Myrons Discus Thrower

Ancient Greek sculptor Myron worked mainly in bronze not iron. His most famous sculpture, the“Discobolus”* (the Discus Thrower), is still with us though the original bronze was long ago lost yet its abscence is not unbearable for he exists in many versions of Roman marble – to soften the heart ache of our loss displaying the glory of his iconic final spin poised to hurl his disk for a win. Yet, for all the acute anticipation in his athletic form, this athlete will never score a win or loss, the disk never escape the grip of his hand, and never soar or exceed that measured distance to win, and no hopeful wager’s face ever break into wild rejoicing or know a hefty loss so sore. For Myron’s athlete lives in a world apart from ours, a world of art where time is both illusion and delusion existing only through his creator’s inspiration and a skill few men ever achieve in a lifetime, a world where beauty never perishes and compels us to believe through the power of imagination. *The original Greek bronze dates from about 460–450 BC and is lost, but the work is known through numerous Roman copies in marble, a cheaper material than bronze.