Antique Statuary and Urban Identity in Roman Greece

Greek cities of the Roman period developed dense and complex landscapes of memory, in which statuary, old and new, played a central and highly visible role. Antique statues dating back to the Hellenistic or even classical period appear to have been particularly fundamental to shaping local urban identities, though there were significant differences between cities. In Athens, a large number of statues from the classical period survived, and many took on a new meaning after they were moved, or their context changed. In Messene, the work of a renowned local artist from the Hellenistic period was well maintained and celebrated. In Roman Corinth, which lacked a direct connection with its ancient Greek past, the community gathered an ensemble of statuary that at least seemed authentically ancient. In all three cities, antique statuary contributed significantly to negotiating the relation of imperial period urban communities with their local urban past, imagined or real.