Greek, Art work edition: Socrates Bust Unknown Artist

User activity

Send to:
Socrates Bust
 
Bookmark: http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/238975
Physical Description
  • Cross-Platform, 222.674 KB
  • Slide
Published
  • Conell and Matthews, NY, Oxford, 1982
  • 400 BC
  • ca. 380 BC
Language
  • Greek

Edition details

Title
  • Socrates Bust
Creator
  • Unknown Artist
Other Creators
  • Brigham Young University
Published
  • Conell and Matthews, NY, Oxford, 1982
  • 400 BC
  • ca. 380 BC
Physical Description
  • Cross-Platform, 222.674 KB
  • Slide
Subjects
Notes
  • Socrates lived in Athens, Greece from about 470-399 BC and has been recognized as the founder of Attic philosophy. His ideas are based on the notion that reason, properly cultivated, should be the all-controlling factor in human life. Although Socrates himself wrote nothing, his ideas are recorded in compositions by a small circle of his admirers, including Plato. In these works, Socrates is portrayed as a man of great insight, integrity, and argumentative skill. There are numerous portraits of Socrates that exist, and this is an example of the earlier type that are believed to have been commissioned by Socrates’ friends not long after his death. According to descriptions by contemporaries, Socrates seems to have been unattractive, with a big belly, broad shoulders, a thick neck, a broad nose with wide-open nostrils, a large mouth with thick lips, and a bald head. However, his ugly outward appearance was offset by his intellectual and moral qualities, which won him friends and admirers. He was often compared to silens and satyrs by his enemies and his features were seen as not only ugly, but also indicative of a base nature. Yet in this portrait statue meant to celebrate Socrates, there are elements of Silenus iconography (especially in the broad and deep-set nose, high-set ears and bald head), which suggests that there were positive interpretations of this comparison. The artist combines these ugly elements with features of propriety, such as well-groomed beard and hair. In light of this, the comparison with Silenus in this statue seems to emphasize the belief that the old Silenus, unlike the rest of his breed, was the holder of ancient wisdom and goodness, just like Socrates. The head was found in Roma Vecchia during excavations in the eighteenth century and was later placed on top of this ancient herm, which has Socrates inscribed in Greek (????????). Socrates exerted a profound influence on ancient and modern philosophy, especially Thomas Aquinas’ Scholasticism.
  • 13.8 in. head; 40.55 in. for head and herm
  • civ metadata CID; Civ Archive 008 correct picture; 98300916.jpg
Source
  • Atlas of the Roman World, Facts on File (Series); Gisela Richter, The Portraits of the Greeks, Vol 1 (London: Phaidon Press, 1965) 109-110, fig. 459; Paul Zanker, The mask of Socrates: the image of the intellectual in antiquity (Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 1995), 20-23.
Terms of Use
Language
  • Greek
Contributed by
OAIster

Get this edition

  • Set up My libraries

    How do I set up "My libraries"?

    In order to set up a list of libraries that you have access to, you must first login or sign up. Then set up a personal list of libraries from your profile page by clicking on your user name at the top right of any screen.

  • All (1)
  • Unknown (1)
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.
None of your libraries hold this item.

User activity


e.g. test cricket, Perth (WA), "Parkes, Henry"

Separate different tags with a comma. To include a comma in your tag, surround the tag with double quotes.

Be the first to add a tag for this edition

Be the first to add this to a list

Comments and reviews

What are comments? Add a comment

No user comments or reviews for this version

Add a comment