A Fourth Century Head in Central Museum, Athens

Extract

There is among the fourth century works in the Central Museum at Athens a head found at Laurium. It is made of Parian marble but it has been completely discoloured by slag or refuse from the lead mines, and is now quite black. In its present condition it is quite impossible to obtain a satisfactory photograph of it, and the reproduction given of it in the figure is from a cast.

It has been published, as far as I am aware, only in M. Kavvadias' catalogue. There it is described as a head of the Lykeian Apollo. This identification rests solely on a passage of Lucian, who mentions a statue of the Lykeian Apollo in the gymnasium at Athens.

He says of it ( 7)—

It will be seen from a glance at the photograph that the grounds for this identification are very slender. The left hand with the bow does not exist, and the only reason for supposing therefore that this is a head of the Lykeian Apollo consists in the fact that the right hand of the statue rests on the head. This in itself seems insufficient and, among other reasons, it is I think rendered impossible by the phrase For the hand is not idly resting, it is not a tired hand; the posture of the fingers is firm and energetic.