Secondary sourceSculptureRoman copy, 1st century CE, of a Greek original of the 4th century BCE
Statue of Sophocles (Lateran type)
Roman copy, 1st century CE, of a Greek original of the 4th century BCE
A Roman marble copy of a Greek statue of Sophocles, showing him as a dignified citizen, likely based on the statue once set up in the Theatre of Dionysus.
A later statue honouring Sophocles, probably copying the one erected in the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens.
About this source
What it is
This marble statue is a Roman copy, made in the 1st century CE, of a Greek original from the 4th century BCE. It depicts Sophocles as a bearded man in a draped cloak, standing calmly with one arm across his chest. It was excavated at Terracina in 1839, restored by Pietro Tenerani, and is now held by the Vatican Museums.
Why it matters
The original statue is thought to be the one set up by the Athenian statesman Lycurgus in the Theatre of Dionysus, honouring Sophocles alongside other great tragedians. The calm, composed pose reflects how later Greeks and Romans wanted to remember him: not as a specific likeness, but as an ideal of the dignified, respected citizen and poet.
Look closer
- What does the pose and clothing suggest about how Sophocles was meant to be remembered?
- Why might a statue made centuries after Sophocles' death still be useful evidence about him?
- What has been changed or restored in this statue, and how might that affect what it tells us?
This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Sophocles on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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Antigone
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Oedipus at Colonus
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Poetics
Aristotle · c. 335 BCE
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The Frogs
Aristophanes · 405 BCE
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