This image shows the flat tops of the columns on the outside library complex walls. It is believed that there were statues above each column, perhaps of philosophers, priests, or famous men. Only two heads from statues have been found on site, one…

Three photographs.

This winged Nike statue was found at the south side of the Library of Hadrian complex. Nike statues were set up to celebrate military victories, like Augustus' war against the Parthians (17-16 BC). Perhaps this Nike was moved to…

This head from a sculpture is of a priest, made in the 2nd-3rd century. It is believed that statuary once decorated the outside walls of the library, as the tops of the columns are flat. Whether or not this is an ideal portrait of a priest or an…

This herm was excavated on the library site. Herms (hermae) were displayed in ancient Greece for good luck. The name came from Hermes, who was originally the deity depicted in bust or bust and shoulders at the top of the shaft. On the front of the…

Two photographs.

In the first photograph, the foreground is the ruins of a building with its columns and part of its wall. Behind this is the main room, the storage rooms and the meeting rooms of the library, which are below the north wall of the…

After the 267 sack of Athens by the Heruli, part of the Library of Hadrian's outer walls became part of the new walls of Athens. The so-called Tetraconch Church was built in what had been the pool in the courtyard of the library.

Built in the 5th…

After the 267 sack of Athens by the Heruli, the Library of Hadrian was destroyed and never rebuilt; part of its outer walls became part of the new walls around a much smaller Athens.

The first structure, of tetraconch design and called a church,…

The outside wall of the Library of Hadrian complex along the modern Aiolou Street. The height of the modern city is evident as the wall is half-buried. Behind the wall is the main room of the library, as well as the archaeological site.

This portrait is probably off of a statue of the Emperor Hadrian, probably made between 128-130. This may have been off a statue near life-size and may have been in the library proper. Unlike the Library of Pantainos, where a cult center for worship…

Four photographs.

Though some of the examples show both ancient and modern brickwork, the Romans were well-known to use brick to build the core parts of buildings and then to add marble decorations as the final touch. Here modern and ancient brick…