This exquisitely rendered bronze statue represents Artemis, known as Diana to the Romans. She wears a short garment called a chiton, appropriate to her role as goddess of the hunt. Notice how it flutters and billows around her.

Originally, the goddess would have held a bow in her left hand. A small deer stands to her left. There are also two traces of another creature, most likely a dog, as in representations of Artemis in other media. Take a moment to look at her finely wrought headband embellished with silver, and her elaborately laced sandals.

Particularly striking are the goddess’s eyes—cast in bronze and overlaid with sheet silver. As you walk around the statue, notice the delicate curls over her forehead, around the nape of her neck, and how her long hair is knotted in a careful bun. At one, time earrings hung from the small round holes in her ears.

Bronze statues like this one would have decorated the garden of a large Roman villa. Its polished bronze surface would have glistened like gold in the bright sunlight.

To hear a portion of Homer’s hymn to this goddess of the hunt, press the PLAY button now.