Hadrian and Cecrops

Abstract

Original title: Hadrian und Kekrops

The epaulets of several cuirassed busts of Hadrian and some of his successors bear the relief of a snake-legged being that has been the subject of widely diverging interpretations. Representations from the High Classical period show that this figure must be Cecrops, the first king of Athens, who was considered the first to unify Attica and the founder of Attic cults and culture. Hadrian, who reestablished Athens as the center of the Greek world with new laws, cults, and games, was apparently compared to Cecrops. This flattering comparison was then extended to those among his successors who visited Athens and were supposedly more closely connected to the city. As previously conjectured, these busts are definitely the products of Attic workshops. A contemporary representation of Cecrops on a monumental scale has been identified in the so-called Stoa of the Giants in the second phase of the odeon on the Athenian agora. Cecrops and his counterpart Triton are the vassals of the Athenian poliadic gods Athena and Poseidon.