Rome · 2nd century AD · Teos, Izmir, Turkey
Life-size marble portrait of Hadrian's companion Antinous found at Teos in Turkey
Excavators at a temple of Roma and Augustus also found 13 reused inscriptions, one naming Alexander the Great's general Parmenion, and new statue bases.
Teos, Turkey Archaeologists have found a marble portrait of Antinous, the companion of the Roman emperor Hadrian, at the ancient city of Teos in western Turkey. The near life-size portrait came from the Temple of Roma and Augustus. The team also recorded 13 inscriptions and several new statue bases during the 2026 season.
Teos lies in the Seferihisar district of Izmir province, on Turkey's Aegean coast. Ankara University's Department of Archaeology runs the excavation together with Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality supports the work. Professor Musa Kadıoğlu heads the excavations.
The city is known for the Guild of Dionysian Artists, an association of poets, actors and musicians based there in the 3rd century BC. Its artistic tradition gave Teos a reputation as a centre of the arts in antiquity.
A rare portrait from Anatolia
Kadıoğlu called the portrait one of the most significant finds at the temple. He said its size makes it important, because comparable examples from Anatolia are rare.
We found a life-size portrait of Antinous here. It is very significant because it is the only known example of this size in Anatolia.
Musa Kadıoğlu, head of the Teos excavations
The report on the find describes the portrait as close to life-size in one place and as life-size in another. No measurements have been given.
Antinous was a young man from Bithynia in north-west Anatolia. After he drowned in the Nile in AD 130, Hadrian had him declared a god. Statues of him were then set up across the empire.
Kadıoğlu said the portrait, read together with fragments of inscriptions, suggests a wider role for the temple. In his view, it served in the 2nd century AD as a sanctuary for Antinous as well as for the goddess Roma and the emperor Augustus. This is the team's interpretation of the evidence so far.
Older inscriptions reused as foundations
The 2026 season focused on the temple. Earlier work had covered its southern, eastern and northern sides. This year the archaeologists also investigated its western side.
On the paved square in front of the temple, the team found architectural blocks taken from older buildings. Builders had reused them as foundation stones. The 13 inscriptions are carved on these blocks.
Kadıoğlu said the texts tell of Teos' political and social ties in its early history. One inscription names Parmenion, one of the leading generals of Alexander the Great. The texts also include decisions about foreign judges, he said. Greek cities sometimes invited judges from other cities to settle local disputes.
The team also identified new statue bases around the temple. Kadıoğlu said they must once have held statues honouring prominent individuals. Who those people were remains unknown.
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