Bas-relief with Hermes

Roman bas-relief was probably made around the 1st century CE. It depicts Hermes (Mercury in the Roman Pantheon of gods), as indicated by the MP’s cane, not visible in the photo above. It was made in the so-called archaic style – consciously imitating the works of the Greek archaic era (ca. 800-480 BCE).

Interestingly, this style was almost exclusively used to depict deities and scenes with religious overtones; it was not used in the imagination of average Romans.

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Gallic Wars Second Punic War Augustus Conquest of Italy by Rome Gaius Julius Caesar