DH.081 Theseus and Skiron Metope

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Creator

Denis Baly

Creation Year

1978

Image ID

DH.081

Subcollection

DH: Delphi

Abstract

A metope from the Athenian Treasury, depicting the Hero Theseus fighting the "Brigand Skiron," his fourth task. Skiron was a robber from Corinth known for throwing passersby into the sea, and Theseus dispatched him in the same way.

Description

Metope 4 of the Athenian Treasury, depicting the fight between Theseus and Skiron, a robber of the Isthmus of Corinth, on the border of Megaris. This was Theseus' fourth task, and one that is well represented in literature, though less so than other labors. It's representation in art appears around the 5th century BCE, and a similar metope appears a few decades later on the Temple of Hephaistos in the Athenian Agora. The story, as related by both Plutarch and Pausanias, goes that Skiron sat on a treacherous pass and asked travelers to wash his feet. As they did so, he kicked them into the sea, where a giant tortoise swam up and siezed them. Theseus, on his journey to Athens, killed him by hurling off the precipice to meet the same fate as his victims. Plutarch, in his account, records that the Megarian historians hold that Skiron was in fact a punisher of robbers, evidenced by his association with powerful and respected Megarian families. This is the least mythological of Theseus' labors, and it possible that a real historical figure, guarding the border of a hostile state, grew into the robber brigand of Athenian legend. A copy of the metope can be seen in context in DH.33.

Image Notes

Creation date unknown. Photograph processed July 1978. Notes written on the slide or index: Athenian Treasury Metope: (Theseus and) the brigand Skiron.

Image Format

35 mm slide

Geographic Reference

Delfoi, Greece