Description
This an identical replica of the bust of Hadrian, found in the sea at Caesarea, and now in Jerusalem, Israel Museum. Made of cast marble with bronze finish and set on base. The original is dated in the years 135-138 AD. Publius Aelius Hadrianus (January 24, 76 – July 10, 138), as emperor Imperator Caesar Divi Traiani filius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, and Divus Hadrianus after his apotheosis, known as Hadrian in English, was emperor of Rome from AD 117 to 138, as well as a Stoic and Epicurean philosopher. A member of the gens Aelia, Hadrian was the third of the so-called Five Good Emperors, or the second of the recently proposed Ulpio-Aelian dynasty. His reign had a faltering beginning, a glorious middle, and a tragic conclusion.The Roman Empire reached its peak geographical size under Hadrian’s rule, in the year 125. Hadrian was born Publius Aelius Hadrianus in Italica or, less probably, in Rome,from a well-established family which had originated in Picenum in Italy and had subsequently settled in Italica, Hispania Baetica (the republican Hispania Ulterior), near the present day location of Seville, Spain. His predecessor Trajan was a maternal cousin of Hadrian’s father. Trajan never officially designated a successor, but, according to his wife, Pompeia Plotina, Trajan named Hadrian emperor immediately before his death. Trajan’s wife was well-disposed toward Hadrian: Hadrian may well have owed his succession to her.
