Black garnet cameo engraved with a theater mask of a man of African heritage. Roman; early Roman Imperial period, ca. 1st c. CE – 2nd c. CE. Find spot unknown.

Citation: Courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 1613842891. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Black & white glass cameo with the head of a man or woman. Roman Imperial period, c. late 100s BCE – 100s CE.

Citation: Courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 935875001. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Composite photo of a sard (translucent red/brown chalcedony) gem engraved with the portrait head of a man in profile. Roman Imperial period, ca.1st c. CE-3rd c. CE. Origin and find-spot unknown.

Citation: Images courtesy of the British Museum, Asset nos. 1613839463 (color image) and 1613320499 (black and white image with plaster imprint). © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Gem made of glass paste (imitating sard, red/brown translucent chalcedony). Engraved with the head of a man in profile. Roman Imperial period, 1st c. CE-3rd c. CE. Origin & find-spot unknown.

Citation: Image courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 1613687312. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Black jasper intaglio with the head of a man in profile. Found unregistered; origin & find spot unknown. Greek or Roman.

Citation: Image courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 938715001. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Gold ear-ring with carved garnet head: a woman of African heritage. Her hair is indicated by spirally twisted wire; her neck is decorated with filigree spirals & leaves. Classical or Hellenistic Greek, 300s -200s BCE. Found in a tomb in Kyme (Aeolis), in Asia Minor.

Citation: Courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 359575001. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Small piece of gold jewelry designed as a theater mask of a man of African heritage. Roman, ca. 1st c. CE – 4th c. CE. Found in Libya, Africa.

Citation: Image courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 1613823054. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Carved bone or ivory stopper shaped as the head of a man. Made in Naukratis(?), Egypt; Archaic Greek, ca. 630 BCE – 500 BCE. Found in the Sanctuary of Aphrodite at the Greek settlement of Naukratis in Egypt.

Citation: Image courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 1206690001. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Gold-plated silver finger-ring; pointed bezel with engraved design of a man’s head in profile. Origin and find-spot unknown; ca 4th c. BCE.

Citation: Image courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 1613818172. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Composite image of a gold necklace with a plaited wire chain. One end has a woman’s head carved in garnet (with gold-coil hair); the other end is broken, but fittings for a clasp and a similar type of head have been found. Hellenistic Greek, ca. 3rd c. BCE. Find-site is unknown.

Citation: Image courtesy of the British Museum. Left image: Asset no. 1613826514; right image: Asset no. 1613826516. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Necklace of 16 glass beads with a gold setting at either end. At either end of the necklace are garnet heads with gold coils for hair (one male, one female). Their eyes were once inlaid. Hellenistic Greek, ca. 3rd c. BCE. Found on the island of Melos (in a tomb) in the Cyclades, Greece.

Citation: Image courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 1613130457. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Etruscan coin (with Etruscan inscription): a man’s head in profile on obverse; an elephant is on the reverse. Copper alloy, minted in Etruria, Italy, c. 275 BCE-225 BCE.

Citation: Courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 105805001. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Head of a man on a silver coin. Greek, Archaic to Classical period, c. 490 BCE-470 BCE. Auriol type (from the Auriol hoard found in France in 1867). Minted in Massalia, an ancient Greek colony on the coast of what is now France: Massalia became ‘Marseille’.

Citation: Courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 1613391660. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Silver Coin with the head of a man (possibly Delphos, one of the mythological founders of Delphi). Greek, Classical period, from before 421 BCE. Minted in the city of Delphi, the region of Phokis.

Citation: Courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 1613391688. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Delphi has many origin stories; one names Delphos as its founder. Delphos was either 1) the son of Apollo & Celaeno, or 2) the son of Poseidon & Melantho (or Melanthia, or Melanis) — all names meaning ‘dark woman.’ Hence, on some coins Delphos is a man of African heritage.

Silver coin with the head of a man (possibly a depiction of Delphos, Delphi’s mythological founder). The head of a goat is on the reverse. Greek, minted in Delphi, in the region of Phokis, c. 421 BCE (the Classical period).

Citation: Courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 109957001. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Delphi has many origin stories; one names Delphos as its founder. Delphos was either 1) the son of Apollo & Celaeno, or 2) the son of Poseidon & Melantho (or Melanthia, or Melanis) — all names meaning ‘dark woman.’ Hence, on some coins Delphos is a man of African heritage.

Silver coin with head of a man of African heritage. Greek; Classical period, pre-421 BCE. Minted in Delphi, in the region of Phokis.

Citation: Courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 1614474401. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Delphi has many origin stories; one names Delphos as its founder. Delphos was either 1) the son of Apollo & Celaeno, or 2) the son of Poseidon & Melantho (or Melanthia, or Melanis) — all names meaning ‘dark woman.’ Hence, on some coins Delphos is a man of African heritage.

Composite image of a plaited gold-wire necklace with a stamped plate at each end (one end stamped with a lion’s head, the other with a bull’s head). Its pendant is a man (likely intended to be an African man, not a man of African heritage, given the stamped ends). Etruscan, ca. 460 BCE – 440 BCE. Made in Italy; found in Puglia, southern Italy.

Citation: Courtesy of the British Museum, Asset nos. 359276001 (left) & pendant detail 1613131810 (right). © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Black glass bead representing an African (lower left). (The middle beads may also represent Africans). Graeco-Roman. Date unknown. Found in Egypt.

Citation: Courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 488426001. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Gold pendant formed as two women’s heads set back-to-back. Western Greek; Hellenistic period, ca. 330 BCE – 300 BCE. Made in Taranto, Italy. Found in a tomb at Sant Eufemia Lamezia, Calabria, southern Italy.

Citation: Courtesy of the British Museum, Asset no. 269061001. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Mold-made scaraboid ceramic ‘seal/amulet’ of an ‘African/Egyptian’ head with a Griffin seal on its flat. Laterally pierced for suspension, its face & hair are covered with yellowish glaze; its core is yellow. Greek, Archaic period, ca. 600 BCE – 570 BCE. Made & found at the ‘Scarab House’ (a Greek workshop) at the Greek settlement in Naukratis, Egypt. Click here for more about Greek-made Egyptianized seals/amulets.

Citation: Images courtesy of the British Museum. Asset nos. 1229495001 (left) and 1229494001 (right). © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Mold-made ceramic ‘African/Egyptian’ head scaraboid; yellow glazed composition. Its flat has a stamped inscription of an owl with disc above it. There is a lateral perforation at the top of its forehead for necklace suspension. Greek, Archaic period, ca. 600 BCE – 570 BCE. Made and found in the ‘Scarab House’ (a Greek workshop) in Naukratis, Egypt. Click here for more about Greek-made Egyptianized seals/amulets.

Citation: Images courtesy of the British Museum. Asset nos. 1613061167 (left) and 1613061168 (right). © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Composite mage, scaraboid in Egyptian blue (a bright blue, smooth paste). Its back is shaped as an ‘African/Egyptian’ head. The flat is incised with a winged, crowned, recumbent sphinx (with an unclear element at its front). It is laterally pierced for suspension. Greek, Archaic period, ca. 600 BCE – 570 BCE. Made and found at the ‘Scarab House’ (a workshop) in Naukratis, Egypt. Click here for more about Greek-made Egyptianized seals/amulets.

Citation: Images courtesy of the British Museum. Asset nos. 1234093001 (left) and 1321322001 (right). © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Composite image, scaraboid in glazed composition (though the glaze is gone, it is tinged green overall with a cream core of fine texture). Its back is formed as an ‘African/Egyptian’ head. Its flat has a papyrus thicket (the central stalk has a flower) with a curved line beneath. It is pierced longitudinally for suspension. Greek, Archaic period, ca. 600 BCE – 570 BCE. Made and found in the ‘Scarab House’ (a workshop) in Naukratis, Egypt. Click here for more about Greek-made Egyptianized seals/amulets.

Citation: Images courtesy of the British Museum. Asset nos. 1325055001 (left) and 1325052001 (right). © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Composite image, scaraboid in glazed yellow composition with back shaped as an ‘African/Egyptian’ head. Its flat has a robed figure with extended wings, striding right & flanked by cobras at its feet. It is laterally pierced just below hairline for suspension. Greek, Archaic period, ca. 600 BCE – 570 BCE. Made and found at the ‘Scarab House’ (a workshop) in Naukratis, Egypt. Click here for more about Greek-made Egyptianized seals/amulets.

Citation: Images courtesy of the British Museum. Asset nos. 1234719001 (left) and 1234716001 (right). © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Composite image, glazed composition scaraboid (though its glaze is gone. It has a yellow core & is quite eroded). Its back is formed as an ‘African/Egyptian’ head (his hatchmark hair & facial structure remain visible). Its flat has an incised, stylized depiction of two crocodiles, head to tail. It is pierced through head, laterally, for suspension. Greek, Archaic period, ca. 600 BCE -570 BCE. Made and found in the ‘Scarab House’ (a workshop) in Naukratis, Egypt. Click here for more about Greek-made Egyptianized seals/amulets.

Citation: Images courtesy of the British Museum. Asset nos. 1233921001 (left) and 1233920001 (right). © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Composite image, glazed composition scaraboid (eroded surface, glaze lost, core has greenish tinge). Back is formed as an ‘African/Egyptian’ head. Its flat has a (stamped) winged griffin walking right. It is longitudinally pierced for suspension. Greek, Archaic period, ca. 600 BCE – 570 BCE. Made and found at the ‘Scarab House’ (a workshop) in Naukratis, Egypt. Click here for more about Greek-made Egyptianized seals/amulets.

Citation: Images courtesy of the British Museum. Asset nos. 1234678001 (left) and 1234677001 (right). © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Composite image, mold-made scaraboid of glazed composition (very poorly preserved: the glaze is lost; it is made of pinkish-red paste with coarse texture). Its back is formed as an ‘African/Egyptian’ head (his hatchmark hair is still visible at the top; facial structure is faintly visible, too). Its flat has two animals, a lion leaping down a deer or horse standing above flowers. Pierced laterally near the head’s temples for suspension. Greek, Archaic period, ca. 600-570BCE. Made and found at the ‘Scarab House’ (a workshop) in Naukratis Egypt. Click here for more about Greek-made Egyptianized seals/amulets.

Citation: Images courtesy of the British Museum. Asset nos. 1235896001 (left) and 1235895001 (right). © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Composite image, scaraboid in Egyptian blue (the paste is hard, coarse, and badly rubbed. His facial structure is just visible). Its back is formed as an ‘African/Egyptian’ head. Its flat has a seated, winged griffin. It is longitudinally pierced for suspension. Greek, Archaic period, ca. 600 BCE – 570 BCE. Made and found in the ‘Scarab House’ (a workshop) in Naukratis, Egypt. Click here for more about Greek-made Egyptianized seals/amulets.

Citation: Images courtesy of the British Museum. Asset nos. 1321335001 (left) and 1292239001 (right). © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Composite image, faded grey glazed composition scaraboid shaped as an ‘African/Egyptian’ face. The flat is inscribed with either the name Psamtek II (who ruled from 595 BCE – 589 BCE) or a derivative of the prenomen of Thutmose III (who ruled from 1479 BCE – 1425 BCE); it is hard to read because the script is somewhat garbled. Given Psamtek II ruled when the Greeks were in Naukratis, and given that Greeks did not always reproduce hieroglyphic script well (which this confusing inscription might reflect), this scaraboid is included as a candidate for Greek manufacture. Found in Egypt. Click here for more about Greek-made Egyptianized seals/amulets.

Citation: Images courtesy of the British Museum. Asset nos. 1614345813 (left) and 1614345814 (right). © The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Red-tinged faience scaraboid with a back shaped as the head of an ‘African/Egyptian’ man. Its flat has a scorpion. It is pierced for suspension. Greek, Archaic period, ca. 600 – 525 BCE. Made and found at the ‘Scarab House’ (a Greek workshop) in Naucratis, Egypt. Click here for more about Greek-made Egyptianized seals/amulets.

Citation: Image courtesy of the Musée du Louvre, Paris; Department of Egyptian Antiquities (#E8056 bis.2). © 2012 Musée du Louvre, Dist. GrandPalaisRmn / Christian Décamps. https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010028368

Flat side with scorpion (#E8056 bis.2). © 2012 Musée du Louvre, Dist. GrandPalaisRmn / Christian Décamps.

Grayish faience scaraboid with a back shaped as an ‘African/Egyptian’ head. It flat depicts a goose with a solar disc. It is pierced for suspension. Greek, Archaic period, ca. 600 BCE – 570 BCE. Made and found in the ‘Scarab House’ (a workshop) in Naucratis, Egypt. Click here for more about Greek-made Egyptianized seals/amulets.

Citation: Image courtesy of the Musée du Louvre, Paris; Department of Egyptian Antiquities (#E8056 bis.10). © 2012 Musée du Louvre, Dist. GrandPalaisRmn / Christian Décamps.  https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010028376

Flat side with goose & solar disc (#E8056 bis.10). © 2012 Musée du Louvre, Dist. GrandPalaisRmn / Christian Décamps.

Heavily eroded faience scaraboid with a back formed as an ‘African’ head. Its flat has hieroglyphic script (the name of Thutmose III?). Pierced laterally at the head’s temples for suspension. Greek, Archaic period, ca. 600 BCE – 570 BCE. Made and found at Naukratis, Egypt. Click here for more about Greek-made Egyptianized seals/amulets.

Citation: Image courtesy of the Musée du Louvre, Paris; Department of Egyptian Antiquities (#E8056 bis.8). © 2012 Musée du Louvre, Dist. GrandPalaisRmn / Christian Décamps. https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010036249

Flat with hieroglyphic inscription for Thutmose III? (#E8056 bis.8). © 2012 Musée du Louvre, Dist. GrandPalaisRmn / Christian Décamps.

Obsidian cameo of a theater mask, either a woman with ‘Ethiopian’ features, or Medusa (with ‘Ethiopian’ features). Roman, 2nd c. CE. Possibly made in Ethiopia or Southern Egypt.

Citation: Object #29-128-804. Courtesy of the Penn Museum (Philadelphia). https://www.penn.museum.

Graeco-Roman intaglio sard (reddish-brown chalcedony) gem in a modern silver ring setting. Find spot & date unknown. It depicts the filleted bust of man “with somewhat African features”. Possibly a Hellenistic or provincial ruler.

Citation: Object #29-128-2470. Courtesy of the Penn Museum (Philadelphia). https://www.penn.museum.

Graeco-Roman intaglio gem (agate-onyx) depicting an African fisherman. Findspot unknown; ca. 50 BCE- 400 CE.

Citation: Obj.#29-128-952. Courtesy of the Penn Museum (Philadelphia). https://www.penn.museum.

Gem: burnt chalcedony cameo of a Nubian woman. Graeco-Roman(?). Find spot and date unknown.

Citation: Object #29-128-757. Courtesy of the Penn Museum (Philadelphia). https://www.penn.museum.

Gem; grey jasper cameo. Graeco-Roman; Imperial Roman period. A bearded man with a diadem or fillet. His features suggest a Hellenistic ruler, possibly an Eastern Greek (Parthian?) King of the 2nd c. BCE – 1st c. BCE.

Citation: Object # 29-128-2496. Courtesy of the Penn Museum (Philadelphia). https://www.penn.museum.

Intaglio gem; ruby-colored paste. Depicts the diademed bust of an Asiatic King (likely a Parthian ruler of the Roman Imperial period). Find spot unknown. Graeco-Roman; Roman Imperial period.

Citation: Object #29-128-1197. Courtesy of the Penn Museum (Philadelphia). https://www.penn.museum.

Cultural syncretism: a sardonyx cameo of Antinous with the ram horns of the god Ammon and rays of the sun god Sol. Antinous was the Roman Emperor Hadrian’s lover.* After the 20-year-old Antinous drowned in the Nile, Hadrian deified him. Romano-Egyptian(?); findspot and date unknown.

Citation: Image courtesy of Carole Raddato, taken on Jan uary 29th, 2022 and the Munich State Collection of Antiquities (Staatliche Antikensammlungen, München). Accession no. unknown. CC BY-SA 2.0.

*Homoerotic relationships were common in Greco-Roman antiquity. We also know that: Antinous & Hadrian had an erotic relationship; Antinous was a free-born youth from Bithynia; and Hadrian loved him very much. Still, the unequal power-dynamic between an emperor and a free-born youth from a foreign land should not be ignored. (Or rather: it makes modern scholars pause). It is entirely possible that Antinous cared for Hadrian as much as Hadrian cared for Antinous. We have no evidence that the relationship was forced upon Antinous. But it is also true that we have no idea what Antinous may have felt, since Hadrian’s voice is the one that history has recorded.