Art and honor

Throughout history the honor that comes along with war, in both success and failure has been shown by their culture through their art. In the Dying Gaul, a warrior is shown dying on the battle field.. Eventhough he is over come with  pain, he is depicted calm and accepting of the fact that he has been defeated. The smooth, beautiful rendering of form and muscle tone aids in the "worthiness" of his death by the opponent. This  shows how great the opponent is to have killed such a seasoned war monument. This is similar to the dying warrior on the temple of Athena. Even though the sculpture work on these pieces are not as well rendered, the same message is implied. Stong muscular players taken down by what must have been honorable force. This appeals to the viewer in the way that they feel bad in a way for the crushing loss in the valuable participant honoring both the victor who was able to accomplish these acts, as well as the defeated by showing their ability to use the power of their mind over the power of their bodies.