<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Charioteer of Delphi, (3: 38), Smarthistory </Td> </Tr> <P> Most bronze statues from ancient times were melted down for their raw materials or were naturally corroded, but the Charioteer survived because it was buried under a rock - fall at Delphi, which probably destroyed the site in 373 B.C. . Some freestanding bronze statues, however, including the charioteer, have been rediscovered in the 20th century . Although the Charioteer is the last remaining bronze sculpture from Delphi, the figure exhibited a similar bluish appearance which after a century of indoor exposure turned greenish . The lower torso still preserves a bluish coloration . The Charioteer is almost intact except that his left forearm and some details on the head are missing including the copper inlays on the lips and most of the silver eyelashes and headband . The statue is one of the few Greek bronzes to preserve the inlaid glass eyes . Greek bronzes were cast in sections and then assembled . When discovered, the statue was in three pieces--head and upper torso, lower torso, and right arm . </P> <P> The figure is of a very young man, as is shown by his soft side - curls . Like modern jockeys, chariot racers were chosen for their lightness, but also needed to be tall, so they were frequently teenagers . It seems that it represents a teenager from a noble family of his time . As we know, aristocratic chariot racers selected their drivers from glorious noble families to race their chariot in the Panhellenic games . The Charioteer wears the customary long tunic, (the xystin), reaching down to his ankles . A wide belt tightens the tunic high above the waist, while two other bands pass as suspenders over the shoulders, under the arms and criss - cross in the back . This is the analavos which keeps the garment from billowing in the wind during the race . The deep vertical pleats in the lower part of the tunic emphasize the Charioteer's solid posture, resembling also the fluting of an Ionic column . On the upper part of the body, however, the pleats are wavy, diagonal or curved . This contrast in the garment representation is also followed by the body's contrapuntal posture, so that the statue does not show any rigidity, but looks perfectly mobile and almost real . The entire statue is as if it is animated by a gradual shift to the right starting from the solid stance of the feet and progressing sequentially through the body passing the hips, chest and head to end up at its gaze . The hands are spread out holding the reins, with the long and thin fingers tightening--together with the reins--a cylindrical object, the riding crop . The Charioteer is not portrayed during the race, as in this case his movement would be more intense, but in the end of the race, after his victory, when--being calm and full of happiness--he makes the victory lap in the hippodrome . His attractive gemstone eyes evoke what Classical period Greeks called ethos and balance . His motion is instantaneous, but also eternal . In spite of the great victory, there are no shouts, but a calm inner power . The face and the body do not have the features of arrogance, but those of calm self - confidence . </P> <P> Unusually for this era, the Charioteer is clothed head to foot . Most athletes at this time would have competed, and been depicted nude . The young man would certainly have been of a lower status than his master Polyzalos, and Honour and Fleming have speculated that he may have been a household slave whom it was not appropriate to depict in the nude . </P>

The charioteer is a famous bronze statue showing