Perikles - British Museum, London, UK
N 51° 31.129 W 000° 07.575
30U E 699373 N 5711437
Perikles, the most accomplished statesman of Ancient Greece was born of distinguished parentage in the early part of the 5th century BC. This bust is in the British Museum in London.
Waymark Code: WMDJN6
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 01/21/2012
Views: 7
The exhibit notice reads:
"Perikles, citizen and soldier.
Perikles (died 429 BC) was famous for his public speaking, which enabled him to
rule Athens at the height of her empire. With a military helmet pushed back on
the head, Perikles is the model of a citizen soldier. This idealised image
present him as 'fair of face and sound of heart' (kalas kai agathos).
Roman, 2nd century AD copy of a lost Greek original of around 440-430 BC."
The bust, carved from marble, stands at 59cm high.
The museum's fact card reads:
"Said to be from Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, Lazio, Italy
Perikles (died 429 BC) led the democracy of Athens at the height of the city's
power and influence. He gathered around him a circle of poets, architects and
artists, whose works include a programme of renewal of the principal religious
and civic buildings of Athens. The crowning glory was the Parthenon, erected on
the Acropolis between 447 and 432 BC. Perikles was famous for the power of his
oratory (public speaking) that enabled him to rule Athens almost without
opposition.
This is a Roman copy of an original portrait which was perhaps created in
Perikles' own day, or shortly after his death. However, it probably bears little
physical resemblance to Perikles' actual appearance, showing an ideal type of
the mature soldier citizen, wearing a helmet pushed back on his head.
The portrait is shaped as a 'terminal bust' for mounting on a square shaft of
stone. It is said to come from the Roman emperor Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, near
Rome. It was later part of the collection of Charles Townley."
Source
British Museum.