Two Late-Antique statues from ancient Messene

This article gives a first publication of two late antique statues; it discusses their archaeological context suggesting an appropriate date and tries to place them in their historical and cultural environment.The statues of Messene are important because they represent a rare instance of two late antique statues from Achaia for the study of which a precise archaeological context is available. They were the products of a local workshop and could be dated to the first quarter of the fourth century. The two late antique statues, of an emperor (perhaps Constantine I) and of Hermes, and a third earlier one showing Artemis Laphria, were part of a late Roman sculptural assemblage. It is here argued that they all stood together in niches, inside the reception room of a wealthy town mansion. They offer a vivid insight into the taste and self-representation of the owner of the house. It is suggested that they represent a mix of contemporary political reference and traditional values of the Greco-Roman aristocracy: loyalty to the Imperial House, social status and education, euergetism, and perhaps traditional religion.