Phidias biography summary template
Phidias
Phidias is universally regarded as the greatest of Greek sculptors, was born at Athens about B.C. Of his life we know little apart from his works, and of his works there are none remaining.
He is usually accredited with creating the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World, and the giant bronze statue of Athena outside the Parthenon. He is also closely associated with Pericles and his reconstruction of the Athens during the Golden Age. Of his death we have two discrepant accounts, but the more likely, given by Plutarch, is that he was made an object of attack by the political enemies of Pericles, and died in prison at Athens.
"In all these works," says Plutarch, "Phidias was the adviser and overseer of Pericles." Phidias introduced his own portrait and that of Pericles on the shield of his Parthenon statue. And it was through Phidias that the political enemies of Pericles struck at him. It thus abundantly appears that Phidias was closely connected with Pericles, and a ruling spirit in the Athenian art of the period.
But it is not easy to go beyond this general assertion into details.
It is important to observe that in resting the fame of Phidias upon the sculptures of the Parthenon we proceed with little evidence. No ancient writer ascribes them to him, and he seldom, if ever, executed works in marble.
Phidias biography summary template free The plans were intrusted to Ictinus, an Athenian, one of the best architects of the day; but the general control and superintendence of the work were given to Phidias. Phidias loved to build likenesses of the gods. This monument to the king of the gods was erected sometime around the year BC in the temple of Zeus, and it was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. He studied the principles and techniques of Greek sculpture next to Hegias and Hageladas and quickly rose to prominence as he became friends with Pericles , the man that dominated the politics of Athens and led the city through its Golden Age, also called the Golden Age of Pericles.What he was celebrated for in antiquity was his statues in bronze or gold and ivory. If Plutarch tells us that he superintended the great works of Pericles on the Acropolis, this phrase is very vague. On the other hand, inscriptions prove that the marble blocks intended for the pedimental statues of the Parthenon were not brought to Athens until B.C., which was probably after the death of Phidias.
And there is a marked contrast in style between these statues and the certain works of Phidias. It is therefore probable that most if not all of the sculptural decoration of the Parthenon was the work of pupils of Phidias, such as Alcamenes and Agoracritus, rather than his own.
The earliest of the great works of Phidias were dedications in memory of Marathon, from the spoils of the victory.
Phidias biography summary template pdf Marble Sculpture Pentelic, Carrara, Parian marbles. In this group, Miltiades was placed in the centre, between Athena, the tutelary goddess of Athens, and Apollo, the guardian of Delphi; while on each side were five Athenian heroes, Theseus and Codrus with others, arranged in a semicircle. Both these statues were of the sort called Chryselephantine, from the Greek chrousous, golden, and elephantinos, of ivory; that is, they were constructed of plates of gold and ivory, laid upon a core of wood or stone. It was a towering statue of Chryselephantine on a cedar throne adorned with ebony, ivory, gold, and precious jewels.At Delphi he erected a great group in bronze including the figures of Apollo and Athena, several Attic heroes, and Miltiades the general. On the Acropolis of Athens he set up a colossal bronze image of Athena, which was visible far out at sea. At Pellene in Achaea, and at Plataea he made two other statues of Athena, also a statue of Aphrodite in ivory and gold for the people of Elis.
But among the Greeks themselves the two works of Phidias which far outshone all others, and were the basis of his fame, were the colossal figures in gold and ivory of Zeus at Olympia and of Athena Parthenos at Athens, both of which belong to about the middle of the 5th century. Of the Zeus we have unfortunately lost all trace save small copies on coins of Elis, which give us but a general notion of the pose, and the character of the head.
Free summary template Marble Sculpture Pentelic, Carrara, Parian marbles. As you can see, Phidias had a lasting impact on Ancient Greek culture and history. But his interest must have been greatly increased by the fact that his brother Panoenos was actively engaged in the decoration of one of those buildings. To prove his power, Poseidon struck the rock with his trident, and a salt spring leaped forth, as if the sea itself had obeyed the call of its lord.The god was seated on a throne, every part of which was used as a ground for sculptural decoration. His body was of ivory, his robe of gold. His head was of somewhat archaic type: the Otricoli mask which used to be regarded as a copy of the head of the Olympian statue is certainly more than a century later in style. Of the Athena Parthenos two small copies in marble have been found at Athens which have no excellence of workmanship, but have a certain evidential value as to the treatment of their original.
Ancient critics take a very high view of the merits of Phidias. What they especially praise is the ethos or permanent moral level of his works as compared with those of the later "pathetic" school. Demetrius calls his statues sublime, and at the same time precise.
That he rode on the crest of a splendid wave of art is not to be questioned: but it is to be regretted that we have no morsel of work extant for which we can definitely hold him responsible.
&#;Adapted from the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Other Resources
| Statesman and His Friends in | Pictures from Greek Life and Story by Alfred J.
Church |
| Age of Pericles in | The Story of the Greeks by H. A. Guerber |
| Phidias in | Back Matter by books/horne/artists/ |
| City of Athens in | The Story of Greece by Mary Macgregor |
| Last Words of Pericles in | The Story of Greece by Mary Macgregor |
| With Chisel and Pencil in | Stories of the Ancient Greeks by Charles D.
Shaw |
| Age of Pericles in | The Story of the Greek People by Eva March Tappan |
| Pericles | Athenian statesman during Golden Age of Athens.
Made Athens cultural center of Greece. |