Pericles with the Corinthian helmet

The Roman copies of the bust of Pericles derive from a bronze statue made by the sculptor Kresilas.

Since this statue is not preserved and only limited information is known about it, its arrangement is unclear and its details can only be guessed at by analogies and assumptions.

(Also see Plutarch's 'Life of Perikles') This deformity was said to be the reason why Pericles was always depicted in a Corinthian helmet, since this would conceal the height of his head.

As a result, the realistic tendencies of Athenian art, which are found to some extent in the bust of Themistocles were abandoned.

In this the depiction squares with self-controlled personality attributed to Pericles in the historical tradition.