MFA, Boston: Homer

3D Model

Homer Roman, Republican or Imperial period, late 1st century BCE-early 1st century CE Marble

This is Homer as the ancients imagined him. Though many facts of the poet’s life are contested - when did he live? did he even exist?-he is always described and portrayed as blind. In this masterful por-trait, he also appears aged and venerable, with deeply set and heavily lidded eyes, densely curled hair and beard, and wrinkled brow and forehead, to underscore his wisdom and connection to the heroic past. His headband (called a fillet) evokes those awarded as prizes in poetic contests, an allusion to Homer’s place as the Greek poet par excellence. Inserted into a life-size, probably seated statue, this bust may have been displayed as part of a gallery of famous poets, play-wrights, and philosophers in a library or garden.

📍 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA