Antiquity was a very colourful place! The myth of all-white marble classical sculpture that remained uninterrupted for centuries has been put to rest thanks to modern science. Over the past thirty years or so, ground-breaking research in pigmentation has revealed new evidence for painted and ornamented surfaces on classical sculpture. Modern techniques such as X-ray… Continue reading Hadrian in colour, by Danila Loginov
Of the many bronze portraits of Hadrian that are known to have existed, only three have survived from antiquity. After the exhibition ‘Hadrian: An Emperor Cast in Bronze’ (see here) held at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem from December 2015 to June 2016, the Musée du Louvre is now inviting us to discover these exceptional… Continue reading Exhibition: Three bronze portraits of Hadrian at the Louvre, Paris
On the eastern tip of the Rodopou Peninsula in West Crete are the scanty remains of a temple dedicated to the Cretan goddess Diktynna (Diktynnaion). Diktynna was the virgin goddess of hunting and was worshipped fervently in western Crete as the patroness of hunters and fishermen. --- Diktynna's name may be connected with Mount Dikte,… Continue reading The Hadrianic Temple of Diktynna in Crete
The Acropolis Museum in Athens celebrated the 1900th anniversary of Hadrian's accession with the presentation of an exquisite portrait of the Emperor found in Syngrou Avenue and of an interesting video which showcased the Emperor’s immense building program in Athens. The presentation run from 15th January to 31st March 2017. Hadrian was a dedicated philhellene… Continue reading Hadrian at the Acropolis Museum of Athens
The Israel Museum in Jerusalem held until the end of June 2016 an exhibition dedicated to Hadrian: 'Hadrian: An Emperor Cast in Bronze'. The exhibition was curated by David Merovah (Curator of Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Archaeology) and Rachel Caine Kreinin (Associate Curator) from the Israel Museum together with Thorsten Opper (Curator of the Department of… Continue reading Exhibition: ‘Hadrian: An Emperor Cast in Bronze’ in Jerusalem
Today I was thrilled to discover that a beautiful bust of Hadrian had been excavated at the archaeological site of Los Torrejones in the Region of Murcia in Spain. The bust, characterized by its excellent condition, was discovered during archaeological digs at the site which ran from October to December 2014. It was only unveiled… Continue reading Exquisite marble bust of Hadrian found in Spain
A magnificent bronze statue of Hadrian, now on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, was found by chance by an American tourist in Tel Shalem (Beth Shean Valley, Israel) on the 25th of July 1975 while searching for ancient coins with a metal detector. Tel Shalem was once occupied by a detachment of the… Continue reading Bronze statue of Hadrian from the legionary camp at Tel Shalem (Judaea), Israel Museum
About halfway along today’s via del Corso, once called via Lata, a large arch of Roman age spanned the street up to the mid 17th century. It was earlier known as the Arcus Hadriani, but in the 16th century, the arch was renamed Arco di Portogallo (Arch of Portugal) because it adjoined the residence of the… Continue reading The Hadrianic reliefs from the Arch of Portugal (Arco di Portogallo), Rome
Hadrian was a dedicated philhellene who admired Greek culture and did his best to be accepted and admired by the Greeks. He visited Greece three times as emperor (AD 124/5, 128/9 and 131/2), and he was especially fond of Athens. The philhellenic emperor did all he could to raise Athens to a special position in… Continue reading Exploring Hadrian’s Athens
This statue depicts Hadrian nude, in the guise of Mars, the god of war, using a well-known classical body type of the divinity; the Ares Borghese, attributed to the Greek sculptor Alcamenes. Hadrian was the first emperor to be represented in this manner. The statue shows characteristics of early versions of Hadrian's portrait type, indicating that… Continue reading Statue of Hadrian as Mars, Capitoline Museums
