Male head. Late Roman Empire, 2nd-3rd century AD. Marble stone. Measurements: 36 x 19 x 20 cm. The protagonist of this sculpture, a middle-aged man, looks at the viewer in a calm attitude. His eyes completely open, expectant and directed to a concrete point, reveal the restlessness of the character and stand out for their naturalistic character. The detail in its execution, especially reflected in the individualized hair and the expressive firmness of his face, demonstrate the skillful ability of an artist fully trained in sculptural instruction. The Lower Roman Empire or Late Roman Empire is the historical period extending from the rise of Diocletian to power in 284 to the end of the Western Roman Empire in 476. It succeeds the High Roman Empire begun by Caesar Augustus in 27 BC. The Romans brought two important innovations to the world of sculpture: portraiture and historical relief, neither of which existed in the Greek world. However, they followed the Greek models for much of their sculptural production, a base that in Rome would be combined with the Etruscan tradition. After the first contacts with the Greece of classicism through the colonies of Magna Graecia, the Romans conquered Syracuse in 212 BC, a rich and important Greek colony located in Sicily, adorned with a large number of Hellenistic works. The city was sacked and its artistic treasures taken to Rome, where the new style of these works soon replaced the Etruscan-Roman tradition that had prevailed until then. Cato himself denounced the sacking and decoration of Rome with Hellenistic works, which he considered a dangerous influence on native culture, and deplored the Romans' applauding of statues from Corinth and Athens, while ridiculing the decorative terracotta tradition of ancient Roman temples. However, these oppositional reactions were in vain; Greek art had subdued Etruscan-Roman art in general, to the point that Greek statues were among the most coveted prizes of war, being displayed during the triumphal procession of the conquering generals.