 The discovery was made either when the church foundations were being dug (in 1608) or when espaliers were being planted.The sculpture was presented to the connoisseur, Cardinal Scipione Borghese, who in return granted the order the services of his architect Giovanni Battista Soria and paid for the façade of the church, albeit sixteen years later.In his new Villa Borghese, a room called the Room of the Hermaphrodite was devoted to it.