Marble head of Apollo from the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos
Greek, around 350 BC
From Bodrum, modern Turkey
From the one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
This statue, from which only this head survives, was carved from
Pentelic marble. The god Apollo is shown here in a dynamic pose,
with his head turning sharply, his hair windswept, his mouth
slightly open and his expression exhilarated. The figure to which
this head originally belonged must have been carved in an animated
manner and was probably in motion. His long hair was perhaps
arranged in a so-called 'top-knot', typical of fourth-century BC
and later Hellenistic images of Apollo.
The scale of this head is different from that of the other
free-standing sculptures from the Mausoleum and this, and its
lively pose, suggest that it may have been part of a sculptural
group positioned on the roof of the building. Alternatively, it may
have been grouped with portraits of the Hekatomnid court: deities
were often portrayed on a larger scale than their mortal devotees.
Apollo may have been the patron deity of the Hekatomnid dynasty, as
he appears on the coins of Maussollos and his successors.
G.B. Waywell, The free-standing sculptures o (London, 1978)