The Statue Diana Of Gabii By Olga Polagia

“She binds her wavy hair with a single fillet and gathers the ends in a bun. The goddess wears a knee length chiton...as she raises both arms to fasten the ends of a large mantle over her right shoulder. ( 125) This description of the statue Diana of Gabii by Olga Polagia, associate professor of classical archeology at the University of Athens, and by J.J. Pollitt, professor of classical archeology and history of art at Yale University, identifies a statue of a young woman discovered on the property of Prince Borghese in Gabii and now has many copies all over the world including one in the Louvre, as the goddess Artemis. In Polagia's description of the statue Diana of Gabii , there are three key features that lend to the identification of the

. . whom so oft thou gavest thy bow to bear, thy arrows and thy quiver!" (5.610) This quote by Ovid from his Metamorphoses describes the second feature that identifies the Diana of Gabii statue as Artemis which is the position of the statue. A defining feature of the goddess Artemis is her arrow and quiver. In statues, vases, and paintings the goddess is "represented as carrying arrows" (Bell 13) and "carrying a quiver" (Bell 196). Because Artemis is often depicted with a quiver on her back, her arm position is usually raised as if drawing an arrow from the quiver. The statue of Diana of Gabii is no different from other statues. Diana of Gabii's arm which is raised to pin on a garment, mimics the action of drawing an arrow from a quiver on her back. Diana of Gabii, as she stands pinning her garment, leans against the trunk of a tree. This specific detail is not only provided by the artist for the integrity of the statue but also provides insight into the intended scenery surrounding the character. "Praise Artemis too, the maiden huntress, who wanders on the mountains and through the woods." (Aristophanes, Thesmophoriazusae 114) As shown in this description of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt is often connected to and depicted in the woods. The artist's decision to make the stabilizer a tree trunk, as apposed to a pillar or rock, reveals the intention of the artist to place Diana of Gabii in the woods. The position of statue,

The first feature of the statue's clothing that identifies the statue as Artemis, is the length of her tunic. As a huntress, Artemis's garments must be suitable for hunting, thus her tunic often doesn’t go past her knees. The second defining feature of the goddess Artemis's clothing is her shoes. As a huntress in the woods, Artemis would need shoes to make hunting and moving in the woods easier. The second feature of the statue Diana of Gabii , that identifies the woman as Artemis is her arrow and quiver. Diana of Gabii's arm which is raised to pin on a garment, mimics the action of drawing an arrow from a quiver on her back which is a common position that artists use to portray Artemis. The final feature of Diana of Gabii is the artists choice to stabilize the statue using a tree trunk. Although the artist could have used something different such as a pillar or rock, they instead chose a tree trunk revealing that the woman was intended to be in the woods. This intended scenery leads to the identification of the woman in the Diana of Gabii statue as Artemis, goddess of the hunt, who is often depicted in the woods. The final reason the Diana of Gabii is recognized as the goddess Artemis is her hair. Artemis is the goddess of the hunt and like other gods, Artemis’s headband not only keeps hair from her face as she hunts but also