Callimachus (sculptor)

Callimachus , fl. 2d half of 5th cent. BC, Greek sculptor from Athens. He was famous as the maker of the gold lamp in the Erechtheum and a seated image of Hera for a temple at Plataea. There are several Roman copies of his works; one is Pan and the Three Graces (Capitoline Mus., Rome). He reputedly originated the Corinthian capital and invented the running drill used for simulating the folds of drapery in marble.

Callimachus. Greek sculptor of the late 5th century bc. His work is not known in the original or in any certain copies, but his fame in ancient writings has led to a number of works being associated with his name. He is said to have pioneered the use of the drill in sculpture and his style was graceful and fastidious—indeed overfastidious, as he was known as catatexitechnus (the one who spoils his art by overelaboration). According to Vitruvius, he invented the Corinthian capital after seeing some acanthus leaves growing around a basket on a girl's grave; as the earliest known Corinthian capital dates from about 425 bc, at the time Callimachus flourished, there may be some truth in the story.