Getty Museum

Herm of Menander

Date

A.D. 1–100

Medium

Marble

Culture

Roman

Department

Sculpture

Institution

Getty Museum

The Greek comic playwright Menander (about 342 to 291 B.C.), is represented in this Roman portrait. The face shows lofty eyebrows, a thin, long nose and fleshy lips. His short hair is comprised of comma shaped locks that cover his broad forehead. The portrait copies the head of a bronze statue by the Greek artists Kephisodotos the Younger and his brother Timarchos (both active 340-290 B.C.), the sons of the famed sculptor Praxiteles. The Roman writer Pausanias mentions the original statue, which was set up as a commemorative monument in the Theater of Dionysos in Athens shortly after Menander's death. The portrait is known from several other versions of the statue, and the occasional example inscribed with his name confirms the identification of all of these versions as Menander. This particular portrait would have surmounted a pillar (a type of statue known as a herm) and likely stood in the garden of a Roman villa. Developed by the Greeks, herms originally supported the head of the god Hermes and served a protective function. They were set up at physical boundaries, such as crossroads or even doorways, as sites of ritual and worship. The Romans later adapted the Greek concept of the herm, using it for non-religious, decorative purposes. The heads on Roman examples are often portraits of famous people. The numerous surviving portraits of Menander indicate the great appeal of his comedies among Roman audiences.

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