An Apollo Citharoedus, or Apollo Citharede, is a statue or other image of

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

with a

cithara The kithara (), Latinized as cithara, was an ancient Greek musical instrument in the yoke lutes family. It was a seven-stringed professional version of the lyre, which was regarded as a rustic, or folk instrument, appropriate for teaching mus ...

(lyre).

Notable examples

Vatican

Among the best-known examples is the ''Apollo Citharoedus'', also known as Apollo Musagetes ("Apollo, Leader of the Muses"), of the

Vatican Museums The Vatican Museums (; ) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the best-known Roman sculptures and ...

, a 2nd-century AD colossal marble statue by an unknown (probably Roman) sculptor. Apollo is shown crowned with laurel and wearing the long, flowing robe of the Ionic bard. The statue was found in 1774 with seven statues of the

Muses In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

, in the ruins of Gaius Cassius Longinus' villa near Tivoli, Italy. The sculptures are preserved in the Hall of the Muses, in the Museo Pio-Clementino of the

Other examples

A marble sculpture now identified as '' Pothos'' (following a lost Greek 4th-century BC original by Skopas) was restored as an ''Apollo Citharoedus''; it is conserved in the Great Hall of the Palazzo Nuovo,

Capitoline Museums The Capitoline Museums () are a group of art and archaeology, archaeological museums in Piazza del Campidoglio, on top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. The historic seats of the museums are Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo, facing ...

, Rome. Another marble ''Apollo Citharoedus'' (2.29m), from a Hellenistic original attributed to Timarchides, of the 2nd century BC, also stands in the Great Hall of the Palazzo Nuovo. Other examples include the '' Apollo of Mantua'' and the '' Apollo Barberini'', possibly a copy of the cult statue of the Temple of Apollo Palatinus; it is conserved in the

Glyptothek The Glyptothek () is a museum in Munich, Germany, which was commissioned by the Bavarian King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig I to house his collection of Ancient Greek art, Greek and Roman art, Roman sculptures (hence γλυπτο- ''glypto-'' "sculp ...

, Munich. The in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples is identified as Apollo but is clearly a female figure. Its provenance is unclear; it has been much restored, the head is unlikely to be original and the figure was probably of Vesta.

References

Citharoedus 2nd-century Roman sculptures Musical instruments in art {{VaticanCity-sculpture-stub