Caesar Beyond Rome. His Portrait from Corinth

This paper re-examines a male head (S 2771) from Corinth, previously proposed as a portrait of Julius Caesar. A detailed investigation, both technical and stylistic, assesses the original features and the re-carving of the head. After a typological comparison with the portraits of Caesar currently attested, it is argued that the Corinthian example is a replica of the Tusculum type. The study also explores how Caesar’s image spread throughout the Eastern basin of the Mediterranean and was adapted by provincial workshops, highlighting the complex dynamics of portraiture transmission from Rome to the provinces in the first century BCE. Being one of the earliest artifacts from the colony founded by Caesar himself (44-43 BCE), the historical relevance of the head for the Corinthian community is explored through the history of the city.