Giant statue of Hadrian unearthed

[JoeP]

Giant statue of Hadrian unearthed

Parts of a huge, exquisitely carved statue of the Roman Emperor Hadrian have been found at an archaeological site in south-central Turkey.

Has someone already posted this? Seems right in line with interests!



The foot is just under a metre in length...

[livius drusus]

Oh my goodness, look at that beard! And I don't mean it in the Antinuous-is-just-a-friend-I-tells-ya way.

The sandals are uber snazzy too, despite the thong.

[JoeP]

Did you read the bit about the beard being unusual for a Roman Emperor? Hadrian specifically wanted to emulate Greek scholars.

[livius drusus]

I didn't see that in the article, although I knew that Hadrian had started the fashion, or rather, killed the taboo against beards in official portraiture.

Was it a Hellenophilic thing for sure, though? Greek statuary of the Hellenistic period features many clean-shaven types.

[LadyShea]

I'll bet there's a fascinating story behind the creation of that. The scale and level of detail is amazing. Too bad it's probably all lost in time.

[Naru]

That is a really big statue. Do you think he's trying to compensate for something?

[Kyuss Apollo]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

The sandals are uber snazzy too, despite the thong.

They don't make them like that anymore, I tells ya! Thats some fancy leatherwork.

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

I didn't see that in the article, although I knew that Hadrian had started the fashion, or rather, killed the taboo against beards in official portraiture.

Was it a Hellenophilic thing for sure, though? Greek statuary of the Hellenistic period features many clean-shaven types.

It's in a caption to one of the larger pictures - click on 'In pictures' near the top.

[Qingdai]

Seems he wasn't compensating for his really large wall though.

BBC News - Volunteers illuminate Hadrian's Wall 'line of light'

Yeah, I know it's old, and this is tangentially related, but still cool.

[Dingfod]

My brother Jim and his girlfriend walked the length of Hadrian's Wall last autumn.