Saffo Abbandonata
By Giovanni Duprè, 1857
(Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna - Rome.)
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Statue of Aphroditus
Roman, Imperial. 2nd century AD.
In Greek mythology Aphroditus was a male Aphrodite from Cyprus. A divinity, half male, half female, uniting in itself the active and passive functions of creation, a symbol of luxuriant growth and productivity.
Ancient literature suggests that the figures represent the androgynous Cypriot deity Aphroditus whose cult was introduced into mainland Greece between the 5th–4th century BCE. The revealed phallus was believed to have apotropaic magical powers, averting the evil eye or invidia and bestowing good luck.
In later mythology became known as Hermaphroditus, the son of Hermes and Aphrodite.
(Louvre Museum.)
The Three Graces, 1831
They are named Aglaea, Euphrosyne, and Thalia or more commonly “The Three Graces” in Greek mythology. Daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, they symbolize respectively beauty, joy, and fertility.
Minor goddesses, they were considered by Homer handmaidens of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. They were represented in Art by numerous sculptors and painters throughout history, among them Raphael, Botticelli and Rubens.
This marble sculpture by Jean-Jacques Pradier, known as James Pradier is found in the Louvre museum.
Head of an Amazon
Greek marble. Roman copy after a bronze Greek original of 440—430 BCE.
From the Horti Maecenatiani near the Auditorium, 1874.
(Rome, Capitoline Museums.)
Wrestlers
The Wrestlers (also known as The Two Wrestlers, The Uffizi Wrestlers) is a Roman marble sculpture after a lost Greek original of the 3rd century BCE, can be attributed to Lysippus, a sculptor renowned for many bronze and marble works and, in particular, for his portrait of Alexander the Great.
The two young men are engaged in the pankration, a kind of wrestling similar to the present-day sport of mixed martial arts. The two figures are wrestling in a position now known as a “cross-body ride” in modern folkstyle wrestling.
Their muscular structure is very defined and exaggerated due to their physical and sustained effort. The balance of the bodies is such that the outcome of the match is not revealed.
(Uffizi collection in Florence, Italy.)
Details of Dionysos Statue
Dionysos, Hadrian-era marble sculpture, Roman civilisation, 2nd century AD.
(Roma, Museo Nazionale Romano Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme.)
Statue of Triton
Roman marble sculpture, 180-193 AD.
Triton, in Greek mythology, a merman, demigod of the sea; he was the son of the sea god, Poseidon, and his wife, Amphitrite. According to the Greek poet Hesiod, Triton dwelt with his parents in a golden palace in the depths of the sea.
Sometimes he was not particularized but was one of many Tritons. He was represented as human down to his waist, with the tail of a fish. Triton’s special attribute was a twisted seashell, on which he blew to calm or raise the waves.
(Capitoline Museum in Rome.)
Statue of Dionysus
Dionysus leaning of a tree trunk with a vine branch around him. 2nd century AD.
(Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki.)
Borghese Vase
The Borghese Vase is a monumental bell-shaped krater sculpted in Athens from Pentelic marble in the second half of the 1st century BC as a garden ornament for the Roman market.
The frieze depicts the thiasus, an ecstatic Bacchanalian procession accompanying Dionysus, draped with the panther skin and playing the aulos, and Ariadne. The draped figures are often said to be Maenads but are clearly not: Maenads are females who accompany Dionysus but on the vase a draped male figure is depicted.
One of the figures is shown being anointed, typically a symbolic act of divinity, leading to the interpretation of some of the figures as Apollo and Dionysus rescuing Silenus who is shown falling down reaching for a spilled flagon of wine. This scene on the vase corresponds to the saying “The Gods look after children and drunken men” which has been passed down orally through many generations.
Perseus with Medusa’s Head
Original roman marble work of the Flavian-Traianic period.
From the baths near Porta Laurentina of the ancient Ostia.
(Ostia, Archaeological Museum.)
Dionysus and Ariadne
Sarcophagus with a myth of Dionysus and Ariadne. Marble. Ca. 235 CE.
Sarcophagus of roman work containing the remains of a married couple was found in 1805 in a tomb in Saint-Médard-d’Eyrans in the Gironde region of France. Acquired by the Louvre in 1817.