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Leonidas is a sculpture of a hoplite made of Parian marble in 480–470 BC[1]: 263 and unearthed in 1925.[1] The excavation team named it "Leonidas", deducing that it depicts the Spartan king Leonidas I.[1]: 266 It was found southwest of peribolos of the Athena Chalkioikos on the Acropolis of Sparta.[1]: 240 The sculpture is housed in the Archaeological Museum of Sparta, which acquired it from the British School at Athens in 1926.[2] The sculpture features a Corinthian helmet with ram-shaped cheek pieces. While most of the plume is a restoration, fragments of a leg, foot, shield and helmet were also found nearby.[2]
Leonidas | |
---|---|
Artist | Unknown |
Year | 480–470 BC |
Medium | Parian marble |
Dimensions | 78 cm (31 in) |
Location | Archaeological Museum of Sparta |
The sculpture was part of a group, probably affixed to the sanctuary pediment. According to several scholars, it formed part of the memorial on the Spartan acropolis to honor Leonidas on his reburial.[3] Paul Cartledge, however, argued it would have represented a mythical hero or a god rather than the historical person of Leonidas.[4]: PT198 One estimation dates the sculpture before rather than after 480 BC, the year of the Battle of Thermopylae where Leonidas died.[4]
In 1955, a bronze statue of king Leonidas was erected as part of a monument in Thermopylae. Its sculptor Vasos Falireas modeled it after the 'Leonidas' torso[5] excavated in 1925.[1]: 253 Sponsored by a group of Greek Americans, the planned site was in the modern city of Sparta, but the project was met by objection there because the statue was naked.[6] The monument finally settled at Thermopylae.[6]
In 1969, another bronze statue of king Leonidas, again made by Vasos Falireas, was erected in downtown Sparta. It was designed in 1966,[7] the inscription dated 1968,[8] installed in 1969[7] and an unveiling ceremony was held in 1970.[7] This time it was clothed. Its design and pose differs from the monument in Thermopylae, but Paul Cartledge describes both statues as based on "the exact same model",[4]: PT341 the excavated 'Leonidas' torso.
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