In Bryn Mawr's Canaday Library, the large, marble head of a copy of Juno Ludovisi sits between the bookshelves and classrooms. Although little is known about the statue, the details of the sculpture itself combined with her personal features indicates her possible identity, which I believe to be Livia, the wife of Rome's first emperor, Augustus. The head itself was undoubtedly attatched to a larger body because of the plug beneath it, which would have attatched to the rest of the statue. In addition to the original artwork being a full body, the size of the head (nearly twice the size of an human head) signals that it belonged in a temple. This detail points many experts to the conclusion that Juno Ludovisi represented a goddess.
Although certain features such as her striking beauty that meets standards for goddesses supports this conclusion, one key aspect of Juno Ludovisi's composition rejects this conclusion: her hairstyle. Juno Ludovisi's hairstyle is not in line with the traditional hairstyle of female deities in portraits and sculptures, as instead of a bun, the sculpture wears a loop of braids against her neck. This was a common hairstyle for mortal women, not goddesses. In my opinion, the staggering difference in hairstyle outweighs the observation of her exceptional beauty because of how definite the change in hairstyle is, as increased beauty can be attained through the effect of deifying. Livia, the wife of Augustus, was deified along with her husband after their deaths, resulting in changes in the way they were portrayed in art, as many looked up to them in a godly way. This change caters to the conclusion that she is a goddess, because through deification, she was perceived as a goddess figure, as a literal priestess. This would also explain the infula in her hair, as well as her hairstyle, as those other portrayals of Livia depicted her with those attributes following the deification of her and her husband. Therefore, I believe Livia to be the inspiration for the sculpture of Juno Ludovisi.