Charioteer of Delphi
The Charioteer of Delphi is a statue of a man driving a chariot although only a few pieces of the chariot and the horses have survived the driver is still in very good shape except for his left arm which is missing. The statue is made out of Bronze and wears a long robe that covers most of the body. The charioteer’s feet are bare and crafted with a very high level of detail and look very lifelike. The statue’s right hand holds the remains of reigns that would have been attached to the horses while the statue would have been on top of the chariot. The statue is also made to be more life like overall as the body and head are tilted slightly toward the right. This feature gives the charioteer a more real appearance which, although not as impressive as some later classical statues, it was a big improvement to the earlier archaic statues which were frozen in their pose.
The Charioteer has an inscription on it that tells us that the statue was dedicated by a tyrant from Sicily named Polyzalus to Apollo for helping him win a chariot race. It was dedicated in the 470s BC, although there is some dispute as to which year exactly. The statue seems to be unique although many people gave dedications to the gods but only the wealthy could afford such an expensive gift.
This statue would have been quite an expensive offering to the gods since it was so large and made out of Bronze which was an expensive material. Dedications were important to the ancient Greeks as it was a way to thank or even bargain with the gods for something. It was like a contract in that the Greeks would ask the gods for things like good weather or victory in battle or whatever is was they wanted and then promised to give something in return if the gods granted their wish. Although most people didn’t give big expensive statues like the charioteer thousands of people still gave these gifts (called votives) that were smaller and less expensive, but nevertheless and important part of ancient Greeks relationships with their gods.
As a votive, the charioteer has religious importance, but it is also important as a symbol of competition and the ancient Greek games. The Olympics today are the descendents of the Greek games. The games were important to the Greeks as it was a time for enjoyment, but also competition between the Greek cities as they sought to beat each other in the games to gain a sense of superiority. The charioteer represents one such chariot race which was a fast and very dangerous sport. These games didnt have medals like today, but the winner would get to eat free in their own city for the rest of their lives and gain a lot of fame and prestige but it was first or nothing; no silver or bronze in the ancient Greek games.
One question would be how well is it really preserved as the picture of it online make it look really good, but closer inspection in person may show a lot more damage actually done to it. A closer inspection may also provide information such as small details in the metal work or the remains of paint that or other decoration that only remains in small traces but would be able to tell what it really looked like when it was made brand new.
Michael Vellenga
References:
http://ancient-greece.org/art/chiarioteer.html
http://ancientstandard.com/2007/09/28/the-charioteer-of-delphi-474-bc/
