(Sept. 7) - One of Sicily’s finest archaeological finds and classical statues, The Charioteer of Mozia, will be on display some other days, until September 9, at the British Museum. The sculpture arrived in the United Kingdom on the occasion of the Olympic Games, as result of a collaborative agreement, facilitated by the Italian Cultural Institute, between the British Museum and the Dipartimento and Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identita’ Siciliana, headed by Councillor Sebastiano Missineo. Mozia was once a city on what is now the island at Sicily’s western tip. On October 26, 1979, a spectacular find was made on the north east of the island, a white marble statue of a young man, almost two meters high. Dating from the fifth century BC, and evidence of a thriving Greek culture in Sicily during this period, the young man in the statue is a winning charioteer proudly relishing victory. These are the last days to see The Charioteer, that has been the star stop on the “Winning at the Ancient Games” victory trail at the British Museum from June 1. Then it will return to Italy, at the Whitaker Museum of Mozia, in the province of Marsala. (red)

ABOUT THE CHARIOTEER OF MOZIA
The Charioteer of Mozia was found in 1979 in the Island of Mozia. The sculpture laid under debris so it is believed that it had been demolished at the siege of the island by the hands of the Syracusans in 397 BC. The statue, made with Greek marble, represents an Efebo, a young man with athletic body. Its identification has been a real problem and the subject of numerous essays of archaeological literature. Plausibly it represents a charioteer, an athlete winner in the race with chariots or at least a victorious athlete, as does the majority of scholars. Other hypotheses have been put forward, however. Uncertain remains the place of production. It seems plausible that Greek artists have done the masterpiece in a Greek city in Sicily (Agrigento or Selinunte). It is also difficult to determine if the work has been carried out on commission by a wealthy citizen of Mozia or was brought to the island as war booty after the destruction by the Carthaginians, one of the Greek colonies in Sicily.