A two-metre marble statue in almost mint condition was unearthed by an Italian archaeological team in Hiérapolis, near Pamukkale in Turkey, it was learned on February 1st 1998.
The statue representing a young man capped with a phrygian bonnet was dug out in the agora of the ancient city built on the Turkish coast by Sextus Julius Frontinus, the Roman proconsul under the reign of Emperor Domitian. Found at the depth of six metres, it still bore traces of its original polychromy. It is believed to represent Atys, the young shepherd whom the goddess Cybele loved. Cybele was worshipped in the neighbouring town of Pessinonte now called Sivrihisar.
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