Genius

Statuette of a Roman god known as a Genius. He wears a Greek himation (a cloak-like garment) over his shoulder which hangs over his back and is swathed around the lower part of his body. The upper edge of his pubic hair is visible, his chest is bare and he is bare-footed. He holds a horn full of grapes and vine leaves which is called a cornucopia, or horn of plenty, in his left hand. He is making a sacrifice, holding a dish over an altar. A serpent twines around his wrist. To his left is the prow of a ship riding over waves. The ship, waves and cornucopia allude to the wealth and activities of a busy sea port and the statue may have been dedicated by a merchant or a guild of ship owners. Genii were often gods of places and this one may be a god of Roman London with its busy port. Found in 1889 very close to the site of the Temple of Mithras and probably from the temple itself.