Creugas and Damoxenos were two Greek wrestlers who fought a bout described by Pausanias (2nd century CE). Creugas lost his life and Damoxenos was disqualified for breaking the rules of combat. Antonio Canova (1757–1822), the Neoclassical sculptor par excellence, addresses this theme as one that commends virtue and condemns underhandedness. These powerful statues embody all the spirit of the artistic ideal that dominated Europe between 1760 and 1830, proclaiming the power of classical inspiration in Western art while expressing confidence in a triumphant future.