The statue was found in the ancient cemetery of a village near Athens, where it probably adorned a wealthy family’s mausoleum. It shows a draped man in the prime of his life. The body is finely modelled under the drapery. The cloak is masterfully carved: see how the edges broaden above and below the point where the figure grips them in his left hand.
The statue shows the deceased. In theory, it could also be a deity: Asclepius, the god of healing, was also shown in this way. Some details (like the wrinkles on the neck or the sagging right pectoral) still suggest that it is the statue of a mortal. The disciplined posture, the trained body slowly yielding to the passage of time, and the neatly arranged clothing produce a figure which conforms to the Greek ideal of man in harmony with the world and himself.
Marble analyses conducted by Danielle Decrouez (Geneva, Museum of Natural History) and Karl Ramseyer (University of Bern, Institute of Geological Sciences) have shown that the statue was made of Pentelic marble. Click here for the detailed results.
