The ''Hellenistic Prince'', ''Seleucid Prince'', or ''Terme Ruler'' is a Greek bronze statue, 204 centimetres high, made in the 2nd century BC, now in the collections of the

Palazzo Massimo alle Terme The National Roman Museum (Italian: ''Museo Nazionale Romano'') is a museum, with several branches in separate buildings throughout the city of Rome, Italy. It shows exhibits from the pre- and early history of Rome, with a focus on archaeological ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. It was found in 1885, together with the ''

Boxer at Rest The ''Boxer at Rest'', also known as the ''Terme Boxer'', ''Seated Boxer'', ''Defeated Boxer'', or ''Boxer of the Quirinal'', is a Hellenistic Greek bronze sculpture of a sitting nude boxer at rest, still wearing his himantes ( grc, ἱμάντε� ...

'', on the

Quirinal Hill The Quirinal Hill (; la, Collis Quirinalis; it, Quirinale ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Palace ...

, probably near the Baths of Constantine during the construction of the National Theatre. The two statues were however not part of an ensemble, being of different dates. There are significant debates on who is the person pictured, the original attribution to a Hellenistic prince being now rejected in favour of a Roman general—possibly

Scipio Aemilianus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...

, although there have been other suggestions.

Description

Experimental color reconstruction of the two bronzes from the Quirinal hill in Rome

The statue was cast using a

lost wax process Lost-wax casting (also called "investment casting", "precision casting", or ''cire perdue'' which has been adopted into English from the French, ) is the process by which a duplicate metal sculpture (often silver, gold, brass, or bronze) i ...

. The eyes were put in their sockets later, but are now lost. It represents a naked young man with a light beard, reclining on a spear in an heroic pose, which is taken from

Lysippos Lysippos (; grc-gre, Λύσιππος) was a Ancient Greek sculpture, Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC. Together with Scopas and Praxiteles, he is considered one of the three greatest sculptors of the Ancient Greece, Classical Greek era, bri ...

' ''

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...

''. The first studies of the statue described it as an Hellenistic prince,

Seleucid The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

Attalid The Kingdom of Pergamon or Attalid kingdom was a Greek state during the Hellenistic period that ruled much of the Western part of Asia Minor from its capital city of Pergamon. It was ruled by the Attalid dynasty (; grc-x-koine, Δυναστε ...

(specifically

Attalus II Attalus II Philadelphus (Greek: Ἄτταλος Β΄ ὁ Φιλάδελφος, ''Attalos II Philadelphos'', which means "Attalus the brother-loving"; 220–138 BC) was a Greek King of Pergamon and the founder of the city of Attalia (Antalya) ...

), but this attribution has been rejected. Since there is no consensus on the character's identity, the original name still stands. Indeed, scholars now mostly think the man is actually a Roman general, portrayed by a Greek artist working in Rome. Opinions on the character pictured widely differ: Lehman thinks it is

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus (c. 188 BC – 116 BC/115 BC) was a statesman and general of the Roman Republic during the second century BC. He was praetor in 148 BC, consul in 143 BC, the Proconsul of Hispania Citerior in 142 BC an ...

; Balty and Croz recognise

Titus Quinctius Flamininus Titus Quinctius Flamininus (c. 228 – 174 BC) was a Roman politician and general instrumental in the Roman conquest of Greece. Family background Flamininus belonged to the minor patrician ''gens'' Quinctia. The family had a glorious place ...

; Papini suggests Gnaeus Manlius Vulso; finally, Coarelli and Etcheto favour

, because the statue was found near the place where he had his villa. A reconstruction project executed by the Frankfurt Liebieghaus Polychromy Research Project and headed by

Vinzenz Brinkmann Vinzenz Brinkmann (born 1958 in Göttingen) is a German classical archaeologist. Life Brinkmann grew up in Gauting, southwest of Munich, and studied Classical Archeology in Munich and Athens. In 1987 he earned his doctorate under Volkmar von ...

follows the interpretation of Phyllis L. Williams (1945) and

Rhys Carpenter Rhys Carpenter (August 5, 1889 – January 2, 1980) was an American classical art historian and professor at Bryn Mawr College. Carpenter was unconventional as a scholar. He analyzed Greek art from the standpoint of artistic production and b ...

(1945) and identifies the statue as one of the

Dioscures Castor; grc, Κάστωρ, Kástōr, beaver. and Pollux. (or Polydeukes). are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri.; grc, Διόσκουροι, Dióskouroi, sons of Zeus, links=no, from ''Dîos'' ('Z ...

, Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann: ''Die sogenannten Quirinalsbronzen und der Faustkampf von Amykos mit dem Argonauten Polydeukes. Ein archäologisches Experiment.'' In: Vinzenz Brinkmann (ed.): ''Medeas Liebe und die Jagd nach dem Goldenen Vlies.'' Exhibition catalogue Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung, Frankfurt 2018. Hirmer, Munich 2018, p. 80-97.

References

Bibliography

* Jean Ch. Balty,
La statue de bronze de T. Quinctius Flamininus ad Apollinis in circo
, '' Mélanges de l'École française de Rome'', n°90-2, 1978, pp. 669–686. *

Filippo Coarelli Filippo Coarelli is an Italian archaeologist, Professor of Greek and Roman Antiquities at the University of Perugia. Born in Rome, Coarelli was a student of Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli. Coarelli is one of the foremost experts on Roman antiquitie ...

, "La doppia tradizione sulla morte di Romolo e gli auguracula dell'Arx e del Quirinale", ''Gli Etruschi e Roma: atti dell'incontro di studio in onore di Massimo Pallottino'', Rome, 1981, pp. 173–188. * Jean-François Croz, ''Les portraits sculptés de Romains en Grèce et en Italie de Cynoscéphales à Actium (197-31 av. J.C.). Essai sur les perspectives idéologiques de l’art du portrait'', Paris, 2002. * Henri Etcheto,
Les Scipions. Famille et pouvoir à Rome à l’époque républicaine
', Bordeaux, Ausonius Éditions, 2012. * Andreas Linfert, ''Bärtige Herrscher'', "Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts", XCI, 1976
sur Google Books
. * Nikolaus Himmelmann, ''Herrscher und Athlet. Die Bronzen vom Quirinal'', Milan, 1988. * Detlev Kreikenbom, ''Griechische und römische Kolossalporträts bis zum späten ersten Jahrhundert nach Christus'', Berlin, 1992. * Stefan Lehmann, "Der Thermenherrscher und die Fußspuren der Attaliden. Zur olympischen Statuenbasis des Q. Caec. Metellus Macedonicus", ''Nürnberger Blätter zur Archäologie'', XIII, 1997, pp. 107–130. * Massimiliano Papini,
Il Principe delle Terme, "Grieche oder Römer?
, ''Bullettino della Commissione Archeologica Comunale di Roma'', Vol. 103 (2002), pp. 9–42. *

Ulrich Sinn Ulrich Sinn (* 4 October 1945 in Bevensen) is a German classical archaeologist. Ulrich Sinn graduated from the humanist gymnasium Johanneum in Lüneburg. After completing military service, he first studied education in Karlsruhe from 1967 to 196 ...

, ''Einführung in die klassische Archäologie'', Beck, Munich, 2000, {{ISBN, 978-3-406-45401-1, pp. 134–139. * Ulrich-Walter Gans, ''Attalidische Herrscherbildnisse. Studien zur hellenistischen Porträtplastik Pergamons'', Wiesbaden, 2006. 2nd-century BC sculptures Ancient Greek metalwork Collections of the National Roman Museum Hellenistic and Roman bronzes Nude sculptures