Portrait of Euripides
Type:
Sculpture
Year:
Roman copy of a Greek original from the late 4th century B.C.
Material and technique:
Pentelic marble
Origin:
From Zagarolo, Latium
Inventory:
Inv. MB 154
This is one of the most interesting pieces in the Museum’s collection of sculpted portraits of Greek poets and philosophers. Here Euripides is elderly and his expression is intense. His hair and beard are combed into long wavy locks. The portrait is identifiable with the aid of a herm, in the Naples Archaeological Museum, on which the playwright’s name is inscribed. It is a good copy of the original statue erected in the Athenian Theater of Dionysus in 330 B.C., together with those of Aeschylus and Sophocles.
Masterpieces of the hall
The hall
These two little rooms display fine copies of Greek sculptures from the early Hellenistic period, together with a number of archaic works.
