What Really Lies Hidden in the Vatican Secret Archives? He appears about to speak. The pope could choose to clear up dozens of conspiracy theories, but in most situations, the Vatican appears to prefer ignoring many of the oddest rumors and merely denying others. This was to punish Laocon for exposing the Trojan Horse trick to his fellow Trojans, thereby angering the Greeks. The episode took place in the Museo Chiaramonti, part of the Vatican Museums, around lunchtime. The statue was made by Sir Richard Westmacott using 33 tonnes of bronze from cannons captured in Wellington's campaigns in France. How do you capture defeat in stone? Read on to discover which ones actually exist - and which ones exist as rumors and mysteries. By who? While the exact figure is unknown, many believe it to be Ajax contemplating his suicide after losing the competition with Odysseus from the Iliad. Antinoos was the young lover of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. These spaces house the Vaticans most famous sculptures. 'Once you sign up, you do what you're told': Duke of Sussex tells trauma expert Gabor Mat 'a lot of us' in the Army 'didn't necessarily agree or disagree' with the West's invasion of Afghanistan but did 'what you're trained to do'. Augustus carries a baton, raised in his right hand, as if hes addressing troops. That statue was believed to be the first life-sized realistically modeled female nude in Classical Greek art. This statue, as usual, is a Roman copy of a Greek original (the ancient Romans had some serious appropriation issues - stealing myths, artwork, etc), and it dates from around the 2nd century AD. One of our most popular Vatican tours since it is such an amazing value. Unknown Artist | Unknown Date | Red Porphyry Marble | Round Room. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. All rights reserved. This work represents a story from the Aeneid by Virgil. The English Inquisition: Church of England team get power to 'It's rather cold and why is there an astronaut? The statue has been dated with a few different dates ranging from the first to the third centuries A.D. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Laocon was lost for a millennium. Its called the Chiarmonti Caesar because it was displayed in that museum for a long time.