Bust of Antinous – Hadrian and Athens

Provenance: Patras. height: 0.63 m. Marble: Thasian.
Chronology: just after 130 AD. EAM 417

Nude bust with the head in the main figural type of Antinous, Hadrian’s beloved. The type was probably the creation of an attic workshop and was especially popular. Full nudity suggests the hero worship [of Antinous] and the association with the gymnasium, through which the veneration of Antinous was promoted.