A Newly Identified Sculpture and the Program from the Façade of Capua’s Amphitheater

Steven L. Tuck (Miami University of Ohio)

The façade of the Hadrianic amphitheater at Capua originally hosted 80 figural protome busts, one on the keystone of the arch over each of the entrances, as well as 80 corresponding freestanding sculptures in the second floor arcade. Of this original display 16 heads or full busts from the arches along with 2 of the freestanding statues have been long recognized. Of the freestanding sculptures, the most famous is the Aphrodite of Capua. It is housed, along with the so-called Psyche of Capua, in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. In this paper I identify a statue of Hermes in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston as not from a tomb as previously published, but originally from the amphitheater based on its pose, marble and stylistic similarities to the Psyche. This, admittedly limited, sculptural group is consistent with the 40 interior reliefs in presenting an almost exclusively mythological subject matter on the amphitheater. The busts and heads on the keystones of the arches over the entrances display a range of deities and mythological figures, some with direct associations to events in the arena. The lack of gladiatorial scenes is important for our understanding of Roman decoration of this high-value architecture. The fact that the amphitheater at Capua is closely based on the Colosseum in size, design and construction suggests that the forms here may reflect the missing sculptural components of the Flavian amphitheater in Rome.