Bookends: Homer and Aristotle, White Plaster

Flanking a Shelf | Poet and Philosopher These Homer and Aristotle bookends pair the two men most often credited with founding Western literature and Western philosophy. One is a poet whose historical existence is still debated. The other is a philosopher whose birth and death dates are recorded almost to the year. Set on either side of a shelf, the two busts frame everything between them, literally and intellectually. Homer is traditionally named as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, epics composed and transmitted orally before being written down sometime in the 8th century BCE. Ancient sources disagree on where he was born, with Chios, Smyrna, and several other cities all claiming him. No contemporary portrait of Homer exists, since he lived centuries before individualized Greek portraiture began. Aristotle, by contrast, is one of antiquity's best-documented figures: born in 384 BCE in Stagira, educated at Plato's Academy in Athens, and later tutor to Alexander the Great. These Homer and Aristotle bookends draw on the two separate portrait traditions that grew up around each man in the centuries after their deaths. Item Details of Home and Aristotle Bookends Material: Hand-cast plaster, white finish (natural variance in appearance may occur) Dimensions: 4 in L x 2.75 in W x 4.25 in H each Weight: 4 lb Set of: 2 bookends (Homer and Aristotle) Production: Made to order in USA, ready to ship in 2-3 weeks SKU: HP42250 Related collection: Philosophers, Writers and Poets Related collection: Greek Roman Statues Homer and the Invented Face of a Blind Poet Because no likeness of Homer survives from his own lifetime, Greek sculptors invented one. Beginning in the 5th century BCE and maturing during the Hellenistic period, artists settled on a recognizable type: an aged man with a full beard, deeply sunken eyes to signal blindness, and hair bound with a fillet. The most complete ancient example is held at the Archaeological Museum of Naples, with related versions in the British Museum and the Capitoline Museums. This bust of Homer follows that same long-standing convention rather than any single documented portrait, since none exists. Aristotle, Tutor to Alexander the Great Aristotle's likeness rests on firmer ground. The best-known ancient portrait is a Roman marble copy, made around the 2nd century CE, of a bronze original attributed to Lysippos, who served as court sculptor to Alexander the Great. That copy is now in the Palazzo Altemps branch of the Museo Nazionale Romano in Rome. Lysippos and Aristotle were near contemporaries, and both moved in Alexander's orbit, Aristotle as the young king's tutor and Lysippos as his chosen sculptor. Aristotle himself founded the Lyceum in Athens after decades at Plato's Academy, and his writing on ethics, logic, and politics still shapes how those subjects are taught today. Display Set these bookends at the ends of a single shelf of history, philosophy, or classics titles, or use them to anchor a smaller stack of favorites on a desk. Plaster is durable but porous, so keep the pair away from direct moisture and dust with a dry, soft cloth. Because the finish is hand-cast, slight variation between the two figures and between individual sets is expected rather than a flaw. For More Reading British Museum - Portrait Bust of Homer World History Encyclopedia - Aristotle Bust, Palazzo Altemps Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Aristotle