Warriors from Riace

The Warriors from Riace are two sculptures found by a scuba-diving chemist off the coast of Italy (although this picture only shows the back and front of one individual sculpture, not both). It is believed that en route to their destination, their transport ship was sunk and so these statues never made it to their final destination. These are prized for the fact that they are Greek bronzes as opposed to the marble Roman copies of Greek works that were melted down during the Roman conquest. They imitate the realistic stance of the Kritos Boy, however some of their anatomy is incorrect in that muscles that humans don't even possess are highlighted, bulging under their metal skin. The reason it is believed that these forms were slightly untruthfully elaborated on was to get across the theme and purpose behind these. It was to depict Greek dominance through its perfect, fit warriors. They are still impressive even in their lack of anatomical correctness and that was the most important factor. The artist certainly cared for details in these two works. The teeth are made from silver, the nipples and lips from copper, and the eyes are enhanced with bone and glass.