaeological Museum of Sparta, which acquired it from the British School at Athens in 1926. [3] The sculpture features a Corinthian helmet with ram-shaped cheek pieces. While most of the plume is a restoration, fragments of a leg, foot, shield and helmet were also found nearby. [3]
The sculpture was part of a group, probably affixed to the sanctuary pediment. According to several scholars, it formed part of the memorial on the Spartan acropolis to honor Leonidas on his reburial. [4] Paul Cartledge, however, argued it would have represented a mythical hero or a god rather than the historical person of Leonidas. [1] One estimation dates the sculpture before rather than after 480 BC, the year of the Battle of Thermopylae where Leonidas died. [1]