As Andrew Stewart points out in his discussion of the sculptural decoration at the temple of Zeus, each class of beings represented has its own generic ethos which determines its forms, and the higher one goes up the hierarchy of beings, the more the figures develop specific individual characters (Stewart, p. 146). The beasts, both the Centaurs from the west pediment and the beasts from the metopes, are represented as mindless and even hubristic. The mortals are represented with naturalism and are rendered with great care. The women reflect their men's dispositions and situations; Hippodameia is calm while Sterope raises her hand in a gesture of concern. The heroes, Pelops, Theseus, Peirithoos, and Herakles, are shown with "effortless dignity" (Stewart, p. 145). The sculptures depict the heroes as alert, contemplative, and of strong character. The metopes show the development of the heroic ideal, as Herakles gains confidence and presence as the cycle unfolds (Stewart, p. 145). The gods in the sculptures are iconlike; they are carved on a larger scale and are shown "frontal, tall, erect, perfect in body, grave of feature" (Stewart, p. 144). They hardly participate in the action, but they indicate their will with a simple glance or gesture. Stewart sees this whole system of representation as a warning towards those who would disrupt the divinely constituted order portrayed in the sculptures (Stewart, p. 146). This could apply equally to the "barbarian" Persians and to the Athenians, who were expelled by the Spartans in 461 BC for spreading revolutionary ideas among their subject peoples. Such a complex interpretation might or might not have been readily apparent to the visitors at Olympia. There is, however, another common theme among the sculptural decorations at the temple of Zeus at Olympia, and this is the subject of an excellent article by Wendy Raschke entitled "Images of Victory: Some New Considerations of Athletic Monuments." Raschke sees Olympia as the "natural site for the communication of messages through the language of sculpture," (Raschke, p. 38). The sculptural program of the temple of Zeus, then, conveyed agonistic motifs of athleticism and victory and promoted the political ideals of ancient Greece. Victory monuments, hundreds of which were erected in the Altis at Olympia, were the focus of civic and political pride for the people of the athlete's home city-state. Raschke recognizes a direct imitation of these victory statues in the sculptures on the temple of Zeus, where "agonistic imagery and athletic forms proclaim the eternal nature of human competition," (Raschke, p. 42). Many of the poses and forms in the sculptures appear to be borrowed from other athletic representations in art, both athlete statues and vase painting. Several figures from the centauromachy on the west pediment are shown in poses similar to those from vase paintings of athletes. Some of the young Lapiths are shown in wrestling positions common in vase illustrations. Other Centaur-Lapith groups look as if they are participating in the pankration, the brutal contest often depicted on vases. In addition, the inclusion of Herakles in the program at Olympia is quite important. Not only was Herakles the hero of athletes, but his labors eventually brought him immortality. This was a valuable reminder for athletes who hoped to win "immortality" for themselves by competing at Olympia. Raschke also sees a parallel between some of Herakles' stances and athletic poses from other works of art. For example, in the Kerberos metope Herakles' stance resembles illustrations on vases of athletes preparing to throw the javelin (Raschke, p.44). The entire sculptural program expresses the triumphant attitude of the Greeks in the period following the Persian War. Raschke also suggests that with the concurrent democratization of the Games and the region of Elis, the incorporation of athletic figures into the sculptural decoration of the temple could be interpreted on a political level as a symbol of democratization (Raschke, p. 47). Clearly the interpretation of a sculptural program like that at the temple of Zeus can be a complex issue. Suffice it to say that everyone who visited Olympia probably had a different experience and interacted differently with the sculptures. As Raschke argues, "The sculptural artistry of Olympia has, then, something for everyone... because it speaks to national, local, political, and athletic interests," (Raschke, p. 48).
The Metopes | Analysis of the Sculptural Program This document was written by Rebecca Furer Check out the bibliography |
