Head of Homer in the Princeton University Art Museum, August 2009

Head of Homer
Roman, late 1st century AD
Marble

# Y1962-134

Homer, the legendary author of The Iliad and The Odyssey, usually dated to the 8th century BC, may not have existed at all, and if he did, there was no true record of his appearance by the time his first "portraits" were carved in the Hellenistic period. Instead his image conformed to popular conceptions of the epic poet as elderly and blind. The headband circling this weathered head of Homer once was supplemented in modern times with a metal ornament, the drill holes for which are visible on the forehead.

Text from the Princeton University Art Museum label.