Mythological motifs have always been very important in Greco-Roman art. When selecting the topic of their works, ancient artists tried to take into account the most moving, emotionally charged, shocking or tragic motifs of their myths.
Here we have one example: a wonderful sculpture of Marsyas, found about ten years ago during excavations near the Park of Aqueducts in Rome. The sculpture was most likely made during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. It decorated the villa of a certain wealthy Roman – Quintus Servilius Pudens, the owner of a brickyard who supplied building materials for imperial investments.
Marsyas was a figure from Greek mythology – one of those semi-divine extraordinary beings populating the world of Greek beliefs, and at the same time a tragic victim of divine rivalries and passions.
The story of Marsyas begins innocently – with the invention of the aulos – a double pipe – by the goddess Athena. The goddess was proud of her invention and by playing it, she made the gods’ Olympic feasts more pleasant. But other goddesses – Hera and Aphrodite – were jealous of the admiration that Athena’s play caused in the male part of the divine audience. So they started imitating Athena and making fun of her puffed out cheeks. Humiliated, Athena was moved by their criticism and threw out the aulos along with a curse that would fall on whoever found it.
And here comes Marsyas, who found Athena’s aulos and learned to play it beautifully. But his time was already numbered – nothing could reverse the goddess’ curse. And it happened: the beauty of Marsyas’s playing on the aulos attracted the attention of Apollo himself, who was jealous of his fame as the greatest musician in the world. Apollo challenged Marsyas to an artistic duel, in which the nymphs were to be the judges. The stakes of the duel were high: the winner not only gained fame for all time, but above all had the right to deal with the loser as he pleased. Marsyas was to play on his aulos and Apollo on his lyre.
Marsyas was as skilled as Apollo, so the duel remained unresolved for a long time. Apollo then resorted to progress. He turned the lyre upside down and performed a beautiful piece on the instrument. And then he challenged Marsyas to play the aulos “in reverse.” Aulos had a single mouthpiece on one side and two pipes on the other, so playing the other way around was not possible. Thus Marsyas lost to a god jealous of his fame.
Apollo turned out to be an exceptionally cruel winner: he tied Marsyas to a tree and skinned him alive. Only later, when the god realized how badly he had treated his rival and was unable to bring him back to life, did he turn him into a river. Although, according to other versions of the myth, the river was created from tears shed by nymphs lamenting the fate of unfortunate Marsyas.
And Marsyas tied to a tree is depicted in a sculpture found near the Aqueduct Park. The satyr’s body was carved in red marble with numerous white veins. Such material highlights the torment to which Apollo subjected his rival. As a result, the statue is almost associated with an animal carcass suspended on a butcher’s hook. Despite the torture he was subjected to, Marsyas’s face seems calm – maybe this is the sculptor’s way of telling us that the unfortunate man is no longer alive… Or maybe he thought that the blood red of the stone would make such a poignant impression on the viewer that the display of pain on Marsyas’s face is no longer needed?
The Greek and Roman gods were very different from our understanding of the divine. They were envious, power-hungry, vain, jealous. In a word – they succumbed to all ordinary human passions. The fate of Marsyas shows man’s helplessness in the face of the power of immortals. At the same time, it is an illustration of the tragedy of human life, falling victim to divine rivalries over which he has no influence.
I have often wondered why the ancients had such a depressing vision of the relationship between people and gods. I think it is an attempt to answer the question that has always bothered humanity about the meaning of the misfortunes that befall us. Today, believers explain their difficult fate by the trials to which God exposes their faith, or by divine mercy that shortens the suffering of life on earth. The ancients understood the misfortunes that befell them differently – in their understanding, they were victims of the clash of divine powers, which they did not understand and which they were unable to resist.
The sculpture can be seen at the Centrale Montemartini Museum in Rome.
