This article presents three bronzes found on the island of Poros in 2016, during excavations in Area L, the presumed area of Kalaureia’s ancient settlement, c. 200 m to the south of the Sanctuary of Poseidon. The deposit included: 1. A statuette of the Herakles Chiaramonti type, here suggested to have been produced during the 2nd or 1st century BC; 2. A stand which may have functioned as a thymiaterion (incense burner) or a lamp stand. Judging from close parallels the stand was most likely produced during the 5th or 4th century BC; 3. A high-stemmed dish, which is interpreted as a thymiaterion contemporary with the stand. The items are tentatively suggested to have been used together, perhaps in religious veneration of Herakles. The bronzes are suggested to have been deposited either for what was intended to be temporary safe-keeping, or for religious reasons.*

The aim of this project is to acquire new knowledge regarding the role of ideal sculpture in the Roman world. Since the mid-19th century, such sculptures have been studied primarily as Roman copies of Greek originals, using the method of copy criticism. During the last two decades, the dominating influence of this approach has been repeatedly criticized as it does not investigate the place of such sculptures in the Roman cultural context. Yet, no alternative approach has managed to rival that of copy criticism. This project aims to formulate a new mode of studying this fascinating material, an approach that has great potential to produce new insights into the role of ideal sculptures in Roman society. Turning to the concept of intertextuality, this project also aims to introduce a theoretical and multidisciplinary element to the current debate on how to interpret Roman ideal sculpture.

In the presentation of the workshop "Reading emotions in ancient visual culture" the following question is posed: "Why was the agonizing sculpture of Marsyas about to be flayed so popular in the early Roman empire?" This paper will suggest an answer to this question. I wish to emphasize that there was an alternative version of the myth of Marsyas, one where he manages to escape the cruel fate that Apollo had set out for him. Instead, Marsyas settled in Italy, where his image was later to be placed in Roman fora as a symbol of liberty. I will suggest that there was a Roman tradition of depicting Marsyas "unbound" - after having escaped from Apollo and arrived in Italy. Agonizing as the depictions of the hanging Marsyas are, in a Roman context they were perhaps not necessarily seen to represent the final hours of Marsyas' life.