Lucius Vibullus Hipparcus Tiberius Claudius Herodes Atticus was born a Roman citizen in Greece. He was a political figure and a successful orator and philosopher. In 143 he was a consul. A personal friend of the emperors Hadrian and Antoninus pius, the latter entrusted him with the education of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.

Herodes Atticus was also one of the richest men of his time, and with his wealth he constructed various public buildings, including the stadium in Delphi, a theatre in Corinth and the Odeon bearing his name in Athens, which is still extant and even used for performances. In recompense, numerous statues were carved of him, as the one here reproduced, now in the Louvre Museum.

Herodes had homosexual affairs which he made no attempt to hide. The most famous was the last one, and when his adolescent "disciple" Polydeukes died in Athens, Herodes inaugurated a veritable personality cult of his beloved, erecting statues and memorials to him proclaiming the boy a "hero" in imitation of Hadrian who had posthumously proclamed his lover Antinous a god.