St. Achilleus
Death - early 2nd century
Feastday
- 12 May
Sculptor
- Lorenzo Ottoni He received 80 scudi for the work.
Statue
created - c.1703 The documents show that in June 1703,
Ottoni had already finished the statues of Sts Nereus, Achilleus
and George.
Height
- 3.1 m. (10ft 4in) travertine The saint is dressed in
the ancient way. His right hand is stretched out as he holds
the palm of martyrdom with the left.
This
statue is a close correlation with the style of St Nereus (88),
to reaffirm the spiritual bond between the two saints.
The
old Roman Martyrology of the 5th century contained the names
of the two martyrs Nereus and Achilleus, whose graves were in
the Catacomb of Domitilla on the Via Ardeatina. The epigraph
by Pope St Damasus for their catacomb shrine was recovered in
excavation.
|