Torso of Actaeon in the Getty Villa, July 2008

Torso of Actaeon
Roman, 1-200 AD
Marble

Inventory # 72.AA.110

The mythological figure Actaeon was fond of the hunt. While he was in the forest one day, he came upon the chaste Diana (goddess of the hunt) at her bath. Angered by being seen in this state by a mortal, the goddess turned him into a stag and set his own dogs upon him.

The pose of this fragment of a statue indicates that it represents Actaeon. Similar depictions of the young hunter survive. This sculpture in its entirety probably showed Actaeon while he was still in human form, twisting around to defend himself from the vicious attack.

Text from the Getty Villa museum label.