Paeonius

Paeonius , Gr. Paionios, fl. 5th cent. BC, Greek sculptor from Mende in Thrace. An inscription on the triangular base of the statue of Nike (Victory) at Olympia states that Paeonius made it. This figure is a contemporary version of the bronze original whose base was found at Delphi. It is so much farther advanced in style and execution than the pediment sculptures for the temple of Zeus, Olympia, that modern authorities doubt the statement of Pausanias attributing those of the eastern end of the pediment to this sculptor. The Nike was dedicated by the Messenians and Naupactians, probably to commemorate the siege of Sphacteria in 424 BC

Paeonius. Greek sculptor from Mende in Thrace, active in the second half of the 5th century bc. The only surviving work certainly by him is a marble statue of winged Nike (Victory) (c.420 bc) found at Olympia in 1875 and now in the museum there. An inscription on the pedestal names him as the sculptor and also says he won a competition to make the acroteria of the temple of Zeus at Olympia. This perhaps misled Pausanias into saying that he made the sculpture of the east pediment of the temple, for this is appreciably earlier in date and clearly different in style (Pausanias also seems to have erred in his attribution of the west pediment; see Alcamenes). The Nike—a virtuoso piece of carving in its depiction of clinging, wet drapery and the first representation of a partially nude divinity in Classical Greek art—is a key work in the sculpture of its period, announcing a new flamboyant or ‘rich’ style, just as the Tyrannicides group (see Critius) marks the beginning of the Severe style.

Paeonius or Paionios of Ephesus (fl. 350–310 bc). Ancient Greek architect, he was partly responsible (with Demetrius and, possibly, Deinocrates) for the great Temple of Artemis, Ephesus (c.356–236 bc), and, with Daphnis of Miletus, built the Temple of Apollo at Didyma from c.313 bc. Both were huge buildings: the Temple of Artemis employed an elegant Ionic Order, and the temple of Apollo was the only Greek Ionic decastyle temple, but also had engaged Corinthian columns at the entrance to the steps leading to the oracular shrine.

Bibliography

Dinsmoor (1950);
Lampugnani (ed.) (1983)