Discophoros
As Diskophoros ( " discus carrier " ) is a type of statue is called, which has been preserved Roman time in several marble copies and returning the original to a bronze statue of Polykleitos, a sculptor of the 5th century BC.
The type has been copied in different variations, which added different attributes depending on the interpretation. Some copies used the body for Hermes representations, on a reduced version of Ephesus significant residues are to recognize a lance. A very reliable copy in the Museo Torlonia in Rome has left thigh on the rest of discos and gave the type of the used only with reservations Science Diskophoros name. Should the type originally represented an athlete who would later reinterpreted as Hermes, who was also god of the palaestra, explainable.
In contrast to the famous work of Polykleitos, the Doryphoros, the free leg does not recede to touch only with the ball of the ground, but the slightly Asked forward foot occurs with all my sole and is strongly rotated outward. Polykleitos work distinguishing invention - the standing of the statues " on a When " ( uno crure insistere ) - has not been done in Diskophoros, although already the subject knows a statue base of Polykleitos from Olympia, which is to be dated around 460 BC.
The Diskophoros is therefore regarded as an early work of Polykleitos, built around 460 BC or soon thereafter. Because of the striking foot position he is tentatively identified with the traditional by Pliny as the work of Polykleitos nudus talo incessens, the border with entire sole naked ( youth ). He stands with his slender proportions and his tight, little expansive stand still in the tradition of early classical representations youth, as they are known in sculpture and relief. However, the formation of the body on all approaches a ponderation and kontrapostischen design manner. Thus the hip lowers the free leg side, while the right shoulder gently slopes to the leg side. The dissolved by the body right arm with his probably something held forward forearm responds to the fitting and easy hanging down left arm. The backbone refers to the conditional from the ponderation attitude and taught in an S-shape curved groove between Glutäen and neck. And the twist and tilt the head to the leg side is one of the signs that anticipate Polykleitos in Doryphoros realized solution of counterpoint posts in weakened form.
The torso is trimmed with clear Leistenwulsten of the thighs, as the whole muscle rather a mature trained athletes seems to belong as a youth. It forms a clear contrast to the youthful Stretched awareness of proportions. Who is the statue is unknown. Since it does not exceed life-size, they may have been given as a trophy to in order. Since older statues winner of discus throwers or Pankratiasten usually show the moment before dropping as a motif, Polykleitos had in this respect trodden its own path, setting out from the athletes in general on the topic and put a monument to him.