Thermopylae

Dimitri Hadzi’s work was inspired by John F. Kennedy’s book Profiles in Courage, which features the stories of eight U.S. senators who fought for their beliefs despite strong opposition. Many of the artist’s works have mythological and historical titles drawn from his Greek heritage; Thermopylae refers to the site of the heroic battle in which the Spartans fought the Persians in 480 B.C. to stem the tide of tyranny. His sculptures are also informed by Greco-Roman traditions—an interest cultivated during his studies in Greece on a Fulbright scholarship, followed by years living in Rome before returning to the U.S., where he taught at Harvard for fourteen years. Considered a Modernist, Hadzi straddled abstraction and figuration. Here he explores the formal properties of spatial composition while recalling the battered helmets and armor of a fierce battle. Thermopylae was given to the University by Stephen F. Vorhees, Class of 1900, who was also the chief architect of the E-Quad building. It was the University’s first abstract sculpture.