2-723-231 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Athlete Making an Offering, c. 450-425 BC. This bronze was probably a gift from a victorious athlete to the deity who helped him. The arm that once made the offering is now lost. The philosopher, Protagoras (active 490-420 BC), said that "Man is the measure of all things." During the classical period, therefore, "the measure" for ideal statutettes became perfectly formed humans rather than deities. No longer rigid like the earlier Archaic torso in this same gallery, this figure relaxes slightly, his body a series of rhythmic, counterbalanced curves.