Archaeologia Adriatica, Vol. 2 No. 2, 2008.
Original scientific paper
One Dignitary and one Philosopher from Late Roman Salonica
Theodosia Stefanidou-Tiveriou
; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of archaeology
Abstract
An addition to the small number of portraits known from Salonica in late antiquity (Fig. 5-6; 7-8) is a large head discovered in the vicinity of the ancient city. This head is currently in the Archaeological Museum in Thessaloniki (Fig. 1-4). It is a portrait from the 2nd century AD, which subsequently was considerably reshaped and was placed on the torso of a statue. The portrait is characterized by the strong lines of the face and the firmly carved folds of skin. The portrait was probably reshaped in the first half of the 5th century, and it can be compared to portraits of that time from Asia Minor and also Greece. The emphasized realistic features of the physiognomy, which appear on many private portraits of the period, depict prominent individuals, dignitaries, state functionaries or members of the local
upper class. The article continues with the description of a bust from Salonica (Fig. 7-8), dated to the same period, which depicts an elderly man with a long beard, and deeply carved lines on his face, with an expression that culturally places him more in the spiritual sphere that in the secular world. Such a portrait type differs considerably from the previously described dignitary and resembles portraits of philosophers. The gentle expression on the face explains its Christian reuse, as it was interpreted as representing a Christian saint, and was placed within the cult area in the cryptoportico on the Agora.
Keywords
Salonica; late antiquity; portraits
Hrčak ID:
37205
URI
Publication date:
23.5.2009.
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