Sleeping Hermaphrodite

This marble figure (mid-2nd c.), a Roman copy of a bronze original from the Asia Minor school (mid-2nd c. BC), was discovered in 1879 beneath the modern Teatro dell’Opera—an area once filled with densely built Roman houses. The reclining body, partly veiled in drapery, reveals its dual male and female anatomy. Its dynamic pose invites viewers to circle the sculpture, turning androgyny into an object of aesthetic fascination and philosophical reflection in the Roman world.