If this sculpture had been created in modern times, we would have known everything about it, since with its masterful execution and emotional expression it rivals the greatest works of Michelangelo. However, only few know of it, and even fewer stop to admire it, since – when we do see it – it simply cannot be passed up. Initially made of bronze, it was part of a multiple figure monument, built at the behest of the King of Pergamum,  Attalus I to commemorate his victory over the tribes of Gauls inhabiting Asia Minor. The monument was placed on a pedestal of the Temple of Athena in Pergamum, while its central part was occupied by two figures – Gaul committing suicide with a dying woman at his feet (Gaul Killing Himself and his Wife). The uplifting of a defeated enemy raised the significance of the victor, however, the concept of the monument, strangely enough, did not assume the existence of the victors, only the defeated, shown with the piety they deserved.

Let us take a closer look at the defeated. The Gauls, meaning the Danube Celts, were brought to Asia Minor around 278 B.C. by the King of Bithynia Nicomedes I, in order to help him in a fratricidal struggle. They were therefore, mercenaries, fear-inspiring warriors, used by numerous rulers in Asia Minor. They inspired this fear not only because of their skills as warriors but also – as ancient chroniclers claim – the fact of sacrificing their defeated enemies on altars. They were just as dangerous during times of peace, terrorizing their neighbors with continuous plundering and invasions, only those who paid them tithes were spared. According to the aforementioned ancient chroniclers they went into battle nude, while their full, red and spiked hair was rubbed with gypsum to add to the effect of incredibility of the charging figures, although even their moustaches were somewhat bizarre to the Greeks. These were only sported by Gaul chieftains, just as golden circles around their necks (torques), which were a testimony to the rank of the person and their high social status.

Here, is a strong, nude man lying on his oval shield and sword. At his feet, there is a bent, rolled up and destroyed, famous Celtic war horn, of which the wild sound along with vibrating trumpet was to frighten the enemy during attacks by the Gauls. The hated warrior, now wounded, defenseless and alone – what feelings does he inspire? Of course compassion, and even sympathy. It is surprising that this is the way the ancients wanted to immortalize their enemies. This is difficult for us to understand, since memory of barbarism does not allow us to glorify the enemy, even when he is dead. The problem that contemporary men had with this approach, can be seen by analyzing the history of this monument in modern times. For a long time the Gaul was seen as a dying gladiator, which in a decisive way changed the perception of this sculpture. Our hero, from a barbarian and a paid mercenary transformed into a victim of the bloody amusement of Romans, but also (when he won), a bold warrior whom the people were fond of. It is easier to mourn a gladiator shown in such a way than a cruel evildoer. The romanticists mourned him greatly indeed. There were many moving poems written about him, one of these being the poem of Mikhail Lermontov:

Rejoicing wild Rome... triumphantly thunders around
Wide arena with applause:
While he-pierced in the chest- lies without a sound,
His knees are sliding in the remains and the gore...
And in vain begging for mercy his turbid eyes:
A haughty timeserver and flatterer - senator
The victory and shame they crowned with a praise...
What's for the nobles and the crowd struck down gladiator?
Forgotten and despised... he is a booed actor.

Translated by: Anatoli Trojanowski

The author of the sculpture made in bronze (unpreserved) was Epigonus or Isigonus and one of them was most likely the author (or one of the authors) of the whole Gaul Group. Some researchers believe that, the marble Capitoline sculpture is a work completed in Pergamum, while others see in it a copy from the times of Julius Caesar, still others connect it with the times of Emperor Nero. Nevertheless, this marble sculpture preserved the memory of this significant and destroyed work of the Hellenistic period, unanimously testifying to a very high level of the art created at the Pergamum court in the III and II centuries B.C.

The sculpture Dying Gaul similarly to Gaul Killing Himself and his Wife, was found around 1623 on the premises of the estate of Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi and both added splendor to his famous collection of ancient art (Ludovisi collection). In the first half of the XVIII century the statue became part of the Capitoline collection where it can still be admired today.

The Dying Gaul, Roman copy (?) from the I century of a Hellenistic sculpture from the III century B.C., Musei Capitolini