The sculptural complex "Theseus saving Hippodamia" is located in

Viktoria Square Viktoria Square (originally Kyriakou Square) is a large square in the Municipality of Athens, Greece between 3 September and Aristotelous streets. It was renamed Viktoria in honor of the Queen of the United Kingdom on the occasion of the annexat ...

Athens 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 ...

and is a sculptural creation of great artistic value. It is considered one of the most important outdoor sculpture works of the 20th century in Athens.

History

The sculpture was created in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

in 1906 by the German sculptor

Johannes Pfuhl Johannes Pfuhl (20 February 1846 – 5 May 1914) was a German sculptor. Biography He was born in Löwenberg, in the Prussian Province of Silesia. He studied in the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts under Hermann Schievelbein. He became his master's ...

(1846–1914) and was cast in 1908 from galvanized bronze in a German factory. The entire sculptural structure stands on an octagonal marble base, with the engraved inscription "ΘΗΣΕΥΣ ΣΩΖΩΝ ΤΗΝ ΙΠΠΟΔΑΜΕΙΑΝ. ΕΡΓΟΝ Ι. ΠΦΟΥΛ" (Theseus saving Hippodamia. Work of J. Pfuhl). The sculpture depicts the hero

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describe ...

who, according to Greek myth, saved the beautiful

Hippodamia Hippodamia (, ; also Hippodamea and Hippodameia; Ancient Greek: Ἱπποδάμεια "she who masters horses" derived from ''hippos'' "horse" and ''damazein'' "to tame") was a Greek mythological figure. She was the queen of Pisa as the wife ...

, the wife of King

Pirithous Pirithous (; grc-gre, Πειρίθοος or , derived from ; also transliterated as Perithous), in Greek mythology, was the King of the Lapiths of Larissa in Thessaly, as well as best friend to Theseus. Biography Pirithous was a son of "he ...

of the

Lapiths The Lapiths (; grc, Λαπίθαι) are a group of legendary people in Greek mythology, whose home was in Thessaly, in the valley of the Peneus and on the mountain Pelion. Mythology Origin The Lapiths were an Aeolian tribe who, like the Myr ...

, from the drunken

centaur A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...

Eurytion in the

Centauromachy The Lapiths (; grc, Λαπίθαι) are a group of legendary people in Greek mythology, whose home was in Thessaly, in the valley of the Peneus and on the mountain Pelion. Mythology Origin The Lapiths were an Aeolian tribe who, like the Myr ...

. This bronze sculpture was donated to the Municipality of Athens in 1927 and was originally placed at

Syntagma Square Syntagma Square ( el, Πλατεία Συντάγματος, , "Constitution Square") is the central square of Athens. The square is named after the Constitution that Otto, the first King of Greece, was obliged to grant after a popular and militar ...

in Athens, from where it was moved in 1937 to its present location in

References

{{Reflist Bronze sculptures in Greece Nude sculptures Outdoor sculptures