Of the statues representing the athlete in the act of throwing, we will consider only Myron’s Diskobolos, the beau ideal of athletic motion, famous even in antiquity. Eight copies in a more or less mutilated condition have come down to us. That which was found in the Villa Palombara in 1781 on the Esquiline is the best reproduction of the original. This statue passed from the palace known as that of the Massimi alle Colonne to the Lancelotti Palace, Rome, where it still remains. The attitude of the diskobolos is very nearly that described by Lucian and Quintilian. In the Philopseudes—1, 8, Lucian gives the following description of Myron’s Diskobolos: “Thou speakest of the disk-thrower, who is bending forward for the throw, with his face turned away towards the hand that holds the disk, and with one foot slightly pointed, as if he would raise himself with the action of throwing.”
The statue reveals probably the most approved attitude of a diskobolos just before making a throw. The centre of gravity falls upon the right foot, which, though the leg is bent in a slight curve, rests firmly on the ground; both legs are bent at the knees, but the left more acutely; the right fore-leg is perpendicular, while the left is thrust backward obliquely; the left foot, forming a noticeable curve, is upright and touches the ground only at the tips of the toes; the thighs, close together, slant upward, making an angle of over 45° with the ground; the upper part of the body is bent forward, and is steadied by the left arm whose hand rests against the right knee; the upper half of the body is twisted to the right; the right arm is extended backwards and is straight; the fingers of the right hand, which is somewhat above the level of the right shoulder, firmly grip the edge of the diskos; the head is turned so far to the right that the right side of the body is plainly visible; the eyes are fastened on the diskos.
It is evident that the diskobolos must have swung the disk in a semi-circle, and have hurled it from below forward, and that the whole body must have relaxed and readjusted itself as the right arm moved forward and imparted the pent-up energy to the disk.
The pose of the large cast in the Boston Athenæum, as well as that of the cast in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, is not in accordance with Lucian’s description. Both represent the head as not turned aside but directly forward, with the eyes looking straight ahead. There is, however, in the Fourth Greek Room, a cast of a small bronze statuette, which is preserved in the Antiquarium at Munich. This is in many respects an excellent copy of Myron’s diskobolos. In the catalogue of the casts in the Museum, this statuette is pronounced especially satisfactory from an æsthetic point of view because the line of equilibrium falls perpendicularly through the centre from whatever point of view the statuette is seen.
Besides this copy of Myron’s statue, we find on many vases and gems the diskobolos in the act of hurling the diskos. For instance, on one of Hamilton’s vases we see a diskobolos with a diskos in his right hand, while the right arm is bent and held forward, showing that he is on the point of moving the arm backward, and then forcibly hurling the diskos from below, forward. The left arm is bent over the head, the eyes are fixed on the diskos, the right foot is placed forward, so that the centre of gravity falls on the left, which is obliquely bent at the knee.
We will now consider the third class of statues, gems and vase-paintings representing the diskobolos as having thrown the diskos, and still following it with his eye, or where he has already been declared victor and adorned with the palm. In 1754 there was discovered at Herculaneum the bronze statue of a diskobolos from whose hand the diskos has just flown. He is still standing, however, with the upper portion of his body bent forward, the eyes looking sharply into space, the face full of expectation. The position of the right arm indicates that the hand is only just freed from the heavy diskos. Both feet are placed wide apart, as may be observed in several other instances, at the moment of throwing. In the Galerie de Florence is a gem which represents a diskobolos who has been declared victor. He holds the diskos in his left hand, the palm of victory in his right. At his right stands a prize cup, while at his left is a tripod upon which is a wreath and a palm. A painting from Herculaneum also represents a diskobolos after having thrown the diskos.
If space permitted, many other statues, vase and gem pictures could be cited to show the different positions of the skilled diskobolos. But enough has been said to show that to hurl the diskos through the air at once gracefully and effectively required the greatest skill and dexterity, and was an art acquired only through long practice. In diskos-throwing, distance, not height, determined the victor. He who threw the farthest beyond the mark or σῆμα was awarded the prize.
Diskos-throwing was a good preparation for war, as it developed great skill in stone-throwing—a very important feature in the war practices of the ancients. This exercise must have developed to a remarkable degree the muscles of the upper part of the body, shoulders, arms and hands—especially those of the right side of the body. At the same time the feet were trained in a firm and secure step, and, although the diskos was thrown at no fixed point, the eye was nevertheless used and trained. So beneficial was the exercise in certain cases that it was often ordered by the ancient physicians. Among the Spartans the diskos was especially loved, ostensibly on account of Apollo’s contest with Hyakinthos on Spartan soil.