Leonidas (sculpture)

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[1]: 263  and unearthed in 1925.[1] The excavation team named it "Leonidas", deducing that it depicts the Spartan king Leonidas I.[1]: 266  It was found southwest of peribolos of the Athena Chalkioikos on the Acropolis of Sparta.[1]: 240  The sculpture is housed in the Archaeological Museum of Sparta, which acquired it from the British School at Athens in 1926.[2] 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.[2]

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.[3] Paul Cartledge, however, argued it would have represented a mythical hero or a god rather than the historical person of Leonidas.[4]: PT198  One estimation dates the sculpture before rather than after 480 BC, the year of the Battle of Thermopylae where Leonidas died.[4]

Influence

Statue of Leonidas at Thermopylae

Statue of Leonidas at Thermopylae (placed in 1955)

In 1955, a bronze statue of king Leonidas was erected as part of a monument in Thermopylae. Its sculptor Vasos Falireas [el] modeled it after the 'Leonidas' torso[5] excavated in 1925.[1]: 253  Sponsored by a group of Greek Americans, the planned site was in the modern city of Sparta, but the project was met by objection there because the statue was naked.[6] The monument finally settled at Thermopylae.[6]

Statue of Leonidas at Sparta

Statue of Leonidas at Sparta (placed in 1969)

In 1969, another bronze statue of king Leonidas, again made by Vasos Falireas, was erected in downtown Sparta. It was designed in 1966,[7] the inscription dated 1968,[8] installed in 1969[7] and an unveiling ceremony was held in 1970.[7] This time it was clothed. Its design and pose differs from the monument in Thermopylae, but Paul Cartledge describes both statues as based on "the exact same model",[4]: PT341  the excavated 'Leonidas' torso.

References

1. Woodward, A. M.; Hobling, M. B. (1925). "Excavations at Sparta, 1924–25". The Annual of the British School at Athens. 26 (12). London: 240–276. doi:10.1017/S0068245400010650. eISSN 2045-2403. ISSN 0068-2454. JSTOR 30096553. OCLC 1537363. free (registration required)
   • p. 240 §4. The Acropolis (extract)
     • p. 240 1. The site
     • p. 253 2. The finds (extract)
       • p. 258 Style, Date and Subject
         • p. 263 "not before 480, and perhaps before rather than after 470 B.C."
         • p. 263 pp. 263–266: Identification of the subject
         • p. 266 "We named the statue 'Leonidas' almost as soon as it was discovered, and no reasons have come to light to make us change this attribution, which seems to rest on a solid basis, and indeed to be the only one possible." (snippet)
2. "Leonidas". University of Cambridge Museum of Classical Archaeology Databases. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
3. Nic Fields (2007). Thermopylae 480 BC. Osprey Publishing. p. 32. ISBN 978-184176-180-0.
4. Paul Cartledge (2011) [2006]. Thermopylae: The Battle That Changed the World (eBook ed.). Pan Macmillan. ISBN 9780330475624.
   • PT198
   • PT341
5. "The statue of Leonidas in Thermopyles". Lamia (city). Archived from the original on 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
6. Το γύψινο άγαλμα του Λεωνίδα και ο αρχαιοφύλακας των Θερμοπυλών [The plaster statue of Leonidas and the antiquities custodian of Thermopylae]. Lamia Report (in Greek). 2024-02-25. Archived from the original on 2024-02-25. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
7. Περγαντής, Ηλίας (2023-05-30). Τα αποκαλυπτήρια του αγάλματος του Λεωνίδα το 1970 στη Σπάρτη [The unveiling of the statue of Leonidas in 1970 in Sparta]. Λακωνικός Τύπος (in Greek). Archived from the original on 2024-07-05. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
8. "Sparta-14.jpg". Real Sparta (in Greek). Municipality of Sparta, Laconia. Archived from the original on 2024-07-05. Retrieved 2024-07-05. (from upper page Sparta)

External links

• British School at Athens website:
  • Return to Sparta: the 1924–1927 BSA Excavations at Sparta in the SPHS Collection
  • Photographs of the original artifacts before reconstruction:
    • torso: [1],[2],[3]
    • crest: [4],[5]