The story of Aristodikos’ kouros, a landmark of Greek art
It was spring 1944 when Konstantinos Liapis, while working in his field at Olympos-Agii Saranda in Mesogeia, Attica, unearthed the renowned Kouros of Aristodikos. At the time, he had no inkling of the significance of his accidental discovery. Little did he know that a few months later, he would be handing over the statue to the National Archaeological Museum during a challenging period for the country and its people, and that his name would be remembered with gratitude for many decades to come. The striking kouros had stood over a tomb along the urban road that linked the Asty of Athens with the Lavreotiki mines and the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Sounion, serving as a reminder to passers-by of the deceased Athenian man. The inscription on the base leaves no room for ambiguity about his name: Aristodikos.
The statue, slightly larger than life size at 1.95 m tall, is carved from Parian marble. Scholars date it to around 510-500 BC, making it the last example of the grand series of Attic kouros. The nude young figure’s left leg is projected forward, and unlike previous examples, the arms are bent at the elbows but do not adhere to the thighs. Instead, they extend straight forward, giving the impression that the figure is about to move. The hair is short, forming small spiral tufts over the forehead, while the detailed rendering of the facial features and the commendable balance of the body parts bring the depiction of the human form in Greek sculpture closer to reality than ever before.
Aristodikos’ kouros, appearing poised to move yet simultaneously remaining inert, stood in the Attic countryside as if anxiously anticipating the new era following the expulsion of the oppressive Pisistratid regime.
Traveling back in time several centuries to late 6th-century BC Attica, the passers-by on the ancient road would have had a different perspective upon seeing the statue, not to mention the relatives of the deceased Aristodikos. They were the ones who received the tragic news of his death. A two-day vigil in the house was immediately initiated, a practice that, among other things, served to confirm the death, given the lack of a corresponding medical specialty at that time. A large vase filled with water, preferably sea water, was placed at the entrance of the house both to announce the death and to purify those present from its taint.
During this period of mourning, the lifeless body of Aristodikos was entrusted to the care of the women in his immediate family.
The body was bathed, anointed with oil, and then dressed in a shroud and other garments. It was adorned with flowers, ribbons, and jewelry before being laid on the wooden deathbed. Traditional mourning rituals were observed in an intimate circle, with the most notable figures being the women who expressed their grief by pulling their hair and beating their heads and breasts.
The funeral procession began on the third day after death, very early, before dawn. The mourners silently headed towards the burial site, most likely a significant location along the ancient road. After the burial and the placement of grave goods that would accompany the deceased into the afterlife, the tomb was sealed. A few small pots may have been left around it, and perhaps some tilling and sowing of the soil were undertaken.
Relatives and close friends returned to Aristodicus’ home for the traditional post-funeral celebration. During the meal, they reminisced about their loved one’s life. The official mourning period for the family lasted for an indeterminate amount of time, at least until all customs were fulfilled. Visits to the tomb were frequent, with the first scheduled on the ninth day after the tragic event.
After the burial, the relatives contemplated the type of marker to be erected over the tomb. This was a matter of significant importance in Greece during the Archaic period, as funerary monuments were considered to be sanctuaries for the deceased. Aristodicus’ aristocratic lineage influenced the choice of a kouros for this purpose, ensuring their loved one would be depicted in the prime of life, youthfulness, and beauty, regardless of his age at death. The costly commission to one of the renowned sculptors of the time was promptly arranged. It was specified that the statue’s base should bear his name, Aristodicus, in accordance with the customary practice.
The statues of nude youths were not designed to portray specific individuals, making it necessary to inscribe names for identification with the deceased.
The commission posed a significant challenge for the sculptor and his team, not only because they had to meet the commissioners’ expectations but also due to the intense, yet healthy, competition among artists. By the end of the 6th century BC in Greece, the statuary style of the nude youth already had a history spanning over a century. Unlike their Egyptian counterparts, Greek sculptors didn’t settle for replicating standardized forms. Instead, they continually evolved the original, somewhat geometric and front-facing representation of the human form, striving for a more naturalistic and realistic depiction. The temporal context and the evolutionary process that characterizes Greek art, along with the individual temperament of the artist, must have played a crucial role in the creation of this magnificent work.
The renowned Parian marble, known for its clarity and luminosity capable of penetrating up to 6-7 cm, was highly valued. Once the hefty marble block arrived at the workshop from the Paros quarries, the sculptor would have already determined the height and width proportions. By executing a precise, pre-determined sketch that considered the anatomical parts and their interrelation and balance, the sculptor could then map out the figure’s limbs on the marble’s thin surface. Now it was time for the meticulously crafted tools – the flat and serrated chisel, the needle, the chisel, and the rasps – to do their job, erasing any traces of the previous steps.
The intricate detailing of the head’s features would be carved, followed by the coloring of the statue – a process about which, regrettably, our knowledge is limited.
The anonymous sculptor of Aristodicus’s kouros, armed with a comprehensive understanding of human anatomy and the collective wisdom gleaned from his predecessors and contemporaries, achieved a milestone in Greek sculpture. For the first time, a human form was rendered with such fidelity to reality. His creation appears poised to spring into motion or, as the late archaeologist Christos Karouzos aptly observed, “… this new one is all concealed movement… it unveils energy hidden in the very core of the body…”. The kinetic energy of the nude youth is deftly woven into an ensemble of perfect harmony. The artist seems to understand that even the slightest suggestion of movement in one part of the body can impact another, potentially disrupting the delicate equilibrium of the whole, and indeed, of art itself. Of course, neither he nor his contemporaries could have foreseen that their pursuit of naturalistic human representation would profoundly shape Western art centuries later. But did they have an inkling that they were paving the way for Classical period sculptors to succeed in portraying figures in realistic motion within the three dimensions of space?
Only when the statue was erected over the tomb did Aristodicus’s relatives feel they had fulfilled a significant part of their obligations to the deceased. They were now assured of preserving the memory of their loved one, while reminding passers-by on the ancient road of the values symbolized by a funerary kouros at that time. It was a testament to a good and wise man, qualities that were vividly expressed in the radiant, youthful bodies of these statues.
As if eagerly awaiting the new era following the ousting of the oppressive Pisistratid regime, Aristodicus’s kouros stood in the Attic countryside, poised to move yet simultaneously patient in its stillness. This new era was the dawn of Athenian democracy, born from Cleisthenes’s reforms promoting equality. We often forget, even ourselves, that the world’s most significant achievement of civilization, democracy, was born in the heart of the city we inhabit.
Sources
. Boardman J., Greek Sculpture, Archaic Period,f. Simantoni, Bournias E., Athens, 1982, pp. 104-116 / Kaza Papageorgiou K.-Kakavogianni O.-Andrikou E.-Dova A., “The Urban Road (Athens-Sounion Road)” in Korres M. (ed.), “Attiki Odoi: Ancient Roads of Attica,” Athens, 2009, pp. 198-211 / Karouzos Chr., “Aristodikos,” Athens, reprint, 1982 / Kurtz D.-Boardman J., “Burial Customs in the Ancient Greek World,” cf. Viziinou O.-Xenos T., Athens, 1994, pp. 133-143 / Richter G., “Kouroi. Archaic Greek Youths. A Study of the Development of the Kouros Type in Greek Sculpture,” London, 3rd edition, 1970
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* George Giannakopoulos is an Archaeologist at the LZ Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, affiliated with the Ministry of Culture & the University of Trier
