Portrait of Socrates in the Princeton University Art Museum, August 2009

Portrait of Socrates
Roman, probably early 4th century AD
Marble

# Y1990-84

Like the portrait of Demosthenes exhibited next to it, this head of Socrates is a Roman work based on a posthumous portrait created long after the great philosopher's death in 399 BC. A Roman author tells us that a bronze portrait of Socrates was created by the sculptor Lysippos and erected in Athens around 320 BC. Most of the approximately forty surviving portraits of Socrates, including this relatively late example, are thought to be based on Lysippos' lost work. The philosopher's balding head and pug nose reflect contemporary accounts that emphasized his resemblance to Silenus, the dissolute drunken reveler associated with the god Dionysos.

Text from the Princeton University Art Museum label.