Youthful fighter lunging forward.
Commentary Prepared by Dr. Julia Lenaghan, Ashmolean Museum
A 035
"Helper" of the Proper Left Side of the East Pediment of the Temple of Aphaia at Aigina. Munich
Marble (Parian)
Pedimental Figure
95 cm from ground to top of head, 120.5 cm from right hand to left heel
From Aigina. The body and head were found with in 1811 directly in front of the east side of the Temple of Aphaia. It was found with the attacking figure of the proper left (II "Priam"), the attacking figure’s staggering opponent (III), the archer of the proper left (V "Herakles"), and the dying warrior of the proper right (XI "Laomedon"). It was closest to the archer. The left foot of the statue was found in 1901 in the Propylon.
Germany, Munich, Glyptothek, 88 and 120
ca. 480-470 BC
Preservation:The statue is preserved in the following five (A-E) segments which are composed of a total of sixteen pieces:
A) The body and the head (with an additional marble chip on the right side of the head), a fragment of the right upper arm, two fragments of the genitals, right and left thighs, and the left lower leg (7 pieces)
B) Left foot, heel, and instep (1 piece)
C) Right lower leg with three fragments of the ankle and instep (4 pieces)
D) Fragment of the right foot (1 piece)
E) Right forearm with elbow and hand (3 pieces).
Segments A, C, and E are in Munich; segments B and D are in Aigina.
The statue was restored in Rome by Thorvaldsen with lowered arms and hands ready to catch the wounded figure. Break surfaces were worked back and the added parts were given imitation weathering. The added restorations included the nose, the penis, both arms (a groove on the right shoulder comes from the clamping together of the right arm), the left foot, missing parts of the right foot, and nicks in the thighs. A hole was drilled in the right thigh for a thick iron support that attached the figure to a modern rectangular plinth.
About a century later Furtwängler was able to associate the left foot and right forearm (Segments B and E) with the statue. He did, however, assign an additional piece to the right forearm which does not appear to belong. In addition, the Thorvaldsen restorations were removed.
On the statue currently are other restorations. These include a piece of the right upper arm, a small strip between the right knee and shin, as well as nicks on the thighs and feet. The break surface at the nose which was smoothed by Thorvaldsen has been covered and the hole in the right thigh for the iron support has been filled in.
The Ashmolean Cast preserves the Thorvaldsen restorations with a few minor changes. Both arms have been removed and the penis has broken off.
The statue is weathered on the left side of the body. The right side is well preserved except for the right shoulder which clearly suffered after the destruction of the pediment. On the smooth part of the back of the head wavy locks depicted in paint can be seen.
Description:The statue depicts a naked man who sprints forward. The left leg extends diagonally backward with only a slight bend at the knee. There is a marble boss under the instep of the left foot and only the toes touch the ground . The right thigh comes forward and the right lower leg trails slightly behind. The bottom of the right foot, like that of the left foot, does not touch the ground. The upper body leans forward and continues the diagonal slant of the left leg. The head also cranes forward. The left arm is lowered. The right upper arm is also lowered but rests in a position above the left upper arm. The right forearm projects up from the elbow. In the right hand is a fragment of a rounded cheek piece of a Chalcidian helmet. The front of the helmet faced the face of the statue.
The body is rendered naturalistically. The muscles and the skeletal system are, however, simply and almost stiffly defined. For instance, the lateral muscles and shoulder blades on the left side seem large flat surfaces, the abdominal muscles and the central line of the rib cage and chest form a rigid graph-like pattern, and the upper body bends along a deep horizontal line at the navel. The pubic hair is represented in a diamond shape with a central peak that points towards the navel. There are no holes or places of attachment on the body for a sword band. Moreover, the figure does not wear greaves nor a shield.
The head, which leans forward, does not wear a helmet. The face has a broad oval shape and is markedly asymmetrical. The right eye is larger than the left and the right side of the face is distinctly fuller than the left side. The left side is on a plane that is stepped back from the right side. The forehead appears to be low since the bangs almost reach the eyebrows. The eyebrows follow a regular high arch. The upper lids of the eyes are heavy and project around the eye. The lower lid also has a projecting rim. The irregularity of the face gives the mouth an odd shape since the left corner tucks more pronouncedly into the cheeks. The lips are full. The groove dividing them is angular; it has a “V” shape. In addition, the upper line of the lower lip is notched at the center. The chin is broad and projects.
The head features four distinct areas of hair. Over the brow there are three tiers of snail curls, over the front portion of the skull are wavy locks, from ear to ear at the back of the head are braids, and above the braids over the back portion of the skull is a flat smooth surface which was once painted. The hair was intended to be shown as short over the brow and long at the back of the head. Thus, beginning at the crown of the head, the hair fell naturally to all sides. The front portion of this hair is rendered in three dimensions. These locks, which are combed forward to the brow, are defined by engraved lines that are evenly spaced and follow symmetrical wavy paths. Over the brow these wavy locks end in snail curls. The snail curls, which arch from ear to ear, fall in three rows.
The back and lateral locks of hair that fell from the crown were not rendered in three dimensions; they were only painted. These locks, not cut, were long and gathered into two braids which begin near the center of the back of the head. Each braid is then pulled to its respective side of the head; it passes over the ears, and then disappears under the bangs. The ends of both braids are likely to have been tied together at the front of the head under the bangs. Below the braids at the back of the head on the nape of the neck is a row of snail curls which must represent hair along the hair line that was too short to be pulled into the braids.
Near the crown of the head is tiny lightly engraved measuring point which used as a reference point by the sculptor. On the right side of the head above the snail curls and in the wavy locks are three drill holes that were used for an attachment. In one of these there is still a bronze nail. The object most likely to have been attached at this point was the front of the crest of the helmet which the figure held in his right hand. The back of the crest would also have had to have been attached. Yet it was likely to have been fastened to the shield of the staggering man in front of this figure.
Discussion:For a full discussion of the history, both ancient and modern, of the sculpture from the four pediments of the Temple of Aphaia at Aigina, see the entry concerning the central figure of Athena from the West Pediment (cat. A 29). This statue belongs to the East Pediment which is stylistically later than the West Pediment in both its total construction and its individual figures. It features fewer figures (eleven rather than thirteen) and the action converges towards the center instead of moving outward in small groups. The bodies and heads of the figures are more naturalistically and freely rendered.
This particular statue, depicting an unarmed man darting forward, was located to the left of the central figure of Athena, after the attacking warrior and his staggering opponent. The bottom blocks of the pediment and the figure’s stance seem to assure this placement. The bent posture of the figure is dictated by the slant of the roof of the pediment and the weathering of the figure makes it clear that the left side of the statue faced outwards to the viewer.
This figure, who rushes forward to the aid of the falling warrior, completes the narrative which began with attacking warrior; together the attacking warrior, the falling warrior, and this helper figure form an independent compositional unit. Ohly points out that a similar threesome appears on a krater in Boston; there Achilles lunges at Memnon who falls backward into the arms of his mother Eos. Ohly, in addition, notes that the figure is not dressed as a proper hoplite since he is totally unarmed and that the figure is not ready to catch his falling companion. He is instead rushing to bring a helmet to his companion. The helmet may either be his own or that of the warrior which may have fallen off. The second possibility seems more likely since the figure wears no other armor and since the scene recalls a passage in the Iliad in which a warrior loses his helmet (Il.13.576-580). Ohly calls the figure an Epamyntor or Amyntor, the word for assistant which appears in battle scenes in the Iliad (Il.13.3823, 14.449, 15.540). He suggests that in the left hand the figure was bringing a replacement spear for his companion in difficulty.
The statue’s left knee is located just behind the left knee of Herakles; the two figures, in fact, overlap. Ohly, therefore, believes that this helper figure was certainly a Greek and suggests that it may even have been intended to represent Herakles’ companion Iolaos who is mentioned by Pindar in the context of the first Trojan war.
The statue was among those originally restored by Thorvaldsen. Thorvaldsen’s restoration showed the statue with both hands free ready to pick up its companion. The discovery of the hand with a fragment of a helmet in it thoroughly disproved this restoration.
Stylistically Ohly believes that this statue differs from the attacking and staggering warrior which complete the group. He believes that the body of the statue shows less variation, more simplicity, and less real life than those of the other two figures. He, therefore, assigns it to a different hand which he calls that of the “Herakles Master”. The “Herakles Master”, in his opinion, is also responsible for figure of the archer or “Herakles” from the proper left side of the pediment (cat. A 36). Ohly also notes that the face of the “Helper” figure on the other side of the pediment (cat. A 32) is similar to the face of this “Helper” figure.
Bibliography:A. Furtwängler,
Aigina. Die Heiligtum der Aphaia (Munich 1906) pp.248-249 I nos.82-85 pls.96 and 99
description which includes a piece of the right arm, no.84, that is no longer thought to belong to the statueD. Ohly,
Die Aegineten I. Die Ostgiebelgruppe (Munich 1976) pp.51-59 and 64 pls.25-29, 35a-c,73, 75, figs.45-51
extremely detailed technical description of all aspects of the statue
