Archaistic young Athena which must
have belonged to the sculptural
group of the Rape of the Palladium.
They were described briefly in antiquity by
Faustinus, a rich Roman poet at the end of the
first century of our era who probably owned the
cave, and whose poem was found inside inscribed
on a marble plaque and has been published by
Professor Per Krarup ("L'iscrizione di Faustinus
a Sperlonga," Analecta Romana 3 [1965]). Faustinus mentions three groups : ( 1) the blinding of
Polyphemus, which could have been located in
the northern grotto, (2) the Scylla group situated
in the circular pool on a base carrying a fragment
of the group in situ and (3) the sinking ship.
Fragments of yet a fourth group, The Rape of
the Palladium, were also found in the cave. This
could have stood on the rectangular island in the
rectangular pool.
The view inside the grotto : in the foreground is the circular pool with the base for the Scylla group ; in
the rear , the northern grotto and to the right , the east grotto where Odysseus9 sinking ship was placed .
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