Portrait-head of Euripides

Italy, Roman, 1st century AD
Marble
H35 cm (total), H31 cm (head)
Castellani Collection
GR 1879.7-12.1 (BM Cat Sculpture 1833)

Euripides (c. 485/480- 407/406 BC) was one of the three leading playwrights of Classical Athens. His tragic plays often reflected current events, filtered through the medium of classical myths, as well as key aspects of the human condition. Euripides wrote 92 plays, of which 18 survive entire and others in fragments. During his lifetime, plays were performed only once as part of a competition during religious festivals in honour of the god Dionysos.

Under the Athenian statesman Lykourgos, in about 330 BC, bronze statues of the three tragedians were set up in the Theatre of Dionysos in Athens to celebrate the great achievements of the city's golden age. It is possible that this portrait is copied after the statue of Euripides in the theatre, although some feel that it might be after a later version. Euripides is depicted as a respected older citizen, with a full beard and thinning hair. In accordance with conventions of the time, no reference is made to his profession.

The head is remarkably well preserved. It was made for insertion into a statue, probably in the first century AD. The provenance of the sculpture is unknown, but it may well have graced the villa of a Roman noble, where portraits of poets and philosophers were displayed to demonstrate the refined intellectual tastes of the wealthy owner.