Discobolus

The Discobolus of Myron, also known as the “discus thrower,” has become one of the symbols of Classical Greece. The discus thrower appears to be releasing the discus from his hand and the sculpture represents strength, energy, symmetry, balance, and athleticism. His pose has been described as being unnatural and as an inefficient way to be throwing a discus. The discus thrower’s face displays no emotion, which is common amongst other Classical Greek statues. Beginning in the Classical Greek period, the implementation of sculptures conveying motion began. The Discobolus displays potential energy in his pose and all of the muscles throughout his body are prominent. In the Greek language, “symmetria” is the balance and harmony of parts and proportions. The athlete’s pose conveys equilibrium, balance, and proportions that were constructed with precision. Compared to Ancient Greece, the sculptures and art of Classical Greece were more expressive and there was a stronger focus on the ratios and proportions of the body. Myron, the artist, was famous for his skill in capturing the essence of humans and animals in all of his sculptures. In class, we learned that sculptures were usually representations of what the Greeks thought idealized bodies should look like. In my opinion, the Discobolus successfully captures the ideas of athleticism and strength.

I tried my best to capture the details of the Discobolus sculpture by describing the features, including some Greek terminology, and including some significant traits of the time period. For example, I made a connection between the sculpture and the importance of idealistic bodies in Classical Greece. Even though I feel like I did a fairly decent job with the description, it was difficult forming more analysis. Also, I was not sure of how to go about connecting my analysis to the period concepts and the main concepts of suffering, obligation, and judgment.

Word Count: 306