Go to Index, Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, Part XI, Part XII, Part XIII, Part XIV, Part XV, 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
bronze statuette of
oracular snake Glycon; detail
of head
side/back
view; detail of head;
front view
second century
CE; said to be from Athens
In the second century CE, Alexander of
Abonouteichos, living on the Black Sea, delivered oracles through a supposedly
miraculous snake with a human head; Lucian says he fitted a live snake with a
human-like mask with shaggy hair.
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts. Credits:
Barbara McManus, 2002
Keywords: superstition; oracle; prophecy
large marble statue of
Melpomene, muse of tragedy, holding mask
Roman copy; said to be from
scaenae frons at the theater in Pompeii
Paris, Louvre Museum.
Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords: drama, muse, mythology
wall painting—muse of
comedy and muse of tragedy; Roman, Pompeii, first century CE
Paris,
Louvre Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords: drama, muse,
mythology
marble statue of
Thalia, muse of comedy, holding mask; Roman
Leningrad, Hermitage
Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1988
Keywords: drama, muse, mythology
bronze statuette of Mars;
Roman, second century CE
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus,
1986
Keywords: war, military, mythology, god
silver gilt patera
with 3 graces in center and Mars scene on handle
detail of
handle—Mars and cupids descend to Rhea Silvia
Roman, second
century CE
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords: legend; foundation of Rome
relief of three
Romano-Celtic mother goddesses (matronae) with large headresses
holding baskets of fruit and bread
family of dedicator, Q. Vettius Severus,
in background; Rhein area, Roman
Bonn, Rheinisches Landesmuseum. Credits:
Barbara McManus, 1988
Keywords: multicultual, religion
terracotta antefix
depicting Medusa head from temple in southern sanctury at Veii;
Etruscan
Rome, Villa Giulia Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1979
Keywords: monster, mythology, Perseus
marble relief of Medusa
head from Greek temple in Syracuse
Syracuse, Museum. Credits: Barbara
McManus, 1982
Keywords: monster, mythology, Perseus
marble relief of
Medea and daughters of Pelias, Roman copy from a fifth-century BCE Athens altar
smaller version
Medea has tricked the
daughters into killing their father, believing that they can rejuvenate the aged King Pelias by boiling him in a cauldron with special potions added by Medea.
Berlin, Pergamon Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2005
Keywords: sorceress, witch, mythology
detail, red-figure
stamnos: Medea and daughters of Pelias with the ram (Medea rejuvenated ram
to make the daughters think she would do the same for their father); Greek, c.
470 BCE
Berlin, Pergamon Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1992
Keywords: sorceress, witch, mythology, vase painting
detail, red-figure
vase: Medea's serpent chariot and grieving Jason
Heraclea Museum.
Credits: Paula Chabot, 1982
Keywords: sorceress, witch, mythology, vase
painting
marble
sarcophagus of Medea story, Roman, mid-second century CE, found before the Porta San Lorenzo in Rome
The story depicted here is based on the tragedy by Euripides.
Medea's children bring gifts to Creon's daughter
(detail of nurse, children, Jason); note that Jason holds poppies in his hand.
Creon's daughter writhes in pain from the poisoned garment while Creon helplessly grieves and Jason looks on.
Medea debates whether to
kill her two sons.
Finally, Medea escapes in
a chariot pulled by serpents. The two side panels, carved in low relief, depict
Jason harnessing the bulls on Colchis, and
Jason standing beside a bearded man.
Berlin, Pergamon Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2005
Keywords: sorceress, witch, mythology
bronze statuette of
Mercury; Roman, first century CE
London, British Museum. Credits:
Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords: Hermes, god, mythology, figurine
bronze statuette of
Minerva holding owl; Roman
Paris, Louvre Museum. Credits: Barbara
McManus, 1999
Keywords: Athena, goddess, mythology, figurine
life-size marble statue
of Messalina carrying infant Britannicus: based on Greek original of
Eirene and Ploutos
found
near Rome; c. 45 CE
close-up of head and upper
body
Paris, Louvre Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords: Hermes, god, mythology, figurine
marble statue of Nero as
a child wearing bulla and toga, and holding scroll
Roman, c. 48-50
CE
Paris, Louvre Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords:
emperor, succession
graffito—caricature of
Nero signed by "Tullius Romanus, soldier"
found in the substructures of
the south front of the domus Tiberiana, the imperial residence on the
Palatine
Credits: Rodolfo Lanciani, The Ruins and Excavations of Ancient
Rome, 1897, fig. 55, p. 148
Keywords: graffiti, imperial palace,
military, emperor
graffito—victorious
gladiator carrying palm branch
Campani victoria una cum Nucerinis
peristis, "O Campani [inhabitants of a neighborhood--vicus--in
Pompeii], you perished together with the Nucerians in that victory," referring
to the riot in the amphitheater of Pompeii in 59 CE
Credits: Champfleury,
Histoire de las Caricature Antique, 1866
Keywords: arena, graffiti,
sports
romantic graffito:
Psyche within a heart; from Pompeii
Credits: Champfleury, Histoire de
las Caricature Antique, 1866
Keywords: graffiti
satiric graffito:
"Peregrinus" with Roman nose wearing crown of laurel leaves; from Pompeii
Credits: Champfleury, Histoire de las Caricature Antique, 1866
Keywords: graffiti
terracotta figurine of nurse
holding infant from Tanagra? Attic? 325-300 BCE
Paris, Louvre Museum.
Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords: family, children
detail, red-figure vase painting: Orestes pursues Clytemnestra with sword
The vase type is a nestoris by the so-called Amykos painter, 430-420 BCE, found in Metapontum. This is one of several pursuit scenes on the neck of the vase, but the traveler's hat (petasos) on the male and the poses of the women suggests that this is Orestes killing Clytemnestra; the younger woman on the left may be Electra.
Paris, Louvre Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords: Oresteia, mythology
detail, red-figure
krater: Apollo purifies Orestes with blood of a pig at Omphalos of Delphi
while Clytemnestra seeks to awaken sleeping furies
detail, Apollo and Orestes;
detail, Clytemnestra and
furies
attributed to Eumenides painter; Apulian, 380-370 BCE
Paris,
Louvre Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords: Oresteia,
mythology, vase painting
detail, sarcophagus
relief: fury looks at fainting Orestes, who is supported by Pylades
Roman, 130-140 CE
Munich, Glyptothek. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1988
Keywords: Oresteia, mythology
red-figure vase: birth
of Pandora from the earth
Brussels, Royal Museum of Art and History.
Credits: Barbara McManus, 1988
Keywords: Hesiod, goddess, mythology
painted terracotta
cinerary urn/sarcophagus with reclining man and relief of embattled
warriors
close-up of man
reclining on banquet couch
name of dead woman is Thana Ancarui Thelesa;
Etruscan, 150-100 BCE
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus,
1999
Keywords: burial, funerary, painting
detail of Portland
Vase—head of Paris
glass blown in two layers, blue inside white,
with outer layer carved in cameo technique
Roman, 27 BCE - 37 CE
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1986
Keywords: Trojan
War, Homer
silver figurine of one of
the Penates wearing mural crown and holding libation bowl and cornucopia;
Roman, third century CE
smaller version
part of a
hoard of silver statuettes and coins buried in Mâcon, France after 260
CE; may have come from a sanctuary
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara
McManus, 1999
Keywords: religion, Vergil, Aeneid, Aeneas, Trojan
War
Roman relief from the
tomb of a poet: muse holds out tragic mask
Credits: J.C. Stobart,
The Grandeur that Was Rome (2nd ed.), 1920, plate 42, fig. 2, facing p.
188
Keywords: drama, tragedy, playwright
Roman relief of poet,
masks, muse
Credits: Albert Kuhn, Roma, 1913, fig. 108, p.
97
Keywords: drama, tragedy, playwright
sardonyx cameo:
seated poet, woman, man playing aulos (double flute)
Roman, first
century BCE - first century CE
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara
McManus, 1999
Keywords: drama, playwright
bronze figurine of Roman
goddess Pomona holding fruits
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara
McManus, 1999
Keywords: Roman religion, mythology
small neolithic
figurine of seated female with incised body
Herakleion Museum
(Giamalkis Collection). Credits: Barbara McManus, 1980
Keywords: fertility
goddess, primordial, prehistoric
small marble neolithic
figurine of steatopygous goddess (side view); 3500-3200 BCE
New York,
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1980
Keywords:
fertility goddess, primordial, prehistoric
prehistoric bronze
burial urn in shape of a female; 2600-2000 BCE
Budapest, National
Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1992
Keywords: fertility goddess,
primordial
sword and
commemorative scabbard made for a senior Roman officer; so-called "Sword of
Tiberius"; from Mainz
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus,
2006
Keywords: imperial politics, imperial symbolism
detail of relief at top of
scabbard of "Sword of Tiberius"
smaller version.
The relief shows Tiberius ceding military victory in the
Alpine campaign of 16/15 BCE to Augustus. Augustus is seated on a throne in
the pose of Jupiter; his shield says FELICITAS TIBERI; Tiberius hands him a Victory
statuette while Mars Ultor and a Winged Victory.
London, British Museum.
Credits: Barbara McManus, 20a0
Keywords: imperial politics, imperial
symbolism
detail of relief at
bottom of scabbard of "Sword of Tiberius"
London, British Museum.
Credits: Barbara McManus, 2001
Keywords: imperial politics, imperial
symbolism
interior of portico
with columns of Getty museum; modern, but modelled on Villa dei Papyri in
Herculaneum
Santa Monica, Getty Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1989
Keywords: house, architecture
interior of white-ground
kylix depicting priestess with libation bowl before altar; Greek
New
York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords:
religion, ritual, vase painting
reconstruction of
simple room based on Roman houses excavated on Newgate Street in London
furniture, food, and room are replicas but artefacts on table are
ancient—tablets and stylus, dishes, board game of tabula
London, Museum of London. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords:
apartment, insula, lower classes
painting of Jupiter
and Semele by Peter Paul Rubens
Brussels, Belgian Royal Museum of Fine
Arts. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1988
Keywords: Dionysus, Bacchus, Zeus,
mythology
drawing of writing
implements based on Pompeian wall painting
inkstand, pen, papyrus
scroll, wax tablets, stylus
Credits: Hermann Bender, Rom und
Römisches Leben im Altertum, 2nd ed. 1893, p. 348
Keywords:
literature, library, bibliotheca
drawing of man reading a
scroll seated before a scrinium; based on Roman sarcophagus
relief
Credits: Rodolfo Lanciani, Ancient Rome in the Light of Recent
Discoveries, 1888, p. 181
Keywords: literature, library,
bibliotheca
drawing of writing
implements based on Roman sarcophagus relief
inkstand, cylindrcal
scroll case, capsa with scrolls, was tablets
Credits: Rodolfo Lanciani,
Ancient Rome in the Light of Recent Discoveries, 1888, p. 181
Keywords: literature, library, bibliotheca
gold seal ring from
Tiryns Treasure
procession of lion-headed genii bringing libation jugs
toward seated female deity raising chalice; Mycenaean
Athens, National
Archaeological Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1998
Keywords: goddess,
animal, lion, ritual, Mycenae
mosaic of slaves
serving at a banquet Roman, from Carthage; third century CE
Paris,
Louvre Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords: slave
street outside large
apartment building
Ostia, Via di Diana. Credits: Barbara McManus,
1982
Keywords: insula; street
street in Pompeii
with house facades
Pompeii. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1979
Keywords: housing; street
2 bronze strigils and
an oil flask on a chain for ease of carrying in the baths; Roman,
first-second century CE
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus,
1999
Keywords: bathing, hygiene, athletics, athlete
bronze strongbox with
lock, said to be from Tarentum; Roman, first-second century CE
London,
British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords: security, key
head of large terracotta
statue of woman possibly a Muse—side view; from Porta Latina in Rome;
50-100 CE
smaller version with
transparent background (gif)
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara
McManus, 1999
terracotta plaque with
relief of Theseus with mother Aethra, lifting rock to discover sandal and
sword left by his father
from Cerveteri; Roman, first century BCE - first
century CE
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords: mythology, hero
red-figure kylix
showing deeds of Theseus; Attic, 440-430 BCE
London, British Museum.
Credits: Barbara McManus, 1986
Keywords: mythology, hero
large mosaic of Mithras in
the Zodiac between tree with green leaves and leafless tree
detail, reclining Tellus
(earth mother) with the four seasons as her children
from Roman villain
Sentinum, 200-250 CE
Munich, Glyptothek. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1988
Keywords: mythology, religious symbolism
painting "Rinaldo Abandons
Armida" by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo; 18th century
detail, grieving woman
similar to Aeneas abandoning Dido, but actually a scene from another epic,
Jerusalem Delivered, by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso
Florence,
Uffizi Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1990
Keywords: Vergil,
Aeneid
jug in the form of a
female with nipples and eyes
from Akrotiri, on island of Thera; 16th
century BCE
Athens, National Archaeological Museum. Credits: Barbara
McManus, 1980
Keywords: goddess, Minoan
marble bust of Titus;
Roman, first century CE
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus,
1999
Keywords: emperor, Flavian
marble bust of
Vespasian; Roman, first century CE
London, British Museum. Credits:
Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords: emperor, Flavian
marble bust of Trajan;
Roman, first century CE
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus,
1999
Keywords: emperor
gold bulla depicting
Medusa, Etruscan, 475-25 BCE
Medusa is shown immediately after
decapitation; two winged horses are springing from her neck.
London,
British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2001
Keywords: jewelry; Perseus;
Pegasus
reconstruction
drawing of Baths of Trajan by G. Marcelliani
Credits: Albert Kuhn,
Roma, 1913, plate facing p. 72
Keywords: bathing, city of Rome
artist's drawing of
Roman family bringing gifts to a tomb by G. Marcelliani
Credits: Albert
Kuhn, Roma, 1913, fig. 152, p. 142
Keywords: burial, funerary
rituals
toy chariot horses for
biga (chariot missing); made of lead
Roman, from Smyrna; first
century CE
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords: children, toys, family
toy camel carrying
pack; made of lead
Roman, said to be from Egypt; first century CE
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords: children,
toys, family
painting, "Filling the
Public Treasury" by Scuiti
Credits: Albert Kuhn, Roma, 1913,
fig. 14, p. 21
Keywords: burial, funerary rituals
silver figurine of the
protective goddess Tutela wearing headdress decorated with deities
representing the days of the week and holding a cornucopia with heads of Luna
and Sol; Roman, third century CE
close-up of top of
statuette (Saturn, Sol, Luna, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus on
headdress)
part of a hoard of silver statuettes and coins buried in
Mâcon, France after 260 CE; may have come from a sanctuary
London,
British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords: religion
painting, "Venus of
Urbino" by Titian; 16th century
Florence, Uffizi Museum. Credits:
Barbara McManus, 1990
Keywords: Aphrodite, goddess
painting, "Venus and
Cupid" by Hendrick Van der Broeck; 16th century
Capodimonte Museum.
Credits: Barbara McManus, 1979
Keywords: Aphrodite, goddess
bronze statuette of Venus adjusting her sandal with gold ornaments; Roman, from Egypt
slightly larger version with black background
Paris, Louvre Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords: Aphrodite, goddess
marble statue of
Venus with dolphin. so-called Mazarin Venus
second-century CE copy of
Hellenistic original (parts restored in Renaissance)
Santa Monica, Getty
Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1991
Keywords: Aphrodite, goddess
marble statue of
Venus from Melos so-called Venus de Milo
Greek; second-first century
BCE
upper torso;
side view;
side view;
side view;
back view
Paris,
Louvre Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords: Aphrodite,
goddess
bronze statuette of
Vulcan, wearing dress of craftsman, conical hat and exomis (1
shoulder short tunic)
smaller
version with transparent background (gif)
Roman, first-second century
CE
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1999
Keywords:
mythology, Hephaestus, workman, artisan
detail of Mycenaean
silver cup—tiny bronze and niello head of bearded warrior
Athens,
National Archaeological Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1980
detail, red-figure calyx
krater (Euphronios vase): young warriors arming for battle; Attic, c. 515
BCE
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Credits: Barbara McManus,
1982
Keywords: mythology, hero
plaster female
head—so-called "Clytemnestra," probably from a sphinx
different view; Mycenaean,
13th century BCE
Athens, National Archaeological Museum. Credits: Barbara
McManus, 1980; 2002
fresco fragment
depicting Mycenaean woman; late 13th century BCE
Athens, National
Archaeological Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1980
terracotta sphinx
head from archaic temple of Artemis Laphria in Calydon; c. 630 BCE
Athens, National Archaeological Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1998
detail, black-figure
woman's head on neck of archaic Cycladic vase
end seventh century -
beginning sixth century BCE
Mykonos, Archaeological Museum. Credits:
Barbara McManus, 1998
wall painting—two
women feeding a pet deer; Roman, from Pompeii, first century CE
smaller version;
detail: deer.
Paris, Louvre Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2005
harbor relief—man
in armor plus Neptune and winds; Roman
detail—Neptune;
detail—man
Ostia. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1982
Keywords: mythology
mosaic of fisherman in
boat; Roman
Forum baths, Ostia. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1982
Keywords: fishing
horrea
Epagathiana—Roman granary
Ostia. Credits: Barbara McManus,
1982
Keywords: warehouse, storehouse, commerce
Roman street
Ostia. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1982
Keywords: road
piscina with niches
to shade fish—Roman fishpond
Ostia. Credits: Barbara McManus,
1982
Keywords: garden
torso of Venus in
natural setting
Ostia. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1982
Keywords:
garden
field with olive
trees near Hadrian's villa
Tivoli. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1970
Keywords: garden
view of rooms
through doorway
Hadrian's villa, Tivoli. Credits: Barbara McManus,
1970
view of
colonnade
Hadrian's villa, Tivoli. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1970
view of
Capitolium across ruins of city; Temple of Jupiter
Dougga, Tunis,
northern Africa. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1982
Keywords: religion,
province, Roman Africa
Capitolium—front; Temple of Jupiter
Capitolium—side showing pronaos
Dougga, Tunis, northern Africa.
Credits: Barbara McManus, 1982
Keywords: religion, province, Roman
Africa
House of
Trifolium—peristyle looking down from second story
Dougga, Tunis,
northern Africa. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1982
Keywords: domus, province,
Roman Africa
Colosseum—wide view of
exterior arches
Colosseum—view of
concentric corridors
Rome. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1979
Keywords:
arena, sport, amphitheater, gladiatorial
Colosseum—view
of interior through external arch
Rome. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1979
Keywords: arena, sport, amphitheater, gladiatorial; vomitorium
bronze equestrian
statue of Marcus Aurelius; original statue in situ on Capitoline
before it was replaced with replica
Capitoline, Rome. Credits: Barbara
McManus, 1970
Keywords: emperor
Pantheon; exterior
with obelisk
Rome. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1982
Keywords: Agrippa,
temple, dome
Tabularium, with
columns from Temple of Vespasian and Temple of Saturn
Forum, Rome. Credits:
Barbara McManus, 1970
Keywords: public records office
inscription to
Lucius Caesar as consul designate
Forum, Rome. Credits: Barbara
McManus, 1982
Keywords: Augustan succession, stone carving
cryptoporticus;
nderground passage leading from imperial palace of Caligula to Area Palatina;
the murder of Caligula occurred in this passage;
alternate view
Palatine, Rome. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1979
Keywords: assassination,
emperor
Domus Flavia
(Palace of Domitian)
impluvium of peristyle in form of octagonal maze with
fountain in center, covered with slabs of marble with mirror-like surface
Palatine, Rome. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1979
Keywords: emperor
bronze bust of Roman
man dating from Etruscan era
so-called Lucius Junius Brutus; inlaid
eyes are preserved
Conservatori museum, Rome. Credits: Barbara McManus,
1979
Keywords: Roman legends
sarcophagus of
male child with relief of Prometheus story;
Roman, third century CE
Rome, Capitoline Museums (Palazzo Nuovo). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: funerary,
mythology
detail—Prometheus
sarcophagus
left side—Terra
holding cornucopia, Oceanus, Apollo/Helios in chariot, Cupid and Psyche
center—Prometheus fashions man like a sculptor; Minerva adds the soul (bee with butterfly wings)
right side
Roman, third century CE
Rome, Capitoline Museums (Palazzo Nuovo). Credits: Barbara McManus,
2007
Keywords: mythology
relief depicting
goddess Roma with bearded male representing Senate welcoming emperor
Domitian; cast
Museum of Roman Civilization, EUR, Rome. Credits: Barbara
McManus, 1982
statue of Augustus as Imperator; Roman, c. 15 CE
another view;
detail of face and upper torso
This 7 ft. marble statue was found at Livia's villa at Prima Porta and was commissioned by Tiberius to celebrate the Roman victory over the Parthians in 20 CE.
Augustus is shown as a general addressing his troops; the portrait is youthful and idealized yet still recognizable.
Rome, Vatican Museum (Braccio Nuovo). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007.
Keywords: emperor, propaganda, military
relief from the breastplate of the Prima Porta statue of Augustus; Roman, c. 15 CE
larger version;
close-up of central scene;
detail, reclining goddess with
cornucopia and two infants.
As deities above and below signify their approval, a Parthian surrenders the captured legionary eagle to a Roman soldier.
Rome, Vatican Museum (Braccio Nuovo). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007.
Keywords: emperor, propaganda, military
courtyard fountain
with columns
Terme Diocletian, Museo Nazionale, Rome. Credits: Barbara
McManus, 1979
Keywords: garden
discobolos; Roman
copy of statue of discus-thrower by Myron
Terme Diocletian, Museo
Nazionale, Rome. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1979
Keywords: sculpture,
discobolus
gladiatorial
relief; secutor vanquishes retiarius
Terme Diocletian, Museo Nazionale,
Rome. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1979
Keywords: gladiator, combat, sport
gladiatorial
relief; secutor stands next to retiarius
Terme Diocletian, Museo
Nazionale, Rome. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1982
Keywords: gladiator,
combat, sport
gladiatorial
relief; secutor stands next to retiarius
Terme Diocletian, Museo
Nazionale, Rome. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1982
Keywords: gladiator,
combat, sport
Roman black-and-white
mosaic; two men sacrificing (?)
Terme Diocletian, Museo Nazionale,
Rome. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1982
Keywords: gladiator, combat, sport
Roman black-and-white
mosaic; two men sacrificing (?)
Terme Diocletian, Museo Nazionale,
Rome. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1982
Keywords: religion
Roman mosaic; cat
with quail and two ducks
from house at Cecchignola dating from Republican
era
detail—cat
Terme Diocletian, Museo Nazionale, Rome. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1979
Keywords: pet, food, animal, bird
stucco decoration
from Villa Farnesina; villa, columns, two women
detail—left
side (villa)
detail—center
(two women)
Terme Diocletian, Museo Nazionale, Rome. Credits: Barbara
McManus, 1982
Keywords: domus, decoration
wall painting from
Villa Farnesina, cubiculum B
detail—Aphrodite on
throne with Cupid and a Grace
Terme Diocletian, Museo Nazionale, Rome.
Credits: Barbara McManus, 1979
Keywords: domus, decoration
reconstruction
drawing of the west end of the Roman Forum (color added, adapted)
drawing with monuments
labelled
Credits: Ch. Huelsen, Das Forum Romanum: Rekonstruktion
nach Angaben und mit Erläuterungen, no pagination, 1892.
Keywords:
Forum Romanum; city of Rome
reconstruction drawing
of the Temple of Concord in the Roman Forum (color added, adapted)
Credits: Ch. Huelsen, Das Forum Romanum: Rekonstruktion nach Angaben und mit
Erläuterungen, no pagination, 1892.
Keywords: Forum Romanum; city
of Rome; religion
reconstruction
drawing of the east end of the Roman Forum (color added)
drawing with monuments
labelled
Credits: Ch. Huelsen, Das Forum Romanum: Rekonstruktion
nach Angaben und mit Erläuterungen, no pagination, 1892.
Keywords:
Forum Romanum; city of Rome
reconstruction drawing
of Roman tombs along the Via Appia by A. Schill
Credits: Hermann
Bender, Rom und Römisches Leben im Altertum. (2nd ed.), facing p.
298, 1893
Keywords: city of Rome; road; funeral
reconstruction drawing
of the Temple of Venus and Rome by P. Lauser
Credits: Hermann Bender,
Rom und Römisches Leben im Altertum. (2nd ed.), facing p. 406,
1893
Keywords: city of Rome; religion
drawing of Temple
of Venus and Rome on coin of Antoninus Pius
Credits: Ch. Huelsen,
The Roman Forum: Its History and Its Monuments, trans. J.B. Carter (2nd
ed.), fig. 145, p. 244, 1909
Keywords: city of Rome; religion
reconstruction
drawing of Tiber Island with Temple of Aesclepius by Canina
Credits:
Hermann Bender, Rom und Römisches Leben im Altertum. (2nd ed.), p.
78, 1893
Keywords: city of Rome; religion
reconstruction drawing
of men's warm room/dressing room in the Forum Baths of Pompeii by Fratelli
Niccolini
Credits: Hermann Bender, Rom und Römisches Leben im
Altertum. (2nd ed.), p. 303, 1893
Keywords: tepidarium, bathing,
leisure
reconstruction
drawing of the Regia in the Roman Forum
Credits: S.B. Platner, The
Topography and Monuments of Ancient Rome (2nd ed.), fig. 39, p. 213,
1911
Keywords: Forum Romanum; city of Rome; religion
reconstruction drawing
of the Temple of Castor in the Roman Forum
Credits: Adapted from S.B. Platner,
The Topography and Monuments of Ancient Rome (2nd ed.), fig. 26, p. 182,
1911
Keywords: Forum Romanum; city of Rome; religion
reconstruction drawing
of the side of the Temple of Castor in the Roman Forum
Credits: Ch.
Huelsen, The Roman Forum: Its History and Its Monuments, trans. J.B.
Carter (2nd ed.), fig. 90, p. 162, 1909
Keywords: Forum Romanum; city of
Rome; religion
drawing of coin
showing Castor and Pollux watering their horses at the Pool of
Juturna
from coin of Postumius Albinus, referring to the miraculous
appearance of the Dioscuri in the Forum to announce the Roman victory over the
Tarquins and the Latins at Lake Regillus in 496 BCE.
Credits: Ch. Huelsen,
The Roman Forum: Its History and Its Monuments, trans. J.B. Carter (2nd
ed.), fig. 89, p. 161, 1909
Keywords: Forum Romanum; city of Rome; Lacus
Juturnae
reconstruction
drawing of the Atrium of Vesta in the Roman Forum
Credits: Ch.
Huelsen, The Roman Forum: Its History and Its Monuments, trans. J.B.
Carter (2nd ed.), fig. 123, p. 207, 1909
Keywords: Forum Romanum; city of
Rome; religion; Vestal Virgins
plan of the Atrium
of Vesta in the Roman Forum
Credits: Ch. Huelsen, The Roman Forum:
Its History and Its Monuments, trans. J.B. Carter (2nd ed.), fig. 125, p.
213, 1909
Keywords: Forum Romanum; city of Rome; religion; Vestal
Virgins
reconstruction
drawing of the Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum
Credits: Ch.
Huelsen, The Roman Forum: Its History and Its Monuments, trans. J.B.
Carter (2nd ed.), fig. 120, p. 202, 1909
Keywords: Forum Romanum; city of
Rome; religion; Vestal Virgins
ground-plan of the
Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum (slightly altered)
Credits: Ch.
Huelsen, The Roman Forum: Its History and Its Monuments, trans. J.B.
Carter (2nd ed.), fig. 118 p. 200, 1909
Keywords: Forum Romanum; city of
Rome; religion; Vestal Virgins
plan of the
Basilica Aemilia in the Roman Forum
Credits: Ch. Huelsen, The Roman
Forum: Its History and Its Monuments, trans. J.B. Carter (2nd ed.), fig.
64, p. 131, 1909
Keywords: Forum Romanum; city of Rome; law courts
reconstruction
drawing of the facade of the Basilica Aemilia in the Roman Forum
Credits: Ch. Huelsen, The Roman Forum: Its History and Its Monuments,
trans. J.B. Carter (2nd ed.), fig. 65, p. 132, 1909
Keywords: Forum
Romanum; city of Rome; law courts
drawing of the
Basilica Aemilia on a 61 BCE coin of the triumvir Lepidus
Credits: Ch.
Huelsen, The Roman Forum: Its History and Its Monuments, trans. J.B.
Carter (2nd ed.), fig. 62, p. 128, 1909
Keywords: Forum Romanum; city of
Rome; law courts
reconstruction
drawing of the facade of the Basilica Julia in the Roman Forum
Credits: Ch. Huelsen, The Roman Forum: Its History and Its Monuments,
trans. J.B. Carter (2nd ed.), fig. 19, p. 63, 1909
Keywords: Forum Romanum;
city of Rome; law courts
cut-away
reconstruction drawing of the interior of the Basilica Julia in the Roman
Forum
Credits: Ch. Huelsen, The Roman Forum: Its History and Its
Monuments, trans. J.B. Carter (2nd ed.), fig. 22, p. 67, 1909
Keywords:
Forum Romanum; city of Rome; law courts
reconstruction
drawing of the side of the Rostra showing ships' beaks in the Roman Forum
Credits: Ch. Huelsen, The Roman Forum: Its History and Its
Monuments, trans. J.B. Carter (2nd ed.), fig. 26, p. 73, 1909
Keywords:
Forum Romanum; city of Rome; oratory
drawing of coin showing
Augustus and Agrippa seated on the Rostra
from coin of Gaius Sulpicius
Platorinus, c. 18 BCE
Credits: Ch. Huelsen, The Roman Forum: Its History
and Its Monuments, trans. J.B. Carter (2nd ed.), fig. 31, p. 77, 1909
Keywords: Forum Romanum; city of Rome; oratory
reconstruction
drawing of the Temple of the Deified Vespasian in the Roman Forum, with
Tabularium behind
Credits: Ch. Huelsen, The Roman Forum: Its History
and Its Monuments, trans. J.B. Carter (2nd ed.), fig. 39, p. 92, 1909
Keywords: Forum Romanum; city of Rome; religion
reconstruction
drawing of the facade of the Curia Julia in the Roman Forum
Credits:
Ch. Huelsen, The Roman Forum: Its History and Its Monuments, trans. J.B.
Carter (2nd ed.), fig. 56, p. 119, 1909
Keywords: Forum Romanum; city of
Rome; law courts
reconstruction drawing
of the Temple of the Deified Julius Caesar showing rostra in the Roman
Forum
Credits: Ch. Huelsen, The Roman Forum: Its History and Its
Monuments, trans. J.B. Carter (2nd ed.), fig. 86, p. 158, 1909
Keywords: Forum Romanum; city of Rome; religion
drawing of coin
showing Hadrian addressing populace from Temple of the Deified Julius
Caesar
from coin of Hadrian
Credits: Ch. Huelsen, The Roman
Forum: Its History and Its Monuments, trans. J.B. Carter (2nd ed.), fig.
84, p. 156, 1909
Keywords: Forum Romanum; city of Rome; oratory
drawing of Temple
of Faustina on coin of Antoninus Pius dedicated to his deified wife
Faustina
Credits: Ch. Huelsen, The Roman Forum: Its History and Its
Monuments, trans. J.B. Carter (2nd ed.), fig. 126, p. 220, 1909
Keywords: Forum Romanum; city of Rome; religion
drawing of the relief from
the tomb of the Haterii (early second century CE) representing the
monuments on the Sacra Via from the Palatine to the Colosseum
Credits: Ch.
Huelsen, The Roman Forum: Its History and Its Monuments, trans. J.B.
Carter (2nd ed.), fig. 150, p. 249, 1909
Keywords: city of Rome;
religion
marble funerary tablet erected by Septimia Dionisias (Dionysias), from Rome, third century CE;
smaller version.
In this semiliterate inscription (there are a number of misspellings and grammatical errors), the freedwoman Septimia Dionisias states that she has erected a tomb out of her own savings (de frugalitate mea) for herself, her husband (Titus, an imperial freedman), two of her children (Septimius Venerius and Septimia Efesia), and her own freedmen and women plus their descendants. Since the two named children bear her nomen, they were freeborn but not in a legitimate Roman marriage (probably born before their father was freed). She proudly states that she has been granted the ius liberorum (freedom from guardianship because she has borne 4 children) and threatens a substantial fine (50,000 denarii) for anyone descrating the tomb.
Rome, Palazzo Nuovo (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010.
Keywords: tomb; freedpeople
marble funerary tablet erected by Claudia Helpis, from Rome, second century CE;
In this inscription, found on the Via Appia in Rome, the freedwoman Claudia Helpis commemorates her "dearest home-bred slave" (carissima verna), named Veneria, who lived 10 years, 5 months, and 25 days.
Rome, Palazzo Nuovo (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010.
Keywords: tomb; freedpeople
marble funerary tablet for Bassa Manlia Secunda, from Rome, second century CE;
smaller version.
As indicated by the inscription, this funerary tablet, found on the Via Appia in Rome, was erected by the freedman Titus Aurelius Stephanus for his "sweetest daughter," Bassa Manlia Secunda, who lived 2 years, 10 months, and 7 days. He also mentions his wife, Secunda, and his other children and relatives.
Rome, Palazzo Nuovo (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010.
Keywords: tomb; freedpeople
marble funerary tablet for Claudia Tyche, from Rome, c. 50-100 CE;
smaller version.
As indicated by the inscription, found on the Via Appia, Chrysaon, an imperial slave whose position had to do with the food supply for the ministratores, attendants who served the imperial tables, dedicated this funerary tablet to Claudia Tyche (probably a freedwoman of Claudius or Nero), whom he calls his "most excellent wife" (coniugi optimae) even though slaves could not legally marry.
Rome, Palazzo Nuovo (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010.
Keywords: tomb; freedpeople
Luna marble funerary tablet for Dorcas, from Rome, c. 14-42 CE;
smaller version.
With relief carving in the form of a shrine with Corinthian pilasters supporting a pediment, this tablet is dedicated to the juno (female tutelary spirit, comparable to the male genius), of the hairdresser Dorcas, freedwoman of Livia (Julia Augusta), formerly a home-bred slave born in the household of Tiberius on Capri. Her husband and fellow freedman (conlibertus) Lycastus, an imperial polling clerk (rogator), built the monument for his "dearest wife" and himself.
Rome, Palazzo Nuovo (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010.
Keywords: tomb; freedpeople
marble funerary tablet erected by Quintus Cornelius Philomusus, from Rome, c. 1 50 CE;
smaller version.
This plain tablet states that Philomusus, a freedman of Quintus Cornelius and a seller of mantles (sagarius) in the vicinity of the Theater of Marcellus, set up a monument for "himself and his own": Cornelia Daphne, freed by the same master; Cornelia Nymphe, his sister and also freed by the same master. During his lifetime, he placed in this tomb Cornelia Procula, his 7-year-old daughter; Cornelia Helpis, a fellow freedwoman; Callityche, his mother (who may have died a slave because she has only the one name); and Gaius Pinarius Gemellus (since Pinarius is a respectable Latin nomen, he may have been a slave named Gemellus, "twin," who was freed by a Gaius Pinarius).
Rome, Palazzo Nuovo (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010.
Keywords: tomb; freedpeople
marble funerary tablet erected by Trebonia Laudice, from Rome, c. 1-50 CE;
smaller version.
Trebonia Laudice set up a tomb for Dexter ("right-hand-man," misspelled with an "s" according to the way it was pronounced), an imperial slave in charge of the rooms of the emperor's household (dietarchus domus Augustae), whom she calls her husband (coniunx) despite the fact that slaves could not legally marry. She also mentions their two daughters, Fortunata and Felice. Her own name suggests that she was a freedwoman, so if the daughters had been born after she was freed but while Dexter was a slave, they would be freeborn but illegitimate.
Rome, Palazzo Nuovo (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010.
Keywords: tomb; freedpeople
marble cinerary altar with lid, from Rome, mid-first century CE
According to the
inscription,
this small, well-carved altar was set up by Nedimus and Sintyche for the ashes of their "incomparable and sweet" son Vicanus, who lived 1 year, 6 months, and 18 days. A funerary
cippus has also been found in
Rome with the same inscription (albeit with fewer abbreviations). On the lid, two birds peck at an overturned
basket of flowers. The base has a Corinthian column on each side with spiral fluting, on which two Cupids
(recalling Vicanus by looking very much like
typical toddlers) stand holding a garland that drapes over the inscription.
Below the inscription stands a tripod flanked by griffins. On the
right side, a garland
hangs below a ritual jug (urceus) while two birds peck at the ground; there is a Corinthian pilaster at the side. The left side is identical except for a libation bowl (patera) instead of the jug. Since
no nomina appear in the inscription, father, mother, and son may very well all be slaves, though the
altar must have been very expensive (the cippus is much plainer).
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012.
Keywords: tomb; funerary; family
marble funerary relief with portraits of two women, from Rome, c. 20 BCE - 20 CE;
smaller version.
Within a niche whose left side is slightly broken off are the evocative busts of two middle-aged women,
unusally shown with gentle smiles on their faces; each is veiled, with her right hand emerging from her
palla in the pudicitia pose. Their hairsrtyles are Augustan, particularly the woman on the
right, who has adopted the
nodus hairstyle of Livia. The
inscription on the left reads CALPVRNIA SALVIA / [F]VRIVS NICEPO[r hic es]T SITVS, indicating that Salvia had been freed by a member of the Calpurnius gens; the freedman (Furius Nicephor) buried in the tomb was probably her husband. The
inscripton on the right reads CALPVRNIA HILARA / SIBI ET PATRON[ae] POSVIT EMAGENES [=imagines], indicating that Salvia had freed Hilara, who then in gratitude commissioned the tomb for herself and her patron Salvia. The unusual phrase posuit imagines ("she set up images") emphasizes the portraits, whose strong family resemblance suggests that the two women were sisters born in slavery and that Salvia purchased Hilara sometime after she herself had been freed and then manumitted Hilara.
Krakow, Gallery of Ancient Art (Czartoryski Museum, National Museum). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2011.
Keywords: tomb; freedpeople; family
marble statue of Julia Domna as the goddess Ceres, Roman, early third century CE;
smaller version.
Julia Domna, the wife of Septimius Severus and mother of Caracalla, is easilyg recognizable because of her
characteristic hairstyle. She is depicted draped in the dress of the Roman matron, with her palla
pulled over her head. In her left hand she holds
two ears of grain and two pomegranates, symbols of Ceres, Goddess of agricultural fertility and abundance.
Ostia, Museo Archeologico Ostiense. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007.
Keywords: empress; Demeter
Animated Images:
Go to Index, Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, Part XI, Part XII, Part XIII, Part XIV, Part XV, 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 June, 2012
