Blog on Juno Ludovisi

The Roman sculpture Juno Ludovisi evidently has a rich history of origin-based disagreements. Historians do not all agree on the story behind the head. Who does this sculpture represent? Susan Wood walks the readers through some different options. She talks of it perhaps being a "cult statue of a goddess in a temple," what with the enormous scale and the conventionally beautiful face in line with Greek and Roman depictions of gods, but refutes this in mentioning the differences the sculpture holds. The loop of braids instead of a classical bun and the infula each indicate a mortal rather than immortal woman. Next, Wood gives an overview of two possible mortal women who may have been deified by their relatives after their death. Antonia Minor and Livia were each related to powerful and important people who had the means to construct such immense sculptures of them. Antonia is said to be the favored theory amongst scholars. However, Wood counts herself amongst some who disagree, noting differences in hairstyle between preserved portraits of Antonia and this sculpture. Instead, Wood poses Livia, a fiercely beloved woman who held much power in her time. She, near the end of her life, is depicted as having the same hairstyle as the sculpture. She was a priestess and could've worn the infula. The evidence Wood puts forward is indeed very convincing. As for my opinion on who is depicted in the Juno Ludovisi, I'd say Livia, except I am uniformed about the other candidates. A common hairstyle and a belt of fabric worn by many women in this time does not immediately prove to me that the sculpture is of Livia. In order to form a more secure opinion, I'd want to draw up a list of possible candidates and more closely compare their features with the features of this Juno. All of this is not to say that the scholarly community has not done so, but as it's not mentioned in the article, I have less of a grasp on the possibilities of who this may be. I do believe the Juno is of a woman, not a goddess.