Statue of a cuirassed emperor

This statue depicts either Antoninus Pius (138–161 CE) or Marcus Aurelius (161–180 CE), the "enlightened emperors" who succeeded Hadrian. The emperor is clad in a "muscle cuirass" decorated with a Medusa head and a pair of griffins. Below the navel is the image of an eagle perched on a lightning bolt, the symbol of Zeus, and on the hem are images of eagle and lion heads. The statue's missing parts had probably been burned to make lime for plaster, a fate shared by many marble sculptures in antiquity.