Juno Ludovisi sits outside our classroom is Carpenter Library. I pass her at least twice a week, and she hasn't once failed to strike me into silence for a moment as I do. The bust is imposing not just because of its great size, but because of its beauty and power. The calm, unreadable expression is genuinely remarkable (I'll admit that once or twice I've stood for at least ten seconds making eye contact with it).
In "Goddess or Woman? Whom or what does Bryn Mawr's copy of the 'Juno Ludovisi' portray?", Susan E. Wood explains that the identity of the bust's subject has been debated for years. Specifically, though, she argues that it is a portrait of Livia, the wife of Augustus. She provides evidence by explaining how although there were many variants and style in regards to artistic representations of Livia, the details of the Juno Ludovisi align near-perfectly with many confirmed portraits of her. I, personally, am convinced by Wood's analysis. But, to address the central question of the reading's title: Livia was a real-life woman, certainly, but Wood also briefly discusses how she was deeply beloved by the people of Rome and was formally deified after her death. With this in mind, I feel that the Juno Ludovisi would be most accurately described as a portrayal of a goddess and a woman; or, in other words, a woman elevated to goddess-like status. Wood refers to the face of the bust as "ideal" several times. I believe that the bust is an "ideal" representation of Livia in her most deified form.