Destinations - Sicily arts and history a cruise onboard ANDREA

Because of an FB pruderie action I remembered a cruise to Sicily, its art and history showing, on board the late ANDREA.
Cruise onboard ANDREA in the Mediterranean - a travel review.

by Earl of Cruise 

The Hercules monument in Kassel, which is listed in the UNESCO Worldheritage list! Delisted by FaceBook because of his "naked butt" ... ridiculous! overbearing! hypocritic! - courtsey GRIMM HEIMAT NORDHESSEN

The Hercules monument in Kassel with a naked butt. Goes not at all, found Facebook. Now tourist administratives have put on a bathing suit. No one, neither the false US, or any other pruderie should be imposed on us European. And art is ART! Wether naked or not, and the prude and/or evangikalists have to withstand it. Period!

The UNESCO Worldheritage HERKULES - Source: YouTube

But it was reminding me on another statue, the charioteer of Mozia, which is now on loan in the BRITISH MUSEUM.

But back to the cruise on board ANDREA, now SERENISSIMA, ex HARALD JARL, and Sicily. We did board ANDREA in Barcelona, the vibrating capitol of Catalonia (Catalan Catalunya [kətəˈluɲə], Spanish Cataluña [kataˈluɲa]. Barca, as I got known of, is one of the most liberal and free spirited city I ever had the luck visiting.

About this special cruise I will post next a review.

Prior to our departure we had the chance to explorer the city for one and a half day, including the excellent nightlife ... in the El Gòtic, (Catalan: Barri Gòtic, IPA: [ˈbari ˈɣɔtik], Spanish: Barrio Gótico) or the Rambla itself, which is rather touristic and not the true ...

We set sails the next evening for Sete and a visit in Carcassone, Marseille, Portofino, Bastia on Corsica, Portofereio on Elba, Capri, Trapani our first stop on Sicily and destined for Mozia (today named Isola San Pantaleo), Syrakusa our second port on Sicily, Gallipoli, then Gruz for Dubrovnik, further Split and finally Venice. Here, sadly, we had to disembark ANDREA.

Sicily has something special to me as historian and for my family history. Once ancestors of mine did serve at the court of Friederich II, (English) also named "stupor mundi", despite being from the medieval ages, he is seen today as the first modern ruler/emperor. He and his grandfather Friedrich I. (Barbarossa) are legal founders of the federal structur of modern Germany.

The Holy Roman Empire (Latin: Sacrum Imperium Romanum, German: Heiliges Römisches Reich) was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806.

Sicily has a vast historic heritage. From the early days of humanity via antique times where Carthago founded it first colony on the island of Mozia. The Greek colonisation. The Roman conquering and colonisation. Then with Arabian and Norman settlings and dukedoms. The Byzantine attempt to get the isle under control. And then in medieval times, some 800 years ago, the family Staufer (Hohenstaufen) inherited the kingdom, formed by the Norman Hauteville dynasty. They originally came from Normandy, where a certain Norman, William the Conquerer, was duke.

After the defeat of the Staufer times in Sicily became turbulent again ... The French family Anjou tried first to establish is reign, and would have been succeesed by the Spanish House of Aragon after the Sicilian Vesper. Then ruled the Savoy´s, but soon changed ownership with Habsburg. But very soon the Spanish, now the Burbon came back. And with Napoléon the ownership of Sicily changed again. Only with the Italian union under Garibaldi Sicily came into Italy.

"Italy without Sicily makes no image in the soul: here is the key to everything," enthused Goethe when he discovered Sicily for himself in 1787.  

With 25,426 square kilometers, Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean. Kilometers of sandy beaches and bustling coasts, national parks, ancient temples, bustling towns with magnificent baroque buildings and Norman fortresses, delicious country cuisine, where you can feel the influence of just 180 kilometers distant Africa and not least the volcano Etna, which is about 3,340 meters high Every visitor.

The statue of the beautiful and tantalizing Charoteer - own collection

But what had been most thrilling to me was the Charioteer of Mozia or Motya. Some time prior to this cruise I watched an art TV show, where the statue was depicted.

Ruins of an ancient house, built by a Carthagian citizen, on Mozia, Sicily - own collection

Mozia, the small but powerful island, is situated on the Western tip of Sicily, between Marsala and Trapani, and is protected by a natural lagoon. It is a totally unassuming place, only accessible by a little water taxi, or our Zodiacs, which we boarded from ANDREA, but has quite a past. The Phoenician city of Mozia (or Motya) was founded in the 8th century BC, taking advantage of the island’s natural defenses. The city was a profitable trading community for centuries but later, regional conflict between the Greeks and Carthaginians spilled over and ultimately led to its destruction in 397 BC. The citizens must have known the end was imminent because they buried one of their greatest treasure - a white marble statue of a charoteer - in advance of the invasion within the walls to strengthen them, when Dionysios I, the Greek ruler of Syracuse, invaded in retaliation. In the 20th century, 1979, the statue was discovered, excavated and nicknamed "The God of Mozia".

Early Phoenician funerary markers from the Mozia Archaeological Museum

The architectural ruins on Mozia are nice and include a massive outer wall, paved main streets, domestic spaces and the foundations of a large temple. The museum on the island displays a collection of small Phoenician and Greek items which in general are early and relatively primitive in design. There are some interesting masks believed to be related to a funerary or human sacrifice ritual (but more on that later!)  In this unassuming museum, you would never expect to see a sculpture of such incredible skill and style - a sculpture that in many ways defies art historical conventions.

We had not been informed, despite I knew in advance, about the "find" to see in the museum. I made a beeline to the special room. And while I was standing awed in front, the other cruise passengers, most elderly women, got so surprised and screem nearly in joy, seeing this statue of am man, clothed but all to be seen. One of the husbands grumbled, "What a fuss she makes! As if she has never seen a nude man." Perhaps not that beautiful ...

Normally Greek olympians went in the nude for their olympic games, what a pitty they don´t do any longer ... The charoteers wore the xystis, as only for these games women had been allowed to. Other games had been by death penalty for the women without them.

Charioteer of Mozia is a very rare surviving example of an original Greek victor’s statue and is believed to represent the winner of a chariot race that took place some 2,500 years ago. He was found in 1979 amid excavations on the tiny island, which was a Phoenician stronghold in ancient times and a region renowned for breeding horses.

The God of Mozia, circa X BC on display at the Mozia Archaeological Museum, Mozia, Sicily

The Charoteer of Mozia is about 1,83 m / 6ft tall with his now lost feet. It is a life size statue, that young man must have been impressive. The young man stands in an exaggerated and provocative contrapposto stance. He wears a thin, diaphanous tunic, a xystis, typical for charoteers in those days, which is held tight against his chest with an elaborate belt over his chest. The xystis was a garment that covered the entire body, and was fastened with a simple belt. Two straps crossed high at the racers back preventing the fabric from `ballooning´ during the race. The broad belt on to which the reins would have been fastened - on the statue were secured via fixings in the two holes in the belt at the front. This prevented the reins from being pulled out of the hands, but also dangerously, prevented the charioteer from being thrown free in any crash.. 

His hand digs sexually provoking into the flesh of his hip with shocking realism. Similar as to the later gladitors the winners of the olympian games got not only fame and sometimes great wealth, they got other offers too, not accompanying a symposion, but for some other activities too ...

Close up of the hand squeezing the hip of “The God of Mozia”

The execution of the sculpture has all the sophistication of the Classical Greek style but with a unique erotic twist.  Males tend to either be nude or robed in more sturdy tunics while women had more ephemeral robes.  The God of Mozia has a very atypical, animated pose. Like he is offering himself for pleasure, or provoking advances. Figural extremes were usually reserved for Bacchus (there is no English Wiki site available ... I am wondering) and his wild followers. Even then, these expressive pieces do not appear until the height of the Classical Greek period where The God of Mozia is much older.

As well as the body of the figure is executed, the exaggerated almond eyes and the tight bundles of hair around The God of Mozia‘s face is reminiscent of archaic Greek pieces such as the Kouros Boy. The cap of his head is rough and likely would have been adorned with an extemporaneous crown. The practice of mounting separate head-pieces or other adornment on marble statues was in practice in the pre-Classical period of Greek sculpture. You can see two example below.  Incorporating elements of archaic and classical Greek sculpture, The God of Mozia is a true cross-over piece.

An early archaic Kouros, in a stiff pose, Egyptian influenced, only the left leg is put forward, the similarities to Egyptian statues are to be seen - own collection

A classical Kouros from the 6th century BC, the body is beginning to get a move, and the body is more defined as the Greeks learned about the body and tried to get the ideal - own collection

The dawn of the Greek Classical Period is commemorated by “a sense of Hellenic identity”, which led to victory over the Persians and a clear delineation between Asian and European cultures. POLYKLEITOS, Doryphoros (Spear Bearer). Roman copy from the palaestra, found in Pompeii, Italy, of a bronze statue of ca. 450-440 BCE. Marble, 1,85 m / 6′ 11″ high. Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples - own collection

The Moschophoros of the Acropolis, ca 570 BC, Acropolis Museum, Athens, Greece - own cllection

This statue is reminding me of various statues where St. Christopher is bearing Jesus ...

How are we to interpret this figure and more importantly who is he suppose to be? Since Phoenician sculptors were not nearly this talented, it is believed that the figure was either commission by Mozia of Greek sculptors or was stolen from the Greeks and brought to the island. I tend to think the statue was commissioned thus explaining the unique mix of masculinity and femininity, and classical and ancient styles which seems more disjointed than the work executed by the Greeks. Given the execution and the lack of any other art of this caliber on Mozia, I think this could have been a cult deity figure. Or an afficionado of beauty. But this figure is commonly believed to be a charioteer given the style of belt he is wearing. But I am not the expert, I have only my own private thought about.

The back of The God of Mozia - own collection

Amazingly, the God of Mozia has left his island and is on tour right now! He and other treasures of Sicily had been on display at the Getty Villa in Los Angeles until Aug 19th, 2013 as part of the 2013 Year of Italian culture.  

The Motya Charioteer made by a greek sculptor in sicily about 460-450 bc found in 1979 on the island of motya winning at the ancient games - courtsey The BRITISH MUSEUM

Backside of The Motya Charioteer, made by a Greek sculptor in Sicily, about 460-450 BC, found 1979 on the Sicilian island Motya (Mozia), Winning at the ancient Games - courtsey The BRITISH MUSEUM