greek-museums: Archaeological Museum of Marathon:Headless herm that would have depicted the Aethio
greek-museums: Archaeological Museum of Marathon: Headless herm that would have depicted the Aethiop protege of Herodes Atticus, Memnon. The inscription reads “MEMNΩΝ ΤΟΠΑΔΕΙΝ”; Memnon the Little Topaz. Topaz being an allusion to Memnon’s skin color. Memnon’s characteristics have survived in a portrait, now in the State Museum in Berlin, in Germany (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin). The museum lists Thyreatis as the provenance of this portrait (2nd row), which is located in modern day Cynouria in Peloponnese, Greece. Memnon was named after the Aethiop hero Memnon, nephew of Priam, who appears in the lost cycle of the Trojan War “Aethiopis”. His name was given to him by Herodes Atticus who had also adopted him. Memnon and Polydeukion were among Herodes’ favourite students, and received great honours upon their untimely deaths. -- source link