Praxiteles of Athens, the son of Cephisodotus, was the greatest of the Attic sculptors of the 4th century BC, who has left an imperishable mark on the history of art. City flag. ... Cephisodotus was the name of two ancient Greek sculptors, the father and the son of the sculptor Praxiteles. ... Attica (in Greek: Αττική, Attike; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a periphery (subdivision) in Greece, containing Athens, the capital of Greece. ... Sculptor redirects here. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 4th century BC started on January 1, 400 BC and ended on December 31, 301 BC. // Overview Events Bust of Alexander the Great in the British Museum. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ...

It has been maintained by some writers that there were two sculptors of the name, one, a contemporary of Pheidias, the other, his more celebrated grandson. Though it is common in Greece for the same name to repeat every other generation, all that we can say at present is that we have no certain evidence for either position. Phidias, (or Pheidias), son of Charmides, (circa 490 BC - circa 430 BC) was an ancient Greek sculptor, universally regarded as the greatest of Greek sculptors. ...

Though Praxiteles may be considered as in some ways well known to us, yet we have no means for fixing his date accurately. It seems clear that he was no longer working in the time of Alexander the Great, or that king would have employed him. Pliny's date, 364 BC, is probably that of one of his most noted works. Alexander the Great (Greek: Μέγας Αλέξανδρος[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC — June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), is considered one of the most successful military commanders in history, conquering most of his known world before his death. ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19c portrait. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC - 360s BC - 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 369 BC 368 BC 367 BC 366 BC 365 BC - 364 BC - 363 BC 362 BC 361...

Hermes bearing the infant Dionysus, by Praxiteles

Our knowledge of Praxiteles has received a great addition, and has been placed on a satisfactory basis, by the discovery at Olympia in 1877 of his statue of Hermes with the Infant Dionysus, a statue which has become famous throughout the world . Hermes is represented as in the act of carrying the child Dionysus to the nymphs who were charged with his rearing. He pauses on the way, and holds out to the child a bunch of grapes to excite his desire. The young child can hardly be regarded as a success; he is not really childlike. But the figure of the Hermes, full and solid without being fleshy, at once strong and active, is a masterpiece, and the play of surface is astonishing. In the head we have a remarkably rounded and intelligent shape, and the face expresses the perfection of health and enjoyment. Download high resolution version (800x1210, 203 KB)Hermes by Praxiteles Photographer: Lucretious Source: Stock. ... Download high resolution version (800x1210, 203 KB)Hermes by Praxiteles Photographer: Lucretious Source: Stock. ... Hermes bearing the infant Dionysus, by Praxiteles Hermes (Greek IPA ), in Greek mythology, is the god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of orators, literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures and invention and commerce in general, of liars, and of... Dionysus with a panther and satyr, in the Palazzo Altemps (Rome, Italy) Dionysus or Dionysos (Ancient Greek: Διώνυσος or Διόνυσος; also known as Bacchus in both Greek and Roman mythology and associated with the Italic Liber), the Thracian god of wine, represents not only the intoxicating power of wine, but also its... Olympia (Greek: Ολυμπία Olympía or Ολύμπια Olýmpia, older transliterations, Olimpia, Olimbia), a city of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. ... Hermes bearing the infant Dionysus, by Praxiteles Hermes (Greek IPA ), in Greek mythology, is the god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of orators, literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures and invention and commerce in general, of liars, and of... Dionysus with a panther and satyr, in the Palazzo Altemps (Rome, Italy) Dionysus or Dionysos (Ancient Greek: Διώνυσος or Διόνυσος; also known as Bacchus in both Greek and Roman mythology and associated with the Italic Liber), the Thracian god of wine, represents not only the intoxicating power of wine, but also its... For other uses of nymph see Nymph (disambiguation). ...

This statue must for the future be our best evidence for the style of Praxiteles. It altogether confirms and interprets the statements as to Praxiteles made by Pliny and other ancient critics. Gracefulness in repose, and an indefinable charm are also the attributes of works in museums which appear to be copies of statues by Praxiteles. Perhaps the most notable of these are the Apollo Sauroktonus, or the lizard-slayer, a youth leaning against a tree and idly striking with an arrow at a lizard, and the Aphrodite of Knidos at the museums of The Vatican, which is a copy of the statue made by Praxiteles for the people of Cnidus, and by them valued so highly that they refused to sell it to King Nicomedes, who was willing in return to discharge the whole debt of the city, which, says Pliny, was enormous. Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19c portrait. ... Lycian Apollo, early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original (Louvre Museum) In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (Greek: Απόλλων, Apóllōn; or Απελλων, Apellōn), the ideal of the kouros,[1] was the archer-god of medicine and healing and also a bringer of death-dealing plague; as... -1... The State of the City of the Vatican or the Vatican City (Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae, Italian Stato della Città del Vaticano) is the smallest independent state in the world (both in area and in population), a landlocked enclave surrounded by the city of Rome in Italy. ... Knidos or Cnidus (modern-day Tekir in Turkey) is an ancient Greek city in Asia Minor, once part of the country of Caria. ... Nicomedes I (in Greek Nικoμηδης; 279–c. ...

The Satyr of the Capitol at Rome has commonly been regarded as a copy of one of the Satyrs of Praxiteles; but we cannot identify it in the list of his works. Moreover, the style is hard and poor; a far superior replica exists in a torso in the Louvre. The attitude and character of the work are certainly of Praxitelean school. In Greek mythology, Satyrs (Σάτυροι - Satyri) are mythological half-man and half-goat nature entities that roamed the woods and mountains, and were the companions of Pan and Dionysus. ... Piazza del Campidoglio, on the top of Capitoline Hill, with the façade of Palazzo Senatorio. ... This article is about the capital of Italy. ... I.M. Peis Louvre Pyramid: one of the entrances to the galleries lies below the glass pyramid. ...

Excavations at Mantineia in Arcadia have brought to light the basis of a group of Leto, Apollo and Artemis by Praxiteles. This basis was doubtless not the work of the great sculptor himself, but of one of his assistants. Nevertheless it is pleasing and historically valuable. Pausanias (viii. 9, I) thus describes the base, "on the base which supports the statues there are sculptured the Muses and Marsyas playing the flutes (auloi)." Three slabs which have survived represent Apollo; Marsyas; a slave, and six of the Muses, the slab which held the other three having disappeared. Mantinea – Greek: Mαντινεία Mantineia, modern romanizations: Mantinia, Mandineia or Mandinia; and for a time Antigonia (Greek: Αντιγόνεια) also transliterated as Antigonea and Antigoneia – is a city in Arcadia in the central Peloponnese that was the site of two significant battles in Classical Greek history. ... Arcadia or Arkadía (Greek Αρκαδία; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. ... In Greek mythology Lētṓ (Greek: Λητώ, Lato in Dorian Greek, the hidden one) is a daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, and in the Olympian scheme of things, Zeus is the father of her twins, Apollo and Artemis. ... Lycian Apollo, early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original (Louvre Museum) In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (Greek: Απόλλων, Apóllōn; or Απελλων, Apellōn), the ideal of the kouros,[1] was the archer-god of medicine and healing and also a bringer of death-dealing plague; as... The Artemis of Versailles, a Roman copy of a Hellenistic marble sculpture, now at the Louvre Museum. ... Pausanias was a Greek traveller and geographer of the 2nd century A.D., who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. ... For other uses see Muse (disambiguation). ... In Greek mythology, Marsyas was a satyr who challenged Apollo to a contest of music. ... Satyr playing an aulos The ancient Greek aulos, often mistranslated as flute, was a double-piped reed instrument. ... For other uses see Muse (disambiguation). ...

A head of Aphrodite at Petworth in England, and a head of Hermes in the British Museum, have been claimed by authorities as actual works of Praxiteles. Both are charming works, but seem rather by the successors of Praxiteles than by himself. Birth of Venus (a. ... Map sources for Petworth at grid reference SU8821 Petworth is a small town in West Sussex, England. ... Hermes bearing the infant Dionysus, by Praxiteles Hermes (Greek IPA ), in Greek mythology, is the god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of orators, literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures and invention and commerce in general, of liars, and of... The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2000 to become the Great Court, with a tessellated glass roof by Foster and Partners surrounding the original Reading Room. ...

Besides these works, connected with Praxiteles on definite evidence, there are in our museums works without number of the Roman age, statues of Hermes, of Dionysus, of Aphrodite of Satyrs and Nymphs and the like, in which a varied amount of Praxitelean style may be discerned. Five points of composition may be mentioned, which appear to be in origin Praxitelean, however these points cannot prove to be conclusive.

1. a very flexible line divides the figures if drawn down the midst from top to bottom; they all tend to be lounging
2. they are adapted to front and back view rather than to being seen from one side or the other
3. trees, drapery and the like an used for supports to the marble figures, and included in the design, instead of being extraneous to it
4. the faces are presented in three-quarter view.
5. the statue was found on the same site on which Pausanias described it

Opposing arguments have been made that the statue was duplicated by a Roman copyist. Since the Romans adopted much of Greek culture and art this is a possibility. One study conducted attempts to prove that the sandals on the Hermes were of a Roman type and not Greek. Other assertions have been attempted by scholars to prove the origins of the statue pointing to the unfinished back, the appearance of the drapery, and the technique used with the drilling of the hair, however scholars cannot conclusively use any of these arguments to their advantage because exceptions exist in both Roman and Greek sculpture. Marble sculpture is the art of creating three-dimensional forms from marble. ...

The subjects chosen by Praxiteles were either human beings or the less elderly and dignified deities. It is Apollo, Hermes and Aphrodite who attract him rather than Zeus, Poseidon or Athena. And in his hands the deities sink to the human level, or, indeed, sometimes almost below it. They have grace and charm in a supreme degree, but the element of awe and reverence is wanting. This list of deities aims at giving information about deities in the different religions, cultures and mythologies of the world. ... Statue of Zeus Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall statue of Zeus at Olympia about 435 BCE. The statue was perhaps the most famous sculpture in ancient Greece, imagined here in a 16th-century engraving. ... Neptune reigns in the city centre, Bristol, formerly the largest port in England outside London. ... Helmeted Athena, of the Velletri type. ...

Praxiteles and his school worked almost entirely in marble. At the time the marble quarries of Paros were at their best; nor could any marble be finer for the purposes of the sculptor than that of which the Hermes is made. Some of the statues of Praxiteles were coloured by the painter Nicias, and in the opinion of the sculptor they gained greatly by this treatment. Venus de Milo, front. ... Paros, or Paro (Greek: Πάρος), is an island of Greece in the Aegean Sea, one of the largest of the group of the Cyclades. ... Nicias (d. ...

Recently, on June 22, 2004, the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA), announced the acquisition of an ancient bronze sculpture of Apollo Sauroktonos, believed to be the only near-complete original work by Praxiteles. The dating and attribution of the sculpture will continue to be studied, the museum noted. The Cleveland Museum of Art Located in Clevelands University Circle, the Cleveland Museum of Art has a permanent collection of more than 40,000 objects. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

See also

• marble sculpture
• Aphrodite of Knidos
• Cephisodotus

Marble sculpture is the art of creating three-dimensional forms from marble. ... -1... Cephisodotus was the name of two ancient Greek sculptors, the father and the son of the sculptor Praxiteles. ...

External links

• Archaeological Museum Olympia: The Hermes of Praxiteles
• CMA Collections: Apollo Sauroktonos by Praxiteles
• small head of Aphrodite - Olympia - believed to be an original work by Praxiteles