Spartan lady
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Bronze figure of a running girl.
Ancient Sparta had a tough tradition which include the expectation that girls too would take part in athletic contests. Pausanias (AD 143-176), author, tells us that girls ran in the Heraia: the games held at Olympia in honour of the goddess Hera. Though separate from the Olympic Games, these games also took place at four-yearly intervals. The contestants are described as wearing a short tunic like the one worn by this bronze figurine. We therefore have some evidence for girl runners in Greece, giving a background for the production of a figure such as this.
520 BC Sparta
British museum
H.13 cm
Bronze with verdigris patina