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The warrior of Samos

UnknownCa. 530–520 BC

Altes Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Altes Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Berlin, Germany

This stone torso is made up of four large fragments: the head and neck; the right shoulder and part of the upper arm; the left shoulder; and the torso. The pieces were reassembled and the gaps between them filled by modern conservators. Large pieces of the helmet have been lost, most notably on the right and rear sides. Of the lower body, only the left gluteus and calf were found; they are kept in the store rooms of the German Archaeological Institute on Samos (inv. II S 23 and I 210). Although it is incompletely preserved, this sculpture nonetheless makes a powerful impression. Such a life-size depiction of a fully-armoured warrior is in fact unique in Archaic Greek sculpture. It translates the hoplite warrior type common among Lakonian bronze statuettes into a monumental format. The Lakonian cuirass type worn by the infamous Spartan foot soldiers is reproduced here in stone. Its carefully carved details closely follow the warrior’s musculature, with the stomach muscles stylized into an arc and axial line in the shape of an upside-down flower. Two spirals mark the strong pectoral muscles, widely set on the chest. Peering out from between the closed cheekpieces of the Ionian helmet are two almond-shaped eyes. As the only visible facial features, they stress that the warrior is really a war machine in human clothing. Long, luxurious hair spills out from under the helmet. The weight and suppleness of the body suggest that the piece follows eastern Greek tradition and is therefore surely Samian in origin, dating to ca. 530–520 BC. The figure could be identified as Ares, the Greek god of war, or Apollo, as recently proposed by U. Kron; but a legendary hero or a Samian aristocrat who died in battle are also plausible.
Heavily-armed hoplites like this one were the backbone of the army in every Greek polis. They represent the armed citizen going to war, those who quite literally stuck their necks out for their countrymen and made their bodies into bulwarks for the city. Hoplites were equipped with helmets, shin guards, and cuirasses made of leather or linen and usually reinforced with metal ribs. Their primary weapon was a long spear. The hoplite battle formation, called the phalanx, relied above all on camaraderie and strength: it consisted of a long line of soldiers each carrying a shield on his left that partially protected his lefthand neighbour. Maintaining the integrity of this line in battle was paramount. Yet even an iron will could hardly keep a row of foot soldiers together – so they were grouped into companies, which provided a point of orientation during both the advance and the inevitable dissolution into disorder. The main strategy of hoplite warfare involved the opposing armies running head-on into each other’s lines in an attempt to break the enemy’s formation. Such a move naturally required a level field. Because armour and tactics were broadly similar from one army to another, battles were decided above all by bravery, cunning, experience, and endurance. To surround a section of the enemy’s army, the phalanx had to be many men deep to build enough power, and many men wide to have enough lateral reach. Every ounce of strength was then mustered for the collision of the two sides – and most of all to hasten its end, which came when one side was beaten back. Only rarely were retreating armies pursued; among other factors, the soldiers were surely drained of strength after such a battle in heavy armour. At battle’s end, victory trophies were erected at every place where the enemy phalanx had been routed.
The hoplite phalanx remained a pivotal instrument of combat until the end of the Classical period. The ideal of a man who is physically trained, skilled in weapon use, and ready to sacrifice his life for his city finds expression in this Archaic stone torso just as in later examples.

Details

  • Title: The warrior of Samos
  • Creator: Unknown
  • Date Created: Ca. 530–520 BC
  • Location: From the sanctuary of Hera on Samos (Greece)
  • Physical Dimensions: h53 cm
  • Type: Statue
  • Medium: Grey-white marble
  • Object acquired: Acquired 1915
  • Inv.-No.: Sk 1752
  • ISIL-No.: DE-MUS-814319
  • External link: Altes Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
  • Copyrights: Text: © Verlag Philipp von Zabern / Antikensammlung, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Sch. || Photo: © b p k - || Photo Agency / Antikensammlung, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Johannes Laurentius
  • Collection: Antikensammlung, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz

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