Hadrian as Mars

Hadrian was the first Roman emperor to have himself represented as a god during his lifetime. Until that time, members of the imperial family had only attained this honor and achieved immortality after their death. Here the couple is likened to the lovers Mars and Venus, gods of war and love, following a model that probably originated during the reign of Augustus, in a group created by Pasiteles, a Greek sculptor then active in Rome. The image of Hadrian is more idealized than that of Sabina. The emperor is represented as a heroic nude, bearing the military attributes of Mars: the crested helmet, baldric, two-edged sword and breastplate, laid on a tree trunk which serves as a support for the figure. In this allegorical portrait, intended as imperial propaganda, Hadrian presents himself as the guarantor of the empire's peace and prosperity.