According to Rosina Colonia, (Delphi Ephorate of Antiquities) “… the Delphi exhibits speak for themselves: they have the power to command respect and captivate the visitor, inviting him or her to admire them, and leaving this visitor with the memory of their charm and the enigma surrounding them. Even though the exhibits on display today constitute no more than a small but representative part of the dedications seen by Pausanias at Delphi, and an even smaller part of the many more that inundated the sanctuary during the years of its heyday, they indisputably continue to delight people with their wealth, variety and beauty. …Delphi has been included in archaeology textbooks, it has adorned art books; some of the Delphi finds, such as the Treasury of the Siphnians, are landmarks in the history of ancient Hellenic art, while others, even though more than one hundred years have elapsed since they came to light, continue to be a focal point of scholarly discussions even today, owing to unanswered questions regarding their identity and interpretation. But above all, they still chaim the broad public who flock, like ancient pilgrims, to admire the monuments of Delphi”. (Quotation ©: John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation)
The treasury dedicated by the Athenians at Delphi is a representative example of the votive buildings that reproduced on a much smaller scale the form of a temple, with sculpted decoration on the highest parts of the structure (metopes, pediments, acroteria). The walls of the Athenian treasury were crowned by a doric frieze with 30 metopes, many of which have been preserved. Each long side had nine metopes alternating with 10 triglyphs, while each short side had 6 metopes and 7 triglyphs. The entire building, as well as its sculptural decoration, was of white Parian marble. Reconstructed in 1903, it is the only building at the Delphi archaeological site which stands in its true dimensions.
The metopes of the treasury, sculptured in high relief, depict scenes from Greek mythology, namely the feats of the demigod Heracles and the national' hero of the Athenians, Theseus. The prevailing opinion is that the cycle of Theseus dominated the south side, which was seen by pilgrims as they made their way up to the temple of Apollo, while the Labors of Heracles occupied the north side, the struggle against Geryon the west, and an Amazonomachy the east front. The expansive scenes, such as Heracles fighting Geryon or the Amazons battling Greeks, are displayed on consecutive metopes rather than being confined to a single slab. The poses of some figures are somewhat exaggerated and unrealistic. The hero appears to be flying over the beast he is taming. Despite the bold and free movements, which along with the cryptic smile are characteristic of the Archaic period, the proportions are well balanced and the figures carefully weighed. Anatomies are represented with realism and plasticity, whilst garment details are rendered with clear lines.
Scholars discern two different trends in the aspect and style of the metopes: one conservative, representative of the Archaic period, and the other an advanced, of the Severe style on the borderline between the Archaic and Classical periods. The frieze dates to 510-480 BC and the treasury has thus been interpreted as a monument either to the founding of Athenian democracy or to the battle of Marathon. At least two Athenian sculptors are believed to have worked on the frieze, representing two artistic fashions or two generations The monotony of the marble was broken by parts of the metope surfaces being painted as well as by inlaid metal appliques.
The Treasury of the Athenians
Fully armed Amazon on horseback. It was one of the acroteria which decorated the corners of the roof of the Athenian Treasury. |
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The Treasury of the Athenians
Fully armed Amazon on horseback. It was one of the acroteria which decorated the corners of the roof of the Athenian Treasury. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus and Antiope (Drawing)
The mythical hero, a mantle (himation) draped over his back, is poised to deliver the final blow to the Amazon who has fallen on her shield. Both figures wear a helmet lifted above the forehead. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus and Antiope
The mythical hero, a mantle (himation) draped over his back, is poised to deliver the final blow to the Amazon who has fallen on her shield. Both figures wear a helmet lifted above the forehead. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus and Antiope (Detail) |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus and the Minotaur (Drawing)
The mythical hero, wearing a short tunic (chiton), grabs hold of the monster with the body of a man and head of a bull and prepares to plunge his sword into the beast's flesh. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus and the Minotaur
The mythical hero, wearing a short tunic (chiton), grabs hold of the monster with the body of a man and head of a bull and prepares to plunge his sword into the beast's flesh. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus and the Minotaur (Detail) |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus and the Minotaur (Detail) |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus and the Marathonian bull (Drawing)
The mythical hero subdues the savage beast, forcing its head to the ground |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus and the Marathonian bull
The mythical hero subdues the savage beast, forcing its head to the ground |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus and the Marathonian bull (Detail) |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus and the Marathonian bull (Detail) |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus and the Marathonian bull (Detail) |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Destroyed slab |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Destroyed slab |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Episode from Heracles’ seizure of Geryon’s cattle (Drawing)
Two cows running in opposite directions in panic |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Episode from Heracles’ seizure of Geryon's cattle
Two cows running in opposite directions in panic |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Episode from Heracles’ seizure of Geryon’s cattle (Drawing)
Two cows walking to the left |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Episode from Heracles’ seizure of Geryon’s cattle
Two cows walking to the left. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Episode from Heracles’ seizure of Geryon’s cattle (Drawing)
A bull and cow from Geryon’s herd |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Episode from Heracles’ seizure of Geryon’s cattle
A bull and cow from Geryon’s herd |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Episode from the battle between Heracles and the three-bodied giant Geryon (Drawing)
This fragment shows the left leg of Heracles and the fallen body of Geryon’s watchdog, Orthrus, a monster with two heads and a serpent-like tail. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Episode from the battle between Heracles and the three-bodied giant Geryon
This fragment shows the left leg of Heracles and the fallen body of Geryon’s watchdog, Orthrus, a monster with two heads and a serpent-like tail. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Episode from the battle between Heracles and the three-bodied giant Geryon (Drawing)
The three bodies of the monstrous Geryon, joined together at the waist, are depicted in battle armor. The first figure collapses having been struck by the hero, while the other two brandish their spears. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Episode from the battle between Heracles and the three-bodied giant Geryon
The three bodies of the monstrous Geryon, joined together at the waist, are depicted in battle armor. The first figure collapses having been struck by the hero, while the other two brandish their spears. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Episode from the battle between Heracles and the three-bodied giant Geryon (Detail) |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Heracles and the Centaur (Drawing)
These metope fragments depict the mythical creature with the dual nature (half man, half horse) collapsing in defeat at the hands of the hero. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Heracles and the Centaur
These metope fragments depict the mythical creature with the dual nature (half man, half horse) collapsing in defeat at the hands of the hero. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Heracles and Kyknos (Drawing)
The two adversaries in combat, armed with helmets, shields and spears. Heracles delivers the final blow to the fearsome bandit, son of Ares, who robbed pilgrims travelling to Delphi to worship Apollo. The duel took place during Heracles’ journey to the distant West to acquire the apples of the Hesperides for Eurystheus. The gentle modelling of the anatomical details, the facial features and the momentum in the motion of the figures all show that the artist has broken free from the schematized forms of the Archaic period. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Heracles and Kyknos
The two adversaries in combat, armed with helmets, shields and spears. Heracles delivers the final blow to the fearsome bandit, son of Ares, who robbed pilgrims travelling to Delphi to worship Apollo. The duel took place during Heracles’ journey to the distant West to acquire the apples of the Hesperides for Eurystheus. The gentle modelling of the anatomical details, the facial features and the momentum in the motion of the figures all show that the artist has broken free from the schematized forms of the Archaic period. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Heracles and Kyknos (Detail) |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Heracles and Kyknos (Detail)
Please compare this face of Heracles with the one in his next detailed portrait |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Heracles and the Cerynean hind (Drawing)
Seizing the golden horn of the sacred hind from Cerynea in the Peloponnese, the hero presses down on its back with his left leg in an effort to subdue the animal so that he can hand it over to Eurystheus alive. The artist who created this metope appears to have adhered to the archaic sculptural tradition, as shown by the schematic rendering of the anatomical details and face of Heracles. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Heracles and the Cerynean hind
Seizing the golden horn of the sacred hind from Cerynea in the Peloponnese, the hero presses down on its back with his left leg in an effort to subdue the animal so that he can hand it over to Eurystheus alive. The artist who created this metope appears to have adhered to the archaic sculptural tradition, as shown by the schematic rendering of the anatomical details and face of Heracles. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Heracles and the Cerynean hind (Detail) |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Heracles and the Cerynean hind (Detail)
Please compare this face of Heracles with the one in his previous detailed portrait |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Heracles and the Nemean lion (Drawing)
Summoning all his strength, the hero has lifted the allegedly invulnerable beast from the ground and prepares to strangle it with his bare hands. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Heracles and the Nemean lion
Summoning all his strength, the hero has lifted the allegedly invulnerable beast from the ground and prepares to strangle it with his bare hands. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Scene from Amazonomachy (Drawing)
A Greek wearing a mantle (chlamys) prepares to deliver the final blow to a fallen Amazon. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Scene from Amazonomachy
A Greek wearing a mantle (chlamys) prepares to deliver the final blow to a fallen Amazon. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Scene from Amazonomachy (Drawing)
Holding his shield, the naked hero charges toward a fallen Amazon in typical garb (short tunic, iron breastplate with leather strips and greaves). |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Scene from Amazonomachy
Holding his shield, the naked hero charges toward a fallen Amazon in typical garb (short tunic, iron breastplate with leather strips and greaves). |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Scene from Amazonomachy (Drawing)
An Amazon in full armor falls to the ground dead. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Scene from Amazonomachy
An Amazon in full armor falls to the ground dead. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Scene from Amazonomachy (Drawing)
An Amazon charges at her adversary, who falls backwards holding his shield. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Scene from Amazonomachy
An Amazon charges at her adversary, who falls backwards holding his shield. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Scene from Amazonomachy (Drawing)
Two Amazons attack with bows. The figure on the left draws an arrow from her quiver as her comrade-in-arms on the right draws her bow against an adversary. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Scene from Amazonomachy
Two Amazons attack with bows. The figure on the left draws an arrow from her quiver as her comrade-in-arms on the right draws her bow against an adversary. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Scene from Amazonomachy (Drawing)
Amazon on a galloping horse |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Scene from Amazonomachy
Amazon on a galloping horse |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus and the brigand Kerkyon (Drawing)
The mythical hero has grabbed his opponent round the waist and is about to lift him from the ground using a classic wrestling grip. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus and the brigand Kerkyon
The mythical hero has grabbed his opponent round the waist and is about to lift him from the ground using a classic wrestling grip. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus and the brutal robber Skiron (Drawing)
This metope fragment shows the figure of Skiron, his body lying broken on the rocks after being thrown off a cliff at the so-called «dangerous stairway» (Kakia Skala – on the seaside road from Athens to Corinth) by the Athenian hero. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus and the brutal robber Skiron
This metope fragment shows the figure of Skiron, his body lying broken on the rocks after being thrown off a cliff at the so-called «dangerous stairway» (Kakia Skala – on the seaside road from Athens to Corinth) by the Athenian hero. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus and the brutal robber Skiron (Detail) |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus fighting one of the bandits he encountered while on his way from Troezen to Athens, possibly Procrustes (Drawing)
Wearing a short mantle (chlamys), the mythical hero with a long, confident stride charges toward his fallen adversary whose shoulders are draped with an animal hide. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Theseus fighting one of the bandits he encountered while on his way from Troezen to Athens, possibly Procrustes
Wearing a short mantle (chlamys), the mythical hero with a long, confident stride charges toward his fallen adversary whose shoulders are draped with an animal hide. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Athena and Theseus (Drawing)
The goddess, wearing a tunic (chiton), mantle (himation) and breastplate (aegis) with decorative metal attachments, receives the mythical hero who greets her piously raising his right hand. |
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The Athenian treasury metopes: Athena and Theseus
The goddess, wearing a tunic (chiton), mantle (himation) and breastplate (aegis) with decorative metal attachments, receives the mythical hero who greets her piously raising his right hand. |
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