Go to Index, Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, Part XI, Part XII, Part XIII, Part XIV, Roman Coins: Republic and Principate, Roman Coins: Empire, Greek Coins, Coins from the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, Coins from the National Museum in Warsaw, Poland, Coins from the Hunterian Museum
Ara Pacis east entrance, 13-9 BCE
This is the public, eastern entrance of the great Altar of Augustan Peace, decreed by the Senate on 4 July 13 BCE and formally dedicated on 30 January 9 BCE. This entrance is on a level with the Via Flaminia.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
Ara Pacis west entrance, 13-9 BCE
This is the ceremonial, western entrance of the Altar of Augustan Peace, leading down to the pavement of the Sundial of Augustus on the Campus Martius by a flight of steps.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
Tellus/Pax panel of Ara Pacis; Roman, 13-9 BCE
This is one of the enclosure walls at the eastern entrance of the Altar of Peace.
It is a beautiful relief of a
seated mother goddess
(see detail of goddess and infants and
close-up of face). She is flanked by nymphs personifying the winds, surrounded by symbols of fertility and abundance, and holds two infants on her lap. The entire panel is clearly an allegory of the benefits of peace, and the goddes may be simultaneously Venus Genetrix, Tellus (Earth), and Pax (Peace).
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
Roma panel of Ara Pacis, 13-9 BCE
This is one of the enclosure walls at the eastern entrance of the Altar of Peace. It contains an
extremely fragmentary relief representing the
goddess Roma, seated on a shield
and armor. It is thought that she was flanked by male allegorical figures representing Virtus (Valor) and Honos (Honor).
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
Aeneas/Numa panel of Ara Pacis, 13-9 BCE
This is one of the enclosure walls at the western entrance of the Altar of Peace. It contains a
relief of a sacrifice
of a sow performed by a
bearded man with two young attendants before a
small shrine with two seated male divinities. The man may be Aeneas sacrificing the sow with 30 piglets on the banks of the Tiber, or he may also represent the religious lawgiver Numa Pompilius, second king of Rome.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
Lupercal panel of Ara Pacis, 13-9 BCE
This is one of the enclosure walls at the western entrance of the Altar of Peace. It contains an
extremely fragmentary relief representing the
wolf suckling Romulus and Remus
in the Lupercal cave on the Palatine, flanked by
their father Mars and the shepherd Faustulus.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
reconstruction drawing of the Ara Pacis, modern;
detail, sacrificial altar.
This cut-away drawing shows the orientation of the altar in relation to the Via Flaminia.is one of the enclosure walls at the western entrance of the Altar of Peace.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
model of the north wall of the Ara Pacis, modern;
model of the south wall of the Ara Pacis, modern;
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
model of sacrificial altar of the Ara Pacis from above, modern;
Rome (EUR), Museum of Roman Civilization. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
scrolling acanthus decoration on lower zones of the Ara Pacis enclosure walls, 13-9 BCE
This is a view of the zone below the Roma panel.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
swan at top of acanthus decoration on lower zones of the Ara Pacis enclosure walls, 13-9 BCE
This is a swan detail from the lower zone of the south wall.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
north wall of Ara Pacis viewed from east entrance, 13-9 BCE
north wall of Ara Pacis viewed from west entrance, 13-9 BCE
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
south wall of Ara Pacis viewed from east entrance, 13-9 BCE
south wall of Ara Pacis viewed from west entrance, 13-9 BCE
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
north frieze of Ara Pacis, western end, 13-9 BCE
north frieze, middle;
north frieze, eastern end.
This is a procession of senators and priests, followed by members of the imperial family. Almost all of
the original heads are missing; those on the restored altar are modern.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
detail, toga weights from north frieze of Ara Pacis, 13-9 BCE
These weights ensured that the Augustan toga would drape properly.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: clothing; Ara Pacis Augustae
camillus from north frieze of Ara Pacis, 13-9 BCE
The camillus was a youthful attendant at religious sacrifices. He is shown here carrying the
ritual implements of his position, including a pitcher (urceus), a
carved incense box
(acerra) and a shaggy, fringed towel (mappa).
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
toddler in short tunic and torque from north frieze of Ara Pacis, 13-9 BCE
This little boy
gazes up trustingly at the man in front of him and clutches his tunic. It has been suggested that he represents one of the hostages brought back by Augustus from Gaul to ensure the peaceful submission of the chieftains.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
unrestored panel from north frieze of Ara Pacis, eastern end, 13-9 BCE
side view.
This panel is still in the Louvre Museum, though a cast has been attached to the restored altar in Rome.
It has been conjectured that the two females wearing fringed pallas are the imperial widows Julia, daughter of Augustus, and Octavia, his sister. The
young boy between them,
dressed as a
camillus with fringed mappa, may be Gaius Caesar, Augustus's grandson and heir. The
little girl with the melon hairdo, dressed in a toga praetexta and wearing a
necklace with numerous pendants, may be Gaius's younger sister Julia.
Paris, Louvre Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2009
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
south frieze of Ara Pacis, western end, 13-9 BCE
south frieze, eastern end.
This is a procession of lictors, Augustus, priests and members of the imperial family.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
Augustus preceded by lictors from the south frieze of Ara Pacis, 13-9 BCE
Although fragmentary, the emperor can be clearly recognized by the
youthful and idealized portrait familiar throughout the empire. Other than Aeneas/Numa, he is the only man on the altar wearing both a laurel wreath and his toga over his head.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
priests and flamines behind Augustus from the south frieze of Ara Pacis, 13-9 BCE
Four of the 15 archaic priests called flamines are depicted. The
Flamen Dialis of Jupiter carries a staff; he wears a heavy woolen cloak (laena),
patrician shoes, and the
distinctive leather skull
cap topped with an olive wood spike, (apex, here embossed with a palm branch). He is followed by
the
flaminius lictor
bearing an axe.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
Agrippa and imperial family from the south frieze of Ara Pacis, 13-9 BCE
Behind the flamines comes the veiled figure of his trusted general Agrippa, followed by a barbarian child, Livia, and her son Tiberius. Agrippa's
furrowed brow and sad expression may be intended to suggest his death in 12 BCE. It has been suggested that the
child with long curly hair, wearing a tunic and torque, may be a hostage brought back from the eastern empire, possibly Bosporus, along with his mother, who rests her hand on the child's head. This child is sometimes identified as Gaius Caesar.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
detail, Livia from the south frieze of Ara Pacis, 13-9 BCE
The woman behind Agrippa is usually identified as Augustus's wife Livia. Her portrait, like the emperor's is
youthful and idealized, and she also wears both a laurel wreath and has her palla covering her head. On her
arm is an
intricate bracelet depicting a winged Victory crowing a kneeling figure. This woman is sometimes identified as Augustus's daughter Julia.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
Antonia Minor and Drusus from the south frieze of Ara Pacis, 13-9 BCE
The next family grouping depicts Augustus's niece Antonia Minor and her husband Drusus, young son of Livia, who is shown wearing military garb, hobnailed sandals (caligae) and cloak (paludamentum), since he was leading a campaign against German tribes at the time. The couple are shown
gazing fondly at each other, with a woman behind urging silence. Between them stands their
young son Germanicus, dressed in toga praetexta and bulla, clutching his mother's index finger.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
Antonia Maior and Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus from the south frieze of Ara Pacis, 13-9 BCE
The final family grouping is thought to depict Augustus's older niece Antonia Maior and her husband Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, along with their children,
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Domitia. Little Gnaeus (whose head is a restoration), holding tight to his uncle Drusus' cloak, wears a laurel wreath and is dressed in toga praetexta and bulla. His
older sister smiles down at him; she wears a less elaborately draped toga praetexta, and a
necklace with a crescent moon pendant (lunula), a common protective amulet for girls.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
front of the sacrificial altar of the Ara Pacis, western entrance, 13-9 BCE
back of the sacrificial altar of the Ara Pacis, eastern entrance.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
interior of enclosure walls in front of the sacrificial altar of the Ara Pacis, western entrance, 13-9 BCE
The lower zone has simple vertical slats, suggesting a fence; above runs a row of palmettes. Pilasters are
topped with Corinthian columns. In the upper zone are
festoons of fruit and leaves
suspended from bull's skulls (boucrania), with a libation bowl (patera) above each festoon.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
inner wing of sacrificial altar of Ara Pacis, south side, 13-9 BCE
The two side wings of the sacrificial altar are crowned with scrolls of carved vegetation ending in
winged lions, including small friezes depicting the annual sacrifice performed at the altar on 30 January. On the north
inner wing of the altar, a small frieze shows a
procession of the 6 Vestal Virgins, walking according to height and age, headed by the pontifex maximus.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
outer wing of sacrificial altar of Ara Pacis, south side, 13-9 BCE
The small frieze surviving on the outer altar wing depicts the
sacrificial procession of priests and victims, including the
officiating priests, a
sheep,
bull and
cow.
Rome, Ara Pacis Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; Ara Pacis Augustae; Augustan symbolism
reconstruction drawing of the imperial forums in Rome, modern;
This drawing (labels added) shows the orientation and relationships of the forums of Julius Caesar, Augustus, Vespasian (Temple of Peace), Nerva (Forum Transitorium), and Trajan.
Rome, Museum of the Imperial Fora. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010
Keywords: city of Rome
reconstruction drawing of Trajan's Forum in Rome, modern;
This drawing an aerial view of the forum, with Trajan's Markets on the side.
Rome, Museum of the Imperial Fora. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010
Keywords: city of Rome
Roman sardonyx cameo (known as the Gemma Augustea), beginning of the first century CE
smaller version.
This large, low-relief cameo, approximately 7 x 9 inches, was created for private, not public consumption,
possibly as a gift to a high-ranking Roman or foreign dignitary; it was made during the last years of the
reign of Augustus or the early years of Tiberius. There are two distinct zones. The bottom register celebrates Roman triumph in war. On the
lower left side,
soldiers raise a trophy (tropaeum) made of captured foreign armor over a bound and bearded barbarian
male seated next to a mourning woman. On the
lower right side, a male in a
brimmed traveler's hat pulls a barbarian woman by the hair, while a female (?) in hunting garb places her
hand on the head of a bearded barbarian wearing a torque. Some scholars identify the standing figures as
Mercury and Diana, while others interpret them as auxiliaries. The top register celebrates the civilized
peace brought by the Augustan order, achieved through this military conquest. On the
upper left side,
Tiberius, wearing a toga and a laurel wreath and carrying a scepter, steps down from a chariot driven by Victory, while another man in military garb, probably his nephew and adopted son Germanicus, stands next to a horse. On the
upper right side, the
goddess Roma and Augustus sit together on a throne, their feet resting on shields. On the far right, Oikoumene, the personification of the inhabited world, holds an oak leaf crown (corona civica, awarded for saving the lives of Roman citizens) over the head of Augustus; in front of her are a bearded male symbolizing Ocean and a seated female with cornucopia and 2 infants, symbolizing Earth. Altough the pose of Augustus, with bare torso, scepter, and eagle, suggests that of Olympian Jupiter, he holds in his right hand an
augural wand (lituus), indicating that he is presented as a mortal communicating with the divine, not a god.
Between Roma and Augustus is Capricorn, adopted by Augustus as an important astrological sign for his rule. The gold frame dates from the seventeenth century.
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2006
Keywords: Augustan symbolism; gem cutting
Roman sardonyx cameo (known as the Gemma Claudia), c. 49 CE
smaller version.
This five-layered cameo, approximately 4.75 by 6 inches, was possibly created to commemorate the emperor Claudius's marriage to his niece Agrippina the Younger in January 49 CE. The cameo features facing portraits of two conjoined couples, arising from two pairs of cornucopias joined at the base atop piles of weapons. Jupiter's eagle stands upon the joined cornucopias and looks up at the couple on the left,
Claudius and Agrippina the Younger. Claudius wears an oak leaf crown (corona civica) and the aegis with the head of Medusa, associating him with Jupiter. Agrippina wears a mural crown topped with grain and a poppy, associating her with Cybele/Magna Mater, Ceres, and Tyche. Facing the imperial couple are Agrippina's parents,
Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder (Germanicus was also the brother of Claudius). Germanicus wears a laurel leaf crown and military cloak (paludamentum), while Agrippina wears an Attic helmet topped with a laurel wreath. The two Agrippinas were direct descendants (granddaughter and great-granddaughter) of Augustus. The gold frame is not ancient.
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2006
Keywords: succession; imperial symbolism; gem cutting
Roman sardonyx cameo (known as the Grand Camée de France), first century CE
smaller version.
This large, low-relief cameo measures approximately 12.25 x 10 inches; although it may have been made during the reign of Tiberius, some scholars argue for a Claudian date (c. 49-51 CE). There are three distinct zones, and the interpretation of the figures depends on how the gem is dated (although all scholars agree on the identifications of Divus Augustus, Tiberius, and Livia). The bottom register celebrates Roman military victories over the northern and eastern barbarian tribes. On the
lower left side sit 4 defeated barbarians with two detailed shields, with a similar scene on the
lower right side. On the
bottom center sits a
woman tenderly cradling an infant in her arms. The top register represents the celestial sphere, with deceased heroes and the deified Augustus. On the
upper left side float a man in military dress and
Divus Augustus wearing a radiate crown and holding a scepter; below Augustus is a male in Persian dress holding a globe who has been interpreted as Alexander the Great, Aeneas, and Mithras. The
armored male on the left has been identified as Drusus Maior (son of Livia) or Drusus Minor (son of Tiberius). On the
upper right side, a young male wearing a laurel crown rides Pegasus while Cupid flies before the winged steed; this figure has been identified as Drusus Minor or Germanicus, son of Drusus Maior. The central register depicts members of the imperial family. The
central enthroned figures are the emperor Tiberius, wearing an oak leaf crown and holding a scepter in Jupiter-like pose, and his mother
Livia, who wears a stola and laurel leaves and holds
poppies and wheat in her right hand, associating her with the goddess Ceres. Beneath the throne sits a dejected man in eastern dress, representing the conquered provinces. On the
central left side, a man in military garb greets Tiberius, while a woman wearing laurel leaves gazes at him with her hand placed tenderly on his neck (the woman's hairstyle was recut in the third century CE). These
two figures have been identified as Germanicus, fresh from his triumph in 17 CE, and his wife Agrippina Maior (or his mother Antonia Minor). Those who think the gem is Tiberian interpret the
young boy in military garb on the far left as Germanicus' son Gaius (the future emperor Caligula), while those who see it as Claudian identify the boy as the future emperor Nero, son of Agrippina Minor and grandson of Germanicus. The seated woman holding a scroll behind the boy has been interpreted as Agrippina Maior or Livilla by the Tiberians, and as the personified goddess Providentia by the Claudians. On the
central left side, a
man in armor
holds his hand up toward Augustus, while a seated
woman in a stola also gazes upward. To the Tiberians, these are Drusus Minor and his wife Livilla; to the Claudians, they are the emperor Claudius and his wife Agrippina Maior. Under this latter interpretation, the cameo's message emphasizes the distinguished imperial ancestry of Claudius, Agrippina Minor, and Nero, paralleling Tiberius' adoption of Germanicus with Claudius' adoption of Nero. The frame is not ancient.
Paris, Cabinet des Médailles, Bibliothèque Nationale. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2009
Keywords: Augustan symbolism; gem cutting
terracotta lamp, Roman, first-second century CE
The museum label identifies this scene as the goddess Athena casting her vote for Orestes (as portrayed in the tragedy Eumenides by Aeschylus), but the figure on the left is clearly an older woman (see
detail) and scene a domestic one.
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2006
Keywords: Minerva
gold ring, Greek, fifth century BCE
The ring depicts a woman in deep mourning, in a pose characteristic of representations of Penelope or perhaps Venus mourning for Adonis.
Paris, Cabinet des Médailles, Bibliothèque Nationale. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2009
Keywords: jewelry
painted terracotta mold statuette, Greek, from Tanagra, late fourth century BCE
detail, head and upper torso.
The statuette depicts an elegantly dressed woman holding a fan; the remnants of paint show her red hair, blue eyes, and pink mantle.
Krakow, Gallery of Ancient Art (Czartoryski Museum, National Museum). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2011
Keywords: figurine
detail of marble statue of a woman, Roman, early first century CE
The right shoulder of this statue clearly shows the strap of her stola, the long sleeveless tunic worn by married women over their sleeved tunic; this detail also shows the buttons fastening the sleeves of her tunica.
Krakow, Gallery of Ancient Art (Czartoryski Museum, National Museum). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2011
Keywords: clothing
marble bust of a Roman woman, 90-100 CE
This bust was cut from a portrait statue of a priestess of Isis; her elaborate hairstyle, popular in the Flavian era, indicates that this was an upper-class woman. Over her tunic the woman wears the fringed mantle of Isis with its characteristic knot. The nose and part of the hair are modern restorations.
Krakow, Gallery of Ancient Art (Czartoryski Museum, National Museum). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2011
Keywords: clothing
marble bust of Vibia Sabina, 130-40 CE
side view.
This portrait of the empress Sabina, wife of Hadrian, may have adorned the gardens in ancient Rome called the Horti Vettiani north of the Esquiline Gate. The empress is depicted with a diadem and a simple hairstyle pulled back into a loose braid on her neck.
Rome, Palazzo dei Conservatori (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Nike of Samothrace monument, Hellenistic Greek sculpture, early second century BCE
detail: Winged Victory.
This large monument (over 18 feet high) depicts a winged Victory alighting on the prow of a ship to commemorate a naval victory; it was located in the sancturay of the Great Gods on the island of Samothrace in the Aegean Sea. The beautifully draped statue is sculpted of Parian marble, while the ship and base are of gray Rhodian marble.
Paris, Louvre Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2009
marble statue of Poppaea Sabina, Roman, first half of the first century BCE
detail: head and upper torso.
This statue was displayed in the Temple of Hera in the sanctuary of Olympia during the Roman period. Poppaea, the second wife of Nero, is depicted as a priestess.
Olympia, Greece: Archaeological Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: imperial family; honorific statues
funerary inscription for Threpte, end first century-beginning second century CE
This inscription from a funerary stele was set up by Eutyches, who identifies himself as the slave of Atilius Agricola, for Threpte, termed "the best and most faithful wife," although as a slave Eutyches could not legally marry. Threpte's single name (misspelled on the stone) indicates that she was also a slave. Their master may have been Quintus Glitius Atilius Agricola, a Roman senator and provincial governor who served as consul in 97 and again in 103 CE.
Krakow, Gallery of Ancient Art (Czartoryski Museum, National Museum). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2011
Keywords: slavery; class; marriage
gold ring with sard sealstone, Roman, first-second century CE
This ring depicts Hygeia, goddess of health, holding a libation bowl in one hand and a serpent in the other.
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2006
Keywords: jewelry; signet ring
gold ring with sard sealstone, Roman, first-second century CE
This ring depicts a physician conducting a medical examination. The seated doctor rests his hand on the abdomen of a youth standing before him, while Asclepius, god of healing, looks on, leaning on a staff with a serpent wreathed around it.
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2006
Keywords: jewelry; signet ring
gold ring with sard sealstone, Roman, first-second century CE
This ring depicts a water organ with one man playing it and two attendants working the pumps.
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2006
Keywords: jewelry; signet ring; music
gold ring with sard sealstone, Roman, first-second century CE
This ring depicts a dramatic mask of the god Dionysus wreathed with ivy.
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2006
Keywords: jewelry; signet ring
fresco of young woman holding tablet and stylus, from Pompeii Regio VI (insula occidentalis) Roman, c. 60 CE
The young woman (so-called "Sappho" but probably a portrait of a Roman woman from the city) holds her stylus contemplatively to her lips. She wears a
hairnet of delicately woven gold threads.
Naples, National Archaeological Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2009
Keywords: wall painting; writing
bronze applique of Demeter mourning, Greek (Ancona collection), c. 350 BCE
The goddess Demeter, veiled and sitting on the ground, holds her head in sorrow as she grieves for the loss of her daughter Persephone, carried off to the Underworld by Hades.
Berlin, Altes Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2005
Keywords: mythology; Ceres
marble cinerary urn, Roman, second century CE
The couple, Helius Afinianus and Sextia Psyche, are shown as
a married couple clasping right hands (dextrarum iunctio) over an altar between two doors with a pediment above them; he wears a toga and holds a scroll, which may represent his manumission, though he is identified in the
inscription as a public slave of the augurs.
Berlin, Pergamon Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2005
Keywords: freedpeople; wedding
marble cinerary urn, Roman, first century CE
Vitalis set up this monument for his wife Vernasia Cyclas, who lived 27 years. The couple are shown
clasping right hands (dextrarum iunctio) in front of a pedimented building resembling a temple; he wears a toga and she a stola and palla. In the
inscription, he identifies himself as an imperial freedman, scribe, and steward of the bedchamber. On the
sides are carved trees, and the
top has a wreath and 2 dolphins.
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2008
Keywords: freedpeople; wedding
marble statue of Aesculapius, Roman, second century CE, from the Quirinal Hill
Aesculapius was a Roman interpretation of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing and physicians.
Rome, Braccio Nuovo (Vatican Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: mythology; medicine
silver fork and spoon, Roman, third century CE;
smaller version.
This double eating implement has a fork at one end and a spoon at the other; in the center is a spotted panther, often associated with Bacchus.
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2011
silver spoon with a folding knife, Roman, third century CE;
smaller version.
This eating implement originally had an short iron knife blade that folded into a slot in the handle of the spoon.
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2011
Keywords: cutlery; food; dining
Go to Index, Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, Part XI, Part XII, Part XIII, Part XIV, Roman Coins: Republic and Principate, Roman Coins: Empire, Greek Coins, Coins from the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, Coins from the National Museum in Warsaw, Poland, Coins from the Hunterian Museum
revised January 2012
