Head of Zeus
The head has long and thick hair that tied with a cord on the head is resolved into long waves, while is brushed up over the forehead in a typical anastole (a quiff of the hair brushed upward).
As it is common with the heads of bearded deities, the identification of the depicted god is difficult. We usually identify this kind of heads with long hair, thick moustache, and full beard with Poseidon, Ades, Asclepios, or Zeus. The head has similarities with other heads of Zeus, especially in the form of the curls of the God’s beard.
It is very likely that this is a variant of a Greek original or a classicist work of the 2nd c. AD.
- Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, inv. n. ΜΘ 1017
- 2nd c. AD
- H. 0.38 m.
- White marble, probably Thasian
- Provenance: Thessaloniki, area of sanctuaries, near Sarapeion (Vasiloglou plot)
Bibliography
- Despinis, G., Stefanidou-Tiveriou, Th., Voutiras, Emm., et al. (1997). Catalogue of Sculpture of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, Vol. I, pp. 109-110, no. 80, figs. 197-200, Thessaloniki, National Bank Cultural Foundation.
