Unknown prince or Roman general - the "Hellenistic Prince", bronze, 2nd century BC

 

"The Hellenistic Prince" is a Greek bronze statue, 204 centimetres high, made in the 2nd century BC, and now in the collections of the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme in Rome. It was found in 1885, together with the "Boxer at Rest," on the Quirinal Hill, 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 first studies of the statue described it as an Hellenistic prince, Seleucid, or Attalid (specifically Attalus II), but this attribution has been rejected. Since there is no consensus on the character's identity, the original name still stands.

Still, most scholars now think the man depicted was actually a Roman general, portrayed by a Greek artist working in Rome. Opinions on the character pictured differ widely: Lehman thinks it is Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus; Balty and Croz recognise Titus Quinctius Flamininus; Papini suggests Gnaeus Manlius Vulso; finally, Coarelli and Etcheto favor Scipio Aemilianus, because the statue was found near the place where he had his villa.

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The last, Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus (185 BC – 129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, is considered the most likely model. He was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the Numantine War in Spain. He oversaw the final defeat and destruction of the city of Carthage. He was a prominent patron of writers and philosophers, the most famous of whom was the Greek historian Polybius. In politics, he opposed the populist reform program of his murdered brother-in-law, Tiberius Gracchus.

(Text adapted from Wikipedia.)