A masterpiece of honorary sculpture from the Late Republican period, this statue portrays an elderly person with a young, nude body. The cape (paludamentum) which covers part of his body and legs, and the cuirass embossed with a gorgoneion (lorica) which functions as a support, identify it as a high-ranking soldier. It can be presumed that the right arm was raised, as suggested by the chest muscles holding the shoulder, and that the figure was leaning on a lance. This style derives from Hellenistic designs of “heroic nudity” (effigies achilleae) used, starting in the 2nd century BC, by members of the Roman ruling class which has strong political need of self-presentation. The authoritarian, imposing stance together with the marked realism of the facial features, is one of the best examples of Hellenistic bravura combined with realistic Italic tradition. Stylistic considerations and the fact that the statue was found in the substructions of the Temple of Hercules, which was built during the dictatorship of L. Cornelius Sulla, date the statue between 90—70 BC. The honorific statue could depict a Sulla’s lieutenant but his identification is an open problem.