page_title: Sperlonga
section_title: Villa of Tiberius
hierarchical_section_title: Sperlonga / Villa of Tiberius
caption_attribution_description: The central group at Sperlonga, with the Blinding of Polyphemus; cast reconstruction of the group, with the original figure of the "wineskin-bearer" seen in front of the cast version at the right.
context_page_description: Sperlonga is a coastal town in the province of Latina, Italy, about halfway between Rome and Naples. It is best known for the ancient Roman sea grotto discovered in the grounds of the Villa of Tiberius containing the important and spectacular Sperlonga sculptures, which are displayed in a museum on the site.
  Surrounding towns include Terracina to the West, Fondi to the North, Itri to the North-East, and Gaeta to the East.
context_section_description: Sperlonga's main cultural attraction is the museum erected in the grounds of the former Villa of Tiberius showing the groups of sculpture found in the grotto  celebrating the deeds of Odysseus.  According to Tacitus and Suetonius, the roof of the grotto collapsed while Tiberius was dining, and Sejanus rushed to save Tiberius, for which Tiberius in gratitude promoted him, launching his rise to power.  Tiberius moved to Capri after 26 AD.
  The villa included a grotto where some sculptures, now housed in the museum, have been found: these portrayed the assault of Scylla to Odysseus' ship, the blinding of Polyphemus, the theft of the Palladium and Odysseus lifting Achilles's corpse. The works have been attributed  to Rhodian sculptors Agesander, Athenedoros and Polydoros, and are thought to be the same authors of the group of "Laocoön and His Sons" (as attributed by Pliny the Elder). Yet whether the very same artists are responsible is questionable. Some scholars believe them to be related, but not the same people; apart from Athenedoros (II) who was the last to be credited as an artist on the Laocoon group, but first to be credited with the Scylla series – suggesting that he was the youngest during the creation of the Laocoon group, but eldest artist who worked on the Scylla group.  Furthermore, the differentiation in 'classicism' between the two sets of works implies that one preceded the other with separation, and thus that not all artists are the same people, but descendants.
caption: The central group of the Sperlonga sculptures, with the Blinding of Polyphemus
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