The ancient Romans knew this Greek statue very well -- it was famous throughout the ancient world. Roman artists made copies of the Discus Thrower in marble and several of these have survived for us to admire today. All of them have been damaged in some way, with broken arms and heads, and some with pieces missing leaving only the torso. These statues were buried over the centuries and were found all over Greece and Italy beginning in the 1700's. Some of the statues were repaired incorrectly and can be seen today in European museums. The image illustrated above is the only marble copy that has survived with the original head intact and is currently in the statuary collection of the National Museum of Rome. Three other ancient Roman marble copies of the Discus Thrower are known to exist. Two are in the collection of the Vatican Museum in Rome and one is in the British Museum in London. The goal of the IISOH is to acquire copies of these ancient statues in bronze or marble for our Museum collection.