The Discobolus is one of the most recognizable and influential pieces of art from ancient Greece. The Discobolus was a bronze sculpture depicting an athlete throwing a discus and was created by the prolific Greek artist Myron of Eleutherae (Harris & Zucker 2012). Although the precise date of creation is unknown, it is widely accepted that the sculpture was created between 450 and 460 BCE (Harris & Zucker 2012). The original Discobolus of Myron no longer exists, with evidence indicating that it was destroyed by the Roman emperor Antoninus the Pious in the 2nd century CE (Harris & Zucker 2012). However, it should be recognized that primary Greek evidence detailing the origins, creation, and destruction of the Discobolus is rare and subjective, and therefore even these basic facts may not be entirely accurate (Slowikowski, n.d.). As Sylvia Slowikowski demonstrates, “even in art history, there is no concise historiography of discobolus; of how he was born and where he is today” (Slowikowski, nd pp.10). Despite its destruction, the legacy of Discobolus has been preserved primarily through the abundance of detailed Roman primary descriptions of the sculpture. These sources then allowed historians and art enthusiasts to identify and preserve surviving Roman marble copies of the Discobolus (O'Mahony 2013). Consequently, Roman copies of the Discobolus are on display around the world today, including the Palombara Discobolus, acquired by Hitler in 1938, and the Townley version on display at the British Museum (Anguissola 2005). At the time of its creation, the Discobolus was considered artistically progressive and therefore reflected the changing attitudes and beliefs of Greek society at the time. The Discobolu...... middle of paper ......na.Haskell, F & Penny, N 1981, 'Taste and the Antique: the Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500-1900', Yale University Press, New Haven .Hirst, J 2012, The Shortest History of Europe, Black Inc., Collingwood, Victoria, pp. 27-28. Hooper, V 2010, The Discobolus: Bronze Discus Thrower of Myron', April 8, accessed March 31, 2014, . O'Mahony, M 2013, 'In the shadow of Myron: The impact of discobolus on representations of Olympic sport from Victorian Britain to contemporary China', The International Journal of the History of Sport, vol.30 , no.7, pp 1-17.Sylvia, S nd, “A History of the Discobolus: Fragments of Representation from Myron to the 1990s”, doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois, Urbana, accessed March. 31 2014, .