THROWING THE DISKOS
It will be remembered that while frequent reference is made in the
Homeric poems to throwing the diskos,[562] the weight thrown at the
games of Patroclus was a lump of unwrought iron described as “solos.”
The word diskos seems already to have acquired its special athletic
meaning, but there is in Homer nothing distinctively athletic about
“solos,” which probably meant originally a boulder, then a mass of iron.
Later writers occasionally use “solos” as equivalent to diskos, and
scholiasts and lexicographers are much exercised in distinguishing the
two terms.[563] Their arbitrary and often contradictory distinctions
still find a place in our dictionaries and commentaries. The diskos,
they tell us, is flat, the solos round and ball-shaped; the diskos of
stone, the solos of metal; the diskos has a hole in it and is thrown by
means of a cord; the solos is solid. The first distinction is fairly
accurate: the diskos is more or less flat, the solos is a mass which may
be roundish. As to material, we know that the diskos was made in stone
and in metal; the solos might also be stone or metal. As to the hole and
cord, authorities differ: some assign them to the diskos, some to the
solos. That they belonged to the solos is disproved by every passage in
which the word is used; that they belonged to the diskos is still more
conclusively disproved by the monuments. The origin of this blunder,
which is ascribed to Eratosthenes, may perhaps be found in some popular
game in which a round object is bowled along by means of a cord wound
round it. A game of this sort called “ruzzola” is still played in parts
of Italy on the roads, much to the danger of pedestrians.[564] It is
played with round stones about a foot in diameter, or sometimes with
cheeses, which are believed to be improved by the treatment. A more
probable explanation of the mistake is that suggested to me by Mr. J. L.
Myres, and already accepted in Chapter II., that the scholia to _Iliad_
xxiii. have become dislocated, and that the hole and string belong not
to the diskos or the solos, but to the word καλαῦροψ mentioned in the
same passage. This word, usually interpreted as a shepherd’s staff, is
explained by Mr. Myres as a kind of bolas, an implement formed by a
string to which one or more perforated stones are attached, which is
used in the present day in South America for catching cattle, and is
still a plaything with boys in the country districts of Greece. Whatever
the explanation, the hole and string have nothing to do either with
diskos or with solos, nor is there any ground for the statement that the
solos was an athletic implement distinct from the diskos. The popular
translation of diskos as “quoit” is erroneous and most misleading.
[Illustration: Fig. 71. B.-f. amphora, in British Museum, B. 271.]
The diskos of the fifth century was of bronze, but the Homeric diskos
was of stone, and Pindar, therefore, makes the heroes Niceus and Castor
hurl the older stone diskos rather than the bronze diskos of his own
day.[565] The stone diskos is clearly represented on the black-figured
vases of the sixth century as a thick white object (Fig. 71), but the
metal diskos must have been introduced before the close of this century.
The British Museum possesses a bronze diskos found at Cephallenia which
bears a sixth-century inscription (Fig. 73).
[Illustration: Fig. 72. Bronze diskos found at Aegina. Berlin.]
There exist in our museums various inscribed and carved marble
diskoi.[566] But though in size and shape they differ little from the
bronze specimens, they are too fragile and thin for actual use, and
their inscriptions prove clearly that they are merely votive offerings.
The practice of inscribing and dedicating diskoi was an ancient one, as
we see from the diskos of Iphitos dedicated at Olympia. With regard to
the metal diskos we are more fortunate. Of the fifteen specimens which
we possess, four are probably votive offerings, but one of these
certainly, possibly three, had also been used; the rest were certainly
intended for use. Their weights and measurements can be best seen from
the following table:—
Finding-place. Museum. Weight in Diameter Thickness
kilos. in cms. in mms.
1. Olympia Olympia, _Inv._ 7567 5·707 34 5-13
2. Corfu B.M. 2691 3·992 23 6-13
3. Gela Vienna 3·800 28 7
4. Amyclae Athens, De Ridder, 3·349 19
_Cat._ 530
5. Olympia Olympia, _Inv._ 4257 2·945 (?) 22 6-12
6. Olympia Olympia, _Inv._ 2·775 18 11-12
12,892
7. Olympia Rome, Museo 2·378 21, 21·5
Kircheriano
8. Olympia Olympia, _Inv._ 2859 2·083 19, 22·5 3 at edge
9. Sicily B.M. 248 2·075 21 5
10. Olympia Berlin 2·023 17·5 9-10
11. Aegina Berlin 1·984 21
12. Olympia Berlin 1·721 20 7
13. Olympia Berlin, _Inv._ 2286 1·353 (?) 20·5 4
14. Olympia Olympia, _Inv._ 1·268 17 4-12
12,891
15. Cephallenia B.M. 3207 1·245 16·5 5
Of these diskoi No. 1 is ornamented with concentric circles and bears on
one side a dedication by the Corinthian pentathlete Publius Asclepiades,
on the other side the name of the alytarch. The difference in the date,
which is given respectively as Ol. 255 and 456, has been already
explained.[567] From its style and weight it is probable that it was
purely a votive offering and was never intended for use. Nos. 9 and 11
are of cast bronze, engraved on one side with the figure of a jumper, on
the other with that of a javelin-thrower (Fig. 72). The engraving
belongs to the best period except that of the javelin-thrower on the
British Museum diskos, which, if not actually spurious, is probably a
late addition. Though in weight and size they approximate closely to
Nos. 8 and 10, their flatness and the sharpness of their edges makes it
doubtful if they were ever actually used. No. 11 is also ornamented with
concentric circles. No. 3 had originally an inlaid dolphin, possibly of
silver. No. 12 is of lead and has probably lost considerably in weight.
No. 15, which is very badly worn, must also have been considerably
heavier (Fig. 73). It bears the following inscription in archaic letters
of the sixth century:[568] “Exoïdas dedicated me to the twin sons of
Great Zeus, the bronze diskos wherewith he conquered the high-souled
Cephallenians.”
The dimensions of the diskos as represented in art correspond with those
given in our table. On the vases, too, the diskos is often ornamented
with concentric circles, as in Nos. 1 or 2, or with various forms of
crosses and dots; while the dolphin on the diskos from Gela has its
counterpart in the owl, the symbol of Athens, which is frequently
depicted on Attic vases.[569]
When not in use, the diskos was kept in a sort of sling, the two ends of
which were tied in a knot. In such a sling the diskos is often
represented hanging on the wall or carried in the hands of some youth
(Fig. 17).
[Illustration: Fig. 73. Diskos of Exoïdas. British Museum, 3207.]
It is difficult to form any definite conclusion as to the size and
weight of the diskos used in competitions. The diskoi are all more or
less worn, and the weights are therefore only approximate. They seem,
however, to fall into certain groups. The best marked group is formed by
Nos. 8-11 and perhaps 12, which suggest a standard of about 2·1 kilos.
Heavier standards are suggested by Nos. 2 and 3, and by Nos. 4 and 5,
say 4·0 and 2·8 kilos respectively, while Nos. 14 and 15 point to a
standard of 1·3. The difference between these standards is partially due
to the fact, vouched for by Pausanias, that boys used a smaller and
lighter diskos than men.[570] No doubt the standard varied greatly at
different times and places. At Olympia three bronze diskoi were kept in
the treasury of the Sicyonians[571] for the use of competitors in the
pentathlon, and it seems probable that the diskos used there was heavier
than that in use elsewhere.[572] Unfortunately, though there was only
one competition with the diskos at Olympia, there are great differences
in the eight diskoi found there, and no conclusion is possible even for
Olympia. If any inference can be drawn from the heavy votive diskos
dedicated by Publius in the third century A.D., it would be that in
later times the weight of the diskos was greatly increased, much, of
course, to the detriment of the sport. Certainly the lightest diskos
which we possess is the sixth-century diskos from Cephallenia.
The scanty records which we possess give us little help towards
determining the weight used. Phaÿllus is said to have thrown the diskos
95 feet, and Philostratus speaks of the hero Protesilaus throwing beyond
a hundred cubits, and that with a diskos twice the size of the
Olympian.[573] Statius, again, describes Phlegyas as hurling a diskos
across the Alpheus at its widest.[574] As far as they go, these data
agree with the one fact emphasized by ancient writers that the diskos
was a heavy object. In the revived Olympic games a diskos is used
weighing 2 kilos. It is made of wood with a metal core, and is a clumsy,
ugly object for which there is absolutely no authority, infinitely
inferior in every way to the ancient diskos. J. Sheridan threw it 135
ft. 8 in. at Athens in 1906, throwing in the free style, while in the
cramped and artificial Greek style he succeeded in throwing 124 ft. 8
in. in the games of 1908. It would seem then that the men’s diskos was
probably heavier than 2 kilos; usually but not always, for Exoïdas, as
we have seen, used one much lighter.
The place from which the diskos was thrown was called the βαλβίς. Our
knowledge of the balbis is derived entirely from an obscure and much
misunderstood passage in Philostratus,[575] describing the death of
Hyacinthus who was accidentally killed by Apollo with a diskos. “The
balbis,” he says, “is small and sufficient for one man, marked off
except behind, and it supports the right leg, the front part of the body
leaning forward while it takes the weight off the other leg which is to
be swung forward and follow through with the right hand.” Then follows a
description of the method of throwing the diskos, evidently based on
Myron’s diskobolos, perhaps an extract from some handbook of gymnastics.
“The thrower is to bend his head to the right and stoop so as to catch a
glimpse of his (right) side, and to throw the diskos with a rope-like
pull, and putting all the force of the right side into the throw.”
All that we learn from this passage is, that the balbis was marked off
by a line in front, and by lines on the side, but not behind, so that
the thrower could take as many preliminary steps as he chose. There is
nothing to show that it was in any way a raised platform, much less a
sloping platform such as has been adopted by the modern Greeks for the
so-called “Hellenic style.”[576] This extraordinary platform is 80 cm.
long by 70 cm. wide, with a height of not more than 15 cm. behind and
not less than 5 cm. in front. The only authority for this platform is
Dr. Kietz’ interpretation of an old, corrupt reading of the passage in
Philostratus just quoted. Even if the old text were correct its evidence
would be worthless in face of the manifest absurdity of the idea, and
the fact that in all the numerous representations of the diskobolos
there is not the slightest trace of such a platform. Again, the
following words, as has been pointed out, are an obvious reminiscence of
Myron’s diskobolos. Can any one conceive of Myron’s statue tilted
forward on a sloping platform? Were it so, there would be indeed some
excuse for Herbert Spencer’s criticism that he is about to fall on his
face.
It is natural to suppose that in the stadium the diskos and spear were
thrown from the line of stone slabs which mark the start, and which are
also called βαλβῖδες. The stone pillars placed along the sides of the
course at regular intervals would have been useful for measuring the
distance of the throw. But there is no direct evidence for identifying
the balbis with the starting lines. In the Delphic inscription,
containing contracts for the Pythian festival,[577] we find mention of
“the arrangements for the pentathletes,” the contract for which was
eight staters. These would seem to refer to arrangements for the diskos
and spear competitions, _i.e._ the balbis and means for measuring the
throws.
The throw was measured from the front line of the balbis to the place
where the diskos or spear fell, and it is obvious that the competitor
might not overstep this line under penalty of disqualification.[578] In
the gymnasia this line might be marked out temporarily by means of
spears stuck in the ground on either side, or, as Dr. Pernice has
suggested, by a line traced on the sand, though I cannot agree with his
interpretation of certain vases on which he fancies the tracing of this
line to be represented.[579] The place where the diskos fell was marked
by a peg or arrow as described by Statius,[580] and on several vases we
see a diskobolos in the act of putting down or taking up such a mark
(Fig. 74).
[Illustration: Fig. 74. (_a_) R.-f. kylix. Chiusi. (_b_) R.-f. kylix.
Würzburg, 357, A.]
In the modern “free style” the diskos is thrown from a circular area
2-1/2 metres in diameter, and the method of throwing is a modification
of throwing the hammer, the thrower’s body making two or three complete
turns. There is no trace in ancient times of such a method or of a
circular area and, effective as it is, we may doubt if it would ever
have been invented but for the experience acquired in hammer-throwing or
in slinging weights.
Throwing the diskos has acquired a practical interest of late years
owing to the revival of this event in the modern Olympic Games.
Unfortunately neither of the styles at present in vogue can be regarded
as satisfactory from an archaeological standpoint. For our knowledge of
the ancient method of throwing we depend almost entirely on the
monuments. The scanty literary evidence has no independent value.
Fortunately the monumental evidence is exceptionally rich and varied.
The two statues—the Standing Diskobolos and Myron’s Diskobolos—are of
first-rate importance, such works being independent of the accidents
which affect the types in the lesser arts. Besides these we have a
multitude of vases, bronzes, coins, and gems connected with this
subject. Most of the schemes based upon this evidence are, however, more
or less unsatisfactory, because the authors have failed to recognise two
important factors.[581] In the first place, apparent divergence of type
is often due not to a difference in motive but to artistic causes, to
differences in material, or space, or to the age or style of the
artists. Secondly, though the principle of the Greek throw appears to
have been always the same, there can be no doubt that the styles of
individual performers were as varied as the styles of modern golfers,
and these differences of style were naturally reflected in art. Hence
the absurdity of endeavouring, as so many writers have done, to force
all the attitudes depicted on the vases into a single series of
movements.
The principle of the throw is clearly shown in Myron’s Diskobolos (Fig.
13). The thrower, taking his stand with the right foot forward, swings
or lifts the diskos to the front in his left hand, and then grasping it
with his right hand, swings it vigorously downwards and backwards,
turning both head and body to the right until he reaches the position
represented by Myron. The right foot is the pivot on which the whole
body swings. This swing of the body round a fixed point is of the
essence of the swing of the diskos as it is of the swing of a golf club.
The force comes not from the arms, which merely connect the body and the
weight, but from the lift of the thighs and the swing of the body.
If we confine ourselves to the two statues, we see that no movement of
the feet is necessary in the preliminary movements; but this simple
scheme fails to explain a number of vase paintings and bronzes
representing intermediate positions in which the diskobolos has his left
foot forward. There are two types of such frequent occurrence that we
may feel sure that they belong to the usual method of throwing the
diskos.
[Illustration: Fig. 76. R.-f. kylix, in _British Museum_, E. 6.]
1. The diskobolos holds the diskos in front of him in both hands (Fig.
76).
2. He holds the diskos flat in his right hand which is turned outwards
so that the diskos rests against the forearm. The left hand is usually
raised above the head.[582]
[Illustration: Fig. 77. B.-f. kelebe. British Museum, B. 361.]
The first of these positions is the natural connecting link between the
preliminary stance and Myron’s statue. If no movement of the feet took
place, we should expect to find that the right foot was always advanced.
In many cases this is so, but in the majority the left foot is advanced
(Fig. 77). This circumstance can hardly be due to accident, or
carelessness, or even to the tendency general in Greek sculpture to put
the left foot forward. The uniformity of other details is remarkable.
The advanced leg is always straight or nearly so, the other leg more or
less bent. The right hand always grasps the diskos, the left merely
supports it. We are forced to conclude, therefore, either that the
thrower took up his stand with the left foot forward, or that, as the
diskos swung forward in the left hand, the left foot was advanced. How
then did he pass from this position with the left foot forward to the
position of Myron’s statue? The change of feet may be effected in two
ways—either by making another step forward with the right foot, or by
drawing back the left foot. The former was the method adopted by some of
the competitors in the Olympic games of 1896. Starting with the left
foot forward, the thrower raised the diskos in both hands to a level
with the shoulders and at the moment of swinging it back advanced the
right foot, stepping forward again with the left in making the actual
throw. This method requires room for three steps, the impetus being
helped by this forward movement. The other method requires room only for
one step, and the pendulum-like swing of the left leg, first forward,
then back, and finally forward again, seems at least equally effective
as helping the swing of the body, like the preliminary waggle of a golf
club. Both methods are effective and it seems probable from the vases
that both were employed. The former method is suggested by Fig. 79, the
latter by Fig. 78.
[Illustration: Fig. 78. R.-f. krater of Amasis. Corneto.]
[Illustration: Fig. 79. R.-f. pelike, in British Museum, E. 395.]
[Illustration: Fig. 80. Interior of Fig. 66.]
An examination of the second type with the diskos flat in the right hand
confirms these conclusions. This type is an excellent illustration of
differences due to artistic causes. The attitude of the body varies from
the stiff upright pose of archaic bronzes and vases to the graceful
curves of the stooping figure on a vase assigned to Euphronius (Fig.
80). Sometimes the body is inclined forward, sometimes it is upright,
sometimes it is thrown well back. The essential point, however, is the
position of the arms, and this is always constant. The diskos rests
against the right forearm, and the left hand is raised above the head or
stretched to the front. There can be little doubt that in all these
cases the moment represented is the backward swing of the diskos. The
position of the right hand turned outward is necessary to prevent the
diskos from slipping while the left arm is raised to balance the body as
it swings. The best example of this type is a beautiful little bronze,
exhibited at the Burlington Fine Arts Club in 1903 (Fig. 81). Here the
right foot is well advanced, the right knee bent, and the weight, as in
Myron’s statue, rests entirely on the right leg, the left foot touching
the ground only with the toes. This is the normal position of the right
leg: but just as in the first type when the normal position was with the
left foot forward we found numerous exceptions with the right foot
advanced, so here the left foot is occasionally in front.[583] This
variation points to a variation in the style of throwing. A thrower who
has advanced the left foot in the forward swing, must, as we have seen,
either advance the right foot, or draw back the left to reach the
position of Myron’s statue. If he draws back the left foot, he may let
go the diskos with the left hand first, in which case we have the diskos
swinging back in the right hand and the left leg still advanced. If,
however, he draws back the left leg first, he will for a moment be still
holding the diskos in both hands but the right leg will be still
advanced, and it is noticeable that on vases which show this attitude,
the left foot rests very lightly on the ground and the body is slightly
inclined forward. The precise moment at which the change takes place is
just one of those details in which we should expect to find a difference
in style.
[Illustration: Fig. 81. Fifth-century bronze. (_J.H.S._ xxvii. p. 18.)]
We see then that while the principle observed in Myron’s statue remained
constant, considerable latitude was allowed as to the movements of the
feet and the style of throwing. Bearing this in mind, we may proceed to
reconstruct the method of throwing.
[Illustration: Fig. 75. The Standing Diskobolos. Vatican. Copy of
fifth-century original.]
(_a_) _The Stance and Preliminary Movements._—After first rubbing the
diskos with sand to secure a firm grip as described by Statius, the
thrower takes his stand on the balbis, which is marked out by a line in
front, and possibly at the sides, but not behind, so that he may take as
many steps as he pleases. He takes his stand a little behind the front
line, carefully measuring with his eye the space which he requires, so
as not to overstep the line before the diskos has quitted his hand. This
is the precise moment represented in the Standing Diskobolos (Fig. 75).
The care with which the thrower is planting his right foot, the firm
grip which the toes are taking of the ground, and the consequent
contraction of the muscles of the calf, all indicate that though for the
moment the weight may rest on the left leg, it will immediately be
transferred to the right. The position is one of rest; but it is the
rest which precedes action, and every line of the figure betokens the
readiness for action. Particularly noticeable is the direction of the
head and eyes. The head is inclined to the right and slightly downwards,
and the eyes are fixed on the ground a few feet in front; he is, as I
said, measuring his distance. The right forearm is said to be modern; if
so, the restoration is particularly happy; the position of the arm is
found in certain bronzes resembling the statue, and the nervous curl of
the fingers appropriately suggests the alertness which characterises the
whole figure.
Starting, then, in this position, the thrower swings the diskos forward.
He may either keep the left leg stationary or bring it forward. In the
latter case he will be in the position depicted on the exterior of the
Panaetius kylix in Munich (Fig. 17). The left leg is advanced and
straight, the body leans forward, and the right hand is extended to the
front, ready to grip the diskos as it swings to the front. The
completion of the movement is shown on the interior of the same kylix
where the thrower grasps the diskos in both hands, his body leaning
backward with a pendulum-like movement preparatory to the swing
backwards.
The position of the standing diskobolos is reproduced in certain bronzes
but does not occur on the vases. The latter suggest an alternative
method of starting, the diskos being swung forward not in the left hand
but in both hands. Such is perhaps the explanation of the figure on a
black-figured lekythos in the British Museum (Fig. 82) and of certain
other vases.
[Illustration: Fig. 82. B.-f. lekythos, in British Museum, B. 576.]
[Illustration: Fig. 83. Bronze statuette. New York.]
A totally distinct stance is represented by a fine bronze in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (Fig. 83). The thrower stands
with the right foot forward and the diskos raised in the left hand level
with the head. A similar type occurs on several vases, the best of which
is a red-figured krater in the Ashmolean at Oxford.[584] From this
position the diskos is raised above the head in both hands. This moment
is represented in a bronze in the National Museum at Athens.[585] The
thumb of the left hand is turned inwards on the inside of the diskos,
whereas on the vases it is usually on the outside. The thumb could not
be on the inside if the diskos was swung upwards in the manner first
described. There can therefore be no doubt that we have here a totally
distinct style. A British Museum bronze (Fig. 84) carries the movement a
little further and shows the moment of transition to the downward swing.
The diskos, instead of being upright, lies flat on the palm of the right
hand, while the left hand only touches it lightly and is on the point of
letting go. Here, too, the thumb is on the inside. In all these bronzes
the right leg is advanced, and it seems probable, therefore, that there
has been no movement of the feet.
[Illustration: Fig. 84. Bronze diskobolos, in British Museum, 675.]
(_b_) _The Backward Swing._—At this point the left hand releases its
hold and the diskos is swung back in the right hand. If the right foot
is in front, no change of feet is necessary; if the left is in front,
either the left must be drawn back or the right foot advanced. The body,
which at the end of the swing forward was upright or inclined backwards,
is bent first forwards and then sideways, the head following the
movements of the body. The diskos is held flat in the hand and the hand
turned outwards till it passes the body. We have already seen several
representations of the early part of the swing. The later part is finely
represented on a red-figured kylix in the Louvre (Fig. 85), and a
fragment of an alabastron at Würzburg shows an interesting back view of
the same movement.
[Illustration: Fig. 85. R.-f. kylix. Louvre.]
The top of the swing is, of course, represented in Myron’s statue. An
interesting variation of the top of the swing occurs on a number of
coins of Cos belonging to the early part of the fifth century (Fig. 86).
These coins have been often misinterpreted and supposed to represent a
distinct moment either before or after the top of the swing. A few
experiments would convince any one that no one but a contortionist could
pass from this position to that of Myron’s statue or _vice versa_. An
examination of a series of these coins leads to the conclusion that the
peculiarities which they present are due to artistic causes. The maker
of the coin die has tried to represent the top of the swing from the
front, and the difficulty of the task has been too much for him. The
amount of foreshortening required to represent the forward bend of the
body was far beyond him, and even if it had not been, the success of the
result on a coin would be more than doubtful. He therefore adopted the
obvious expedient of bending the body to the right instead of forwards.
The bend of the right arm which is noticeable on some of the coins is
clearly due to considerations of space. The diskos is represented at
right angles to the body, because, if drawn parallel, it would appear
from the front as a thin line, which in so small a space would be almost
unrecognisable. The position of the unemployed left hand may point to a
difference in the style of throwing.
[Illustration: Fig. 86. Coins of Cos, in British Museum (enlarged).]
(_c_) _The Throw._—“The diskobolos,” says Lucian, speaking of Myron’s
statue, “seems as if he would straighten himself up at the throw.”[586]
At the beginning of the swing forward the extensor muscles come into
play, and by a vigorous lift from the right thigh the whole body is
raised and straightened. This momentary but most important movement is
cleverly represented on two vases, a Panathenaic vase in Naples and a
black-figured hydria in the British Museum (Figs. 87, 88).[587] The
attitude depicted is unique in Greek athletic art, which prefers
positions of comparative rest and equilibrium. But here we have a sort
of snapshot, an impressionist picture of a position almost too momentary
to be seen, too unstable to maintain. On the Panathenaic vase
especially, the thrower seems to be flying from the ground in a way
which recalls the figures of winged Victory so strongly as to suggest
the idea that the attitude is borrowed from that type. The diskobolos,
however, has no wings, and unless he quickly recovers his equilibrium by
advancing one foot, he must fall to the ground.
[Illustration: Fig. 87. Panathenaic amphora. Naples, Racc. Cum. 184.]
The modern thrower in the Hellenic style does contrive to rid himself of
the diskos in this attitude without advancing the left foot, but the
throw inevitably suffers, and there is no evidence that the ancients
ever imposed such a restriction. Moreover, in the modern style the
downward swing of the diskos almost precedes the straightening of the
body; on the vase the body is already lifted while the diskos remains
behind. The inevitable conclusion is that the actual throw takes place
off the left foot which is advanced before the diskos leaves the hand.
This is the only rational method of throwing, and that this was the
method of the Greeks is proved by the evidence of literature and art.
“The left foot,” says Philostratus in the passage already quoted, “must
be swung forward and follow through with the right hand.” These words
are confirmed by the less definite language of Lucian and Statius, and
by the vases. A red-figured kylix at Boulogne (Fig. 89) shows the early
part of the movement, and the continuation is seen on a black-figured
hydria in Vienna (Fig. 90). On both vases the diskobolos strides forward
with the left leg.
The so-called bronze diskoboloi of Naples are said to represent the
movement after the throw, but this interpretation seems impossible, in
view of the position of the arms and the alertness and expectancy
expressed both by the figures and the heads, and I have no doubt that
they are really wrestling boys. Moreover, as the diskos leaves the hand,
the natural tendency is to advance the right foot to prevent the thrower
from falling forward, and in the bronzes the left foot is advanced. The
attitude of the follow through must have been somewhat similar to that
of the youth on the right hand in Fig. 89, but it is impossible with
certainty to identify such figures with diskos throwers.
[Illustration: Fig. 88. B.-f. hydria. British Museum, E. 164.]
[Illustration: Fig. 89. R.-f. kylix. Boulogne.]
In modern throwing competitions it is generally the rule that the
thrower may not overstep the line till the object has quitted the hand.
If this was the rule of the Greeks, the diskos thrower was not allowed
to overstep the line with the left foot; such a rule offers a natural
explanation of the position of the head in the Standing Diskobolos
described above. Dr. Pernice has recently tried to prove that the diskos
thrower took his stand with the right foot immediately behind the line,
and that it was this foot which was not allowed to cross the line. There
is little difference between his view and mine, seeing that in any case
the right foot is stationary till the throw is completed, and only
follows through after the diskos has left the hand. In support of his
view Dr. Pernice cites certain vases where, as he says, a figure is
seated on the ground carefully watching the thrower’s right foot.[588]
This evidence seems to me far from conclusive, seated figures being
commonly introduced in early art for the sake of variety or to fill
empty spaces. Moreover, this view does not explain the position of the
statue. In the dearth of further evidence no certainty is attainable.
A summary of the movements described may be useful—
1. The stance.
(_a_) Position of standing diskobolos (Fig. 75), or
(_b_) Diskos held in both hands level with the waist (Fig. 82),
or
(_c_) Diskos raised in left hand level with the head (Fig. 83).
From these positions, with or without a change of foot, the diskos is
raised to
2. Position with left foot forward (usually) and diskos in both
hands,
(_a_) Extended horizontally to the front (Fig. 76, etc.), or
(_b_) Raised above the head.
3. The diskos is swung downwards, resting on the right forearm. If
the left foot is forward, either before or in the course of the
swing,
(_a_) The left foot is drawn back (Fig. 78), or
(_b_) The right foot is advanced (Fig. 79), so that we reach
4. The position of Myron’s diskobolos (Fig. 13).
5. At the beginning of the swing forward the body is straightened
(Figs. 87, 88).
6. And as the diskos swings down, the left foot is vigorously
advanced (Figs. 89, 90).
7. Finally after the diskos has left the hand, the right foot is
again advanced.
[Illustration: Fig. 90. B.-f. hydria. Vienna, 318.]
We see then that the principle contained in Myron’s statue remains
fixed, while there is room for considerable diversity in style and
detail, especially in the movement of the feet. This scheme differs
essentially from both the styles employed in the modern Olympic games.
The “free style” abandons the principle; the so-called Hellenic style
demands a slavish adherence to an artificial model. When diskos-throwing
was first revived in Athens in 1896, the Greeks and other competitors,
taking for model Myron’s statue and untrammelled by theories, naturally
developed a style which certainly approximated to the true style of the
ancients. A new method was invented shortly afterwards by foreign
athletes, particularly Americans, who applied to the diskos the
principles employed in throwing the hammer and the heavy weight, in
which the force is gained by one or more complete turns of the body.
This method was certainly effective, but it was not Greek, and it
destroyed the distinctive character of the exercise. This annoyed the
Greeks, and to check such innovations they devised the so-called
“Hellenic style,” and in the last two Olympic games there were separate
competitions in the two styles. Unfortunately “the Hellenic style” is as
far removed from the true style as the free style. The throw is made
from the ridiculous sloping balbis already described, and it is ordained
that because Myron’s diskobolos has his right foot forward, the right
foot must be kept forward till the completion of the throw. A more
senseless restriction it is hard to imagine. Not only is it fatal to all
grace and freedom of movement, but it shows a complete misunderstanding
of the statue, and is, as we have seen, contrary to all the evidence of
literature and art. The mistake is much to be regretted. Diskos-throwing
is a valuable and graceful exercise, which well deserves to find a place
in our modern sports; but if ever it is to regain its popularity, it
must be by a return to the true methods of the ancients.
In heroic times throwing the diskos was a separate event, and various
gods and heroes excelled therein; in historical times it only occurs as
part of the pentathlon, and as such it was accompanied by the flute as
represented in Fig. 77. The only separate competition with the diskos
was at Olbia, a Milesian colony in Scythia, at the festival of Achilles
Pontarches.[589] The diskos, however, seems to have played an important
part in the life of the gymnasium and palaestra if we may judge from the
frequent allusions to it in literature and the countless representations
of it in art. It even won favour with the Romans, who despised most
Greek sports, and Horace mentions throwing the diskos and the javelin as
manly exercises fit for a young soldier.[590] As a physical exercise it
was certainly valuable. According to Lucian it strengthened the
shoulders and gave tone to the extremities.[591] Doctors approved of it,
and Aretaeus recommends it as a cure for chronic headache and
dizziness.[592]
Footnote 562:
For this chapter _vide_ _J.H.S._ xxvii. 1-36, where full references
will be found; and Jüthner’s _Antike Turngeräthe_, pp. 18 ff.
Footnote 563:
References collected by Jüthner, pp. 19-21.
Footnote 564:
Dodwell, _Tour through Greece_, 1819, ii. p. 39.
Footnote 565:
_Ol._ x. 72; _Isthm._ i. 23.
Footnote 566:
Cambridge, _Fitzwilliam Museum_, 70, 72; Kavvadias Ἰλυπτὰ τοῦ Ἐθνικοῦ
Μους. 93; Salzmann, _Nécropole de Camiros_, Pl. viii.
Footnote 567:
_supra_, p. 183.
Footnote 568:
Ἐχσοίδα(ς) μ’ ἀνέθηκε ΔιϜὸς Φο(ύ)ροιν μεγάλοιο χάλκεον ᾦ νίκασε
Κεφαλ(λ)ᾶνας μεγαθύμους.
Footnote 569:
Jüthner, pp. 28, 29; Figs. 21, 22, 23.
Footnote 570:
Paus. i. 35, 3.
Footnote 571:
Paus. vi. 19, 3.
Footnote 572:
Philostratus, _Heroic._ p. 291.
Footnote 573:
_l.c._
Footnote 574:
_Theb._ vi. 675.
Footnote 575:
_Im._ i. 24 (Benndorf and Schenkl). Fully discussed in _J.H.S._ xxvii.
9; cp. Jüthner in _Eranos Vindob._ p. 317; Pernice in _Jahrb._, 1908,
p. 95.
Footnote 576:
Cp. G. S. Robertson, “On throwing the Discos,” in _Official Handbook
of the Olympic Games, 1908_, pp. 79-85.
Footnote 577:
_vide_ p. 261.
Footnote 578:
This is the obvious meaning of μὴ τέρμα προβάς in Pindar, _Nem._ vii.
70.
Footnote 579:
In _Jahrb._, 1908, pp. 95 ff., he enumerates Gerh. _A. V._ 22, Naples
3084, _B.M. Vases_, E. 256. On the B.M. vase we see a familiar type of
a youth preparing to throw a javelin; the vase in Gerh. represents the
same type, but left-handed, whether by accident or intention; the
Naples vase is equally inconclusive.
Footnote 580:
_Theb._ vi. 679-712.
Footnote 581:
_Vide_ Kietz, _Diskoswurf_, Munich, 1892. Six in _Gaz. Archéolog._
1888, 291. Jüthner _l.c._ Chryssaphis, _Bulletin du Comité des Jeux
Olympiques 1906_, p. 57. Criticisms of these schemes will be found in
_J.H.S._ _l.c._
Footnote 582:
A full list of the vases and bronzes representing these two types is
given in _J.H.S._ _l.c._ pp. 14-24.
Footnote 583:
_J.H.S._ _l.c._ p. 18.
Footnote 584:
No. 561.
Footnote 585:
No. 7412. Cp. r.-f. amphora, Munich, 374, published in Hoppin’s
_Euthymidês_.
Footnote 586:
_Philopseud._ 18.
Footnote 587:
Dr. Jüthner deduces from these vases his theory of the _Kreisschwung_,
an impossible method of throwing the diskos by whirling the arm right
round, for a criticism of which _vide_ _J.H.S._ _l.c._ p. 33.
Footnote 588:
Gerh. _A. V._ 260, Naples 3084, _B. M. Vases_, B. 361 (Fig. 77), and a
lekythos in Boulogne (_J.H.S._ _l.c._ Fig. 22).
Footnote 589:
_C.I.G._ i. 2076.
Footnote 590:
_Carm._ i. 8, 10.
Footnote 591:
_Anacharsis_, 27.
Footnote 592:
Krause, _Gym._ p. 464, n. 9.