Discourse and display: the Pasquino Group and the Achilles and Penthesilea sculptures at the Villa of Herodes Atticus, Loukou

Abstract This article contextualizes the unique display of two colossal Roman copies of Hellenistic sculptures at the lavish villa of Herodes Atticus at Loukou, located in Arcadia (Peloponnese, Greece). The estate at Loukou is notable for its extensive decorative program, including elaborate mosaics and a large sculpture collection that juxtaposed bespoke copies of famous works with others that were already antiquities at the time of their display in the 2nd c. CE. Both sculptural compositions discussed here belong to the former category and depict two mythological figures in interlocking arrangements ( symplegma ). The choice of these two sculptures and their unique display at Loukou reflects the preferences of their patron: the sophist, politician, and cosmopolitan benefactor Herodes Atticus. This paper argues that the two paired colossal groups formed the crux of Herodes’s custom decorative program at Loukou, where he fostered elite discourse around themes of conflict and loss.