Apollonios of Tralleis

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The Farnese bull on a 17th century etching.

Apollonios von Tralleis was a Greek sculptor in the 2nd or 1st century BC. Chr.

Apollonios came from Tralleis in Caria (near the present-day city of Aydın , Turkey ) and was the son of Artemidoros and the pupil and adopted son of a menecrat . Together with his brother Tauriskos von Tralleis he made a famous marble group depicting the brothers Amphion and Zethos , who tie their stepmother Dirke to a bull in order to have her dragged to death. The sculpture later came to Rome and was owned by Gaius Asinius Pollio .

A huge Roman marble copy of this sculpture, with a few smaller figures, was rediscovered in the Baths of Caracalla in 1546 and incorporated into the collections of the Farnese family ; this made Apollonios' motif known as the Farnesian bull . Today the copy is on display in the National Museum of Naples .

personal data
SURNAME Apollonios of Tralleis
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Apollonios of Tralles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Greek sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 2nd century BC BC or 1st century BC Chr.