1. Doidalsas - the name variants
There are several variants of what may have been the same name as it appears in ancient Greek and Latin literature, inscriptions and modern publications. Some of the variants are discussed in this article and its footnotes.
The first part of the name (or names) is variously spelled: Daed-, Daid-, Doed-, Doid-, Dyd-.
Varieties of the second part: -alos, -alsas, -alses, -alsos, -alsus.
Daedalos or Daidalos (Δαίδαλος) Daedalsas Doedalsas Doidalsas (Δοίδαλσας) Doidalses (Δοιδάλσης) Doidalsos (Δοιδαλσος) Doedalsus Dydalsus (Δύδαλσος)
2. "Modern scholars"
The meanings of the terms "modern" and "scholar" may be obvious to many people, particularly those used to reading about historical matters, but not to everybody.
On this website, in articles about history (particularly ancient history), "modern" usually refers to the historical period - especially in "Western world"- since the mid-late 15th century AD, around the beginning of the Renaissance. Key events such as the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the conquest of Granada by the Spanish in 1492 and Columbus' voyage to the Americas in the same year, are seen to mark the end of the Medieval period (the Middle Ages) and the start of a new phase in political,social, religious, philosophical, scientific, technological and artistic activities.
"scholar" is a vague and perhaps old-fashioned term used to mean a person who researches particular subjects in depth. This no longer necessarily implies a reclusive academic working in an ivory tower or an institution such as a university. Many researchers today are independent and new technologies mean they need no longer be trapped in dusty libraries.
In the context of this page's subject the scholars are mostly historians, archaeologists, philologists and epigaphists, as well as museum directors and curators.
3. Pliny the Elder and "Daedalsas"
The Latin text is from Mayhoff's 1906 edition, online at Perseus Digital Library, which includes the emended sentence mentioning Daedalsas:
Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, Book 36, chapter 4. Edited by Karl Friedrich Theodor Mayhoff. Teubner, Leipzig, 1906. At Perseus Digital Library.
I usually prefer to quote from the 1855 English translation of Pliny by Bostock and Riley, which is also at Perseus Digital Library. However, this does not mention Daedalsas, since the emendment was made after they produced their edition. I have therefore replaced the last sentence in the quotation above. Bostock and Riley's version reads like this:
"In the Temple of Juno, within the Porticos of Octavia, there is a figure of that goddess, executed by Dionysius, and another by Polycles, as also other statues by Praxiteles. This Polycles, too, in conjunction with Dionysius, the son of Timarchides, made the statue of Jupiter, which is to be seen in the adjoining temple. The figures of Pan and Olympus Wrestling, in the same place, are by Heliodorus; and they are considered to be the next finest group of this nature in all the world. The same artist also executed a Venus at the Bath, and Polycharmus another Venus, in an erect posture."
Pliny the Elder, Natural history, Book 36, chapter 4. Translated by John Bostock and H. T. Riley. Taylor and Francis, London, 1855. At Perseus Digital Library.
Although the Loeb Classical Library translation by Rackham, Jones and Eichholz does mention Daedalsas, this edition, published around a century after that of Bostock and Riley, seems the more old-fashioned rendering of the text. As you can see there is also a number of differences in the translations.
"... and in the temple of Juno that stands within the Portico of Octavia the image of the goddess herself was made by Dionysius, although there is another by Polycles, while the Venus in the same place was executed by Philiscus and the other statues by Praxiteles. Polycles and Dionysius, who were the sons of Timarchides, were responsible also for the Jupiter in the adjacent temple, while in the same place the Pan and Olympus Wrestling, which is the second most famous grappling group in the world, was the work of Heliodorus, the Venus Bathing of Daedalsas, and the Venus Standing of Polycharmus."
Pliny's Natural History, translated by H. Rackham (volumes 1-5, 9), W. H. S. Jones (vols. 6-8) and
D. E. Eichholz (volume 10). Loeb Classical Library. Published in 10 volumes by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, and William Heinemann, London, 1949-1954. The entire work on one web page, with an introduction and table of contents. At Jon Lange's fascinating Masseiana website.
In the first complete modern edition of Natural history in Latin, edited by Julius Sillig (published in Leipzig, 1831-1836), the questionable clause had been amended to: "venerem lavantem se, sed et aliam stantem polycharmus." Théodore Reinach was later to comment: "Personne ne défend plus aujourd'hui l'audacieuse correction de Sillig." ("Nobody today still defends Sillig's audacious correction.") L'auteur de la Vénus accroupie, Paris, 1897, page 317 [see note 9].
4. Eustathios of Thessaloniki / Dionysius Periegetes / Arrian on Daedalos
Eustathios of Thessalonica (Εὐστάθιος Θεσσαλονίκης, Eustathios of Thessaloniki, circa 1115-1196), a Byzantine archbishop of Thessaloniki and scholar who wrote several works, including commentaries on Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey. Editions of the commentaries are referred to by titles such as Παρεκβολαὶ εἰς τὴν Ὁμήρου Ἰλιάδα καὶ Ὀδύσσειαν and Eustathii archiepiscopi Thessalonicensis commentarii ad Homeri Iliadem pertinentes, often abreviated, e.g. "ad Hom. Il.". His commentary on the lost geographical work by Dionysios Periegetes is often referred to as Scholia on Dionysios Periegetes (Σχόλια στο Διονύσιο Περιηγητή).
Arrian of Nikomedeia (Greek, Ἀρριανός; Latin, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; circa 86-160 AD) was a Greek historian, philosopher, military commander, politician and public servant during and after the reign of Emperor Hadrian. He is best known today for his Anabasis of Alexander (Ἀλεξάνδρου ἀνάβασις), a retelling of Alexander the Great's military campaigns using ancient sources. The reference to Daidalos' statue of Zeus Stratios is said to be a fragment from his Bithyniaka, a now lost history of Bithynia in eight books.
"... και δημιουργόν τίνα ίστορεί πάρα Βιθυνοϊς Δαίδαλον χαλοΰμενον, ου έργον εν Νικομήδεία γενέσθαι θαυμαστόν άγαλμα Στρατιού Διός."
"Porro regionem ad Psillium fluvium sitam Rebantiam dicit, atque artificem quendam apud Bithynos, Daedalum nomine, memorat, cujus opus Nicomediae sit admirabile signum Jovis Stratii. Idem Arrianus refert apud alios referri Odrysi filios esse Thynum et Bithgnum, a quibus regiones nominatae sint."
Gottfried Bernhardy (1800-1875), Dionysius Periegetes : [Opera omnia] graece et latine, cum vetustis commentariis et interpretationibus, line 793. Weidmann, Leipzig, 1828. At the Internet Archive.
Also: Johannes Adolf Overbeck (1826-1895), Die antiken Schriftquellen zur Geschichte der bildenden Künste bei den Griechen (The ancient manuscript sources on the history of Greek visual arts), No. 2045, page 394. Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig, 1868. At the Internet Archive.
Little is known of the attributes or worship of Zeus Stratios (Διὸς στρατίος, Zeus of Armies, or Warlike Zeus), except that he appears to have been a war god and that the rites of his cult appear to have been adapted from Persian religion. Herodotus wrote that the sanctuary of Zeus Stratios at Labraunda (Λάβραυνδα) in Caria was a "large and a holy grove of plane-trees" and that "the Carians are the only people whom we know who offer sacrifices to Zeus by this name". (Herodotus, Histories, Book 5, chapter 119, section 2, At Perseus Digital Library)
For accounts of rites performed for Zeus Stratios, see: Appian (Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς, circa 95-165 AD), The Mithridatic Wars, chapter 9, section 66 and chapter 10, section 70. Translated by Horace White. The Macmillan Company, New York, 1899. At Perseus Digital Library.
5. Strabo on Doidalsos and Astakos
Both English translations of Strabo's Geography online at Perseus Digital Library have Latinized versions of Greek names, including "Doedalsus" for Doidalsos, but the Greek text shows "Δοιδαλσος".
Strabo, Geographica, Book 12, chapter 4, section 2. In Greek. Edited by A. Meineke. Teubner, Leipzig, 1877. At Perseus Digital Library.
6. Memnon of Herakleia
Memnon of Herakleia (Mέμνων, circa 1st century AD) was a Greek historian, probably from Herakleia Pontika (Ἡράκλεια Ποντική), a Bithynian city on the south coast of the Black Sea (Euxine or Pontos), and northwest of Astakos and Nikomedeia. It was also founded by colonists from Megara around the end of the 8th century BC. Parts of Memnon's History of Herakleia have survived in excerpts summarized by Photios I (Φώτιος Α΄, circa 810/820 - 893 AD), Patriarch of Constantinople, in his Bibliotheka (Βιβλιοθήκη).
"Nicomedes enjoyed great prosperity, and founded a city named after himself opposite Astacus. Astacus was founded by settlers from Megara at the beginning of the 17th Olympiad [712 BC] and was named as instructed by an oracle after one of the so-called indigenous Sparti (the descendants of the Theban Sparti), a noble and high-minded man called Astacus. The city endured many attacks from its neighbours and was worn out by the fighting, but after the Athenians sent settlers there to join the Megarians, it was rid of its troubles and achieved great glory and strength, when Dydalsos was the ruler of the Bithynians.
Dydalsos was succeeded by Boteiras, who lived for 76 years, and was in turn succeeded by his son Bas. Bas defeated Calas the general of Alexander, even though Calas was well equipped for a battle, and kept the Macedonians out of Bithynia. He lived for 71 years, and was king for 50 years. He was succeeded by his son Zipoetes, an excellent warrior who killed one of the generals of Lysimachus and drove another general far away out of his kingdom. After defeating first Lysimachus, the king of the Macedonians, and then Antiochus the son of Seleucus, the king of Asia, he founded a city under Mount (?) Lyparus, which was named after himself. Zipoetes lived for 76 years and ruled the kingdom for 48 years; he was survived by four children. He was succeeded by the eldest of the children, Nicomedes, who acted not like a brother but like an executioner to his brothers. However he strengthened the kingdom of the Bithynians, particularly by arranging for the Gauls to cross over to Asia, and as was said before, he founded the city which bears his name."
Memnon, History of Heracleia, chapter 12. At Attalus.
I have replaced "Doedalsus" in the text with "Dydalsos" (Δυδαλσος) as it appears in the Greek text: Memnon, History of Heracleia, chapter 12 in Greek. At Attalus.
7. Thracian Bithynians
Herodotus wrote that the Thracian Thynians and Bithynians living in Anatolia (Asia Minor) were among the peoples subjugated by the Lydian king Croesus (Histories, Book 1, chapter 28). In 547 BC the Persian king Cyrus conquered Croesus' empire, and from around 514 BC much of European Thrace was also subjected by the Persian kings (see History of Stageira Part 4). The historian also described the clothing and arms of the Thracians in the army of King Xerxes that invaded Greece in 480 BC.
"The Thracians in the army wore fox-skin caps on their heads, and tunics on their bodies; over these they wore embroidered mantles; they had shoes of fawnskin on their feet and legs; they also had javelins and little shields and daggers. They took the name of Bithynians after they crossed over to Asia; before that they were called (as they themselves say) Strymonians, since they lived by the Strymon; they say that they were driven from their homes by Teucrians and Mysians. The commander of the Thracians of Asia was Bassaces son of Artabanus."
Herodotus, Histories, Book 7, chapter 75. At Perseus Digital Library.
The Strymon River flows through Bulgaria and Central Macedonia province of northern Greece, passing Amphipolis and emptying into the Strymonic Gulf, east of Halkidiki (see map of Macedonia and the North Aegean Sea).
8. William Ouseley in Bithynia
The inscribed stone and Ouseley's claim for it appear to have been forgotten, and I have so far found no information about its current location.
William Ouseley, Travels in various countries of the East, more particularly Persia ... 1810, 1811, 1812, Volume 3, pages 512-513. Rodwell and Martin, London, 1823. At Googlebooks.
Ouseley's letter to The Classical Journal and his drawing of the Arrian inscription were published in:
The Classical Journal, No. XXXII, Volume 16, September and December 1817, page 394. A. J. Valpay, London, 1817. At Googlebooks.
9. Théodore Reinach on Doidalsas and the Crouching Aphrodite
Théodore Reinach (1860-1928), was a real polymath, having practised as a historian, archaeologist, papyrologist, philologist, epigrapher, numismatist, musicologist, mathematician, professor, lawyer and politician.
Théodore Reinach, L'auteur de la Vénus accroupie (The author of the Crouching Venus). In: La Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1897, pages 314-324. 478e Livraison, 3e Période, Tome Dix-Septième, 1er Avril 1897. PDF at Gallica, Bibliothèque nationale de France, gallica.bnf.fr.
10. Doidalsas in museum guide books
From the official guide book to the Herakleion Archaeological Museum, Crete:
"Along the northern side of the Gallery [Gallery XX] are some extremely important sculptures from Gortys, many of them copies, e.g. a naked torso of a youth (No. 343) which is a copy of the Doryphoros by Polykleitos, a statue of Aphrodite kneeling in her bath (No.43), a copy of a work by Doidalsas, and a statue of Athena Parthenos (No. 347), a copy of a work by Pheidias."
J. A. Sakellaris (Director of the Herakleion Museum and Associate Professor of Archaeological at the University of Athens), Illustrated guide to Herakleion Museum, page 143. Ekdotike Editions, Athens, 1985 (© 1978).
From the official guide book to the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, National Museum of Rome:
"Doidalsas's Aphrodite". Caption to a photo of the Crouching Aphrodite from Hadrian's Villa, page 36.
page 36, First Floor, Room V:
"Several works come from Hadrian's Villa ... above all the copy, unfortunately lacking its arms, of the squatting Aphrodite by the 3rd-century-BC Bithynian sculptor Doidalsas."
page 37, First Floor, Room VII:
"Images of Apollo, nude and dressed as a cithara player, Artemis, armed with a quiver, Dionysus, Athena, Pan, Venus (another copy after Doidalsas) and two copies of Lysippus's Eros the Archer show the popularity of the Olympic pantheon in the decoration of villas."
Matteo Cadario and Nunzio Giustozzi, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Guide. Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo Soprintendenza Speciale per il Colosseo, il Muzeo Nazionale Romano e l'Area Archeologica di Roma. Mondadori Electa S.p.A., Milan, 2016 (first edition 2012).
11. Doidalsas as pupil of Lyssipos and court sculptor
See: Doidalsas or Daedalus, at the Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor.
12. Nikomedes and Aphrodite of Knidos
Pliny the Elder, Natural history, Book 7, chapter 39, and Book 36, chapter 4. At Perseus Digital Library.
Pliny did not say which King Nikomedes of Bithynia was meant, but Nikomedes I (ruled circa 280-255 BC) is often assumed. Nikomedes IV has also been suggested.
Rulers of Bithynia (dates approximate):
Dynasts
Doidalsos, legendary founder (see above); circa 435 BC ?
Boteiras died 376 BC
Bas 376-326 BC
Zipoetes I 326-278 BC, proclaimed first king (basileus) of Bithynia in 297 BC
Kings
Zipoetes II 278-276 BC
Nicomedes I 278-255 BC
Etazeta (regent) 255-254 BC
Ziaelas 254-228 BC
Prusias I Choloss 228-182 BC
Prusias II Cynegos 182-149 BC
Nicomedes II Epiphanes 149-127 BC
Nicomedes III Euergetes 127-94 BC
Nicomedes IV Philopator 94-74 BC
Socrates Chrestus, ruled briefly, around 90 BC
Under the Roman Empire, Nikomedeia became the capital of the province of Bithynia.
13. Eugenie Sellers on Doidalsas and the Crouching Aphrodite
K. Jex-Blake and Eugenie Sellers, The elder Pliny's chapters on the history of art, page 208, and Addenda to page 208 on page 239. Translation by K. Jex-Blake, with commentary and historical introduction by E. Sellers and additional notes contributed by Dr. Heinrich Ludwig Urlichs. Macmillan & Co., London, 1896.
14. Andreas Linfert on Doidalsas and the Crouching Aphrodite
Andreas Linfert, Der Meister der Kauernden Aphrodite (The master of the Crouching Aphrodite). In: Mitteilungen der deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, athenische Abteilung 84 (1969), pages 158-164.
15. Jane Francis on the Crouching Aphrodite
Jane Francis, The Roman Crouching Aphrodite. Mouseion, XLVI - Series III, Volume 2, 2002, No. 2, pages 211-244. At academia.edu.
16. Leonard Barkan on Doidalsas as philological coinage
"Although some scholars remain true to the idea that there was a Doidalsas who sculpted the Crouching Aphrodite (e.g. Storia naturale, 5.585), the suggestion that he is simply a philological coinage, which seems to originate with Andreas Linfert (Der Meister der Kauernden Aphrodite)."
Leonard Barkan, Unearthing the past: Archaeology and aesthetics in the making of Renaissance culture, page 371, note 58. Yale University Press, 1999. At Googlebooks.
17. Antonio Corso on Doidalsas doubters
Antonio Corso, The art of Praxiteles II: The mature years, note 176, page 246. L'Erma di Bretschneider, 2004.
18. The Marsyas Painter and the Painter of Athens 1472
See: Sue Allen Hoyt, Masters, pupils and multiple images in Greek red-figure vase painting. Dissertation, Ohio State University, 2006. |
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