6 Ancient Roman Sculptures That Defined an Empire

The cultural and scientific revolutions that define the Renaissance were kickstarted in large part by Europe’s rediscovery of lost Roman sculpture. Inspiring the likes of Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci, these works of art—so different from what had been produced during the Middle Ages—rekindled interest in antiquity and classical thought, offering completely fresh ways of looking at the world.

The way Renaissance Italians felt about ancient Romans wasn’t unlike how Romans felt about the ancient Greeks. Folded into the rapidly expanding Republic following the Battle of Corinth in 146 B.C.E., Greece and its culture made a favorable impression on the ruling elite. Roman sculptors wasted no time copying Greek methods, imbuing their work with an equally extraordinary degree of realism. Such was the resemblance that today, only scholars can easily tell them apart.

That is not to say that Greek and Roman sculpture were identical, though. Despite similar aesthetics, the latter played a meaningful and unique role in society. In the age of emperors, realism became an unlikely tool for glorification and deification: subjects weren’t brought to life so much as they were made to appear larger than life, as each of the following six examples demonstrate.

Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius

Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius at the Capitoline Museum. Photo: Education Images / Universal Images Group via Getty Images.

Unmentioned by ancient sources, this 13-foot-tall bronze statue depicting Marcus Aurelius riding a horse is thought to have been erected either in 176 C.E. to celebrate the emperor’s military confrontations with various Germanic tribes, or around 180 C.E. to commemorate his death. Though equestrian statues or equi magni constituted a well-established genre—late-imperial descriptions of Rome’s urban layout mention 22 of them—this is the only one that survived. Today, it is held by the Capitoline Museum in Rome, while a modern replica stands on the piazza of Capitoline Hill.

Colossus of Constantine

Fragments from the Colossues of Constantine, 313-324 C.E. Photo: DeAgostini / Getty Images.

The original appearance of the Colossus of Constantine, Rome’s first Christian emperor, can be pieced together from fragments discovered in the Roman Forum’s Basilica Nova in 1486, which include its head, right leg, left leg, left foot, right arm, and right hand. Based on the size of the head (roughly equivalent to a Volkswagen Beetle), the entire statue might have been more than 39 feet tall. Though often imagined standing, the raised heel of the left foot suggests that the Colossus, which wore a bronze mantel over its bare, marble chest, might have actually been seated, while the shape of the right hand suggests it held some sort of staff or standard. If other statues bearing Constantine’s image are anything to go by, the Colossus might have originally borne the face of a different ruler—possibly Hadrian—only to be refurbished during or after the former’s reign.

Trajan’s Column

Detail of Trajan’s Column, Trajan’s Forum in Rome Italy. Photo: De Agostini via Getty Images.

Constructed around 113 C.E., at the height of Trajan’s long and prosperous reign, this column used to be surrounded by other buildings commissioned in the emperor’s name. Like these, its creation was financed by—and served as a testament to—Trajan’s historic victory in the Dacian Wars, which lasted from 101 to 102 C.E. and 105 to 106 C.E. respectively. Scenes from these wars, which brought Rome immense wealth, came to life in 656 feet of tiny, intricately carved sculptural reliefs that wrap around the 125-foot-tall column. Today it stands in isolation—a lone symbol of Trajan’s unrivaled legacy.

Augustus of Prima Porta

Marble statue of Augustus of Prima Porta, 1st century. Photo: Prisma / UIG / Getty Images.

Thought to have been sculpted at the beginning of the 1st century C.E., this six-foot-tall statue is named after the city district where it was found in 1863. One of the most famous works of Roman sculpture ever discovered, it was in all likelihood a copy of a lost, bronze original. It adorned not a public square, but a private residence: the retirement villa of Augustus’s wife, Livia. Like other images of Rome’s first emperor, it is a masterclass in early imperial propaganda. The decorated breastplate, for instance, shows a Parthian king returning standards lost by Marcus Licinius Crassus during the Battle of Carrhae in 53 C.E.—a powerful, instantly recognizable symbol of Augustus restoring Rome’s lost glory.

Belvedere Torso

Belvedere torso, 1st century B.C.E. Photo: Ashmolean Museum / Heritage Images / Getty Images.

If the Augustus of Prima Porta ranks among the most famous of all Roman sculpture, this fragment of a statue is one of the most highly admired. Found in Rome towards the end of the 15th century, it depicts the intricately contorting torso and upper legs of a headless, muscular, male figure. Art historians have long speculated that this figure is none other than Ajax, the legendary Greek hero who committed suicide during the Trojan war, striking a similar pose before his death. By contrast, the identity of the artist is not a mystery, as the work, dated to the 1st century C.E., is signed by the Athenian sculptor Apollonios, a member of the neo-Attic school who was unrivaled in both skill and technique.

Townley Bust of Hadrian

Bust of Hadrian, c. 140 C.E. Photo: PHAS / Universal Images Group via Getty Images.

Many busts were created of Hadrian, who ruled from 117 to 138 C.E. and, like Trajan, was one of the so-called Five Good Emperors. However, only one of the surviving examples portrays him nude. The Townley bust is named after Charles Townley, an 18th-century antiquarian who purchased it in 1796 from another British aristocrat for £168 (about $221). It is celebrated for reflecting the emperor’s artistic sensibilities. Nicknamed “Graeculus,” Hadrian was an Hellenophile who spoke fluent Greek, funded public works in Athens, and grew a beard (which was uncommon and inappropriate in Roman culture, but a sign of power and wisdom in Greece). Like the Greek statues it imitates, the nudity of the Townley bust signifies purity, divinity, and heroism.