Young God or Mythological Being in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, October 2009

Young God or Mythological Being
Roman, Imperial period
2nd century AD
Marble

# 1974.125

The soft anatomy, slender body, and hip-shot pose of this Roman statue are reminiscent of Greek works of the fourth and third centuries BC. The figure type suggests that this might be a youthful god (such as Apollo), a demigod (perhaps Ganymede or Narcissus), or a young satyr. But the statue's appeal in antiquity probably had as much to do with the allure of the provocatively posed adolescent body as with any mythological association.

Text from the MFA label.