SLEEPING HERMAPHRODITEMarble (mid-2nd cent AD)Lying down and partly wrapped in a cloth; the Hermaphrodite is captured changing position while asleep; thus revealing a dual nature both male and female sexual characteristics. The sculpture is an excellent copy of a bronze original of the Asia Minor school dating to around the mid-2nd cent BC.Ca mid-2nd cent ADBEHIND : Group Marble. Seated on e throne; a female deity is flanked by a triton. The work is inspired by a Hellenistic model; the Tyche of Antioch; a personification of the city; by Eutychides (ca.290 BC). The Roman reworking of this theme incorporates a marine deity; the small triton. The work has been variously interpreted as Thetis; the mother of Achilles or as Amphitrite; wife of Neptune. 2nd cent.AD.National Roman Museum - Palazzo Massimo alle Terme; Rome; Italy. Photo : Eric Vandeville/akg-images