DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5253#0588
552
THE HELLENISTIC AGE OE SCULPTURE.
beginning of the day, the close of a meal, the entrance upon household duties
by a young wife, as well as all gatherings of people for council or war, were
accompanied by prayer; and there is reason to believe that the young athlete,
before entering upon the games, also besought the assistance of the god. It
is most probable, then, that this statue by Boedas represented such a praying
athlete. It is, moreover, reported, that the Greek, when engaged in prayer,
stood with uncovered head. When calling upon the gods of the heavens, he
stretched his arms upwards ; when seeking the gods of the sea, he stretched
them forwards towards it; and when im-
ploring those of the under-world, he beat
upon the ground to attract their attention,
always accompanying his gestures with an
audible voice. His hands were always
open, clasped hands having been looked
upon as a hinderance to progress and good
fortune, and a token of trouble. A kneel-
ing position was avoided, as unbecoming
to a free being. It would be most gratify-
ing, could we identify with Boedas' pray-
ing figure that beautiful bronze boy of the
Berlin Museum, scarcely touched by the
modern restorer (Fig. 226). Its small
head, slender proportions, and peculiar
treatment of hair, like that of the Apox-
yomenos (p. 517), mark it with certainty
as belonging to the Lysippian school. As
we see this lad poise his weight lightly on
the left leg, stretch out his arms and open
hands heavenwards, while directing thither
his fervent gaze, and opening his lips in
prayer, how exalted the idea we gain of the
beauty inherent in such subjects of Lysip-
pian art! We see also mirrored here a
very old custom; for, in Homeric verse, the heroes "stretch their hands to
the gods," and "look up to heaven." 1097 The thinness of the bronze in this
figure is strong evidence that it dates from a skilful age, and doubtless from
about the time of Lysippos' sons. Although of life size, it is easily trans-
portable by one man ; unlike Roman bronzes of the same size, as, for instance,
a bronze boy found in the Rhine, which is also in the Berlin Museum, and re-
quires four men to lift it. Euthycrates, Lysippos' remaining son, enjoys
greater fame than his brothers, and is said to have deviated from the principles
followed by his father ; but Pliny's passage, concerning these changes, is so
Fig. 226. The Praying Boy of the Berlin Museum.
THE HELLENISTIC AGE OE SCULPTURE.
beginning of the day, the close of a meal, the entrance upon household duties
by a young wife, as well as all gatherings of people for council or war, were
accompanied by prayer; and there is reason to believe that the young athlete,
before entering upon the games, also besought the assistance of the god. It
is most probable, then, that this statue by Boedas represented such a praying
athlete. It is, moreover, reported, that the Greek, when engaged in prayer,
stood with uncovered head. When calling upon the gods of the heavens, he
stretched his arms upwards ; when seeking the gods of the sea, he stretched
them forwards towards it; and when im-
ploring those of the under-world, he beat
upon the ground to attract their attention,
always accompanying his gestures with an
audible voice. His hands were always
open, clasped hands having been looked
upon as a hinderance to progress and good
fortune, and a token of trouble. A kneel-
ing position was avoided, as unbecoming
to a free being. It would be most gratify-
ing, could we identify with Boedas' pray-
ing figure that beautiful bronze boy of the
Berlin Museum, scarcely touched by the
modern restorer (Fig. 226). Its small
head, slender proportions, and peculiar
treatment of hair, like that of the Apox-
yomenos (p. 517), mark it with certainty
as belonging to the Lysippian school. As
we see this lad poise his weight lightly on
the left leg, stretch out his arms and open
hands heavenwards, while directing thither
his fervent gaze, and opening his lips in
prayer, how exalted the idea we gain of the
beauty inherent in such subjects of Lysip-
pian art! We see also mirrored here a
very old custom; for, in Homeric verse, the heroes "stretch their hands to
the gods," and "look up to heaven." 1097 The thinness of the bronze in this
figure is strong evidence that it dates from a skilful age, and doubtless from
about the time of Lysippos' sons. Although of life size, it is easily trans-
portable by one man ; unlike Roman bronzes of the same size, as, for instance,
a bronze boy found in the Rhine, which is also in the Berlin Museum, and re-
quires four men to lift it. Euthycrates, Lysippos' remaining son, enjoys
greater fame than his brothers, and is said to have deviated from the principles
followed by his father ; but Pliny's passage, concerning these changes, is so
Fig. 226. The Praying Boy of the Berlin Museum.