Fragment of a Portrait Statue of a Man

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Beginning in the 1st century A.D., it became increasingly popular among well-to-do Roman men to represent oneself in the guise of a Greek mythological hero. Such portraits, which typically paired a muscular, youthful body with a more mature, realistic portrait head, were intended to equate the individual’s achievements and admirable qualities with those of the favored hero. This statue likely alluded to the Greek hero Diomedes, who played a pivotal role in the Trojan War by stealing the Palladium, a wooden image of the goddess Athena thought to protect the city of Troy from danger.

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