1

Eros Head

by Alexandra S. Drenka

Head of Eros

Baniyas

Marble

The second half of the 2nd century AD

Roman copy of the Hellenistic original

IAA 2000-3395

Locus 181001, Basket 1810009

Fig.1: Baniyas, Head of Eros. Front view. Extensive traces of diverse shades of pink

pigment in the proximity of the eyes and forehead.

2

The head is carved in crystalline white marble and is broken off at the top of the

neck (Fig.1). The preserved height is 18.5 cm. It is slightly under life-size. The head with

carefully executed facial details and elaborate hairstyle, portrays a child with a self

contented smile. It is in almost perfect condition, with only minor chips on the chin, lips,

cheeks, top of the nose and the left eye, and with extensive surface incrustation on the

right and rear sides.

The surface of the statue is well polished, except for the back which is roughly

executed. The facial features are fully sculptured and skillfully emphasize subject’s

youthfulness. The slightly asymmetrical proportions and composition of the facial details

create an impression of particular contentment. The expression of joy is embodied not

only in the gentle smile, but also in the general movement of the features. A subtle

distortion of the face, caused by the smile, reveals the child’s spiritual enjoyment. This

was achieved by carving the corners of the mouth moderately deeper and tilted upwards,

slightly raising the cheeks and forming a small broad nose. The mouth is well defined by

a hole drilled at either corner, with a groove between the full lips. The eyes are slightly

asymmetrically positioned, the right eye set slightly deeper. They are carved in elaborate

detail: the pupils are drilled and the tear-ducts are indicated by drill-holes at the inner

corners. The division of the upper from the lower forehead is marked by a shallow

groove. The right ear is fully defined; the location of the left one is only roughed out, and

for the most part covered by fully-formed curls. The short and wavy hair is articulated by

3

Fig.2: Left side view. The hair is endowed with thick curls rendered with care and

precision.

separated locks, executed with more or less pronounced grooves and incisions. The

rendering of the sides and the back of the head is notably distinct. The left (Fig.2) side is

generously endowed with thicker curls and modeled with care and precision, while the

right side (Fig.3) is executed in a more shallow relief. The hair at the back is only roughly

outlined. In other words, the chisel strokes become progressively rougher towards the

back of the head, where the hair is only suggested by shallow grooves and even tool

marks alone (Figs.4, 5). The two symmetrically arranged single locks on each side of the

forehead and cheeks are in sharp contrast to the disordered hair. Especially distinctive is

an elaborate braid on top of the head (Fig.6). At the center of the forehead, the hair is

4

Fig.3: Right side view. The hair is indicated by wavy shallow grooves, suggesting that the

right side of the statue was originally concealed or not meant to be viewed in strict

frontality.

symmetrically parted, pulled back, gathered into a narrow flat horizontal band and then

neatly arranged in a braid which tapers sharply, turning to the left, and ending at the top

of the head. Of special interest is the absence of deep drill-work in rendering of the hair,

since one of the characteristics of the sculptural assemblage found at Baniyas so far is

"emphatic and plentiful drill-work in hair, beards and drapery" (Friedland 1999:9).1

Only a small portion of the neck is preserved, not enough to define the general

posture of the statue. However, a slanting protrusion from the right side of the neck may

indicate a slight inclination to the right. An unusual ridge near the break on the left side

5

suggests the presence of some, now missing, additional feature.

The naturalistic character of this exquisitely carved portrait was originally

enhanced by the use of color. The considerable traces of diverse shades of pink pigment

are particularly preserved in the proximity of the eyes and forehead. They provide strong

evidence for polychrome in the original appearance of the statue.2 The application of

color was the master’s last touch, employed to complete the natural look of the image.

The principal characteristics of the Baniyas head – the naturalism in modeling, the

skillful distinction of age and the intense emotional content - associate it with a class of

marble statuary that mirrors the Hellenistic manner, while the craftsmanship reveals the

criteria of the early Roman Imperial period.

Fig.4: Rear-left view. Note the differentiated

rendering of the left and rear sides: the chisel

strokes become progressively rougher towards

the back of the head.

Fig.5: Rear-right view: The hair is only

suggested by shallow grooves and incisions.

6

Fig.6: Top view: An elaborate braid over the top of the head appears frequently in Eros

representations.

The distinct naturalism and desire to reveal a subject’s true nature and personal

emotion and experience link the Baniyas head with its Hellenistic archetype. It seems

likely that the slight distortion and asymmetry of the facial features observed in the

Baniyas head reflect the approach in modeling which emphasizes proportions "as they

appear to be" (Pliny NH 34:65). Such naturalism points to the sculptural style initiated by

Lysippos, who had a major influence on figural forms and types in the 4th century BC,

and beyond (Pliny NH 34:61-65, 34:153; Pollitt 1972:174-94; Pollitt 1974:14-22; Stewart

1978:163-71; Stewart 1990:80, 186-7, 228-9). It is believed that Lysippos was the first

sculptor who “deliberately set out to capture the character of his subject” (Pollitt

1986:65-6; Richter 1970:228-9). In addition to the general appearance of the Baniyas

7

head, the Lysippean stylistic approach is manifested in the slender proportions and the

rendering of details, such as the deeper setting of the eyes and the division between upper

and lower forehead.

In the absence of any secure context, the identification and dating of the head must

rely entirely upon the subject matter, the stylistic and technical features, and the

associated parallels. Even though the determining attributes were lost with the rest of the

statue, the identity of the Baniyas head may be discerned from the personality so vividly

imprinted in the image. The most plausible and perhaps the only identification for this

child with its self-pleased smile is Eros, known to the Romans as Cupid. As a god of

love, and also “a cosmic god of procreation who emerged self born at the beginning of

time” (Hesiod Theogony 11:116-138), Eros is usually conceived as a handsome youth or

a young boy. He was often portrayed as a disobedient child who enjoys disturbing the

hearts of gods and humans. As such the Baniyas head as well can be comprehended.

Another, more palpable hint in support of Eros recognition is the distinctive braid on top

of the head, a hair arrangement common in statues of Eros (Romano 2006:134,

cat.no.69). Even though such a hair-style appears frequently in Eros representations, and

could be regarded as a part of the god’s conventional depiction, it does not belong to a

category of determining attributes since a similar coiffure is customarily used in portraits

of children and infants.3 However, the fact that the only Graeco-Roman portraits that

exhibit signs of happiness are those of Eros, satyrs, nymphs and children (Bieber

1961:figs. 546, 582, 567)4 further supports the Eros identification.

The message conveyed by Eros was a subject much favoured throughout antiquity,

from the Classical period until the end of the Late Roman. This is attested by a large

8

number of Eros representations in various media: painted vases, terracottas, bronze and

marble statuary, etc. Of special interest is the change in the envisionment of Eros in the

course of time: in the Classical period he was portrayed as a young man, in the

Hellenistic as a youth or child, and by the Late Roman period the standard image of Eros

was a chubby infant. It should be stressed that the accurate depiction of children was not

common before the 4th century BC. It is assumed that “his [Eros’] progressive diminution

in size was the natural outcome of fourth-century [BC.] art with its well-defined penchant

for youth and beauty” (Cook 1925:1045). With the passing of time this tendency

continued until a greatly exaggerated reduction of proportions turned the final

conventional image of Eros in the Late Roman period into a short and chubby figure.

Keeping this development in mind, it is most likely that the prototype of the Baniyas Eros

can be found in an Eros statue dated not before the second half of the 4th century BC.

In Graeco-Roman art the favorite types of Eros were those of a winged boy,

engaged in various games ‘from whom neither gods nor men were safe’ (Hesiod

Theogony 116-122). Eros personified ‘the very ancient belief in the soul as a tiny winged

form sent forth from the lover to compass his desires’. (Cook 1925:1045). As such, he

was often portrayed aquipped with bow and arrow or torch.5 The best examples of this

type are in the collections of the British Museum (London, Acc. No. 51728001) and the

Museo Capitolino (Rome, MC 0410). These statues display variations of the same figural

type, representing Eros as a winged god stringing his bow. They are Roman copies of the

bronze original cast by Lysippus ca 338 - 335 BC, and are dated to the 1st - 2nd century

AD. The Baniyas head exhibits considerable resemblance to this group of sculptures,

especially notable in the soft forms, distinctive proportions and hair-rendering. This type

9

of Eros statue generally features a figure inclined to the right. As described above, the

less refined modeling of the right side of the Baniyas head indicates that the figure was

not strictly frontal i.e. that it was indeed slightly inclined to the right, as in the examples

adduced above.

The closest parallel to the Baniyas head was the statue of Eros found in Hatra

(National Museum of Iraq, Inv.no. IM 73041).6 The Hatra Eros was a Roman copy of the

4th century B.C. Greek original, dated to c. 160 AD, and possibly imported from a Roman

workshop in Antioch, Syria (Basmachi 1976:cat.no.201, Bogdanos 2005:508, Valtz Fino

2005:147).

The cursory treatment of the right side of the Baniyas head suggests that the statue

may have been part of a composition where the Eros was in close proximity to an

adjacent figure and occupied the left side of the pediment. The expected figure to his

right was the goddess Aphrodite, whose loyal companion he was throughout Greek myth

and cult. The abundant of replicas of this sculptural type speak of its widespread

popularity.

The iconography of Eros also comprises figures showing the deity engaged in

various games with animals. For example, riding a dolphin – a form in which his aquatic

character is exhibited (Gresht 2001:71), or seated on a ram - the ram symbolizing a strong

sexual disposition, etc. The latter subject was especially favored in Cyprus and is closely

related to the cult of Aphrodite (Karageorghis 1989:111). Since only the head of the

Baniyas Eros has survived, there is no evidence for this sculptural type and it can only be

suggested as one of the standard type of his representation.

10

The stylistic and technical features observed in the head of the Baniyas Eros,

particularly the surface polish, the rendering of the eyes and the absence of deep drilled

grooves in the modeling of the hair, indicate the date of the Baniyas head as the second

half of the 2nd century AD.

References

Basmachi, F. 1976. Treausures of the Iraq Museum. Baghdad, Directorate General of antiquities.

Bieber, M. 1961. The Sculpture of the Hellenistic Age. New York, Columbia University Press.

Bogdanos, M. 2005. "The Casualities of War: The Truth About the Iraq Museum", AJA 109, No. 3, pp. 477-526.

Comstock, M.B. and Vermeule, 1976. Sculpture in Stone: The Greek, Roman and Etruscan Collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Cook, A.B. 1925. Zeus. A Study in Ancient Religion.Vol II, Zeus God of the Dark Sky (Thunder and Lightning), Cambridge University Press. Friedland, E. 1999. "Greco-Roman sculpture in the Levant: the marbles from the Sanctuary of Pan at Caesarea Philippi (Banias)", in: The Roman and Byzantine Near East, Vol. 2, Rhode Island, Journal of Roman Archaeology, pp. 7-23. Gersht,R. 2001. "Aquatic Figure Types from Caesarea-Maritima", Assaph, Studies in Art History, Vol. 6 , Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv University, pp. 63-90. Hesiod, Theogony. Holloway, R.R 2008. “The Painting of Ancient Sculpture”, AJA 112, No. 2, pp. 347-351. Karageorghis, V. 1989. The Cyprus Museum, Nicosia. Kühn, H. 1960. "Detection and Identification of Waxes, including Punic Wax, by Infra-Red Spectrography", Studies in Conservation 5, No. 2. London, International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, pp. 71-81.

11

Pliny the Elder. Naturalis Historia. Pollitt, J.J. 1972. Art and Experience in Classical Greece. Cambridge University Press. Pollitt, J.J. 1974. The Ancient View of Greek Art. Criticism, History, and Terminology. New Haven. Yale University Press. Pollitt, J.J. 1986. Art in the Hellenistic Age. Cambridge University Press. Plutarch. Quaestiones Romanae. Pryce, F. D.1928. Catalogue of Early Greek Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London, British Museum. Richter, G. M. A. 1928. "Were the Nude Parts in Greek Marble Sculpture Painted?", Metropolitan Museum Studies, 1, No. 1, pp. 25-31. Richter, G. M. A., Hall, Lindsley F. 1944. "Polychromy in Greek Sculpture". The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, Vol. 2, No. 8. pp. 233-240. Richter, G. M. A. 1970. The Sculpture and Sculptors of the Greeks. 4th ed. New Haven, Yale University Press. London. Ridgway, B.S. 2001. Hellenistic Sculpture I: The Styles of ca. 331-200 B.C., Medison, The University of Wisconsin Press. Romano, D.G. and Romano, I.B. 1999. Catalogue of the Classical Collections of the Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn, Piccari Press Inc. Romano, I.B. 2006. Classical Sculpture: Catalogue of the Cypriot, Greek and Roman Sculpture in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University Museum Monograph. Stewart, A.F. 1978. "Lysippan Studies, I. The only creator of beauty", AJA 82, pp.163-171. Stewart, A.F. 1990. Greek Sculpture: An Exploration. Vol. 1. New Haven. Valtz Fino, E. 2005. "The Wake of Alexander the Great", in: The Looting of the Iraq Museum, Baghdad, the lost legacy of ancient Mesopotamia, eds. M. Polk and A. Schuster; New York, Abrams, pp 147-71. Vitruvius. De architectura. Walters, H. B.1903. Catalogue of Terracottas in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London, British Museum.

12

Notes

1 The sculptures from the Baniyas sanctuary were studied and published by E.A. Friedland. For comprehensive discussion see Friedland 1999. 2 The numerous instances of polychrome sculptures reflect an accepted convention in the final treatment of sculptures throughout antiquity. It is believed that painted statuary was introduced in the Archaic period, and that by the 4th century B.C., it was established as a regular practice, later adopted by the Romans. The custom was not restricted to marble statuary, but was also applied to limestone and terracotta figures, monumental reliefs, and architectural elements. For more elaborate discussion on the subject see: Richter 1928, 1944; Walters 1903; Pryce 1928, Holloway 2008. In addition to the evidence for polychrome on monuments, we have also inherited the eloquent literary testimonies by contemporary writers Vitruvius (De Achitectura VII.9.4), Pliny the Elder (Naturalis Historia 21:49, 33:122) and Plutarch (Quaestiones Romanae 287D). From their accounts we learn about the original look of the sculptures and the technical methods, such as the ganosis (γάνωσις) and the “Punic wax”– a protective coating applied over the color on sculptures and architectural elements. For a detailed discussion of the matter see Kühn 1960. 3 For various discussions of this hair style see also: Comstock and Varmeule 1976:212-3, and. Romano and Romano 1999:9-10. 4For example, in Bieber 1961: smiling child, Fig. 546, the head of a satyr, Fig. 582 and the head of a nymph, Fig. and 567. 5 It is said that the earliest-known example of Eros stringing his bow appeared on a Red Figure lekythos by the Brygos Painter, ca. 480 (Ridgway 2001:100, note 6). 6 Tragically, the statue was smashed to pieces and the head stolen during the looting of the National Museum of Iraq in 2003.