Torso of Apollo (c. 100–200 CE): Art, History and Details

Torso of Apollo (c. 100–200 CE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This ancient statue depicts the Greek god Apollo, identified by his youthful body and the fragmentary remains of his kithara, a type of lyre (or stringed instrument) used by poets and musicians in ancient Greece. Both the kithara, decorated with griffins, and the swan upon which it rests (atop a triangular column), signify Apollo’s roles as the god of music and leader of the Muses. Beloved by the Muses for their song, swans were considered sacred to Apollo because he gave them the gift of prophecy. Swans sing a glorious song before they die, knowing they will soon return to Apollo to be reborn.

Object facts

• Title: Torso of Apollo
• Date: c. 100–200 CE
• Culture: Italy, Roman
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: marble
• Dimensions: Overall: 90 cm (35 7/16 in.)
• Collection: GR - Roman
• Department: Greek and Roman Art
• Accession number: 1924.1017

A detail from the museum

Apollo received his lyre from Hermes, who invented it.

Collection credit

Gift of J. H. Wade

Further reading listed by the museum

• Howard, R. “An Augustan Torso of Apollo.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 12, no. 3 (1925): 34–36 (ill.).
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1925.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1928.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.