The Head of Dea, Dea of Butrint, The Goddess of Butrint, The Head of Apollo. Each of these names refers to the most famous sculptural portrait in the history of Albanian artwork and a long-celebrated symbol of cultural heritage. In Albanian culture, the Dea of Butrint (Dea e Butrintit) has become ingrained in the collective consciousness to the extent that it often does not lead to any deep contemplation. But as its numerous and distinctive names suggest, the sculpture carries with it a deep history, making it unique among sculptures of antiquity. From miniatures to real-life size replicas, its simplistic, ethereal beauty has captivated viewers for centuries as a source of profit, satisfaction, trust, and prestige. To understand the sculpture's history, it is important to understand how it was discovered.
Lying just on the other end of the Ionian Sea from the Greek island of Corfu, Butrint was an important city within the Ancient Greek and Roman worlds. The site is nestled near the Southern Albanian coastline, some 17 km from the city of Saranda. The Dea of Butrint was the first sculpture discovered during the significant excavation at the site by the Italian Archaeological Mission in Albania in Southern Albania in 1928.
The Mission, established by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs under Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini 1924, was instrumental to Butrint’s exploration. It harbored clear political intentions of demonstrating Italian hegemony and promoting the nationalist ideals celebrated during the fascist regime by tying it to the Ancient Roman past. The mission’s director, Luigi Maria Ugolini, described and contextualized his discovery of the Dea of Butrint by writing,
“...I began the work full of expectancy - it really was a head, and one that appeared to have a perfect profile! The head was intact... (it) was a Greek original of the best work; the head of the 'Dea of Butrint'."
Immediately upon its unearthing, the sculpture was declared a goddess, or "Dea," using the Italian term because of its striking yet understated Hellenistic elegance. The oval-shaped marble sculpture exhibits a rounded, dimpled chin, large passionate eyes, a small mouth and full lips. Believed to belong to the 1st century BC, its features connect it to a series of sculptures by Praxiteles in the 4th century BC, highlighting a clear Greek influence. This idealized perfection was the cornerstone of the work done by the famed Greek sculptor and artwork clearly influenced by his masterpieces were common throughout the Mediterranean in the Hellenistic Age.
The city of Butrint, known as Buthrotum in antiquity, was a major center of Greek and later Roman culture for centuries. The Roman writer Virgil and the Greek historian, Dionysius of Halicarnassus recorded that the Trojan hero Aeneas visited Buthrotum after his escape from the destruction of Troy. Virgil even remarked in the Aeneid that Aeneas was amazed to see that the city was built like a little Troy. The ascendancy of Hellenistic ideals and society were heavily present in the ancient city of Butrint. The Greek influence on the Dea of Butrint is only the first layer in this puzzle of cultures and identities that make up the deceptively simple sculpture.
What makes this bust a work of outstanding artistry is that it both has the appearance of a male and female, confusing even Ugolini. When observed from the frontal view, the soft feminine features clearly exhibit the characteristics typically found in a female portrait of the Hellenistic Age. The side profile, however, shows a male figure strikingly similar to a typical representation of the Greek God Apollo.
The bust presents some of Apollo’s features, which in Greek art is treated with feminine beauty such as the nose and forehead line, the combed hair, the slight emphasis on the Adam’s apple and the light opening of the lips. Comparing the Dea of Butrint with the other contemporary portraits of Apollo, one could conclude that the Dea of Butrint was originally a depiction of the Greek God. Indeed, some historians continue to believe so. Ugolini, though, maintained that the bust was a representation of a female, with its ideal elements dominated by naturalist details.
Dea's story became even more complex when a marble body that seemed to fit with the bust was discovered shortly after. The body was found not far from the bust and shows a woman dressed in a stola, a long dress reaching down to the feet which was worn over a tunic. This was common in Roman culture but obsolete in the Greek world. Even with the evidence such as the proximity to the head and the undeniable compatibility between the bulb of the neck and the socket between the shoulders, it seems unnatural for these two sculptures to be seen as one. The stark differences in technique, style, period and marble quality immediately leads to the conclusion that there was no possibility that the Head of Dea and this body were originally meant to be pieced together.
According to historian M. Marella's theory, the Dea of Butrint was originally made of bronze by a Greek artist, later to be replicated into marble. Marella then posits that due to its location in the outdoors theater, the body was subjected to weathering and eventual damage, leading to the creation of a newer, Roman-influenced body to replace the original in the Greek style. Today, however, these sculptures are displayed and celebrated as two separate works.
The Roman influence on the city of Butrint goes beyond Dea, reaching every aspect of daily life, from culture to politics. This clear shift in society can be detected by what remains today in art. The Dea of Butrint was one among twenty-two statues of the sculptural group that was found in the Theater of Butrint. Ugolini's mission discovered sculptures of famed Romans, including Augustus, his wife Livia, and Agrippa. This patronage to the imperial power of Rome began in 44 BC, when Julius Caesar made a brief visit to the city.
Caesar’s and subsequently Cicero’s intentions with the city were extensively recorded via letter correspondence. Cicero, a renowned Roman statesman, orator, and writer, writes to his close friend Atticus, a prominent Roman banker and patron of literature:
“You were wiser than I in getting a house in Buthrotum… One can hardly believe that there could be a place so near Rome where many of the inhabitants have never seen Vatinius [a Roman politician and ally of Caesar], where no member of the Board of Twenty has a single well-wisher besides myself, where nobody disturbs me and everybody likes me. Yes, this is surely the place to practice politics.”
Cicero's admiration of Butrint was shared by many of his contemporaries. In the summer of 44 BC, Roman civilians were sent to colonize the city and formally assimilate it into the Roman Empire. Augustus issued a decree of colonial foundation, and in 31 BC, Butrint celebrated this by incorporating its new title, Colonia Augusta, on its coinage. The impact of the colonial settlements was immediate and profound in the political changes wrought on the city. Power was immediately transferred away from the old institutions and the Hellenistic priests to the affluent Roman elite.
Although the Romans established hegemony in Butrint, the cultural influences of the prior centuries were still present and flourishing in artistic form. The Dea of Butrint portrays this fusion of cultures and stylistic influences into an elegant piece of art with complexities hidden beneath the marble surface. The simplicity and refinement exhibited by the piece has been admired through the centuries.
Ugolini was the first to show a strong admiration for the statue alongside personal motives for its discovery. As the story goes, he hid the Dea of Butrint in a crate in order to secretly ship it to Italy. To his chagrin, he was caught by a customs officer who insisted that the crate be opened and inspected. A major diplomatic scandal would have ensued if not for Italy’s dominance over Albania at the time. Given the latter’s need to maintain strong relations, King Zog I chose to “donate” Dea to Mussolini in order to cover up the ordeal.
Once returned in 1982, it was celebrated under Enver Hoxha 's communist regime. Hoxhaist ideology aimed to forge Albania into a united state with a clear historical narrative and national identity, with archaeology and the arts playing a crucial role in the effort. This was the birth of Dea as a national symbol of Albania, transforming and removing it from its past.
The Dea of Butrint's status as a product of multiple cultures and civilizations makes it unique in Albanian antiquity. It remains somewhat of a mystery to scholars of Greek, Roman, and Albanian studies exactly how Dea was constructed and to what extent it represents the various social influences in ancient Butrint. Although we may never know the full story of the Goddess, its uniqueness has brought it beyond its marble confines to transcend civilizations.
Andina Pepshi is a third-year student majoring in International Affairs and Russian Language at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Born and raised in Westchester County, New York to parents from Kosova, she is interested in exploring the intersections of international relations and cultural studies, with a focus on her Albanian heritage.
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