Terracotta head of a man, possibly Dionysos

Terracotta head of a man, possibly Dionysos

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The head originally belonged to a type of relief characteristic of Tarentum and depicting a reclining banqueter. The exact identity of the figure has been much discussed. The elaborate headdress of this individual allows for the possibility that it is Dionysos.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Terracotta head of a man, possibly DionysosTerracotta head of a man, possibly DionysosTerracotta head of a man, possibly DionysosTerracotta head of a man, possibly DionysosTerracotta head of a man, possibly Dionysos

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.