Marble Statue of Hercules from the Territory of Bassianae

Cevat Başaran’a 60. Yaş Armağanı Essays for Cevat Başaran’s 60th Birthday Occasion, 2019

Herakles tipindeki heykel parçasının ön değerlendirmesi yapılmıştır. Söz konusu eser, Hamam’ın 4 nolu mekânında, geç dönemde inşa edilmiş olan yapıda spolia (devşirme) olarak kullanım görmüştür. Baş, kollar ve belden aşağısı eksik olarak gün yüzüne çıkarılan heykel parçasının, ikonografik ve stilistik özelliklerine bakılarak benzer örnekleri ile kıyaslanmış olup, tanımlama ve analizi yapılmıştır. Parion’un Roma İmparatorluk Dönemi’nde siyasal, ekonomik ve politik yapılanmasının ivme kazandığı bilinmektedir. Bu refah döneminin sanat anlayışına da yansıdığını, kentte ele geçen heykeltıraşlık eserlerden anlamak mümkündür. İncelemeler sonucunda, Antoninler Dönemi’ne tarihlediğimiz eser, kentin sanat anlayışının yanı sıra sosyal ve politik yapısının anlaşılmasına da önemli katkılar sağlamıştır. Aynı zamanda Roma imparatorlarının halk üzerinde uyguladığı propaganda çalışmalarına örnek teşkil ederek, dönemin politika anlayışını göstermektedir.

Starinar, 2020

The research of this study is dedicated to a unique iconographical scene in the territory of the Central Balkan Roman provinces, of Hercules rescuing Hesione from a sea-monster (ketos), depicted on a funerary monument found in 1931 at the site of Stojnik, in the vicinity of Belgrade, antique Singidunum, and now displayed in the lapidarium of the National Museum in Belgrade. The funerary monument was erected for the deceased, a veteran of cohors II Aurelia nova, Publius Aelius Victorinus, by his wife Aurelia Rufina and their son Publius Aelius Acutianus. The rich iconography of the monument makes it a very important example of funerary art in the period from the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 3rd century – the eschatological symbolism of the presented scenes and motifs is more than clear and underlines not only the hope of the deceased’s family for his eternal and blessed life after death, but also the deceased’s victory over death and presents him as a symbol of courage and virtue. The architectural scheme of the monument, along with its iconography, suggests strong artistic influences from Noricum and both the Pannonian provinces, while the the mythical tale of Hercules and Hesione was chosen, it is argued, not only because Hercules was one of the most favoured gods in the Roman army, but also because he was a protector of miners and mines.

Artistry in Bronze, The Greeks and their Legacy, J. M. Daehner, K. Lapatin, A. Spinelli (eds), proceedings of the 19th International Congress on Ancient Bronzes October 13-17, 2015 Getty Museum, 2017

Archaeologia Bulgarica, 2024

This article focuses on two statues found in Heraclea Sintica, an ancient city in southwestern Bulgaria. The first statue dates back to the second half of the 3rd – 4th c. AD and has been attributed to the type of female portrait known in the scientific literature as Small Herculaneum Woman. The second statue, dated to the 2nd – 3rd c. AD, has been interpreted as an honorific portrait statue, possibly depicting a girl from prominent family of the polis. The iconographic and typological analysis has allowed us to identify the sculptures’ place within the artistic tradition of Roman Macedonia and to suggest an alternative interpretation of their meaning

Roman Sculpture in Context. Selected Papers in Ancient Art and Architecture (SPAAA) 6, 2020

This volume tackles a pressing issue in Roman art history: that many sculptures conventionally used in our scholarship and teaching lack adequate information about their find locations. Questions of context are complex, and any theoretical and methodological reframing of Roman sculpture demands academic transparency. This volume is dedicated to privileging content and context over traditions of style and aesthetics. Through case studies, the chapters illustrate multivariate ways to contextualize ancient objects. The authors encourage Roman art historians to look beyond conventional interpretations; to reclaim from the study of Greek sculpture the Roman originals that are too often relegated to discussions of "copies" and "models"; to consider the multiple, dynamic, and shifting contexts that one sculpture could experience over the centuries of its display; and to recognize that postantique receptions can also offer insight into interpretations of ancient viewers. The collected topics were originally presented in three conference sessions: "Grounding Roman Sculpture"

Archaeologia Bulgarica, 2021

A marble statue of a girl is the focus of this publication. It was found during archaeological excavations in 2020 in the ancient Macedonian and Roman city of Heraclea Sintica, located in the southwest corner of Bulgaria. The sculpture belongs to the so-called Niobid Louvre-Naples female statue type. The Heraclean specimen dates to the 1 st-3 rd c. AD. The sculpture is a local production.

The study of the bronze offerings obtained from the Sanctuary of Hercules in the area of Sesklo, Municipality of Volos, Thessaly, Greece is presented in this paper. The objects were examined initially with non-destructive followed with invasive methods in order to better understand their manufacture technology. The provenance of copper is also briefly discussed.

Diadora 38, 2024

The subject of this paper is the fragment of the marble statue of a nude young man from Pula, published so far only as a short entry without illustrations. The standard model used for the statue is analyzed and the identity of the mortal or deity represented is examined. Statues of gods and mortals developed from the same standard model are analyzed in order to narrow the list down to the most probable ones. The fragment of the Pula statue resembles most to some statues of Liber/Dionysus or the young Pan. Due to its fragmentary state, positive identification of the depicted character is not possible.

Ephemeris Napocensis, XXXI, 2021

The scope of this scientific endeavour is the analysis of the Roman funeral monument, recently recovered by the judicial bodies from a certain individual from Alba Iulia. Upon the presentation of the method of recovery of the monument, the authors refer to an unfortunate implications' phenomenon for the cultural heritage, which is occurring in Alba Iulia, where under lies the largest urban concentration within the former Roman province, namely Dacia. We are referring to the urban centre Apulum where, each year, numerous vestiges come to light, because of archaeological exploitations. Unfortunately, in numerous courtyards of the inhabitants, there still are Roman monuments which should belong into a museum. It would not be unproductive for the competent institutions to identify, inventory and take the required steps to bring and enter them into the museum related circuit. The idea is to prevent the trend of owning Roman monuments from Alba Iulia, which was also observed amid highly educated families. The topic is a funeral limestone document, kept in a fragmented state, in the shape of a truncated pyramid 3 , which has a relief sculpture in the image of the hero Hercules. From the iconographic standpoint is part of the Farnese type, depicting the hero upon the completion of one of his twelve deeds, the killing of the lion from Nemeea. Within his cult also arose the funeral element, depicted by numerous sculptural monuments. According to the mythology, upon taming Cerberus, the famous dog of Hades, the lord of the Inferno, the hero becomes a role model for every mortal. By such" deed" Hercules defeated Death 4 , and the deed turned out to be an example which perpetuated into the conscience of the people 5. Thereafter, after this special action he was entered among the deities. The iconographic analysis found that the stonemason failed to accurately represent part of the anatomical features of the character (lack of gender, bent legs, poor representation of the hair and beard), the monument remaining unfinished (the sculptural relief is not finished on the left side). Moreover, there are interventions after the Roman era, probably from the Middle Ages or the modern age, when a channelling was engraved around the head that would mark a halo of the Christian Saints, and within the pubic area a clumsy incision which could render a vulva. The images of Hercules on the Roman funerary monuments are numerous throughout the entire Empire, as well as into the North Danube Province. But on this type of sepulchral monument-pyramidal crowning or in the shape of a truncated pyramid-this representation of the hero is unique within the Province of Dacia. In general, such crowning is found in Dacia Superior and Porolissensis, originating into the NorthEast of Italy, better said, Aquileea city, wherefrom it spread in Pannonia,

Journal of Roman Archaeology, 2016

Three cuirassed statues and one fragmentary torso, all probably of the Hadrianic/early Antonine era, bear a rare breastplate relief. The heraldic design combines a muscular youth, nude except for a lionskin over his head and shoulders, and a pair of lion-griffins, whom he grasps by their horns. His iconography conforms to that of a youthful Hercules, whom we see here in the ancient formula for a “Master of the animals”. The composition has been mistakenly identified as a combat between griffins and an Arimaspos, but the central figure displays domination over the two creatures, rather than vice versa. A closely related device that appeared on some cuirassed statues during the same period represented the vegetal god Dionysus-Sabazios between a pair of his sacred panthers. The similarity of the two breastplate devices is no accident, although the two groups represent different deities and animals. Both these heraldic devices seem to have been popular only for a limited time but the de...

Documenta 23, 2012

The Sanctuary of the Great Gods on Samothrace rose to prominence in the second half of the 4th century BC with the construction of splendid marble buildings connected with the special allegiance of the Macedonians. The monuments arose in rapid succession, culminating in the famous Hellenistic statue, Nike of Samothrace. It has long been assumed that their marble came chiefly from the nearby Thasos, but visual inspection suggested other marbles as well. Samples for marble provenance investigation were taken from a wide range of monuments. The techniques of Maximum Grain Size measurements, EPR spectroscopy and Stable Isotope analysis were jointly used. The results showed a complex pattern of provenance including Thasian, Pentelic, Parian and Proconnesian marble, sometimes in combination. The presence of Proconnesian marble at least by the early 3rd century BC confirms the use of this marble in the early Hellenistic period. The Nike and its ship base were also investigated and the marble identified.

2023

Hercules: Myth and Legacy is an interdisciplinary exhibition that uses two narrative arcs simultaneously to retell the ancient mythological saga of Hercules' twelve labours and to discuss the reception of Hercules in the history of science, technology and art from the post-Renaissance period to the modern day. This exhibition is the second in a series at the Chau Chak Wing Museum devoted to reception studies. The first exhibition, Animal Gods: Classics and Classification, focussed on Homeric epics the Trojan War and the Odyssey to introduce Linnaeus’ classification and naming systems, highlighting the role of Latin mythographer texts in the application of names, often without consideration of the physical attributes of the animal being named. However, for the name Hercules, the physical characteristics of the animal, place, or invention are of utmost consideration, in order to associate them with the traits of the ancient figure. The display includes ancient Athenian and post-Renaissance art alongside, animals, plants and objects that represent the variety of ways the name Hercules and the names of his associates or adversaries have been applied in the world around us.