Sculpture of a Roman Soldier, the so-called Tivoli General

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A masterpiece of honorary sculpture from the Late Republican period, this statue portrays an elderly person with a young nude body. The cape (paludamentum) which covers part of the stomach and legs, and the cuirass embossed with head of Medusa (lorica) with functions as a support, identify it as a high ranking soldier. It can be presumed that the right arm was raised , as suggested by the chest muscles holding the shoulder, and that the figure was leaning on a lance. This style derives fro Hellenistic design of heroic nudity (effigies achillae) used, staring in the II century BC by members of the roman ruling class which had strong political need of self representation. The authoritarian, imposing stance together with the marked realism of the facial features. is one of the best examples of Hellenistic bravura combined with realistic Italic tradition. Stylisitc considerations and the fact that the statue was found in the substructions of the Temple of Hercules, which was built during the dictatorship of L. Cornelius Sulla, date the statue to between 90 and 70 BC. It's commemoration in Tivoli leads us to believe that it may have been someone from the area, probably a lieutenant of Sulla who paid for his portayal himself, or that it was a public honor in the most important shrine in the city, dedicated to the god-hero called Victor, i.e., the protector of military expeditions.