The Dying Gaul, a Roman marble copy of a Hellenistic work of the late third century BCE Capitoline Museums, Rome. This article focuses on the cultural aspects of the Hellenistic age for the historical aspects see Hellenistic period. The Capitoline Museums ( Italian Musei Capitolini) are a group of art and archeological Museums in Piazza del Campidoglio

The Dying Gaul (in Italian: Galata Morente) is an ancient Roman marble copy of a lost Hellenistic statue that is thought to have been executed in bronze, which was commissioned some time between 230 BC and 220 BC by Attalos I of Pergamon to honor his victory over the Celtic Galatians in Anatolia. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Marble is a nonfoliated Metamorphic rock resulting from the Metamorphism of Limestone, composed mostly of Calcite (a crystalline form of This article focuses on the cultural aspects of the Hellenistic age for the historical aspects see Hellenistic period. Bronze is any of a broad range of Copper alloys, usually with Tin as the main additive but sometimes with other elements such as Phosphorus Events By place Anatolia The city of Pergamum is attacked by the Galatians ( Celts who have settled in central Anatolia Events By place Greece Together with fellow Illyrian Scerdilaidas, Demetrius of Pharos attacks Illyrian cities under Attalus I ( surnamed Soter ( "Savior" 269 BC &ndash 197 BC ruled Pergamon, a Greek Polis in what is now Turkey Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black The present base was added after its rediscovery. The identity of the sculptor is unknown, but it has been suggested that Epigonus, the court sculptor of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon, may have been its author. Epigonus is also a genus of the Epigonidae, the Deepwater Cardinalfishes The Attalid dynasty was a Hellenistic dynasty that ruled the city of Pergamon after the death of Lysimachus, a general of Alexander the Great

The statue depicts a dying Celt with remarkable realism, particularly in the face, and may have been painted. Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts [1] He is represented as a Gallic warrior with a typically Gallic hairstyle and moustache. The figure is naked save for a neck torc. A torc, also spelled torq or torque is a rigid piece of personal adornment made from twisted metal He is shown fighting against death, refusing to accept his fate.

Portrayal of Celts

The statue serves both as a reminder of the Celts' defeat, thus demonstrating the might of the people who defeated them, and a memorial to their bravery as worthy adversaries. The statue may also provide evidence to corroborate ancient accounts of the Gallic fighting style - Diodorus Siculus reported that "Some [Gauls] use iron breast-plates in battle, while others fight naked, trusting only in the protection which nature gives. ^[1] Polybius wrote an evocative account of Gaulish tactics against a Roman army at the Battle of Telamon of 225 BC:

"The Insubres and the Boii wore trousers and light cloaks, but the Gaesatae, in their love of glory and defiant spirit, had thrown off their garments and taken up their position in front of the whole army naked and wearing nothing but their arms. Polybius (ca 203 &ndash 120 BC, Greek) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book called The Histories The Battle of Telamon was fought between the Roman Republic and an alliance of Gauls in 225 BC. The Insubres or Insubri were a population settled in Insubria, in what is now Lombardy. Boii ( Latin plural singular Boius; Greek) is the Roman name of an ancient Celtic tribe, attested at various The Gaesatae (Greek Γαισάται) were a group of Gaulish warriors who lived in the Alps near the river Rhône and fought . . The appearance of these naked warriors was a terrifying spectacle, for they were all men of splendid physique and in the prime of life. "^[2]

Livy recorded that the Celts of Asia Minor fought naked and their wounds were plain to see on the whiteness of their bodies. ^[3] The Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus regarded this as a foolish tactic: "Our enemies fight naked. Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Halicarnassus c 60 BC–after 7 BC was a Greek historian and teacher of Rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of What injury could their long hair, their fierce looks, their clashing arms do us? These are mere symbols of barbarian boastfulness. "^[4]

The depiction of this particular Gaul as naked may also have been intended to lend him the dignity of heroic nudity or pathetic nudity. Heroic nudity or ideal nudity is a concept in classical scholarship to describe the use of Nudity in classical Sculpture to indicate that Pathos (ˈpeɪːθɒs ( πάθος) is one of the three Modes of persuasion in Rhetoric (along with Ethos and Logos) It was not infrequent for Greek warriors to be likewise depicted as heroic nudes, as exemplified by the pedimental sculptures of the Temple of Aphaea at Aegina. The Temple of Aphaia (or Aphaea) is located within a sanctuary complex dedicated to the goddess Aphaia on the Greek island of Aigina, which lies in the Aegina ( Greek: Αίγινα ( Egina) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, 17 miles (30 km from The message conveyed by the sculpture, as H. W. Janson comments, is that "they knew how to die, barbarians that they were. Horst Waldemar Janson or H W Janson (1913 – September 30, 1982) was an American scholar of Art history. "^[5]

Influence in art history

Dying gaul, detail showing his torc. A torc, also spelled torq or torque is a rigid piece of personal adornment made from twisted metal

The Dying Gaul became one of the most celebrated works to have survived from antiquity and was endlessly copied and engraved by artists and sculptors. It is thought to have been rediscovered in the early 17th century during excavations for the foundations of the Villa Ludovisi and was first recorded in 1623 in the collections of the powerful Ludovisi family of Rome. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar The Villa Ludovisi was regarded as one of the most beautiful Villas of papal Rome. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 It shows signs of having been repaired, with the head seemingly having been broken off at the neck, though it is unclear whether the repairs were carried out in Roman times or after the statue's 17th century rediscovery. ^[6]

The artistic quality and expressive pathos of the statue aroused great admiration among the educated classes in the 17th and 18th centuries and was a "must-see" sight on the Grand Tour of Europe undertaken by young men of the day. Pathos (ˈpeɪːθɒs ( πάθος) is one of the three Modes of persuasion in Rhetoric (along with Ethos and Logos) As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system The Grand Tour was the traditional travel of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means Byron was one such visitor, commemorating the Dying Gaul in his poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (canto 4, stanzas 140-141). Childe Harold's Pilgrimage is a lengthy Narrative poem written by the poet George Gordon Lord Byron when at Kinsham. It was widely copied, with kings, academics and wealthy landowners commissioning their own reproductions of the Dying Gaul (eg the black marble copy in the Robert Adam entrance hall of Syon House). Robert Adam ( 3 July 1728 &ndash 3 March 1792) was a Scottish neoclassical Architect, Interior designer Syon House and its 200 acre (80 Hectare /800000 m² Park is situated in West London, in England. The less well-off could purchase copies of the statue in miniature for use as ornaments and paperweights. More basic, full-size plaster copies were also studied by art students.

During this period, the statue was widely interpreted as representing a defeated gladiator, rather than a Gallic warrior. Gladiators (gladiatores "swordsmen" or "one who uses a sword" from la ''gladius'' "sword" were professional fighters in Ancient Rome who fought Hence it was known as the 'Dying' or 'Wounded Gladiator', 'Roman Gladiator', and 'Murmillo Dying'. The murmillo (mirmillo was a class of Gladiator during the Roman Imperial age. It has also been called the 'Dying Trumpeter'. It was requisitioned by Napoleon Bonaparte by terms of the Treaty of Campoformio (1797) during his invasion of Italy and taken in triumph to Paris, where it was put on display. Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. The Treaty of Campo Formio was signed on October 17, 1797 (26 Vendémiaire Year VI of the French Republic by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Ludwig The French Revolutionary Wars continued from 1795, with the French in an increasingly strong position as members of the First Coalition made separate peaces Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city It was returned to Rome in 1815 and is currently on display in the Capitoline Museums. The Capitoline Museums ( Italian Musei Capitolini) are a group of art and archeological Museums in Piazza del Campidoglio

Copies

The Dying Gladiator Inn, Brigg.

Copies of the statue can be seen in the Museum of Classical Archaeology at Cambridge University, Leinster House in Dublin Ireland, as well as in Berlin, Prague and Stockholm. The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University) located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the Leinster House (Teach Laighean is the name of the building housing the national parliament of the Republic of Ireland (Oireachtas Éireann Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Prague (ˈprɑːg Praha (ˈpraɦa see also other names) is the Capital and Largest city of the Czech Republic. ('stɔkhɔlm is Sweden 's Capital and its largest City. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the parliament, and the In the United states, copies are at the Washington State Historical Society in Tacoma, Washington and at the Redwood Library, Newport, Rhode Island.

The Royal Academy in London had one such copy, now at the Courtauld Gallery in London. This article refers to an art institution in London For other meanings of Royal Academy see Royal Academy (disambiguation. The Courtauld Institute of Art is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the History of art. It also had an écorché in this pose, cast in the late 18th century from the body of an executed smuggler and hence nicknamed "Smugglerius". An écorché is a figure drawn painted or sculpted showing the muscles of the body without skin

In the English market town of Brigg, the long established coaching inn The Dying Gladiator displays a copy, using the old title. Market town or market right is a legal term originating in the Medieval period for a European settlement that has the right to hold Markets Brigg (fully Glanford Brigg) in North Lincolnshire, England, is a small Market town on the River Ancholme with a population of 5076 This article is about coaching inns in general for individual inns see Stagecoach Inn (Disambiguation In Europe, from approximately the mid 17th

Notes

References

• A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. James McKillop. Oxford University Press, 1998
• Art in the Hellenistic Age, Pollitt, J. J. , 1986
• The Bloomsbury Guide to Art, Ed. Shearer West. Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd, 1996
• Hellenistic Sculpture, Smith, R. R. R. London, 1991
• Taste and the Antique, Haskell, F. and N. Penny. New Haven and London, 1981. Cat. no. 44, pp 224ff.
• The Oxford Companion to Western Art. Ed. Hugh Brigstocke. Oxford University Press, 2001