The Significance of The Discobolus

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The Discobolus is one of the most recognisable and influential artistic pieces to emerge from Ancient Greece. The Discobolus was a bronze sculptured depicting an athlete throwing a discus and was created by prolific Greek artist Myron of Eleutherae (Harris & Zucker 2012). Although a precise date of creation is unknown, it is widely theorised that the sculpture was created between 450 and 460 BCE (Harris & Zucker 2012). Myron’s original Discobolus no longer exists, with evidence indicating that it was destroyed by Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius in 2nd Century C.E (Harris & Zucker 2012). However, it should be acknowledged that primary Greek evidence detailing the origins, creation and destruction of the Discobolus is scarce and subjective, and therefore even these basic facts may not be entirely accurate (Slowikowski, n.d). As Sylvia Slowikowski demonstrates, “even in art history, there is no one concise historiography of the discobolus; of how it came to be or where it is today” (Slowikowski, n.d. pp.10). Despite its destruction, Discobolus’ legacy was preserved predominantly due to an abundance of detailed Roman primary descriptions of the sculpture. These sources later made it possible for historians and art aficionados to identify and preserve the surviving Roman marble copies of the Discobolus (O’Mahony 2013). Consequently, Roman copies of the Discobolus are displayed globally today, including the Palombara Discobolus, which was acquired by Hitler in 1938, and the Townley version that is displayed in the British Museum (Anguissola 2005).
At the time of its creation, the Discobolus was considered artistically progressive and is therefore reflective of the changing attitudes and beliefs of Greek society at the time. The Discobolu...

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Hirst, J 2012, The Shortest History of Europe, Black Inc., Collingwood, Victoria, pp. 27-28.
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O'Mahony, M 2013, ‘In the Shadow of Myron: The Impact of the Discobolus on Representations of Olympic Sport from Victorian Britain to Contemporary China’, The International Journal of the History of Sport, vol.30, no.7, pp. 1-17.
Sylvia, S n.d, ‘A History of the Discobolus: Fragments of Representation From Myron To The 1990s’ Ph.D thesis, University of Illinois, Urbana, viewed March 31 2014, .

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