Paeonius

Paeonius (Greek: Παιώνιος Paionios) of Mende, Chalkidiki was a Greek sculptor of the late 5th century BC. He most likely received his early training in Northern Greece and is thought to have later adapted Athenian stylistic elements into his own work, based upon his probable interaction with the Olympia workshop of Pheidias. In any case, he was “attic-trained.”

Paeonius won the commission to decorate the acroteria of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, as described in the pedestal inscription on his Nike statue. An ancient account also references Paeonius' work at Olympia. Pausanias attributes the front (east) pedimental sculptures of the Temple of Olympian Zeus to Paeonius. The Nike Temple parapet at Athens is also often attributed to Paeonius, on the basis of similarities between the styles of drapery on both monuments. Despite this assertion, scholars continue to debate the reliability of these attributions based upon the various interpretations of the scant additional evidence.

The Nike of Paionios featured prominently in the design of medals of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, as it did in the design of medals from the next three Olympiads. The statue likely influenced later artistic renderings of victory personified. It is on permanent exhibition at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia.

The only work that can be positively attributed to him is the statue of Nike (c. 420 BC) discovered at Olympia. The Nike of Paeonios adorned a three-sided triangular pillar roughly 30 feet tall. She stood in the altis of the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia. With her wings and head intact, the statue itself was about 3 meters tall. Her drapery would have been painted red. The German School began excavations at Olympia in 1875; the French School had done excavations earlier in the nineteenth century.

The Nike of Paeonius was erected c. 420 BC; a few years after the Athenian allies defeated the Spartans at the Battle of Sphacteria in 425 BC. The inscription reads that it was “dedicated by the Messenians and Naupaktians as a tithe of the spoils of their enemies.

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