The Discobolus was first sculpted in Greece around 460-450 BCE by Myron of Eleutherae. Myron was redeemed as a renowned sculptor, known for his depictions of animals. The Discobolus was originally created in bronze, however, this original has never been recovered. The Discobolus stood as a symbol of status, coveted for its astonishing display of human agility and strength. The discus-thrower was also admired for capturing an unmatched representation of proportion, harmony, rhythm and balance. Experts since antiquity have noted how “the fluidity of movement in the body combines with a calm expression on the face, as if the thrower has achieved a perfect state of control in mind, body and spirit”^[1].

Despite the loss of the original, numerous replicas have been found, made from marble, plaster, and stone. The “Townley Discobolus’ ‘ was excavated, in 1790, at the Emperor Hadrian’s Villa and was purchased by an English antiquary and art dealer, at public auction in 1792 for £400 for the statue. The head was wrongly restored, as pictured below. It was bought for the British Museum in 1805. The museum does not currently show it.

How Did We Get Here From There?

This trend of powerful figures desiring Greek art did not cease with the ancient world. The Venus de’ Medici was loved by Napoleon^[2], and the discobolus was loved by Adolf Hitler^[3]. The “Discobolus Palombara”, Hitler’s Discobolus, was found in 1781 at a Roman property of the Massimo family at the Villa Palombara on the Esquiline Hill.. In 1937 Adolf Hitler negotiated to buy it and eventually succeeded in 1938. The Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs sold it to him for five million lire, over the protests from the scholarly community. It was shipped to Munich and displayed in the Glyptothek. It was returned in 1948 and is now in the National Museum of Rome, displayed at the Palazzo Massimo.

The 5th Century BC had long been considered the golden age of Classical Greek history.

Hitler was attracted to this period as a whole. In addition, he wished to champion the values that he believed the sculpture embodied – ideals of harmony, athletic vigor and beauty – in opposition to Modernist art, which he castigated as “degenerate”. A quote to articulate how the nazi ideals were placed onto the discobolus that I like is as follows: “Like all hunters, they hunted for a priceless object – and as the statue could not say no, they used the Discobolus for their perverse ideologies. The perfect Aryan body, the white colour [of the marble], the beautiful, ideal white male: to put it very bluntly, it became a kind of image of the Herrenrasse or ‘master race’ – that’s what the Nazis called themselves and the Germans”, Professor Rolf Michael Schneider of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich^[4].

The discobolus was cemented as a figure of the Nazi regime when Leni Riefenstahl directed Olympia – Festival of Nations (1936), for the Berlin Olympics. The film begins in greek ruins, and short clips of varying greek statues. This montage ends on the discobolus as it then morphs into a German athlete, cementing the idea that the Germans are direct descendants from the Greek empire. Reincarnates in power. The Olympic torch is also seen being lit, within the Greek ruins, and a German athlete then runs the fire directly to Berlin. This act ties the Third Reich to Ancient Greece, symbolically and literally. 

Moving Forward- The Positives and The Negatives

Despite the return of the Discobolus to Rome, this statue, and ancient Greek artifacts, remained as a symbol of power for the elite. In the United States, wealthy people have collected antiques as a symbol of status.

Walter and Elise Mosher were wealthy art collectors in the LA area. Over the course of 10 years,

they donated their entire art collection to Pomona College’s Benton Museum. Among the donations was a discobolus replica.

This discobolus now sits to this day, in a vault here at Pomona College’s Benton. While we can’t be certain the reasoning for the Mosher’s original acquisition, we know that like most collectors of this time period, it was a symbol of status, and perhaps a familiar passion for ancient Greek relics. We do know for a fact that Benton chooses to not show this piece, yet also chooses to not rid themselves of its history. This is where our workshop comes into play to heal our academic relationship with the statue.

ARt Changing Our Perception