In the early year of AD 121, Pompeia Plotina, the greatly respected widow of the emperor Trajan, sent Hadrian a letter asking him to help the Epicurean school in Athens solve an issue regarding the rights of succession. According to Roman law, the head of the school was obliged to appoint a new leader from… Continue reading Early AD 121 – Plotina writes to Hadrian on behalf of the Epicurean school in Athens (#Hadrian1900)
Since November of 2017, the National Archaeological Museum of Athens and the Italian Archaeological School at Athens have been hosting a temporary exhibition called "Hadrian and Athens. Conversing with an Ideal World" in Gallery 31a of the Sculpture Collection. The exhibition celebrates 1900 years since the beginning of Hadrian's principate in August AD 117, an… Continue reading Exhibition: ‘Hadrian and Athens. Conversing with an Ideal World’ at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens (#Hadrian1900)
In the context of "The Unseen Museum" rotating-object programme and the temporary exhibition "Hadrian and Athens Conversing with an Ideal World", currently taking place in the Gallery 31a of the Sculpture Collection, the Archaeological Museum of Athens brought to light two unique artefacts from their storerooms. Fifteen selected antiquities had already been displayed, and this… Continue reading Exhibition: ‘Hadrian and Antinous: an encounter, 19 centuries later’ at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens (#Hadrian1900)
2017 was a very special year for me as the year marked the 1900th anniversary of the accession of Hadrian to the imperial throne and the start of my Hadrian 1900 project. I travelled to 9 countries, visited 57 new archaeological sites, 21 new archaeological museums and attended 4 exhibitions. Here’s an overview of my… Continue reading My 2017 travel round-up
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
Colossal portrait head of the emperor Hadrian, made of pentelic marble. It was found in Athens. The emperor wears a wreath of oak leaves that end above his forehead in a medallion representing an eagle. The holes in the hoop of the wreath were used to inlay golden leaves. Height 0,55 m. Source http://www.namuseum.gr/collections/sculpture/roman/roman08-en.html More… Continue reading Marble, colossal portrait head of the emperor Hadrian, found in Athens, AD 130-138, National Archaeological Museum of Athens
