"Apollon presque enfant épie un lézard qui se glisse le long d'un arbre. On sait, à n'en pouvoir douter, d'après la description de Pline et de Martial, que cet Apollon, souvent répété, est une imitation de celui de Praxitèle, et quand on ne le saurait pas, on l'eût deviné."—Ampère, iii. 313.
265. Amazon, found in thé Villa Mattei, the finest of the three Amazons in the Vatican, which are all supposed to be copies from the fifty statues of Amazons, which decorated the temple of Diana at Ephesus.
268. Juno, from Otricoli.
271, 390. Posidippus and Menander, very fine statues, perfectly preserved, owing to their having been kept through the middle ages in the church of S. Lorenzo Pane e Perna, where they were worshipped under the belief that they were statues of saints, a belief which arose from their having metal discs over their heads, a practice which prevailed with many Greek statues intended for the open air. The marks of the metal pins for these discs may still be seen, as well as those for a bronze protection for the feet, to prevent their being worn away by the kisses of the faithful,—as on the statue of St. Peter at St Peter's.
Between these statues we enter:
The Hall of Busts. Perhaps the best are:
278. Augustus, with a wreath of corn.
289. Julia Mammæa, mother of Alexander Severus.
299. Jupiter-Serapis, in basalt.