The ''Rampin Rider'' or ''Rampin Horseman'' (c. 550 BC) is an

equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a d ...

from the Archaic Period of

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

. The statue was masterfully made of marble and has traces of red and black paint. The head of the rider was found on the

Acropolis of Athens 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 ...

in 1877 and donated to the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

. Parts of the body of the rider and horse were found ten years earlier in a ''

Perserschutt The Perserschutt, a German term meaning "Persian debris" or "Persian rubble", refers to the bulk of architectural and votive sculptures that were damaged by the invading Persian army of Xerxes I on the Acropolis of Athens in 480 BC, in the Destruc ...

'' ditch filled with statues broken during the 480 BC

Persian sack of Athens The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of th ...

. The head was not associated with the rest of the statue until 1936. The statue is displayed with a plaster cast of the head at the

Acropolis Museum The Acropolis Museum ( el, Μουσείο Ακρόπολης, ''Mouseio Akropolis'') is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The museum was built to house every artifact found on ...

, while the head remains at the Louvre where it is displayed with a cast of the rest of the statue. The rider has many of the features typical of an Archaic

kouros kouros ( grc, κοῦρος, , plural kouroi) is the modern term given to free-standing Ancient Greek sculptures that depict nude male youths. They first appear in the Archaic period in Greece and are prominent in Attica and Boeotia, with a less ...

, but has several asymmetrical features that break with the period's conventions.

Interpretations

The statue was originally thought to be a part of a set of statues, perhaps paired with another as a mounted presentation of

Castor and Pollux Castor; grc, Κάστωρ, Kástōr, beaver. and Pollux. (or Polydeukes). are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri.; grc, Διόσκουροι, Dióskouroi, sons of Zeus, links=no, from ''Dîos'' ('Z ...

common on vases from this period. According to another theory, the statue represents the winner of a race. This theory is supported by the crown of

lovage Lovage (), ''Levisticum officinale'', is a tall perennial plant, the sole species in the genus ''Levisticum'' in the family Apiaceae, subfamily Apioideae. It has been long cultivated in Europe, the leaves being used as a herb, the roots as a veg ...

, given to winners of the

Nemean Games The Nemean Games ( grc-gre, Νέμεα or Νέμεια) were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, and were held at Nemea every two years (or every third). With the Isthmian Games, the Nemean Games were held both the year before ...

and the

Isthmian Games Isthmian Games or Isthmia (Ancient Greek: Ἴσθμια) were one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, and were named after the Isthmus of Corinth, where they were held. As with the Nemean Games, the Isthmian Games were held both the year ...

, on the statue.

Gallery

File:Casts of archaic Greek sculptures, Rampin rider, Cambridge Museum of Classical Archaeology, 157474.jpg, Rear view of a cast at the

Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge The Museum of Classical Archaeology is a museum in Cambridge, run by the Faculty of Classics of the University of Cambridge, England. Since 1983, it has been located in a purpose-built gallery on the first floor of the Faculty of Classics on th ...

File:Cavalier Rampin - Louvre 2014.JPG, Original of the head, in the

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

File:Louvre Head of Knight, 550 BC, Acropolis, Athens (9812034093).jpg, Reconstitution with plaster-cast body, Louvre Museum

References

Page at the Louvre (English): ''Head of a horseman, known as the "Rampin Horseman"''
{{Authority control Ancient Greek sculptures Equestrian statues in France Ancient Greek and Roman sculptures of the Louvre Acropolis Museum