portrait head
- Museum number
- 1973,0303.2
- Description
-
Marble head of Demosthenes with knitted brow and compressed lips.
- Production date
- 280BC (circa, of original)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 45.05 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- Roman copy of a statue by Polyeuktos erected in 280BC.
Demosthenes was an orator who passionately opposed the Macedonian control of mainland Greece. He spoke against the capitulation of Athens in particular and his posthumous portrait was erected in the Athenian marketplace around 280BC, after his suicide. The head in the British Museum is one of a number of Roman marble copies of the original statue. It is one of the first psychological portraits and arguably the greatest.
- Location
- On display (G22)
- Acquisition notes
- Previously unregistered.
- Department
- Greek and Roman
- Registration number
- 1973,0303.2