The statue group represents Achilles supporting the dying Amazon queen Penthesileia: he has killed her but at the same time has fallen in love with her. The group is a close version of a famous hellenistic work, admired both for the beauty of the figures and the pathos of the story. The Aphrodisian version is a careful and high-quality work that aims to be true to the plain style of the original group. It had earlier been displayed elsewhere in Aphrodisias and was only brought to decorate the four-column pool at the Hadrianic Baths in late antiquity. The re-used architectural base on which it stood is in situ – this base was also brought from elsewhere. In its new setting, The Achilles and Penthesileia was a venerable antiquity that had been lovingly cared for, restored, and re-displayed.

Found at: Hadrianic Baths, Tetrastyle Court