The Tyrannicides(Harmodius and Aristogeiton)

BY BEN

What are they?

• Statue depicting Harmodius and Aristogeiton attempting to murder the tyrant Hippias at the Panathenaia festival in 514BC.

• They managed to kill his brother, Hipparchus however failed to assassinate Hippias himself.

• Harmodius was killed on the spot by spearmen while Aristogeiton was arrested later.

About (1st version)

• Two versions of which only copies of the second survive today.

• Bronze

• Sculpted by Antenor and completed in 510 BC, 4 years after the event happened.

• Stolen by the Persians when Athens was sacked in 480BC

• Alexander the Great is said to have returned it to Athens where it stood next to the second version however was never copied and so is now lost.

About (2nd version)

• Only copies survive today.

• Originally bronze

• Early Classical Period

• Roman marble copies

• Sculpted by Kritios and Nesiotes and completed by 477/6 BC

• Two individual statues

• The bronze original did not have tree stumps but these were added to support the weight

• 1.90 metres tall

Aristogeiton

• Two swords

• A chlamys, or cape, draped over his left shoulder

• Facing side-on

• Hair pattern etched

• Old and wise

Harmodius

• Clean shaven

• Holds 2 swords

• Hair in repetitive pattern

• Side-on pose

• Youthful

Where?

• The first version was originally placed in the Agora in Athens to the north-west of the Acropolis.

• The second version was placed in the same place as the first in 477/6 BC

• Found at Tivoli outside Rome

• The best Roman marble copy stands in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.

How is it typical and innovative?

Typical:

• Shown naked to convey that they are heroes

Innovative:

• Both have individual facial expressions, hairstyles and poses

• Can be viewed from the side, not just the front

• Non-geometric muscles

Scholars’ Opinions

• Woodford: “The Tyrannicides, by contrast [to the Kouroi] are differentiated. They are representations of specific ages and personalities”.

• She says that they are new and interesting in comparison to the majority of archaic greek sculpture

• The pose and individual appearances are different to what had come before as all Kouroi were very similar.

Past Exam Questions• How effectively did Greek sculptors represent acts of violence? Give the

reasons for your views and support them with reference to at least five examples.

• You might include discussion of:

• free-standing sculptures such as the Tyrannicides, Zeus / Poseidon from Artemision and/or Praxiteles’ Apollo Sauroktonos

• ‘When sculpting a free-standing statue of a human male nude in the 5th century BC, the main priority was to create as lifelike an image as possible.’

• To what extent do you disagree with this statement? Give the reasons for your views and support them with details from five examples.

• You might include discussion of:

• the Tyrannicides