spite of this dramatic show of democracy, not everyone in Rome was convinced of these Republican ideas and before long the sons of the old-established aristocratic families hatched a conspiracy. Among the leaders were two of the sons of Brutus, Titus and Tibberius, who, because of found letters sent to the Tarquins as evidence, were immediately exiled.
As consul, Brutus saw himself forced to judge them and condemned his sons to death, and without batting an eyelid, participated in their torture and execution. At the same time Tarquinius Superbus and his Etruscan allies were still attempting to find support in Rome to invade the Roman territory. still, the consuls were expecting them and during the battle Arruns and Brutus both die in a duel.
The Roman patrician of the gender of Iunii Bruti remained, for a long time, a very influential statesmen. Another well-known member of this family, was none other than the adopted son of Julius Caesar, Marcus Junius Brutus, who was most notably involved in Caesar’s assassination on the fifth of March 44 BCE. Consequently, both, the founder and destroyer of the Roman Republic, belonged to the same family.
82. Heliodoros, Pan teaching Daphnis to play the panpipes, Roman copy after a Greek original, 3rd-2nd centuries B.C.E. Marble, 158 cm. Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, Naples.
83. Metope from the Tomb of the Swing, Cyrene, Libya, Hellenistic style, c. 200 B.C.E. Chalk painting, 34 × 28 cm. In situ.
84. Female Votive Head, Sanctuary of Diana, Nemi, Etruscan, 3rd century B.C.E. Pinkish-yellow clay, height: 26.5 cm. Museo Archeologico, Florence.
85. Artemis of Ephesus, Roman copy from Hadrian reign (117–138 C.E.) after a Greek original, Greek, Hellenistic retrospective style, 2nd century B.C.E. Bronze and alabaster, 203 cm. Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples.
86. Sarcophagus of Larthia Seianti, Marcianella Necropolis, Chiusi, Etruscan, 175–150 B.C.E. Terracotta. Museo Archeologico di Firenze, Florence.
87. Young Boy, Greek, Late Hellenistic style, c. 100 B.C.E.-10 °C.E. Pentelic marble, 87.3 × 40 cm. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond.
88. Gravestone of Apollonia, Athens, Greek, c. 100 B.C.E. Marble, 112.4 × 63.5 × 20 cm. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
89. The Boxer of Quirinal or Terme Boxer, Roman copy of a Greek original, Hellenistic style, 100-50 B.C.E. Bronze, height: 128 cm. Museo Nazionale Romano, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome.
A rare bronze statue that survived from antiquity, this powerful image of a tired boxer is likely an original Hellenistic work, dated perhaps to the first century B.C.E. The seated pose of the boxer invites the viewer to look down at the figure, as he in turn looks up, perhaps to discover the verdict of the judge. He still wears his boxing gloves, and is badly bruised and bleeding, his face and ears swollen from the fight. Despite these wounds, he does not appear defeated. He has all the exaggerated musculature of the other Hellenistic works.
90. The Arringatore or Portrait of Aulus Metellus, Sanguineto (Lake Trasimeno) or Pila (near Perugia), Roman subject, Etruscan workmanship, Republican style, c. 90 B.C.E. Bronze, solid and hollow lost wax casting, height: 170 cm. Museo Archeologico, Florence.
91. Togatus Barberini, Roman, first quarter of the 1st century B.C.E. Marble. Musei Capitolini, Rome.
In Roman tradition, figural sculpture was not intended to portray a young, athletic ideal, as it was for the Greeks. Instead, it represented the ideal of Roman society: the wise, elder statesman, patriarch of a family, part of a distinguished lineage. Sculptures were portraits of individuals and included all their flaws – wrinkles, warts, funny noses and knobby knees. This style is called “verism,” meaning truth. It was the dominant style during the Roman Republic. Here, an elderly man holds portrait busts of his ancestors, showing his respect for them, and at the same time drawing attention to his lineage. Such portraits would be prominently displayed in the atrium of the home.
92. Male Portrait, Manganello Sanctuary, Cerveteri, Etruscan, early 1st century B.C.E. Painted terracotta, height: 32 cm. Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia, Rome.
93. Portrait Bust of Cicero, Roman, 1st century B.C.E. Marble. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.
94. Portrait Head, old palaestra, Delos, Greek, late Hellenistic style, c. 80 B.C.E. Bronze, height: 32.4 cm. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.
95. Portrait Head of Cleopatra VII, Roman, c. 31 B.C.E. Marble, height: 29.5 cm. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Antikensammlung, Berlin.
This was the regular name of the queens of Egypt in the Ptolemaic dynasty after Cleopatra, daughter of the Seleucid Antiochus the Great, wife of Ptolemy V. The best known was the daughter of Ptolemy Dionysus, whose wife, in accordance with Egyptian custom, she was to become. A few years afterwards, deprived of all royal authority, she withdrew into Syria, and made preparation to recover her rights by force of arms. At this juncture Julius Caesar followed Pompey into Egypt. The personal fascinations of Cleopatra induced Caesar to undertake a war on her behalf, in which Ptolemy lost his life, and she was replaced on the throne in conjunction with a younger brother, who she would soon allegedly kill by poison. In Rome she lived openly with Caesar as his mistress until his assassination, when, aware of her unpopularity, she returned at once to Egypt. Subsequently she became the ally and mistress of Mark Antony. Their connection was highly unpopular at Rome, and Octavian declared war upon them and defeated them at Actium (32 B.C.E.). Cleopatra escaped to Alexandria, where Antony joined her. There are many versions told of the demise of Antony and Cleopatra. One tells that, having no prospect of ultimate success, she accepted the proposal of Octavian that she should assassinate Antony, and enticed him to join her in a mausoleum which she had built in order “that they might die together.” Antony committed suicide in the mistaken belief that she had already done so, but Octavian refused to yield to the charms of Cleopatra, who put an end to her life by applying an asp to her bosom, according to the common tradition, in her thirty-ninth year (August 29, 30 B.C.E.). With her ended the dynasty of the Ptolemies, and Egypt was made a Roman province. Cleopatra had three children by Antony, and by Julius Caesar, as some say, a son, called Caesarion, who was put to death by Octavian. In her the type of queen characteristic of the Macedonian dynasties stands in the most brilliant light. Imperious will, masculine boldness, relentless ambition like hers had been exhibited by queens of her race since the old Macedonian days before Philip and Alexander. But the last Cleopatra had perhaps some special intellectual endowment. She surprised her generation by being able to speak the many tongues of her subjects. There may have been an individual quality in her luxurious profligacy, but then her predecessors had not had the Roman lords of the world for wooers.
96. Grave Relief of Aiedius and His Wife, Roman, 30 B.C.E. Marble, 64 × 99 cm. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Pergamon Museum, Berlin.
97. Portrait
