Head of Lycean Apollo

Testa di Apollo Liceo
Type: 
Sculpture
Year: 
Roman copy of a Greek original attributed to Euphranor (second half of the 4th century B.C.)
Material and technique: 
Parian marble
Origin: 
Purchased in Rome
Inventory: 
Inv. MB 131

The head, with its refined hairstyle, derives from a copy of the statue of the youthful Apollo erected in the Lyceum grove in Athens (famous as the place where Aristotle taught) and attributed to the sculptor Euphranor. The god is shown in a relaxed pose, his right arm raised and the hand resting on his head. The statue’s presence on the grounds of the Lyceum made Apollo the protector of the young athletes who worked out at the gymnasium. The Greek original was probably created in the second half of the 4th century B.C.

The hall

Room 6 displays numerous original Greek reliefs and sculptures, some votive works and others funerary.