Head of one Dioscuri in the Princeton University Art Museum, August 2009

Head of one of the Dioscuri
Roman, ca. AD 130
Marble

# Y1988-10

This head of a youth is identified by his rounded, conical cap (pilos) as one of the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, sons of Zeus, who were revered by storm-tossed mariners as guardian deities but who normally were represented as horsemen (see the pair of marble statuettes at the other end of this gallery). A laurel wreath circles the edge of the pilos; the hole in front probably held a star, a common attribute of the "heavenly twins," who were identified with the constellation Gemini. The idealized features and mane-like hair descend ultimately from portraits of Alexander the Great.

Text from the Princeton University Art Museum label.