This investigation relies on a rash bet: to write the biography of two of the most famous statues in Antiquity, the Tyrannicides. Representing the murderers of the tyrant Hipparchus in full action, these statues erected on the Agora of Athens have been in turn worshipped, outraged, and imitated. They have known hours of glory and moments of hardships, which have transformed them into true icons of Athenian democracy.The subject of this book is
the remarkable story of this group statue and the ever-changing significance of its tyrant-slaying subjects. The first part of this book, in six chapters, tells the story of the murder of Hipparchus
and of the statues of the two tyrannicides from the end of the sixth century to the aftermath of the restoration of democracy in 403. The second part, in three chapters, chronicles the fate and influence of the statues from the fourth century to the end of the Roman Empire. These chapters are followed by an epilogue that reveals new life for the statues in modern art and culture, including how Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union made use of their iconography. By tracing the long trajectory of the
tyrannicides-in deed and art-Azoulay provides a rich and fascinating microhistory that will be of interest to readers of classical art and history.
This investigation relies on a rash bet: to write the biography of two of the most famous statues in Antiquity, the Tyrannicides. Representing the murderers of the tyrant Hipparchus in full action, these statues erected on the Agora of Athens have been in turn worshipped, outraged, and imitated. They have known hours of glory and moments of hardships, which have transformed them into true icons of Athenian democracy.The subject of this book is
the remarkable story of this group statue and the ever-changing significance of its tyrant-slaying subjects. The first part of this book, in six chapters, tells the story of the murder of Hipparchus
and of the statues of the two tyrannicides from the end of the sixth century to the aftermath of the restoration of democracy in 403. The second part, in three chapters, chronicles the fate and influence of the statues from the fourth century to the end of the Roman Empire. These chapters are followed by an epilogue that reveals new life for the statues in modern art and culture, including how Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union made use of their iconography. By tracing the long trajectory of the
tyrannicides-in deed and art-Azoulay provides a rich and fascinating microhistory that will be of interest to readers of classical art and history.
Acknowledgements
Foreword by Paul Cartledge
Introduction
PART ONE
Chapter 1
First scene
The murder of Hipparchus
BIRTHS AND GROWING PAINS
The Tyrannicides between glory and outrage
Chapter 2
Date of birth unknown
Antenor's Tyrannicides
Chapter 3
A second birth
The statuary group produced by Critius and Nesiotes
Chapter 4
The artist's studio as a playground
Iconographic variations based on the Tyrannicides (c. 470-411
B.C.)
Chapter 5
The disorders of a thankless age
The oligarchic revolution of 411 B.C. and its consequences
Chapter 6
Their finest hour
The revived glory of the statuary group in the restored democracy
(403 B.C.)
PART 2
THE AGE OF REASON?
The incomplete normalisation of the Tyrannicides
Chapter 7
The age of honours
New meanings for the monument in the fourth century
Chapter 8
Model "notables"
The Tyrannicides in the Hellenistic period
Chapter 9
Forever young
The uses of the statuary group in the Roman period
Epilogue
Born Again.
The statuary group's belated rebirth in the West
Conclusion
Appendix
Iconographic allusions to the Tyrannicides group
Bibliography
Vincent Azoulay is Professor of Ancient Greek History at Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée University.
"This is an original and fascinating study that shows how the
statues of Harmodius and Aristogiton and their story have
reverberated down the centuries." -- Brian A. Sparkes, Classics for
All
"Azoulay's book is a pleasure to read -thanks also to the
translator- as he travels with Harmodius and Aristogiton through
the Athenian Agora, down unexpected Roman colonnades, and Syrian
alleys. Although, as he confesses, the topic is familiar from
political history and art history ('a torrent of specialist
studies' 4; cf. 13), Azoulay presents good observations on the
ambivalent ideologies of this statuefied pairing and unexpected
viewpoints on changing
'strategies of celebration.'" --Donald Lateiner, Ohio Wesleyan
University, in Bryn Mawr Classical Review
"The overall design of [Azoulay's] microhistory is ingenious. By
focusing on a single object originally found at the center of
Athens, he conveys us meaningfully through seven centuries of
political evolution: Harmodius and Aristogiton become the fixed
points around which all of Greek history revolves." -- New York
Review of Books
"This exhilarating study unpacks the multifaceted life and
afterlife of two statues in Naples, known jointly as the
Tyrannicides, depicting Athenian heroes Harmodius and Aristogeiton
about to strike down Hipparchus, the brother of the Athenian tyrant
Hippias, in 514 BCE." -- CHOICE
"Vincent Azoulay's work builds on his predecessors ... He offers a
comprehensive account of the sources, whether literary,
iconographic, historical, or epigraphic ... Paul Cartledge offers a
stimulating and sympathetic foreword, and the concluding notes and
bibliography are exceptionally full and detailed." -- Lucilla Burn,
Times Literary Supplement
"Vincent Azoulay has written an important and thoroughly engaging
object biography of one of the most important monuments in the
history of Greek art, which stood for centuries in the Athenian
Agora. While much has been written about this group, Azoulay's
novel approach is to consider the changing ideas, perceptions, and
reception of this monument over the long arc of its history. This
study makes an important contribution to the history of honorific
statuary
and the role of public art in the Greek city." --Sheila Dillon,
Duke University
"This wonderfully readable and deeply learned book breathes life
into two statues, allowing them to lead us on an immensely engaging
journey that begins with intrigue, murder, and factional politics,
continues with insult and redemption, and concludes with undying
renown. Along the way we visit Athens, Persia, Rome, Russia and
many points in between. And we learn how a master historian
interweaves historiography, epigraphy, iconography, poetry, and
political
philosophy into a masterful narrative to explain anew why modernity
can never be free of the spell of the classical past." --Josiah
Ober, Stanford University
"To understand the story of the Tyrannicides and the statues they
inspired is to understand Athenian art and history, how they
related in antiquity, and how they have related and resonated in
the modern world. Vincent Azoulay is a sure guide, untangling the
histories of this powerful myth and powerful icon both in antiquity
and through to the twentieth century." --Robin Osborne, University
of Cambridge
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