Torso of a male
Archaeological museum of ancient Messene
3561-4778 1
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Torso of a male
Archaeological museum of ancient Messene
Archaeological site of ancient Messene
Statue
Marble
Marble torso, possibly of the hero, warrior and doctor Machaon, son of Asclepius. It consists of two parts: No.4778 is the male torso, missing the head, the legs and part of the hands and no. 3561, which is the left arm holding a pointed flat object (an upwardly turned sword). Machaon is shown naked, with his chlamys thrown over his left shoulder, folded around his bent left arm. With it he holds a sword inside its scabbard, turned upwards. Typologically it has been linked with sculptural types of Hermes, most likely derived by the statue of Diomedes, a 5th cent. BCE work attributed to Kresilas. The type was used for statues mainly of heroes, heroised rulers of the hellenistic period, including Alexander III, as well as roman emperors.