May 2021

Statuette of Asklepios from Olynthos (ΜΘ 226)

Statuette of Asklepios from Olynthos (ΜΘ 226) ©Ministry of Culture - AMTh

Statuette of Asklepios made of probably pentelic marble.

The head, the right arm from the wrist up, the legs from the lower part of the shins, the edge of the himation, the lower part of the staff and the snake coiled around it are missing. The left forearm was worked separately and attached.

The figure with the head turned to the left has the weight on its right leg while its left is relaxed. He wears a himation which covers the lower part of the torso and leans on a staff. A snake was coiled around the lower part of the staff. Only the head of this snake looking upwards is preserved. The workmanship is meticulous, with even minor details rendered.

The statuette which dates from before the destruction of Olynthos in 348 BC, is a version of a statue type known as the Akragas Asklepios or Doria Panfili Asklepios. The original has been dated to the decade 370-360 BC and attributed to a Peloponnesian artist.

The exhibit is located at the exhibition, Macedonia from the 7th century BC until the Late Antiquity, Case 35.