Relief of Antinous as Silvanus

Antinous, the Bythinian Greek youth adored by emperor Hadrian, lost his life in the waters of the Nile amid mysterious circumstances. After his death, the emperor had him deified and his image was celebrated with works that portrayed him as the god of the woods Silvanus, crowned by a pine branch, with a falx or sickle in his right hand and accompanied by a dog. In the relief's rural setting, the commanding figure of Antinous stands beside an altar, where an inscription in greek letters shows the signature of the artist who created this work: Antonianos of Aphorodisia. The relief of great artistic value originates froma residential area and presumably decorated a shrine dedicated to the deified youth.