Chapter 15 - Hannah's List



Niobid Sarcophagi p. 218 

One of the earliest datable sarcophagi from the 2nd century. It is the standard Western style with a sloping lid and reliefs of the front and sides but not on the back. It depicts a scene from Greek mythology, common to Roman tombs. It features Apollo and Artemis slaying Niobe’s children with arrows because she had boasted that she had more children than Leto. On the short end of the sarcophagus, Niobe and her husband mourn for the loss of their children. Perhaps it was chosen to display female fertility or that the occupant of the sarcophagus had grieved her children or appropriately, or that her children had been loyal and pious.

 Hercules Sarcophagi p. 219

Of the Western Roman type, the sculptor of this sarcophagus depicted Hercules as aging as he progressed from one amazing feat to the other. He is shown wearing the Nemean lion and later on with a beard. Hercules’ reward for his feats is immortality, which makes him an appropriate theme for a Roman man’s tomb.

 Meleager Sarcophagi 222-3

This sarcophagus depicts Meleager, a Greek hero famous for slaying the wild boar of Calydon. It depicts his life right up to his burial. The sarcophagus has the standard gable-roofed lid of those carved in Eastern workshops and has relief figures on all four sides. Previously, Hadrian had made hunting popular and fashionable, so it seems appropriate that this hunt-themed sarcophagus would be made in the Antonine period, which followed closely after Hadrian’s own reign. The occupants of these sarcophagi were trying to emulate the virtues embodied by these Greek heroes.

 Amazon Sarcophagi p. 224

Although the Romans ever fought against the Amazons, Amazon sarcophagi were common in Roman tombs. A Greek theme, depicting battles between the Greeks and Amazons was used as a sort of allegory for any historical event. The Roman viewer would have known, for example, that this one was meant to represent the battle between the Greeks and the Persians.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span lang="EN" style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-ansi-language: EN"> Mummy Portraits p. 227-229

<p style="line-height:normal"> Portraits painted between the 2nd and 3rd centuries that were placed at the top of the mummy case. They were probably painted while the person was still alive. Traditional Egyptian funerary motifs are applied with gold leaf onto the case, depicting Osiris being resurrected by Isis and Nephthys. Resurrection or rebirth would have been an appropriate theme for a tomb. More attention to detail is paid to the head than to the clothes they are wearing. These portraits carry on the tradition of portrait painting seen on the walls of Pompeii and help modern viewers to visualize the original appearance of Roman portraits in stone.