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Cephisodotus the Elder

500 BC – 400 BC

4th-century BC Greek sculptor

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About Cephisodotus the Elder

Lived 500 BC – 400 BC. Cephisodotus the Elder was a Greek sculptor and artist.

Cephisodotus or Kephisodotos (, flourished c. 400 – c. 360 BC ) was a Greek sculptor, perhaps the father or an uncle of Praxiteles, one of whose sculptor sons was Cephisodotus the Younger.

The one noted work of his was Eirene (Peace) bearing the infant Ploutos (Wealth), ca 380–370 BC, of which a Roman point copy exists at the Glyptothek, Munich, and fragments in various collections. The Eirene, commissioned by the city of Athens and set up on the Areopagus, was attributed to Cephisodotus by Pausanias in the 2nd century AD.

Cephisodotus also made, as did his son, a figure of Hermes carrying the child Dionysus, unless ancient critics have made two works of one. He sculpted certain statues for the city of Megalopolis, founded by Epaminondas in 369 BC; Pausanias noted them in its principal temple in the 2nd century AD.

Two heads long thought to be feminine and inserted in female busts, one formerly in the Lansdowne collection and the other in the Massarenti collection, Rome, now recognized to be of Apollo, were attributed to Cephisodotus by Dorothy Kent Hill in 1974.

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Important facts

Born
500 BC
Birth century
Died
400 BC
Occupation
Nationality

People in Cephisodotus the Elder's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Cephisodotus the Elder's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Cephisodotus the Elder?

4th-century BC Greek sculptor

When was Cephisodotus the Elder born?

Cephisodotus the Elder was born in 500 BC.

When did Cephisodotus the Elder die?

Cephisodotus the Elder died in 400 BC.

What was Cephisodotus the Elder's occupation?

Cephisodotus the Elder was a sculptor and artist.

What nationality was Cephisodotus the Elder?

Cephisodotus the Elder was Greek.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Cephisodotus the Elder

· Wikidata: Q378772

· DBpedia: Cephisodotus the Elder

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Cephisodotus the Elder. https://biography.guide/cephisodotus-the-elder/

MLA: "Cephisodotus the Elder." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/cephisodotus-the-elder/.

Chicago: "Cephisodotus the Elder." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/cephisodotus-the-elder/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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