A Statuette of Marsyas at Cyrene

The torture of Marsyas was represented in many sculptures and paintings of the classical period, and indeed one such statuette is at present located in the Cyrene Museum (Inv. No.C14255; Archive No.30). This unpublished statuette, which is made of Pentelic marble and has a total height of 0.82 m (including base), was found near the Forum of Proculus (Caesareum) at Cyrene. Pindar relates how Marsyas found the cursed flute which the vain Athena had discarded and how he later challenged Apollo (playing the lyre) to a musical contest. Apollo agreed on condition that the winner might do as he chose to the loser. Marsyas lost the contest and as a result was tied to a pine tree and flayed alive. The basis of this legend is undoubtedly the contrast between the music of the lyre employed in the worship of the Ionian Apollo and that of the flute used in the religion of Southern Phyrgia. This statuette at Cyrene portrays the sufferings of Marsyas. It is a splendid composition, full of action and yet beautifully harmonious. The hair and the beard are carefully and naturally rendered; the expression of the face is powerful, and Marsyas' despair has been shown most effectively by the distorted features of the face, as indicated by the long upward curve of the eyebrows. The grooves on the forehead and the oblique setting of the eyes enhance the effect. Marsyas has been given a shaggy horse tail and probably also horse ears, and the veins of his body stand out as if they are going to burst, while the muscles are stretched to breaking point. The head has thick hair, which is slightly tangled and seems to be drenched in sweat.