Olympica Hippica

«The jockey of Artemision» (κέλης / keles)

The composite statue was part or a ship's cargo found by fishermen of Skiathos near the Euboic peninsula of Artemision in 1930. The site is renowned from the sea battle of the Greek fleet (with 200 ships) against the Persian (over 2,000 ships) in 480 B.C.E. Underwater researchers discovered these two statues separated, but it is almost certain that the horse and the young boy were part of the same masterpiece we see today at the Athens Archaeological Museum. The young anabátes [jockey] held the horse’s reins in his left and a kéntron [goad] in his right hand which is raised to prompt the animal. As for the horse, it seems to make an extreme effort as if jumping over an obstacle, which might have served to stabilize the statue. In general, this bronze is among the best and most original works of the second century B.C.E. It reflects the zenith reached by Greek sculptors during the Hellenistic period.

«The Tiryns Ladies» (συνωρίς / synoris)

Found in the later palace of Tiryns ca. 1300 B.C.E., the fresco depicts a rare scene of two young ladies driving a synoris (biga). In fact, the girl to the right is driving the chariot, and the girl to her left is just a passenger. The 'Pinto' coloration of the horses and the four-spoked wheel, a typical element of Greek chariots, are of particular interest. Horses bearing white spots were called balios (or phalios) in Homeric times. In Modern Greek Demotic terms, they are still called bálios, a fact reflecting the long continuity of the Greek language. Frescoes resembling this were unknown in Minoan Crete but are seen at later periods (after Mycenæ had taken over Crete). The most ancient horse scene found in Greece is a seal stone depicting a diphros (stool) on an obsidian from Mycenæ (c.1600 B.C.E.). A synoris driven by two ladies is also depicted on a sarcophagus from the palace of Hagia Triada (c.1400 B.C.E.).

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