The depiction of acromegaly in ancient Greek and Hellenistic art

Overgrowth in myth and art

“…2.2 | Overgrowth portrayed in ancient RomeAlthough men with generalized overgrowth may have been observed in ancient times, the giants depicted in paintings and statues were most likely modeled out of normal-sized humans. Common mortals, albeit of enhanced proportions, rarely earned the honors of being immortalized in art pieces(Laios, Zozolou, Markatos, Karamanou, & Androutsos, 2016). However, the sovereign of the largest empire of the Western world constitutes a worthy exception, and one of the first artworks featuring an identifiable individual with traits of overgrowth is the statue of the Roman emperor Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus Augustus, better known as Maximinus Thrax or Maximinus I (Figure3).…”