Pompey the Great

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus lived 106 – 48 BC. He was one of the great protagonists of Roman history and a sworn enemy of Gaius Julius Caesar.This likeness of the famous military commander and politician is regarded as one of the best of all Roman portraits. It comes from the tomb of a family of the Roman aristocracy. It is a marble version of a bronze portrait statue from Pompeius’ own lifetime. It was at the feet of this statue that Caesar was stabbed to death in 44 BC. Pompeius himself was killed after Caesar had defeated him at the battle of Philippi, in 48 BC.The locks of hair rising above the forehead imitate those of Pompeius’ ideal, Alexander the Great.