The marble head is dated to the early 2nd century AD, perhaps between 110 and 130 AD, during the Roman Imperial period. It was discovered in 1988 in a buried sarcophagus containing the skeletons of a man in his 60s and a boy, at the lower end of the Kuretes Street, near "Hadrian's Gate".
It has been suggested that it is a portrait of Tiberius Claudius Aristion (see gallery page 4), a wealthy, influentual citizen of Ephesus, who was Neokoros (warden of the temple) and High Priest of the Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor. This theory is based on an interdisciplinary study of the finds: an examination of the head led to the conclusion that it is of a high priest from the crown he wears, and comparison with the man's skeleton which was subjected to an anthropological study.
See: Hilke Thür, Porträt eines Kaiserpriesters und Mäzens aus Ephesos (in German). Forum Archaeologiae, Zeitschrift für klassische Archäologie 7 / VI / 1998.
Other theories have also attempted to identify Aristion as the official who calmed the riot at the Temple of Artemis during Saint Paul's time at Ephesus (New Testament, Book of Acts, Chapter 19, Verse 35). |
