The Temple of Aphaia

            With class discussions now revolving around Greek architecture and the role it played in Greek social society, I found that my favorite piece was not purely an architectural detail, but a sculpture intended to hide part of a structure that was not seen as aesthetically pleasing.  Lining the east pediment of the temple of Aphaia, a grouping of life-like three-dimensional figures illustrate the battle against Troy led by Herakles.  These figures are made three-dimensional so that they would be seen properly from all angles.  However, the placement of the figures according to their body position and their proximity to the ground was done so that the dark receding corners of the pediment area would be covered.  At the centermost part of this line of soldiers stands Athena, who is not only the main focus of the battle, but also the unifying point of the composition.  

            The realness of the skin and bone structure of these figures demonstrate the artist’s clear discipline in the area of anatomy.  My favorite of all the sculptures is the one titled the Fallen Warrior.  He is one of the figures in the overall layout whose horizontally sprawled body is functional in hiding one of the corners of the three-dimensional shape of the pediment.  He is depicted as being in his last moment alive and pulling an arrow out of his abdomen.  In the pictures below, he is the figure on the far left.  The treatment of his muscles and body positioning display a classic Greek treatment of the human body, which is that it is an idealistic portrayal of human size and proportions.