The statue of Pericles with the Corinthian Helmet is a lost, life-sized statue of the

Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

statesman and general

Pericles Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelopo ...

. Today, only some of the base survives. Four

Roman Imperial The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

-era marble busts modelled after the head of the statue are known.

Portrait

The Roman copies of the bust of

derive from a bronze statue made by the sculptor

Kresilas Kresilas ( gr, Κρησίλας ''Krēsílas''; c. 480 – c. 410 BC) was a Greek sculptor in the Classical period (5th century BC), from Kydonia. He was trained in Argos and then worked in Athens at the time of the Peloponnesian War, as a follow ...

. This life-size statue was probably installed on the

Athenian Acropolis The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. Th ...

at or shortly after the death of the politician.

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

says that the statue was directly beyond the

Propylaea In ancient Greek architecture, a propylaea, propylea or propylaia (; Greek: προπύλαια) is a monumental gateway. They are seen as a partition, specifically for separating the secular and religious pieces of a city. The prototypical Gree ...

, the gate to the Acropolis. Since this statue is not preserved and only limited information is known about it, its arrangement is unclear and its details can only be guessed at by analogies and assumptions. Pericles was not shown in a realistic fashion, but as an idealised image of the long-serving ''

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...

''. Whether he was depicted naked, clothed or in full armour is disputed.Kunze is certain that he was naked, Siebler holds that all possibilities are possible. Remains of the statue's base were preserved with a dedicatory inscription. A slot in the base indicates that the statue held a spear in its left hand. The slight turning of the head indicates that the statue employed classical

Contrapposto ''Contrapposto'' () is an Italian term that means "counterpoise". It is used in the visual arts to describe a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot, so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs in the a ...

. Pericles is depicted as an adult man with a

Corinthian helmet The Corinthian helmet originated in ancient Greece and took its name from the city-state of Corinth. It was a helmet made of bronze which in its later styles covered the entire head and neck, with slits for the eyes and mouth. A large curved pro ...

. The helmet symbolised his military role as ''strategos''. The Berlin copy is especially carefully executed. The helmet is cocked back, with short curly hair bursting out at the temples. The beard is tightly cropped with many small, well-ordered curls. Broad, even eyelids ring the eyes and eyebrows are carved above. His full lips are slightly open. Behind the eyeholes of his helmet, further hair can be seen (as in two of the three other copies). This hair, far above where his head would be expected to end, might hint at Pericles' unusually shaped head, which is occasionally referenced in Attic Comedy by the abusive nickname "Leek-head." (Also see Plutarch's 'Life of Perikles') This deformity was said to be the reason why Pericles was always depicted in a Corinthian helmet, since this would conceal the height of his head. The presence of the hair in the eyeholes should probably therefore be seen as the addition of a learned sculptor. Kresilas created a kind of symbol of the

Athenian democracy Athenian democracy developed around the 6th century BC in the Greek city-state (known as a polis) of Athens, comprising the city of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica. Although Athens is the most famous ancient Greek democratic city- ...

with this image of Pericles. However the sculpture also conformed to the broadly accepted citizen ideal of the times and employed the calm and collected facial expression which was the contemporary ideal. As a result, the realistic tendencies of Athenian art, which are found to some extent in the bust of

Themistocles Themistocles (; grc-gre, Θεμιστοκλῆς; c. 524–459 BC) was an Athenian politician and general. He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy. A ...

were abandoned. The expression is serious, showing no emotion. In this the depiction squares with self-controlled personality attributed to Pericles in the historical tradition. The identification of this idealised figure with Pericles is made because two of the copies are inscribed: one in the

Vatican Museum The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of ...

, the other in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

Copies

* Berlin, Antikensammlung Inventory Number: Sk 1530 (K 127), found on

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Anatolia, Asia Minor ...

, acquired on the art market in 1901, height 0.54m * London, British Museum (''Townley Pericles'') Inventory Number GR 1805.7-3.91 (Cat. Sculpture 549), found in the Villa of Hadrian, height 0.48m, Inscription ΠΕΡΙΚΛΗΣ (''Perikles'') * Rome, Museo Barracco, Inventory Number 96, acquired in 1884 from the collection of

Augusto Castellani Augusto is an Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish given name or surname. Notable people with the name include: * Augusto Aníbal *Augusto dos Anjos * Augusto Arbizo *Augusto Barbera (born 1938), Italian law professor, politician and judge *Augusto Be ...

, height 0.40m * Vatican, Vatican Museum, Museo Pio-Clementino Inventory number 269, found in the ''Villa of Brutus'' at Tivoli, height 1.83m, Inscription ΠΕΡΙΚΛΗΣ ΞΑΝΘΙΠΠΟΥ ΑΘHΝΑΙΟΣ ''Perikles, Son of Xanthippos, Athenian''

Bibliography

* Max Kunze, "Bildnis des Perikles mit korinthischem Helm." In ''Die Antikensammlung im Pergamonmuseum und in Charlottenburg''. von Zabern, Mainz 1992, , pp. 152f. * Ralf Krumeich, ''Bildnisse griechischer Herrscher und Staatsmänner im 5. Jahrhundert v. Chr.'' 1997, pp. 118ff. * ''Die griechische Klassik. Idee oder Wirklichkeit''. Exhibition catalogue Berlin, Bonn 2002. Mainz, Zabern 2002, , pp. 232–233. * Michael Siebler. ''Griechische Kunst.'' Taschen, Köln 2007, , pp. 76–77.

External links

Bust of Perikles in the database of the British Museum

References

{{coord, 52.5208, N, 13.3964, E, source:wikidata, display=title Busts (sculpture) Lost sculptures 5th-century BC Greek sculptures Roman copies of 5th-century BC Greek sculptures Art of ancient Attica Ancient Greek and Roman sculptures in the British Museum Sculptures of the Vatican Museums Archaeological discoveries in Greece Archaeological discoveries in Italy Cultural depictions of Pericles Statues of military officers Statues of heads of government category:Classical sculptures of the Berlin State Museums