68. Polykleitus (active during the 5th century B.C.E.),

Doryphoros (spear-holder), Classical style, 50-150 B.C.E.

Roman copy of a Greek original, c. 450-440 B.C.E.

Pentelic marble. Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis.

 

 

Polykleitos

(Active during the 5th century B.C.E.)

 

Polykleitos was a contemporary of Phidias, and in the opinion of the Greeks, his equal. He made a figure of an Amazon for Ephesus regarded as superior to the Amazon of Phidias made at the same time; and his colossal Hera of gold and ivory, which stood in the temple near Argos, was considered worthy to rank with the Zeus of Phidias.

The masterpiece of Polykleitos, his Hera of gold and ivory, has of course totally disappeared. Ancient critics reproached Polykleitos for the lack of variety in his works.