Ancient Roman sarcophagi

Despite being the main funerary custom during the Roman Republic, ash chests and grave altars virtually disappeared from the market only a century after the advent of the sarcophagus.

[10] However, in the past, the most expensive and ostentatious grave altars and ash chests were commissioned more frequently by wealthy freedmen and other members of the emerging middle class than by the Roman elite.

The opposite was true for the workshops of Metropolitan Rome, who tended to import large, roughed out sarcophagi from distant quarries in order to complete their commissions.

In both cases, the mythological scenes were akin to mourning practices of ordinary Roman citizens in an effort to reflect their grief and comfort them when they visited the tomb.

[25] The breakup of the classical style led to a period in which full mythological reliefs with an increase in the number of figures and an elongation of forms became more popular, as discussed above.

Medea does not take lightly to this, since she gave up everything for Jason, so in her rage, she infuses a golden diadem and a robe with poisonous magic, and has her two sons deliver the lethal gifts to the princess.

The center is given over to the princess's horrific end: Creon looks on Creusa in horror as his daughter flails about, screaming, flames shooting up from her forehead, as she dies a gruesome death.

As such, the imagery on Medea sarcophagi show the highest point of her life, followed by her sudden, terrible death, making the tragedy all the worse through the surprise of the family.

It depicts Hades snatching Persephone (here she bears the portrait features of the dead woman buried within) as the central image, with Athena reaching out towards them in an attempt to prevent the abduction from taking place.

Additionally, this imagery could also have been used on other sarcophagi that put portrait features on Hades riding his chariot to show that the husband, who perhaps died first, is finally in union with his wife again in the afterlife.

Rather than evoking a sense of tragedy of her loss, it could bring some reprieve to the family members the deceased left behind that they are finally united with their spouse in the afterlife.

150 AD) sarcophagus in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City featuring Selene and Endymion, the cupids at the corners invert their torches as a customary Roman sign of mourning further emphasizing the funerary context.

[39] The background characters of nymphs, shepherds, and cupids play the role of other familial visitors gathered around the actual sarcophagus to visit their beloved deceased.

Specifically seen in a sarcophagus in Rome's cathedral of San Paolo fuori le mura, Selene is figured as an apparition of a bride, since she is here shown floating and dressed in bridal drapery.

The placement of the portrait above the goddess was likely done to emphasize the beauty of the mother and describe her as coming to visit her sleeping family similar to other sarcophagi of this subject.

Ariadne is imagined to then be taken up to live happily amongst Dionysus and his revelers, providing comfort for the family that their own deceased continues to enjoy happiness even in death.

A pair of donkeys, one so intoxicated that it can no longer stand, attempts to haul an old drinking buddy of Dionysus, an old, bald, pudgy, boozy reveller named Silenus, by cart.

See, for example, the lion-headed lenos sarcophagus currently in use as a water basin in Rome's Palazzo Mattei, a use which must have been inspired by the liquid associations of the S-shaped strigillated decoration.

A good example is the so-called "Badminton Sarcophagus" in New York's Metropolitan Museum, which shows in the center Dionysus riding a Panther, flanked by images representing the four seasons, while his various servants fill in the background.

One interesting addition is Pan, a wild god, with the lower quarters and horns of a goat, associated with shepherding, rugged landscapes, and sexual desire having his cup filled with wine by Dionysus himself.

This led to a workaround in which, like the sarcophagi presented, Dionysus stands alone with a face carved to represent the god, and a space for a portrait image was made in the upper right of the lid.

These moved away from the portrayal of Greek myths that had dominated Roman sarcophagi of the preceding (second) century, preferring instead to depict the abundance and tranquility that the natural world around them had to offer.

A good example is the so-called "Badminton Sarcophagus" in New York's Metropolitan Museum, which shows in the center Dionysus on his panther, flanked by standing personifications of the Four Seasons marked by their seasonal gifts/attributes: winter stands at the far left with a brace of ducks, with a boar at his feet; then spring, holding a basket of flowers and a budding stalk; then summer, basket of grain in hand; and finally autumn at the far right, cradling a cornucopia of grapes and grape leaves in one arm while holding a captured hare.

Here the standing personifications of the Four Seasons flank a central tondo/roundel (Romans called this a clipeus, the term for a round shield) which contains (unfinished) portrait busts of the deceased couple buried inside.

[49] Like many other bucolic sarcophagi, this one shows the life of a shepherd as one of peace, tranquility and prosperity, with plenty of leisure time for idle musing and soulful contemplation.

The sculpted scene on the front of the coffin shows the deceased in the Underworld between two Charuns (Etruscan death demons) in which signified that his journey to the afterlife was successful.

[51] 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 life's achievements which were inscribed on an open scroll in Etruscan.

[51] 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 Portonaccio sarcophagus is an example of one of a group of about twenty-five late Roman battle sarcophagi, with one exception all apparently dating to 170–210, made in Rome or in some cases Athens.

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.

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 fill the surface in a packed, anti- classical composition [ 1 ]
3rd-century sarcophagus depicting the Labours of Hercules , a popular subject for sarcophagi
Sarcophagus of Helena (d. 329) in porphyry
The Sarcophagus with the Triumph of Dionysus is a good example of a Metropolitan Roman-style sarcophagus with its flat lid, three-sided decoration, and Dionysian scenes from Greek mythology.
Asiatic garland sarcophagus, the predominant type during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian ( Walters Art Museum ) , [ 17 ] dated between 150 and 180, in Dokimeion marble, so probably made in Phrygia and then shipped to Rome. The gable-roof lid exemplifies the garland tradition common on ash altars and chests. It also has several incomplete parts on its four sides, suggesting the work was interrupted or it was needed on short notice.
Roman sarcophagus showing the massacre of Niobe ʼs children. Ca 160 AD. Glyptothek , Munich
Roman sarcophagus showing the story of Medea and Creusa . Ca 150 AD. Altes Museum , Berlin
Roman sarcophagus showing the abduction of Persephone . Ca. 230–240 AD. Capitoline Museum , Rome
Roman sarcophagus showing Selene approaching Endymion. Ca. 230–240 AD. Louvre , Paris
Roman sarcophagus showing Selene approaching Endymion; mourning Cupids at corners. Ca. 150 AD. Metropolitan Museum , New York
Roman sarcophagus showing Selene approaching Endymion. Ca. 200–200 AD. San Paolo fuori le mura, Rome
Roman sarcophagus showing Selene approaching Endymion. Ca. 200–220 AD. Metropolitan Museum, New York
Roman sarcophagus showing Dionysus approaching Ariadne. Ca. 230–240 AD. Louvre, Paris
Roman sarcophagus showing a Dionysiac procession. Ca. 160–170 AD. Baths of Diocletian, Rome.
Roman lion-head lenos sarcophagus showing Cupids making wine. Ca. 290 AD. Getty Villa, Malibu.
Roman strigillated lion-head lenos sarcophagus, in current use as a water basin. Ca. 260 AD. Palazzo Mattei, Rome.
Roman sarcophagus with Dionysus on his panther, flanked by the Four Seasons (the “Badminton Sarcophagus”). Ca. 220–230 AD. In the Metropolitan Museum, New York
Roman sarcophagus showing Dionysus approaching Ariadne. Ca. 230–240 AD. Louvre, Paris.
Roman sarcophagus with Cupids holding seasonal garlands; episodes from the story of Theseus & Ariadne above the swags; on the lid, Cupids race chariots. Ca. 120–150 AD. Metropolitan Museum, New York
Roman sarcophagus with Dionysus on his panther, flanked by the Four Seasons (the “Badminton Sarcophagus”). Ca. 220–230 AD. In the Metropolitan Museum , New York
Roman lenos sarcophagus with bucolic scenes (the sarcophagus of Iulius Achilleus). Ca. 290 AD. National Roman Museum in the Baths of Diocletian , Rome.
Iovinus was magister equitum from 361 to 369 under several Roman emperors, from Julian to Valentinian I . Accordingly, he had himself depicted on his richly decorated marble sarcophagus as a fighting equestrian general (centre). Musée Saint-Remi , Reims .
The Portonaccio sarcophagus , displaying a battle scene between Romans and Germans . Marble, Roman artwork, 180–190 CE. Palazzo Massimo alle Terme , Rome .