Commentary Prepared by Dr. Julia Lenaghan, Ashmolean Museum

A 037
Head of Dying Warrior from the Proper Left Corner of the East Pediment of the Temple of Aphaia at Aigina. Munich

Marble (Parian)
Pedimental Figure
19 cm (with attached fragment of the chin)

From Aigina. A leaf of paper belonging to Cockerell, which notes that the head was found in front of the west side of the Temple, is not to be trusted. There are no findspots for the other fragments of the statue which were found in 1811. A fragment of a hand, however, was found in well on the east side of the Temple.
Germany, Munich, Glyptothek, 92
ca. 480-470 BC

Preservation:
The head is broken through the neck and chin. A fragment of the chin (not preserved in the Ashmolean Cast) has been re-joined to the head. The head is missing the left ear as well as the separately worked crest and its support. The locks of hair, which were separately worked in lead and then added by means of small holes, are no longer attached to the head. Two complete brow locks and one fragmentary, however, are preserved as well as small fragments in other holes. In 1811 in Rome, the two complete locks and yet another were still attached to the head. The region around the left temple, the left cheek, the left side of the chin, the left side of the helmet are intensively weathered. In 1811 there were still traces of blue paint on the helmet. These are now lost.

Description:
The head depicts a male who wears an Attic helmet and is closing his left eye. The flaring edge of the helmet crosses the front of the head as if it were a diadem. The edge goes around the ears which remain uncovered. Behind the ears at the back of the head was a neck guard joined to the domed part of the helmet by means of convex area. At the crown of the smooth helmet is a rectangular hole and in front of it above the brow is a small bronze pin. These, which served to attach the support for the crest of the helmet, are not on axis with the center of the face. They are located to the left of the center of the face. At the front of the head underneath the bottom edge of the helmet’s brim appears another rounded edge. This is the edge of the cap worn under the helmet. Below this is a series of regularly spaced holes that run parallel to the brim of the helmet and the edge of the cap under the helmet. Directly below this arched row of holes is a raised ledge and below that is a second, still parallel, row of holes. Underneath the second row of holes on the left side there is again a raised ledge. The holes on the right side of the head have a more diagonal direction than the holes at the center of the head. Some of the holes still have traces of lead in them and it is clear that all of them once held locks of hair rendered in lead. Around the missing left ear, there are two drill holes and in the vertical edge of the neck guard behind the right ear is another hole. These holes presumably were for the attachment of long locks of hair that would have appeared out from under the helmet and would have fallen on the chest of the figure, probably three locks on each side. At the back of the head on the under side of the not completely preserved neck guard there remain traces of two drill holes. These suggest that separately added long locks of hair made of lead also appeared out from under the helmet at the back of the neck. Framed by the two tiers of locks across the brow, the face has an ovoid shape which is, however, broader at the top than the bottom. The brow itself is smooth and concave. Now left uncovered by hair, it appears tall. The eyebrows and eyes are asymmetrical. The left eyebrow arches higher than the right. The left eye is narrower than the right. The left upper eyelid is significantly heavier than the right one and the left lower lid droops further down than its right hand counterpart. The bottom edge of the cheek, particularly on the better preserved right side, is marked by an indentation that runs diagonally downward from the side of the nostril. The nose is straight and has a flat ridge. Below the septum of the nose is a vertical furrow that touches the upper lip. The mouth is broad and has full lips. The groove dividing the lips is slightly angular; it has a “V” shape which gives the upper lip a central overhang. In addition, the upper line of the lower lip is notched at the center. Below the lower lip is a small chin which is narrower than the mouth.

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 head belongs to a statue of the East Pediment. The East Pediment, which depicted the first Trojan War, was stylistically more advanced 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. Furthermore, the bodies and heads of the figures are more naturalistically and freely rendered. Although this head was thought initially by Cockerell to belong to the West Pediment, its early classical appearance and its stylistic similarity to the head of Athena from the East Pediment (cat. A 33) rules this out. This head, which is heavily weathered on the left side and which features eyes that are about to close, has been justifiably assigned to the dying figure of the proper left corner of the pediment. Of the statue itself, there remains the entire right leg, the left lower leg, pieces of the arms, both hands, and several corkscrew locks of hair made in lead. The statue has been reconstructed as lying on its right side with its feet at the corner of the pediment and its right arm extended beyond the head and falling over the edge of the pediment. The bent left arm resting against the left side of the body still bore a shield. The right leg lay flat on the ground and the left leg was bent but with its foot on the ground. The head fell toward the right shoulder. Fortunately neither the head nor the preserved fragments of the body were touched in the Thorvaldsen restorations in the early 19th century. Also worth note is that this is the only figure of the East Pediment other than that depicting Athena which wears the “Attic” helmet. This helmet features a crest, crosses the front of the head in an even uninterrupted arch above the forehead, and has neither cheek nor nose guard.

Bibliography:
A. Furtwängler, Aigina. Die Heiligtum der Aphaia (Munich 1906) pp.253-254 nos.93-94 pl.97 figs.210-211 description
D. Ohly, Die Aegineten I. Die Ostgiebelgruppe (Munich 1976) pp.75-79, and 81 pls.36-38, 75, figs.67-68 extremely detailed description of all aspects of the statue