Ancient Roman sarcophagi

1.1 Second century

1.2 Third century
See also: Early Christian sarcophagi
Relief panel from a 3rd-century sarcophagus depicting Labours
of Hercules, a popular subject for sarcophagi

In the funeral and burial practices of ancient Rome,

elaborately carved marble and limestone sarcophagi
were characteristic of elite inhumation from the 2nd to
the 4th centuries AD.[1] At least 10,000 Roman sarcophagi survive, with fragments possibly representing
as many as 20,000.[2] Although mythological scenes
have been mostly widely studied,[3] sarcophagus relief
has been called the richest single source of Roman
iconography,[4] and may also depict the deceaseds occupation or life course, military scenes, and other subject matter. The same workshops produced sarcophagi
with Jewish or Christian imagery.[5] Early Christian sarcophagi produced from the late 3rd century onwards, represent the earliest form of large Christian sculpture, and
are important for the study of Early Christian art.

The Ludovisi sarcophagus, an example of the battle scenes favored during the Crisis of the Third Century: the writhing and
highly emotive Romans and Goths ll the surface in a packed,
anti-classical composition[8]

1.3 Fourth century

History

2 Themes and imagery

Sailing scene on a late-3rd century sarcophagus

Garland-style sarcophagus, the predominant type during the
reigns of Trajan and Hadrian (Walters Art Museum)[6]

Details from sarcophagus reliefs

Cremation was the predominant means of disposing of

remains in the Roman Republic. Ashes contained in
cinerary urns and other monumental vessels were placed
in tombs. From the 2nd century AD onward, inhumation became more common, and after the Roman Empire
came under Christian rule, was standard practice.[7]

Thalia, the Muse of comedy (early 2nd century)

Face of a satyr (2nd century)
Jason and Medea on the quest for the Golden Fleece
(latter 2nd century)
1

6 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sacrice of Isaac, from the sarcophagus of Junius
Bassus (359 AD)

4 See also
Mattei sarcophagus I

Personalization

5 References

Sarcophagi Personalization is the customization of a

sarcophagus to display the attributes, achievements, or
history of the deceased through art and/or inscriptions.

[1] Zahra Newby, Myth and Death: Roman Mythological

Sarcophagi, in A Companion to Greek Mythology (Blackwell, 2011), p. 301.

3.1

[2] Ja Elsner, introduction to Life, Death and Representation: Some New Work on Roman Sarcophagi (De Gruyter,
2011), p. 1.

Sarcophagus Of Lars Pulena

The sculpted scene on the front of the con shows

the deceased in the Underworld between two Charuns
(Etruscan death demons) in which signied that his journey to the afterlife was successful.[9] On the lid, Pulena
is shown laid across, in a reclining position, resting on his
left arm and in front of him, a list of his lifes achievements which were inscribed on an open scroll.[9]

[3] Elsner, introduction to Life, Death and Representation, p.

12.
[4] Elsner, introduction to Life, Death and Representation, p.
14.
[5] Elsner, introduction to Life, Death and Representation, pp.
1, 9.
[6] Davies, Before Sarcophagi, in Life, Death and Representation, pp. 21, 28.

3.2

Mel Sarcophagus

The Asiatic sarcophagus with kline portrait of a woman

also carried an Etruscan inuence of sculpting portraiture
on the lid.[9] Made of marble, with reliefs on all four sides
of the box (a feature in Eastern Sarcophagi production),
and sculpted mini statues of Greek gods and heroes in
frames are depicted. The lid displays a portrait of the
woman with Cupid (right end) and a little dog (in which
the paws only remain at the left end).

[7] Glenys Davies, Before Sarcophagi, in Life, Death and

Representation, p. 20.
[8] Fred S. Kleiner, A History of Roman Art (Wadsworth,
2007, 2010, enhanced ed.), p. 272.
[9] Kleiner, Fred S. (2009, 2005). Gardners Art Through The
Ages 13th Edition. Thomson Wadsworth. ISBN 0-49509307-6. Check date values in: |date= (help)

6 Bibliography
3.3

Battle of Romans and barbarians

The unusually large Ludovisi Battle sarcophagus shows a

chaotic battle scene between the Romans and barbarian
foes. At the centre, a young general wears no helmet nor
wields any weapon and has emblem of Mithras, the Persian god of light, truth, and victory over death carved into
his forehead. Several scholars have identied him as one
of the sons of Trajan Decius,[9] who died of plague.

3.4

Santa Maria Antiqua Sarcophagus

A sarcophagus from the church of Santa Maria Antiqua with philosopher, orant, and Old and New Testament
scenes is Early Christian art in which displays the story
of Jonah on the left one-third, heads of a praying woman
and a seated man reading from a scroll which are unnished (intended to be portraits of the deceased) in the center, and continuing on, Christ as Good Shepherd, and the
baptism of Christ.[9]

Mont Allen, Sarcophagus, in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, edited by
Michael Gagarin, vol. 6, p. 214-218 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010).
Susan Walker, Memorials to the Roman Dead (London: British Museum Press, 1985).
Paul Zanker and Bjrn C. Ewald, Living with Myths:
The Imagery of Roman Sarcophagi (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2012).
(Italian) Becati G., L'arte dell'et classica, Firenze
1989 (VI edizione)
(Italian) Bianchi Bandinelli R., Roma. La ne
dell'arte antica, Milano 1988 (IV edizione)
(Italian) Giuliano A., Il commercio dei sarcofagi attici, Roma 1962
(Italian) Matz F., see Sarcofago in Enciclopedia
dell'Arte Antica, Classica e Orientale, vol. VII

3
(German) Robert C., Die Antiken SarkophagReliefs, Berlin 1890-1919
(Italian) Testini P., Le catacombe e gli antichi cimiteri di Roma, Bari 1980
(Italian) Vaccaro Melucco A., Sarcofagi romani di
caccia al leone, in Studo Miscellanei 11 (A.A. 19631964)
(Italian) Valenti Zucchini G.-Bucci M., I sarcofagi
a gure e a carattere simbolico, in Corpus della
scultura paleocristiana, bizantina e altomedievale di
Ravenna, vol. II, Roma 1968

7 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

7.1

Text

Ancient Roman sarcophagi Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient%20Roman%20sarcophagi?oldid=653904086 Contributors:

Rich Farmbrough, Leutha, SmackBot, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, Neddyseagoon, Cynwolfe, Johnbod, Calliopejen1, Addbot, Lightbot, SwisterTwister, Typhon2222 and Anonymous: 3

7.2

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7.3

Content license

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