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Secondary sourceSculptureTrajanic era, early 2nd century AD

Socrate silenico

Trajanic era, early 2nd century AD

A Roman-era marble bust of Socrates shown as a Silenus, matching the comparison made of him in Plato's Symposium.

A later Roman bust imagining Socrates' face as a Silenus, part of his enduring visual legacy.

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Black-and-white photograph of a marble bust of a bearded older man with a bald, furrowed forehead, deep-set eyes, a flat broad nose, and a thick curly beard, shown from the chest up.
Unknown sculptor, Socrates as Silenus, Trajanic era (early 2nd century AD).

About this source

What it is

This is a marble bust made in the Trajanic era (early 2nd century AD), long after Socrates died. The sculptor is unknown. It shows an older bearded man with a bald, furrowed forehead and a broad flat nose — features linked to the Silenus-type portraits of Socrates.

Why it matters

Socrates was famously unattractive by classical standards, and ancient writers, including Plato in the Symposium, compared his looks to a Silenus, a mythical woodland spirit often shown as ugly and comic. This bust reflects how later Romans imagined and remembered Socrates centuries after his death, blending ancient description with artistic convention rather than any direct record of his appearance.

Look closer

  • Why might people keep making images of someone whose actual face no one alive had ever seen?
  • What does it mean that this bust was made centuries after Socrates lived?
  • How does comparing a philosopher to a Silenus change how we think of him?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Socrates on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Secondary source

Apology

Plato · c. 395 BC

Line engraving in a multi-line border showing a bust of a bearded man with curly hair and a furrowed brow, on a plinth. The label below reads SOCRATE. Lower right reads Landon direx.Painting

Secondary source

Line Engraving of Socrates by Landon

Charles Paul Landon

Cover of a 1925 Italian paperback, Platone, Dialoghi III, Critone, tan cardboard with red double border. Handwritten inscription at top, red handwritten marking near bottom. Publisher Vallecchi Editore Firenze.Book

Secondary source

Crito

Plato · c. 400 BC

Engraving of a bearded, balding bust of Socrates in an arched niche, set on a stone pedestal. Inscription below reads 'SOCRATES SOPHRONISCI FILIUS ATHENIESIS', with credits 'P.P. Rubens delin.' and 'P. Pontius sculpsit, 1638'.Painting

Secondary source

Socrates Engraving after Rubens by Pontius

Peter Paul Rubens · 1638

Black-and-white photograph of a white marble bust of a bearded man, shown from the front and slightly turned, with deep-set eyes, a curly beard and hair, against a dark background. The image is a glass lantern slide with labels reading Socrate and Université de Louvain.Photograph

Secondary source

Roman Marble Bust of Socrates

between 1839 and 1939

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