Doryphoros

Doryphoros

Luna marble. Roman copy of the late 1st cent. BCE — early 1st cent. CE after a Greek bronze original of the 5th century BCE.

The Doryphoros (Greek Δορυφόρος, "Spear-Bearer") of Polykleitos is one of the best known Greek sculptures of classical antiquity, depicting a solidly built, muscular, standing warrior, originally bearing a spear balanced on his left shoulder.

The figure's head turned slightly to the right, the heavily-muscled but athletic figure of the Doryphoros is depicted standing in the instant that he steps forward from a static pose. The left hand originally held a long spear; the left shoulder (on which the spear originally rested) is depicted as tensed and therefore slightly raised, with the left arm bent and tensed to maintain the spear's position. The right arm hangs positioned by the figure's side, bearing no load. It is perhaps the earliest extant example of a free-hanging arm in a statue.

(Naples, National Archaeological Museum.)