Lycurgus – The Lawgiver/King of Sparta, for Sparta, Greece

This statue was created to a heroic-size 9-foot statue which was erected for Sparta, Greece, in 1955.  Lycurgus was the King of Sparta, and he was the first to institute representational government by the people.  Before doing so, he consulted the female prophetess, The Oracle of Delphi.  When she saw him, she stated, “Whom do I see before me, a man or a GOD?!”  It is from those words that Avard T. Fairbanks, sculptor, envisioned how Lycurgus must have appeared and created the ideal male figure holding in his hands the scrolls of the laws. 

A bronze casting of the working model is on display at the Hellenic Museum in Salt Lake City.  A postmortem casting in bronze can be made available for purchase, shown in the "Working Model" pictures.