Relief of Athena at a Herm (Primary Title)

Unknown (Artist)

1st century BC–1st century
Roman, Neo-Attic
marble
Overall: 29 1/2 × 19 × 3 1/8 in. (74.93 × 48.26 × 7.94 cm)
60.5

This neo-Attic relief of Athena was part of a revival of earlier Greek artistic styles popular in Rome in the 1st centuries BC and AD. VMFA’s relief evokes The Mourning Athena, a 5th-century BC work that perhaps commemorated the fallen Athenians at the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) between the Greeks and Persians. Although stylistically similar to The Mourning Athena, the more complex spatial relationships and composition of VMFA’s Athena reveal it as a neo-Attic creation.

Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund
"Goddess and Polis: The Panathenaic Festival in Ancient Athens", Hood Museum, Dartmouth, Wight Art Gallery, UCLA, VMFA, Princeton University Art Museum, August 18, 1992 - December 20, 1993

"Encounter I: Space", VMFA Artmobile exhibition, 1970-1971

"Art from the Ancient World", VMFA Artmobile exhibition, September 24, 1966 - January 20, 1967
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC

Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.