DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5253#0337
>Q4
THE AGE OF PHEIDIAS AND OF POLYCLEITOS.
joyous Graces, crowned the back of the throne. The footstool supporting the
feet rested on lions, and was enriched with representations of the combat be-
tween Theseus and the Amazons. The whole rested on a low pedestal, which
discoveries show to have been of stone, incrusted with metal plates. On these
appeared the seventeen figures, seen by Pausanias, representing the birth of
Aphrodite, goddess of love, as she arose from the sea, and was welcomed by
the gods of Olympos. The chariot of Helios, the sun-god, at one end of the
composition, was seen emerging from the ocean, while Selene's car of the night
was descending into the deep at the opposite end. These are noteworthy;
since the same ideas were repeated in Pheidias' representation of Athena's
birth, in the sunrise pediment of the Parthenon.
How sublime seems this conception of the supreme deity of Greece, when
compared with older ideals of the god ! Judging from archaic sculptures and
vase-paintings, the character of Zeus had been expressed by putting in his
hands the winged lightnings, which should strike terror into the hearts of
offenders. But Pheidias seems to have caught a diviner spirit in his sacred
Homeric poet; for, when asked what pattern he intended to follow, he quoted
that passage in which the Mighty One, complying with the pleading of a
mother for her son, is said to have given —
" The nod with his dark brows.
The ambrosial curls upon the sovereign one's immortal head
Were shaken, and with them the mighty Mount Olympos trembled." 572
Thus Pheidias' conception of his god united that mildness which listens to
a mother's prayer, with the power which makes
the mighty dwelling of the immortals quake.
It is related that Pheidias, upon the completion
of the statue, humbly prayed the unseen Zeus
to grant some sign of his favorable recogni-
tion, when suddenly a thunderbolt flashed from
the high heaven through the open roof, and
struck the temple-floor. Antiquity marked the
spot by an urn placed in the pavement ; and
a curious rent still exists, recalling the mem-
orable story.
Gladly would we search the galleries of
existing sculptures, or ponder over coins, to
find a clearer reflex of this great Zeus. One beautiful Elis coin, from Hadri-
an's time, is thought to give the most faithful hint of the benignant head
(Fig. 142).573 Here the hair rolls gently up from the forehead, and falls in easy,
quiet masses under a wreath. In the broad, serene brow, strong eyebrows, firm
but gentle mouth, power seems coupled with unspeakable mildness. Sculp-
f/gr. 142. Coin of Elis, with the Head of the
Olympic Zeus by Pheidias.
THE AGE OF PHEIDIAS AND OF POLYCLEITOS.
joyous Graces, crowned the back of the throne. The footstool supporting the
feet rested on lions, and was enriched with representations of the combat be-
tween Theseus and the Amazons. The whole rested on a low pedestal, which
discoveries show to have been of stone, incrusted with metal plates. On these
appeared the seventeen figures, seen by Pausanias, representing the birth of
Aphrodite, goddess of love, as she arose from the sea, and was welcomed by
the gods of Olympos. The chariot of Helios, the sun-god, at one end of the
composition, was seen emerging from the ocean, while Selene's car of the night
was descending into the deep at the opposite end. These are noteworthy;
since the same ideas were repeated in Pheidias' representation of Athena's
birth, in the sunrise pediment of the Parthenon.
How sublime seems this conception of the supreme deity of Greece, when
compared with older ideals of the god ! Judging from archaic sculptures and
vase-paintings, the character of Zeus had been expressed by putting in his
hands the winged lightnings, which should strike terror into the hearts of
offenders. But Pheidias seems to have caught a diviner spirit in his sacred
Homeric poet; for, when asked what pattern he intended to follow, he quoted
that passage in which the Mighty One, complying with the pleading of a
mother for her son, is said to have given —
" The nod with his dark brows.
The ambrosial curls upon the sovereign one's immortal head
Were shaken, and with them the mighty Mount Olympos trembled." 572
Thus Pheidias' conception of his god united that mildness which listens to
a mother's prayer, with the power which makes
the mighty dwelling of the immortals quake.
It is related that Pheidias, upon the completion
of the statue, humbly prayed the unseen Zeus
to grant some sign of his favorable recogni-
tion, when suddenly a thunderbolt flashed from
the high heaven through the open roof, and
struck the temple-floor. Antiquity marked the
spot by an urn placed in the pavement ; and
a curious rent still exists, recalling the mem-
orable story.
Gladly would we search the galleries of
existing sculptures, or ponder over coins, to
find a clearer reflex of this great Zeus. One beautiful Elis coin, from Hadri-
an's time, is thought to give the most faithful hint of the benignant head
(Fig. 142).573 Here the hair rolls gently up from the forehead, and falls in easy,
quiet masses under a wreath. In the broad, serene brow, strong eyebrows, firm
but gentle mouth, power seems coupled with unspeakable mildness. Sculp-
f/gr. 142. Coin of Elis, with the Head of the
Olympic Zeus by Pheidias.