George Washington as Olympian Zeus, Thanks to Horatio Greenough - 2010-02-02 23:21:50
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One of the search queries that always brings people to some of my Flickr photos is "George Washington Zeus." This would seem odd - until you see the particular image of ol' George folks are looking for. And that would be this one:

According to Wikipedia: "...His left palm and forearm cradle a sheathed sword, hilt forward, symbolizing Washington turning over power to the people at the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War."

May I present, George Washington, the sculpture created by Horatio Greenough. More on the statue itself in a minute - first the story of how I came to take that photo.

Back in 2006 I was a contracted government worker at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History (still one of the more interesting and fun places I've worked). At the time the museum was closed and undergoing renovation, which meant that there were always certain exhibits and large objects being packed up until the construction was over and they could be put on display. I wasn't a part of all the construction work (and didn't know what would be boxed up when) so it was only by chance that we were passing through part of the museum and saw that the George Washington statue was about to be crated and moved. Since I always had my camera with me (when you're in DC there's always something to photograph) I quickly took some photos, knowing that it would be at least a few years before George would be on display again.

I'm a bit quiet about it, but I've long been a student of Greek and Roman artwork and mythology. Going back to my father telling me bedtime stories about Theseus and the Minotaur, Odyseus and the Cyclops - you get the idea, I've been soaking up this stuff since I was a kid. (I have to add here that the stories were not so popular with my mother because my father told scary versions of them - I can still remember having a nightmare about the Minotaur waiting for me in the dark of the Labyrinth.) If I could have contemplated a job that had something to do with the field I would have taken more than the couple of college classics studies that I did - but my parents had long tried to (kindly) instill in me the fact that while the classics were fun, there wasn't much money in a career in, for instance, archeology. (This was before Indiana Jones introduced a generation to the Archeologist as James Bond concept.) But even though I didn't go for the career, I can still manage to spend hours in a museum peering at details in a sculpture or a vase or a painting, trying to make out what deity is represented in a particular art form. (Yes, I'm sometimes a trial to those who want to hurry through an exhibit, I admit this. Especially if I'm trying to translate anything in Latin - I'll be there all night. As in, my memory for Latin vocabulary is sketchy - my fault, my epic high school Latin teacher is not to blame!)

So anyway when I saw that George was about to be crated up I wanted to take detailed photos so I could later study the imagery that Greenough was using. Because there's more to just this statue than just George.


Ok, I'll admit that the eyes are somewhat creepy looking if you get this close.

Not to mention that he's quite good looking. But then, the real George Washington was also known to be quite handsome.

Er, I suppose I should give you a bit more documentation for that, since most folk think of Washington and then the whole wooden teeth thing - not something that automatically makes you think handsome.

What Did George Washington Look Like? Mount Vernon Reconstructs the First President's Looks
ABC News.com, Feb. 19, 2006

"George Washington is known as the father of our country, but he might also have been the original American hunk.

Mount Vernon, George Washington's estate, decided to try to figure out what the first president looked like. A team of artists, anthropologists and forensic scientists used cutting-edge technology to reconstruct Washington's looks and the result was a whole new look for a familiar figure.

...The team re-created Washington at age 57 when he was president; at age 45 when he commanded troops in the Revolutionary War and as a teenage surveyor.

The three life-size figures will be displayed at Mount Vernon in a new $95 million museum and education center in Washington's home, Mount Vernon, which is scheduled to open in October.

..."When we ask people they say, 'Well Washington was great, but he's stiff, he's formal, he wears that white wig, he's got bad teeth,' " said James Rees, the executive director of Mount Vernon, which is located outside the nation's capital. "He's a darn good-looking guy. And you're going to be shocked, I think, to see Washington looking like a movie star.""


Meet George Washington at Mount Vernon: Marvel at America's first action hero in life-size scale at Mount Vernon
Gary D. Ford and Annette Thompson, Southern Living, from the March 2009 Magazine Issue

"Mount Vernon is undergoing a renaissance. Today the site’s annual attendance matches its highest since 1976. Why? Visitors used to spend only an hour or so at his house, then leave still thinking of George Washington as that grim, old man on the dollar bill. Now, visitors meet him face-to-face in three life-sized statues, and they can’t get enough of America’s first action hero.

"He’s tall! He’s strong! He’s handsome!" they may exclaim when seeing him for the first time."

...Washington now startles visitors. As they walk through the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center, one of three life-size models depicts him at age 19, standing 6'2½", with his auburn hair pulled back in a queue. He’s lean and lanky like an athlete, with muscular hips and thighs―the marks of a man comfortable in the saddle.

"He was the best horseman in America," James C. Rees, executive director of Mount Vernon, remarks. "He was a great architect and landscape designer, and a terrific ball room dancer."

So after reading those quotes, do you think someone somewhere was already typing up a screenplay of Washington, Action Hero? I'm thinking that'd be a yes. It's in a pile somewhere marked Not Ready Yet. (Or perhaps Thankfully Not Ready Yet, depending on your opinion of Hollywood and its ability to interpret history.)

Mount Vernon put those figures on display during the time I was working at the Museum and I can remember reading about them on the train to work. ...Suddenly I miss that free newspaper that the Washington Post put out daily that I'd read on my commute, what was its name... oh right, The Express. Yes, I actually did just pause to go read today's copy as a pdf.

Now I certainly hadn't read a vast amount about the colonial era, but I do remember reading about Washington and the ladies, and getting the idea that he was definitely appreciated by them. Er, I mean visually, nothing more risque. I may be remembering incorrectly but I think some of that information may be from Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation, by Cokie Roberts - but then it's been a while since I read it and I'm not sure.

But back to the Greenough statue.

In in 1832 it had been 100 years since George Washington's birth - a good enough reason to create a celebratory sculpture, or so the U.S. Congress felt, and it commissioned Greenough for the job. All artists of the age tended (at one time or another anyway) to study the art of the ancient Greeks and Romans - or at least such art as had been discovered at that time. And the sculpture was indeed something to marvel at (as it still is). Even in the 1800s such works of art were still one of the reasons to have that European tour (The Grand Tour) that was considered so crucial to finishing a young person's education. Greenough was educated at at Phillips Academy, Andover, and then Harvard University - but before graduating he made the trip to Rome to study art.

So with that background it's not terribly surprising that Greenough chose to model his sculpture of Washington after the statue of Zeus at Olympia, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. (Once upon a time as a high school student I wrote a paper on those wonders - now that's a fun subject.) Since the statue of Zeus at Olympia was destroyed sometime around 5th-6th centuries AD (it's one of those vague "no one's sure when or how" kind of destruction stories), Greenough certainly didn't see the original. But since it was so much talked of at the time it was made scholars had been studying it ever since. And artists had been recreating it - or at least what they thought it might look like based on other Greek works of art.

It helped that Pausanias, who enjoyed travel and geography, wrote in detail about it in his Description of Greece around 150 AD. Eventually I'll ferret out a website with an English translation of Pausanias - but until then here's a page with a few quotes, as well as some nice images of Zeus. And if you scroll to the end you'll see the Greenough sculpture.

Oh wait - thanks to the University of Texas, here we go:

Pausanias Description of Greece 5.7 ff.

"...[5.11.1] The god sits on a throne, and he is made of gold and ivory. On his head lies a garland which is a copy of olive shoots. In his right hand he carries a Victory, which, like the statue, is of ivory and gold; she wears a ribbon and--on her head--a garland. In the left hand of the god is a scepter, ornamented with every kind of metal, and the bird sitting on the scepter is the eagle. The sandals also of the god are of gold, as is likewise his robe. On the robe are embroidered figures of animals and the flowers of the lily. [5.11.2] The throne is adorned with gold and with jewels, to say nothing of ebony and ivory. Upon it are painted figures and wrought images. There are four Victories, represented as dancing women, one at each foot of the throne, and two others at the base of each foot. On each of the two front feet are set Theban children ravished by sphinxes, while under the sphinxes Apollo and Artemis are shooting down the children of Niobe. [5.11.3] Between the feet of the throne are four rods, each one stretching from foot to foot. The rod straight opposite the entrance has on it seven images; how the eighth of them disappeared nobody knows. These must be intended to be copies of obsolete contests, since in the time of Pheidias contests for boys had not yet been introduced.1 The figure of one binding his own head with a ribbon is said to resemble in appearance Pantarces, a stripling of Elis said to have been the love of Pheidias. Pantarces too won the wrestling-bout for boys at the eighty-sixth Festival. [5.11.4] On the other rods is the band that with Heracles fights against the Amazons. The number of figures in the two parties is twenty-nine, and Theseus too is ranged among the allies of Heracles. The throne is supported not only by the feet, but also by an equal number of pillars standing between the feet. It is impossible to go under the throne, in the way we enter the inner part of the throne at Amyclae. At Olympia there are screens constructed like walls which keep people out. [5.11.5] Of these screens the part opposite the doors is only covered with dark-blue paint; the other parts show pictures by Panaenus. Among them is Atlas, supporting heaven and earth, by whose side stands Heracles ready to receive the load of Atlas, along with Theseus; Perithous, Hellas, and Salamis carrying in her hand the ornament made for the top of a ship's bows; then Heracles' exploit against the Nemean lion, the outrage committed by Ajax on Cassandra, [5.11.6] Hippodameia the daughter of Oenomaus with her mother, and Prometheus still held by his chains, though Heracles has been raised up to him. For among the stories told about Heracles is one that he killed the eagle which tormented Prometheus in the Caucasus, and set free Prometheus himself from his chains. Last in the picture come Penthesileia giving up the ghost and Achilles supporting her; two Hesperides are carrying the apples, the keeping of which, legend says, had been entrusted to them. This Panaenus was a brother of Pheidias; he also painted the picture of the battle of Marathon in the painted portico at Athens. [5.11.7] On the uppermost parts of the throne Pheidias has made, above the head of the image, three Graces on one side and three Seasons on the other. These in epic poetry1 are included among the daughters of Zeus. Homer too in the Iliad2 says that the Seasons have been entrusted with the sky, just like guards of a king's court. The footstool of Zeus, called by the Athenians thranion, has golden lions and, in relief, the fight of Theseus against the Amazons, the first brave deed of the Athenians against foreigners. [5.11.8] On the pedestal supporting the throne and Zeus with all his adornments are works in gold: the Sun mounted on a chariot, Zeus and Hera, Hephaestus, and by his side Grace. Close to her comes Hermes, and close to Hermes Hestia. After Hestia is Eros receiving Aphrodite as she rises from the sea, and Aphrodite is being crowned by Persuasion. There are also reliefs of Apollo with Artemis, of Athena and of Heracles; and near the end of the pedestal Amphitrite and Poseidon, while the Moon is driving what I think is a horse. Some have said that the steed of the goddess is a mule not a horse, and they tell a silly story about the mule."

It goes on to discuss the measurements of the statue, which are always fun for classics scholars who like to try and figure out the actual sizes of things. (I admit I enjoy reading about this sort of thing myself. Although some scholars apparently can get into fierce debates about such things - usually dependent on how certain passages are translated.)

Also note how all the various deities and heroes names are tossed about in there - that's one of the reasons you had to learn all of that mythology, otherwise you'd come upon this sort of text and then wind up constantly referring to your notes. Which is why they start you out reading those Greek mythology texts in high school - just in case you want to become classics scholars someday. Well, some teachers live in hope of it still, I suppose. And of course, you'll need that mythology background to fully grasp a lot of Shakespeare's playfulness, not to mention all those Romantic poets and - ooops, digression, sorry.

Granted I've not really studied this in depth, but I'd love to know if we have any primary evidence - a letter, an essay, etc. - where Greenough himself says he was using the Zeus at Olympia as a model. It's always nice to have a primary source - otherwise it all turns into "well all historians think this" or "art critics believe that" - and you're never quite sure what the sculptor had in mind, you can only assume based on your interpretation. Though I think that there's not really any doubt - we're meant to see Washington here as a classical deity, and Zeus in particular. (Father of the Gods versus Father of the Country - seems pretty clear.)

I've found a hint that there's such documentation out there from the 1972 American Heritage article George Washington Sat Here and Here by Mary Sayre Haverstock.

"The gigantic monument to George Washington taking shape in Greenough’s Florentine studio was to be "the birth of my thought. I have sacrificed to it the flower of my days and the freshness of my strength; its every lineament has been moistened by the sweat of my toil and the tears of my exile.""

That sounds like a small part of an indepth "look at my creation" type letter. Pity the article didn't cite any sources.

Anyway, until I can pass you on to a better text on the matter (and currently I don't have any books to recommend, sadly) - let's hop on the Statue Controversy. And for some of this I'll just have to say that this is the "Way It Was Told To Me" - meaning I either heard it on a tour, or was referred to in a textbook somewhere - and we all know both of those sources can often be....well, let's just say not totally accurate.

So in 1841 the statue was finished and was to be displayed in the U.S. Capitol rotunda. Another quote from the Mary Sayre Haverstock article:

"...On the sweltering last day of July, 1841, the great effigy of America’s first President, nobly bared to the waist and swirled in classical drapery below, arrived at the Navy Yard in Washington, along with a stupendous bill for its transportation from Leghorn, Italy, by merchant ship. No vessel in the United States Navy had proved capable of accommodating the colossus belowdecks."

According to that article the marble statue weighted 20 tons.

And there was a slight problem.



Most Americans hadn't grown up surrounded by Greek statuary in which the human body is fully displayed. Or at least, they certainly hadn't seen any revered American politicians represented that way. So suddenly here was George Washington with a naked torso. And you know how it's hard to have any group of people fully agree on a work of art anyway? Apparently there was a bit of a kerfuffle over this statue - for some it was joke material, for some it was disrespectful to the memory of the president. It's something you can easily imagine playing out in today's media - especially with comedians and pundits.

To quote Haverstock again:

"Washington City was scandalized to discover how skimpy Horatio Greenough had been with "the product of the distaff and the loom." It was a "violation of decency" and an insult to the sacred memory of the Father of His Country, so recently departed. "Washington was too prudent," said Philip Hone in his juicy diary, "and careful of his health to expose himself thus in a climate so uncertain as ours, to say nothing of the indecency of such an exposure — a subject on which he was known to be exceedingly fastidious." "

Haverstock goes on to note that the Capitol rotunda wasn't the best place for the statue anyway, since the floor wasn't built to hold such weight and the lighting meant that the statue "proved to be all but invisible in the semi-darkness."

And so the statue began to travel around. According to Haverstock the first move came at Greenough's insistance, though other references seem to imply that the movement continued due to some of the public's dislike of the statue.

"...Not only was the long-heralded George Washington instantly recognized as a form without a function, it was a constant problem to those who, over the years, have had the unhappy job of protecting it from the devastations of vandals and amateur comedians. What was to be done with "that thing in the East Yard"? As long as he lived, Greenough labored for a dignified solution; possibly he came to regret thrusting aside Emerson’s suggestion to leave well enough alone after that wild night in 1843. "I had rather," Emerson told the sculptor, "have it in this Rotunda, in the worst light, than any where else in the best...""

The "night in 1843" refers to when Greenough and Emerson spent an evening in the Rotunda lighting the statue by using torches. And there was apparently a small, accidental fire which indicated that this form of lighting was probably not a great idea.

I'm betting there's some resource - perhaps someone's dissertation out there - that tracks what brought about each move. But so far here's what I've found for the travels of the statue - and remember, this thing weighs 20 tons, so it doesn't move easily.

1841 - displayed indoors in U.S. Capitol Rotunda
1843 - placed outdoors on the east lawn of the Capitol
1845 - placed on a little floral island in the middle of East Capitol Street
18?? - placed on exhibit at the Patent Office
1908 - brought indoors when given to the care of the Smithsonian Institution, and kept at the Smithsonian Castle building
1964 - moved to the Museum of History and Technology, or as it's currently known, the National Museum of American History

[Still trying to track down the date the statue was at the Patent Office, and where. From what I've read I think it was placed outdoors.]

If any of you history scholars spot any mistakes or can add any facts, feel free to hop in and pass on any information in the comments.

Now after all that lead in, here's the most interesting thing about the statue - well, to me anyway - the figures around it. And the reason why I quoted that big wall of text about the Zeus statue. The fun is all about the allegorical figures - and figuring out what the symbols mean.



Standing behind Washington on either side are two small figures. This one is an Indian who has a hairstyle that resembles the top of a pineapple. I'm sure it was based on the look of an actual tribe (or an erroneous drawing perhaps), but unfortunately the pineapple look is what I'll remember. (See, this is why I'm not writing history texts.) It's hard to say whether this Indian represents the native people of North America - or some trait Greenough felt was American.

So no, I have no idea what it means - I'm still researching. (I'll be repeating that a lot, I'm afraid.)



A badly lit and fuzzy photo - but remember, the statue's about to be moved, and at that point it wasn't on public exhibition. (And I had to take a quick photo and go to my lunch break, but that's beside the point.) So at best I can say that this is definitely an allegorical figure - although to me it looks like a Greek philosopher contemplating the world or perhaps the geometry of a sphere.

And again, no idea what he's supposed to represent - though I could come up with plenty of guesses from Ingenuity to Exploration to... etc.

However, there's more. The throne that Washington sits on has a relief on each of the sides.



Two children and two snakes - why it's the baby Heracles and his twin brother
Iphicles. The snakes were sent by Hera, Zeus' wife who wasn't pleased that Zeus had fathered these children. But Heracles happily killed both the snakes by strangling them. In this photo we see one snake is dead, and Heracles is working on the second one. As an allegory I'm guessing that it's Washington's struggle with the Revolution here? Or something along those lines? I'm sure the star above Heracles' head is important as well. (Ad astra? Stars on the country's flag?)

Haverstock's article confirms the "infant Hercules" but doesn't discuss any further meaning in the scene.

I'm also betting that if I knew what kind of leaves were in that border (oak?) that it would have some symbolic significance as well.

Another side of Washington's throne...



Again I'll have to guess. I'll hazard that this could be Apollo, both for his chariot skills (though he didn't always drive the sun across the sky) and because if you look closely he has a sort of circle of wavy lines around him. Also the horses seem to be riding over the surface of clouds. I'm thinking he's there to represent both light/enlightenment and learning - and as charioteer (and an archer) that makes him a god of action (and war) as well as knowledge, and a good symbol for Washington.
Or so I'm guessing.

I'll add any facts I find with an Updated! note so we can see how far off the mark I've been. Also I think I'm missing one of the sides due to the construction - I think I was blocked from taking a photo of the other relief. Must go in search of that image later.

And now a few details.



Armrests on Washington's throne - the head of a lion. We all know that the lion is a symbol of royalty, but there's one in the Heracles myth as well. ...Which may not mean anything. Symbolism is messy like that.



Washington's sandled foot, which I took a photo of simply because it seemed like a bizarre detail. Also because the toe looks like past admirers might have rubbed on it or something. People are odd like that.


Meanwhile the National Museum of American History re-opened in November of 2008. More on the renovation here, if you're interested. Frankly I'm dying to go back just to see how it looks now that it's finished - my last memories of the place are as a construction zone. And of course when I do finally make that visit one of my first stops will be to see where they've placed George.



............................


Wandering through looking for something for a paper, students? As one who now and then used to wait until too near the deadlines myself I can sympathize. However, do not mistake this lowly blog for a primary source - it won't cut it. I didn't double check my facts here, I have no editor (as my spelling often indicates), and I didn't have to turn this in for a grade! (Yes, that was just bragging, sorry.) Also know that your teachers know how to Google and can easily find this entry too.

So in an attempt to be helpful:


Further Online Reading!

Wikipedia links:
(As always, Wikipedia's facts aren't always correct so be sure to recheck them with a more reliable source.)
George Washington, the statue itself
Horatio Greenough, the sculptor
Statue of Zeus at Olympia, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World


Other Links:

George Washington Sat Here... and Here...
Mary Sayre Haverstock, American Heritage Magazine, December 1972 Volume 24, Issue 1
There's just enough information and quotations here to make you really wish Haverstock (or American Heritage) had given a Bibliography. Still it's a great read, especially for more information on Greenough, and what sort of environmental damage the statue went though in its years outdoors.

George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens
Take time to browse the site and see things like this Bathing Gown - definitely a product of another era. A good (though short) essay on the Mount Vernon site: The Best of Every Article: The Style of Martha Washington. Also see Houdon's Bust of Washington, especially if you're interested in object conservation. Note that all the other articles under Staff Research will refer you to other texts and resources for further information.

Smithsonian Legacy: George Washington, sculpture by Horatio Greenough, 1840
A "virtual exhibit" documenting American's history (and there's a book to go with it, apparently) - an interesting project to browse through. This page is just a short paragraph about the sculpture.



If any wandering historians drop by and see anything that I should correct - please let me know. Also I enjoy any and all recommendations for further reading - so please, make any suggestions or references you wish, I'm truly interested.

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