Editing Myron

{{Short description|Athenian sculptor, 5th century BC}}
{{about|the sculptor|other uses|Myron (disambiguation)|and|Myron (given name)}}

[[File:Discobolus side 2.jpg|thumb|Roman marble copy of Myron's most famous work, the ''[[ Discobolus]]''.  [[Towneley Marbles]], [[British Museum]]]]
'''Myron of Eleutherae''' (480–440 BC) ({{IPAc-en|'|m|ai|r|@|n}}; {{langx|grc|Μύρων}}, ''Myrōn'' {{IPA|el|mý.rɔːn|}}) was an Athenian [[sculpture|sculptor]] from the mid-5th century BC.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]]' references (e.g. [http://artflsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/perseus/citequery3.pl?dbname=GreekApr19&getid=1&query=Paus.%206.8.4 6.8.4], etc.) seem to suggest that he habitually signed his works "Myron the Athenian": Eleutherae became an Athenian ''[[Deme|demos]]'' in 460 BC.</ref> Alongside three other Greek sculptors, [[Polykleitos]] [[Pheidias]], and [[Praxiteles]], Myron is considered as one of the most important sculptors of [[classical antiquity]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |entry=Polyclitus |first=Naomi |last=Blumberg  |entry-url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Polyclitus |access-date=25 June 2023}}</ref> He was born in [[Eleutherae]] on the borders of [[Boeotia]] and [[Attica, Greece|Attica]].  According to ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'', a Latin encyclopedia by [[Pliny the Elder]] (AD 23 – 79), a scholar in Ancient Rome, [[Ageladas]] of Argos was his teacher.<ref>Pliny, ''Natural History'' [http://attalus.org/translate/pliny_hn34a.html#57 34.57], suggests that Myron was also in some sense self-taught: "''Hageladae et ipsum discipulum.''" The account of Myron directly follows Pliny's account of [[Polykleitos|Polyclitus of Sicyon]], also a pupil of Ageladas.</ref>

None of his original sculptures are known to survive, but there are many later copies of his works, such as his ''[[Discobolus]]'', mostly Roman.

==Reputation==
Myron worked almost exclusively in [[bronze]]<ref>Pausanias thought a ''[[xoanon]]'' was by Myron (Pausanias 2.30.2)</ref> and his fame rested principally upon his representations of [[Sportsperson|athlete]]s (including his iconic ''[[Diskobolos]]''), in which he made a revolution, according to commentators in Antiquity, by introducing greater boldness of pose and a more perfect rhythm, subordinating the parts to the whole. Pliny's remark that Myron's works were ''numerosior'' than those of [[Polykleitos|Polycleitus]] and "more diligent"<ref>''"numerosior in arte quam Polyclitus et in symmetria diligentior"''</ref> seem to suggest that they were considered more harmonious in proportions (''numeri'') and at the same time more convincing in realism: ''diligentia'' connoted "attentive care to fine points", a quality that, in moderation, was characteristic of the best works of art, according to critics in Antiquity.<ref>Ellen E. Perry, "Notes on Diligentia as a term of Roman art criticism" ''Classical Philology'' '''95'''.4 (October 2000), pp. 445–458.</ref>

==Works==
According to Pliny's ''Natural History,''  Myron's most famous works included "heifer, a dog (''canem'', [[Cerberus]]?), a Perseus, a satyr ([[Marsyas]]) admiring the flute and Minerva (Athena), a Hercules, which was taken to the shrine dedicated by Pompey the Great at the [[Circus Maximus]], ''[[Discobolus]]'' (the  [[discus throw]]er), and an Apollo for [[Ephesus]], "which Antony the triumvir took from the Ephesians, but the deified Augustus restored it again after being warned in a dream".<ref>"''fecit et canem et discobolon et Perseum et pristas et Satyrum admirantem tibias et Minervam, Delphicos pentathlos, pancratiasta, Herculem, qui est apud circum maximum in aede Pompei Magni. fecisse et cicadae monumentum ac locustae carminibus suis Erinna significat. fecit et Apollinem, quem ab triumviro Antonio sublatum restituit Ephesiis divus Augustus admonitus in quiete"''</ref> The Early Imperial Roman writers consistently rated Myron among the greatest of Greek sculptors, a sign that his contemporaneous reputation had remained high. The heifer seems to have earned its fame mainly by serving as a peg on which to hang [[epigram]]s,<ref>There are thirty-six epigrams on Myron's heifer in the [[Greek Anthology]], most of them remarking on its realism.</ref> which tell nothing about the pose of the animal.

[[Chionis of Sparta|Chionis]], a 7th-century BC [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic]] victor from Sparta, was commemorated in an idealized bronze by Myron.<ref>Pausanias iii.14.3.</ref>

==Attributions==
An epigram<ref>In the [[Greek Anthology]].</ref> on Ladas, the fleetest runner of his time, notes that he was commemorated in a sculpture by Myron; of Myron's ''Ladas'' there is no known copy. A description by [[Lucian]]<ref>Lucian of Samosata, ''[[Philopseudes]]'' 18.</ref> conclusively identifies as Myron's the ''[[Discobolus]]'' or "Discus-Thrower", of which several copies exist, of which the best is in the [[Palazzo Massimi alle Terme]], Rome. [[Strabo]] also registers stray comments on Myron, especially a large group at [[Samos]]; several surviving heads were identified as copies of Myron's ''Samian Athena'' by C.K. Jenkins in 1926.<ref>C.K. Jenkins, "The Reinstatement of Myron" ''The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs'' '''49''' No. 283 (October 1926), pp. 182–192.</ref>

A marble figure in the [[Lateran Museum]], which is now restored as a dancing [[satyr]], is almost certainly a copy of a work of Myron, a [[Marsyas]] desirous of picking up the [[aulos]] which [[Athena]] had thrown away.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], 1.24.1; H. Anne Weis, "The 'Marsyas' of Myron: Old Problems and New Evidence" ''American Journal of Archaeology'' '''83'''.2 (April 1979), pp. 214–219, distinguishes two versions.</ref> The full group is copied on coins of Athens, on a vase and in a relief which represent Marsyas as oscillating between curiosity and the fear of the displeasure of Athena. The ancient critics say of Myron that while he succeeded admirably in giving life and motion to his figures, he did not succeed in rendering the emotions of the mind. This agrees with the extant evidence, in a certain degree, though not perfectly. The bodies of his men are of far greater excellence than the heads. The face of the Marsyas is almost a mask; but from the attitude we gain a vivid impression of the passions which sway him. The face of the discus-thrower is calm and unruffled; but all the muscles of his body are concentrated in an effort.

A considerable number of other extant works were ascribed to the school or the influence of Myron by [[Adolf Furtwängler]].<ref>A. Furtwängler, ''Masterpieces of Greek Sculpture'', (London) 1907, 168&mdash;2 19</ref> These attributions have not stood up to the test of time. A [[papyrus]] from [[Oxyrhyncus]] gives dates of [[Ancient Olympic Games|victors at Olympia]] of whom Myron made statues of the athlete [[Timanthes of Cleonae|Timanthes]], victorious at Olympia in 456 BC, and of Lycinus, victorious in 448 BC and 444 BC. This helps us to fix his date. He was a contemporary, but a somewhat older contemporary, of [[Pheidias]] and [[Polykleitos]].<ref>Bernard Pyne Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt, ''The Oxyrhynchus Papyri'' 1899, p 86f.</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="190px" heights="200px">
File:Statue of the Minotaur (Roman copy after an original by Myron) at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens on 3 April 2018.jpg|Minotaur, from a fountain in Athens, a Roman copy of Myron's lost group of Theseus and the Minotaur, [[National Archaeological Museum of Athens]] 
File:Mirone, athena e marsia, copia romana di originale greco del 450 ac. circa.JPG|''Athena'' and ''Marsyas'', Roman copies, [[Vatican Museums]]
File:Cow, M.C. inv. 921, Roman, from the Horti Tauriani near the church of S. Eusebio, copy after the bronze by Myron, 460-440 BC, marble - Musei Capitolini - Rome, Italy - DSC05846.jpg|Roman copy of Myron's heifer, [[Capitoline Museums]]
File:Head boxer Musei Capitolini MC188 n2.jpg|Head of a boxer, [[Capitoline Museums]]

</gallery>

==References and sources==
;References
{{reflist|2}}
;Sources
{{commons category|Myron}}
{{1911|wstitle=Myron|volume=19|page=114}}

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[[Category:5th-century BC Greek sculptors]]
[[Category:Ancient Athenian sculptors]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek athletic art]]
[[Category:Sports sculptors]]