Sculptural group from the “Villa of Cassius"
Photogallery
Sculptural group from the “Villa of Cassius”
The statues, part of a sculptural group in an Egyptian-inspired style, were unearthed in 1779 during the papacy of Pius VI. They are from the Tiburtine villa incorrectly attributed to Cassius, the famous Roman politician who instigated the plot that led to the murder of Caius Julius Caesar (44 D.C.). They may have been produced at the time of the emperor Hadrian for a place of worship dedicated to Antinous and Zeus Kasios (a deity of Syrian origin, protector of sailors, whose cult was also established in Egypt in the city of Pelusium). Hadrian probably encountered the cult of Zeus Kasios during the time in which he held the role of Trajan’s legate in 113 in Northern Syria, and once he became emperor he restored the god’s temple in Pelusium, promoting the spread of the cult in the western Mediterranean.