from Minturno, Italy Statue of Caligula, 1st century CE marble The National Archaeological Museum of Naples, 6046 2026.153 This sculpture’s small mouth with a receding lower lip and overall youthfulness are common in portraits of the Julio-Claudian emperor Caligula (reigned 37-41 CE). A work of military propaganda, his cuirass (breastplate) features a dynamic, symbolic scene of a horseman under attack from a griffin, a mythological creature. The statue likely adorned the grand Roman theater in the ancient city of Minturnae (present-day Minturno). In Roman society, theatrical performances, sporting events, and shows of military strength were intertwined-a lesson Trajan learned from his predecessors.