L’IMMAGINE DELLA COMPLETEZZA NELLA SCULTURA GRECA E ROMANA: DUE NOTE AL GRUPPO DI ERMES E DIONISO DA OLIMPIA*

Abstract

The date and authorship of the group of Hermes holding the infant Dionysus from Olympia have been
debated since their discovery in 1877. Two points, in particular, have been put forward yet never fully
explored by scholars advocating against a fourth-century BCE date: first, the possibility that the passage
by Pausanias referring to a marble statue of Hermes and Dionysus by Praxiteles may in fact refer to a later
copy; second, the “unfinished” quality of the group’s support and its apparent inconsistency with the work
of a fourth- century master. It is argued here that the choice to define the group as “art (τέχνη) of Praxiteles”,
instead as “work (ἔργον) of Praxiteles”, is in line with Pausanias’ interest in technical and material features as
chronological indicators. The shape and surface of the group’s supports seem to reflect intentional stylistic
choices that are ultimately irrelevant to the purpose of dating and cannot be considered simple indicators of
the work of a Roman copyist.