CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

This statue of Athena is an eclectic Roman interpretation of the Classical Greek style of the 5th century B.C., rather than a specific copy of a known statue type. The regular stepped folds to either side of Athena's peplos overfold replicates what can be found on numerous statues, large and small, as well as on Greek vases, from the 5th century B.C. This archaizing phenomenon, more correctly called classicizing since it specifically imitates the style of the Classical period, began during the Hellenistic period and continued into the Roman period. The aegis, here worn transversally over the shoulder, converts an otherwise anonymous classicizing peplophorus (wearer of a peplos) into a cult statue, although it need not have been used in a temple. The ancient Romans no doubt recognized in such retrospective statues a sense of nobility imbued with sacredness.