Athena Carpegna

This Roman statue (late 1st c. BC–early 1st c. AD) copies a Greek cult image of Athena. Pink alabaster, basalt, Luna marble, and plaster form the seated goddess in a heavy, deeply folded garment. Her aegis (protective goatskin) carries a gorgoneion (Medusa head), a standard attribute of Athena that Romans also applied to Minerva. The so-called Carpegna type reflects the goddess’s dual role as patron of wisdom and strategic war.