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Two over-life-size Archaic kouroi (6.5 ft / 2 m) are housed at the Delphi Museum, and date to c. 580 BCE. Their names (Cleobis and Biton) are actually written on their bases, and the sculptor is given as Polymides of Argos: such inscriptions are unusual for this early date. They are ideal representations of strength and masculinity, in the Peloponnesian style.
The myth of Cleobis and Biton is told in Herodotus, 1.31. The two sons carried their priestess mother by cart in place of oxen. They travelled from Argos to the Argive Heraion, some 45 stadia.
At their arrival they collapse, and their mother prays to Hera that they may die in their sleep - the easiest death for mortals. Herodotus tells this story as part of Solon's answer to Croesus' questioning as to who the happiest man is.
After this prayer they sacrificed and feasted. The youths then lay down in the temple and went to sleep and never rose again; death held them there. The Argives made and dedicated at Delphi statues of them as being the best of men.
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James' main area of research is ancient Greek music, but he has general interests in mythology, religion, and art & archaeology. A self-confessed philhellene, James keeps at least one eye on the Roman pie.
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Lloyd, J. (2014, August 16). Cleobis and Biton.
World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Cleobis_and_Biton/
Chicago Style
Lloyd, James. "Cleobis and Biton."
World History Encyclopedia. Last modified August 16, 2014.
https://www.worldhistory.org/Cleobis_and_Biton/.
MLA Style
Lloyd, James. "Cleobis and Biton."
World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 16 Aug 2014. Web. 20 Dec 2024.
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Submitted by James Lloyd, published on 16 August 2014. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
