Heraklion Archaeological Museum - CollectiveAccess System : Sculptures : Marble statue of philosopher [Γ1]

Marble statue of philosopher

Γ1

Stone (White marble)

Almost intact. The ends of the fingers of the right hand are broken. The hand is attached to the forearm with its support. Scattered minor chipping to the drapery and surface wear and weathering in places.

Height: 199 cm. Width: 75 cm.Thickness: 44 cm. Height of pedestal: 8 cm.

Gortyn

Area of the Agora

Roman period:

175-200 AD:

Gallery:

XXVII

Case:

Not in case

Exhibition thematic unit:

Sculpture. Hellenistic period (3rd-2nd c. BC) Roman period (1st c. BC-3rd c. AD)

Statues of mortals

Description

Statue of a standing, frontal mature man. His left leg is fixed while his right is moving slightly back and to the side. His left hand is leaning on a vertical club-shaped staff and his right is extended in a gesture of speech. He is wearing a himation (cloak) which falls from his right shoulder, leaving the chest bare, wraps around his body and is folded back at the height of the abdomen, hanging in thick folds on the original side. The feet are shod in plain sandals. At bottom left, the statue is supported by a bundle of scrolls, indicating that this is a scholar. The head is extremely expressive: the wide face, strong features, deep wrinkles and thoughtful gaze, together with the long hair falling on the back and the rich, triangular beard, provide a clear picture of a distinctive personality, probably a philosopher. Various identifications have been proposed, Cretan or otherwise (an unknown Cretan Asclepiad, Heraclitus, Plato, Epimenides or Apollonius of Tyana), but the absence of an inscription means that they remain putative. The surface of the skin is smoothed, while the garments are rougher, with visible tool-marks. It is worth noting that this statue is the first in the Heraklion Museum catalogue, being the first statue purchased – together with some sculpted heads – from an inhabitant of the village of Agii Deka (Gortyn) by the Educational Society of Heraklion. This statue inaugurated the important Sculpture Collection of what was to become the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.

Bibliography:

Mariani, L. "Cretan Expedition VII. Statue of an Asclepiad from Gortyna". American Journal of Archaeology 1 (1897): 279-285. Lippold, G. "Das Βildnis des Ηeraklit". Athenische Mitteilungen 36 (1911): 153-6, Taf. 4, Abb. 1. Delbrück, R. Antike Porträts. Bonn, 1912, 31, Abb. 6, Taf. 14. Wilcken, U. “Die griechischen Denkmäler vom Dromos des Serapeums von Memphis”. Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 32 (1917): 167. Reinach, S. Répertoire de la statuaire Grecque et Romaine, vol. V,1. Paris, 1924, 16, Nr. 6. Amelung, W. "Der Meister des Apollo auf dem Οmphalos und seine Schule". Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 41 (1926): 256. Pfuhl, E. Die Anfänge der griechischen Bildkunst. München, 1927, 10, Taf. VI,4. Curtius, L. "Miszellen zur Geschichte des griechischen Porträts". Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts. Römische Abteilung 59 (1944): 70ff., Abb. 21-22. Picard, C. Manuel d' archéologie grecque, La sculpture, III. Période classique-IVe siècle, I. Paris, 1948, 139ff. Dontas, G. "Kopf eines Neuplatonikers". Athenische Mitteilungen 69/70 (1954/55): 147ff., Anm. 3, Beil. 54,2. Lauer, J.-Ph. and Ch. Picard. Les statues ptolémaiques du Sarapieion de Memphis. Paris, 1955, 141ff., fig. 81-82. Sena Chiesa, G. Enciclopedia dell’arte antica 3 (1960), 394, fig. 482. von Heintze, H. "Vir sanctus et gravis. Bildniskopf eines spätantiken Philosophen". Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum 6 (1963), 51 Anm. 121. Platon, N. A Guide to the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion. Athens, 1964, 155, pl. 16, 1. Richter, G. The Portraits of the Greeks, London, 1965, I, 80ff., fig. 306-7, 310. Alexiou, S. Οδηγός Αρχαιολογικού Μουσείου Ηρακλείου. Athens, 1968, 133. Frel, J. Contributions à l'iconographie grecque. Praha, 1969, 18.22. Diehls, H. Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, I. Berlin, 1974, 144. Datsouli-Stavridi Α. "Τα ρωμαϊκά πορτραίτα του Μουσείου Ηρακλείου". Πεπραγμένα του Δ΄ Διεθνούς Κρητολογικού Συνεδρίου, Α2, Agios Nikolaos 1981, 594ff., pl. 199. Hölscher, T. "Ein Weiser in Heidelberg". Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, gesellschafts-und sprachwiss, Reihe 31 (1982) 2/3: 214. Richter, G. and R. Smith. The Portraits of the Greeks. New York, 1984, 127ff. Abb. 90. Scatozza Höricht, L. Il volto dei filosofi antichi. Napoli, 1986, 69. Fittschen, K. Griechische Porträts. Darmstadt, 1988, Taf. 51,1-2. von den Hoff, R. Philosophenporträts des Früh-und Hochhellenismus. München, 1994, 46 Anm. 29. Schefold, K. Die Bildnisse der Antiken Dichter, Redner und Denker. Basel, 1997, 360ff. Abb. 231. Zanker, P. Die Maske des Sokrates. Das Bild des Intellektuellen in der antiken Kunst. München, 1995, 250ff. Abb. 143. Romeo, I. and E.C. Portale. Gortina III. Le sculture. Padua, 1998, 400ff., no. 22,Tav. 55. Danguillier, C. Typologische Untersuchungen zur Dichter und Denkerikonographie in römischen Darstellungen von der mittleren Kaiserzeit bis in die Spätantike. BAR International Series 977. Oxford, 2001, 161-164, 238 no. 57. Lagogianni-Georgakarakos, M. Die römischen Porträts Kretas. Bezirk Heraklion. CSIR Griechenland 6, 1, Athen, 2002, 63-64, Nr. 24, Taf. 25-27. Fittschen, K., P. Zanker and P. Cain. Katalog der römischen Porträts in der Capitolinischen Museen und den anderen kommunalen Sammlungen der Stadt Rom II. BeitrESkAr 4, Berlin, 2010, 120, n. 13 no. 120 (Fittschen). Chioti, E. Αυτοκρατορικά και ιδιωτικά πορτρέτα της εποχής των Αντωνίνων στην Ελλάδα. Thessaloniki, 2012, 273-4, no. 59, pl. 47γ, 50.

Author:

K. S.

Photographs' metadata