Commentary Prepared by Dr. Julia Lenaghan, Ashmolean Museum

A 050
Head of Seer (N) [Iamos?]; Olympia East Pediment

Marble (Parian)
Pedimental Figure
H 39 cm

From the east pediment of the Temple of Zeus. The head was found ca. 5 m to the east of the temple in 1875.
Greece, Olympia, Olympia Museum
ca. 460 BC; Early Classical

Preservation:
The head is broken through the neck, a small part of the right shoulder is preserved with it. The surface is worn and abraded in a larger section on top of the crown, but otherwise in good condition. Both upper lids are scored. The hand is broken at the wrist, except for the thumb all

Description:
The head was turned to the right. It shows a balding elderly man with a high, furrowed forehead. Both eyes are wide open, with sagging lower lids and indications of crow’s feet. Deep lines run from the nose to the corners of the mouth. The mouth is opened, the nostrils are flared. The hair reaches down to the nape of the neck in long, doubly incised strands, with the ends rolled up in snail curls highlighted by circular drill-holes. The curls of the short beard are similarly drilled, contrasting with the long moustache that reaches down past the corners of the mouth. The right hand was clenched and held up against the right cheek.

Discussion:
The head belongs to the statue of a reclining, elderly man (figure N) from the East pediment. It joins break to break with the equally preserved body ; there also exist further fragments of both arms and hands. The rich play of emotion expressed in the agitated face, the dramatic gesture of the right hand that is held back against the face in worry, and the careful characterization of the elderly body with its sagging flesh and the thick garment draped above the lower part, make this statue the most impressive to the modern viewer. Its original position must have been towards the right corner of the pediment, and he is usually identified as a seer, possibly Iamos, whose foreboding of the dark fate of king Oinomaos is dramatically visualized in the sculpture.

Bibliography:
G. Treu, Die Bildwerke in Stein und Thon (= Olympia III) (Berlin 1895) 64-65; 68; 105 figs. 100-103 pls. 15.1; 16.2-3 This is the thorough original publication providing details on findspot, preservation etc.
B. Ashmole and N. Yalouris, Olympia. The Sculptures of the Temple of Zeus (London 1967) 14-15; 173 pls. 31-40 A valuable and richly illustrated discussion including new fragments.