Myron (c.450 bc). Diskobolos [Roman copy is marble, original is bronze]. Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome.

Diskobolos is one of the premiere examples of mature classic Greek artistic expression. The subject, captured in the pinnacle moment of tension before uncoiling and launching a heavy object into the air, is a model of Polykleitos' canon of proportions. In addition to the subject reflecting idealized physical balance, the work itself seeks perfection in balance with regard to directional thrusts, movement, stored energy and formal arrangement. In a sense, this attempt at organically balanced arrangement and weight qualifies as a work of design. 

Myron placed Diskobolos on a pedstal, a measure often used during the muture classic period, setting up a latent barrier between subject and observer. Emotional content is also controlled; the thrower's sense of concentration reflects the tension in his body. One of the remarkable traits of this work is how engaged and disengaged limbs and muscles are developed not only through form but texture as well. This supports an interlacing of a defined and blended play of light which adds life to the action playing out in front of the viewer.

Watching a woman or man engaged in what they do well provides a source of drama, of entertainment. This takes on added meaning when the performer is one of a handful of the best in the world. This is what Diskobolos communicates. It is the visual embodiment of Humanist ideals: Man as the measure of all things.