The fragmentary face of the most important Greek river god. The River Acheloos is the longest in Greece at 150 miles; this mask-like face is a personification of it. The river and its god feature in accounts of a number of Greek myths, including Hesiod’s Theogony and Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Acheloos is usually represented as an mature powerful man with horns, flowing silver hair and beard, and the body of a snake. The name may mean silver-sparkling, as much of the river passes through steep gorges
Number:
557
Material:
Marble
Location of Original:
Berlin, K2
Size:
0.32m
Date:
c.470 BCE
Provenance:
Found in Marathon
