Art Department Home Page

STATUETTE OF A YOUNG FEMALE ATHLETE

The bronze statuette of a Young Female Athlete is a perfect testament to the unique society that existed in Sparta during the Greek Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods.  Sparta, once thought militaristic, has recently been reevaluated[1].  One of the most interesting areas of research for close examination is the focus on Spartan women.  With the discovery in Egypt in 1855 of Alcman’s “maiden songs”, or “choruses of girls” some historians have taken a closer look at foundation of the “city of Lycurgus”[2].  This beautiful Laconian style bronze statuette, measuring only 11cm in height, could possibly demonstrate the preexistence of a matrilineal society, already in existence when Lycurgus The Lawgiver entered into Spartan history.   The statuette poses these questions: why was she crafted, and what does she represent to the Spartan people?  I believe such questions, addressed in a geographical context, could unlock a hidden society not yet uncovered.

The bronze statuette, dated between the sixth and early 5^th c B. C. E., has ironically been described differently by Fitzhardinge as taken from a tripod: “a dancer rather than a runner”[3].  She was found in the former Albanian region of South Eastern Yugoslavia, specifically in Prizren.  However, in Women in the Classical World (Fatham et al., 1994) the statuette is described as a “ young female athlete”; no mention of a tripod existence.  Whether the reader is aware of a debate or not, Fatham presents a strong argument: the statuette is of a young female athlete; her short chiton is common athletic attire mentioned in the texts of Pausanias.  She addresses Alcman’s Partheneia where names of female participants in footraces are not only mentioned but the victors are inscribed on statues of themselves[4].   Her posture is very similar to another Spartan bronze “ornament” found from a tripod entitled “Running Sileneus” (see image comparing the two statuettes)[5].  Was the statuette meant for a temple offering or an example of Spartan athleticism?  Our female figure is natural and ‘Spartan’ in dress; the Sileneus figure is stylized and more ornamental.  The comparisons of the two bronze figures reveal the female statuette is truly a representation of Sparta’s hegemonic equality among men and women, rather than a votive offering.

Isolated in the Peloponnese Peninsula, Sparta created a perfect atmosphere for preserving the old Matrilineal social structure of the Minoan civilization[6].   I have provided a map of the Vale of Sparta to demonstrate the rough terrain surrounding her region[7].  Perhaps the city’s success, as scholars claim, should be laid solely upon the shoulder’s of Lycurgus: the famous, yet elusive 7^th c B.C.E lawgiver.  He had the sixth sense to consult with the Delphi oracles before drawing up the laws he prescribed to the people: namely limiting one’s own wealth, preventing illegal moneymaking, and strict obedience to the authorities[8]; not to mention his laws concerning the equality of women[9].  However, there is evidence of the Minoan influence on the Mycenaean age which in turn influenced the Classical Greek period.[10]  The Minoans were a matrilineal society, based on goddess worship; Gimbutas argues that so too was Sparta, well preserved within her isolated region.  See the figure below: an example of Minoan Bronze Age frescos found on the island of Crete at Knossos.[11]

The Etruscan society, co-existing with the Classical Greeks, were also matrilineal: their women exercised in the nude, were educated, and had a public life.  She traces Old European Anatolian ties to the Minoans on the Island of Crete, as well as the Etruscans and Spartans[12].  If this is the case, the statuette of the female athlete poses in even more interesting spin on the history of Sparta; perhaps Lycurgus was only continuing the hegemony of the elevated status of women!  I believe further investigation would be profitable in this arena.

Ultimately, the freedom, pride, and equality of the Spartan woman was a force quite opposite of neighboring, or rather warring Greek cities such as Athens.  Upper and royal class Spartan women not only held positions of power, they engaged in athletic competition and were publicly educated[13].  These norms were in sharp contrast to Athenian women and were routinely criticized.  The Statuette of a Female Athlete portrays the excellence, and normalcy of the female athlete, allowing us to consider the possibility that Sparta was far more influenced by the older Minoan civilizations, as seen in her artist’s rendering.  Could this be an indicator of a preexisting matrilineal society, established before Lycurgus arrived?  Hopefully, further archeological discoveries will aide in the uncovering of  Spartan civilization, one of historical merit prior to Lycurgus and Homer’s epics.  The bronze Statuette gives us a glimpse of the artistry, simplicity, and power that can possibly be rendered by a society already steeped in a matrilineal culture.

[14]

Bibliography:

Fantham, Elaine, Helene Peet Foley, Natalie Boymel Kampen, Sarah B. Pomeroy, H. Alan Shapiro.  Women in the Classical World. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.

Fitzhardinge, L. F.  The Spartans.  London: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1980.

Gimbutas, Marija.  The Living Goddesses.  Berkeley, Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999.

Grant, Michael.  Readings in the Classical Historians.  New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1992.

Mellersh, H. E. L.  Life in Ancient Lands: Minoan Crete.  New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1967.