Phidias

views updated

Phidias

c. 490 b.c.e.–c. 417 b.c.e.

Sculptor

The Greatest Greek Sculptor.

Phidias was not only the most important sculptor produced by the artistic center of Athens but the most important artist of the fifth century b.c.e. He is responsible for two of the most impressive cult statues produced in Greece—the Athena Parthenos and the Zeus at Olympia—and, according to ancient sources, was in charge of the creation of the Parthenon, Greece's most recognizable structure. His skill as a sculptor in a number of mediums, including bronze and marble as well as the combination of gold, ivory, and wood used in his chryselephantine statues, made him an extremely versatile artist whose work inspired generations of artists after him. It was largely due to his reputation that Athens became the trendsetter for Greek sculpture. Although none of his works survived to modern times, his art was immortalized in the descriptions of ancient writers, engraved on coins of the day, and copied by lesser artists.

First Major Work.

The "Attic Style" which developed in Athens during the period of Phidias' dominance absorbed the other regional styles in Greece with the exception of the Peloponnesos where the city of Argos maintained its reputation in bronze casting and its independent artistic traditions. Phidias himself was a product of the workshops of Argos; according to tradition he had been trained by Hegias and Ageladas, who also trained Myron. His first large commission seems to have been at Delphi, where Athens commissioned a monument to honor its victory over the Persians at the battle of Marathon in 490 b.c.e. The monument dates to some 25 years after the battle, during the political heyday of Cimon, the son of Miltiades who was the architect of the victory at Marathon. Of the sixteen bronze statues on the monument, which included depictions of gods, heroes of Athenian tribes, and Miltiades himself, thirteen were by Phidias.

Early Athena Statues.

Besides his Athena Parthenos, Phidias produced several other cult statues of the goddess. He sculpted his Athena Areia to celebrate another Greek military victory, although ancient writers disagreed as to which one. The drapery of her clothes was gold-covered while her flesh was crafted in ivory, a composite technique that was a hallmark of his style. Sometime around 450 b.c.e. he sculpted the famous bronze statue of Athena Polias, later known as Athena Promachos (Athena who fights in the forefront of the battle), which is estimated to have been around seven and a half meters (25 feet) tall. It stood in the Acropolis of Athens where it could be seen by nearby ships. Both of these Athenas are depicted as warriors, and contrast with a more peaceful presentation of the goddess in his bronze of Athena known as the Athena Lemnia, produced about the same time. It was probably dedicated by a group of Athenians who were going to the island of Lemnos as military colonists to secure Athens' hold on the island. A Roman copy of the Athena Lemnia was found. Its head—now in Bologna, Italy—and the body—now in Dresden, Germany—fit together to give modern scholars an idea of what the original statue looked like.

Athena Parthenos.

While these statues earned Phidias praise, his reputation was built on his creation of the chryselephantine statues Athena Parthenos for the Parthenon, and Zeus for the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, neither of which survived. A chryselephantine statue (from the Greek khrysos meaning "gold" and elephantinos meaning "ivory") is a statue made of gold and ivory: the drapery is made of gold and the flesh of ivory, and the statue is supported on a wooden frame. In 448 b.c.e. Athens decided to build the Parthenon which still stands on the Acropolis of the modern city of Athens. Phidias, who had connections with Pericles, the leading Athenian statesman of the day, was put in charge of the sculpture on the building. Scholars disagree on Phidias' contribution to the project. It is clear from an examination of all the Parthenon marbles that a number of sculptors were at work, but Phidias may have been responsible for the overall design. There is no doubt, however, that the great chryselephantine statue of Athena Parthenos that stood inside the temple was by Phidias. She stood more than twelve meters (40 feet) high, and over a ton of gold went into making her clothes. Her robe, however, was made of pieces of gold that could be removed easily and melted down if financial stringency made it necessary. Athena Parthenos literally carried a large share of the Athenian treasury on her back.

Zeus at Olympia.

There is some question as to when Phidias worked on his famous Zeus at Olympia. Some scholars argued that it was actually completed before he started work on the Parthenon, sometime around 448 b.c.e. There is evidence, however, that Phidias was charged with impiety in Athens sometime around 432 b.c.e., possibly because he included a representation of both himself and Pericles on Athena's cult statue. The resulting trial may have forced Phidias' departure to Elis, where he kept a workshop and created the Zeus. The later date is further supported by the style of a piece of black-glaze pottery which reads "I belong to Phidias" on the bottom discovered in the remains of this workshop. At the time of Phidias' arrival to Elis, the temple of Zeus at Olympia had already been built but still lacked a statue. The seated statue Phidias created was even larger than the Athena Parthenos, so large, in fact, that one ancient observer noted that were Zeus to rise from his seated position, he would unroof the temple.

Uncertain Ends.

The fates of Phidias' monumental works are unknown, as is the death of their creator. His statue of Athena in the Parthenon was destroyed by fire in the second century c.e., but was restored by the emperor Hadrian. It was removed by imperial decree, probably to Constantinople, in the fifth century c.e. The Zeus of Olympia was also taken to Constantinople at which point it disappeared from history.