
Rein holder
wiki: The “Charioteer of Delphi”, also known as Heniokhos (the rein-holder), is one of the best-known statues surviving from Ancient Greece, and is considered one of the finest examples of ancient bronze statues. The life-size statue of a chariot driver was found in 1896 at the Sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi. It is now in the Delphi Archaeological Museum
The statue was erected at Delphi in 474 BC, to commemorate the victory of a chariot team in the Pythian Games, which were held at Delphi every four years in honor of Pythean Apollo. It was originally part of a larger group of statuary, including the chariot, four (possibly six) horses and two grooms. Some fragments of the horses were found with the statue. When intact, it must have been one of the most imposing works of statuary in the world
An inscription on the limestone base of the statue shows that it was commissioned by Polyzalus, the tyrant of Gela, a Greek colony in Sicily, as a tribute to Apollo for helping him win the chariot race. The inscription reads: “Polyzalos dedicated me. … Make him prosper, honoured Apollo”
The Charioteer himself is intact except that his left arm is missing. Greek bronzes were cast in sections and then assembled. When discovered, the statue was in 3 pieces—head and upper torso, lower torso, and right arm. The left arm was probably detached and lost before the statue was buried. This was probably done to protect it from looters, some time after the Sanctuary at Delphi was closed in the 4th century AD
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