History of Roman Sarcophagi - Essay Example

Roman Sarcophagi There have been increased question on the meaning of sarcophagus and its purpose. Many people have come up with different answers to this question hence leading to need of thorough research so as to answer this question. It is due to this fact that this document purposes to present the answers to these questions. According to Awan (2011), Sarcophagus is concocted from Greek words “sarx” which means flesh and “phagien” meaning to eat. Therefore, Sarcophagus means a flesh-eater. The culture of sarcophagi was not unique to the Romans; it was also practiced in Egypt. In both cultures, the art of sarcophagi was used for burial. In Roman, it was made from lead, stone or wood. Marble was used for lavish sarcophagus. The practice of sarcophagi was acquired by Romans in the second century from Etruscans and Greeks who had long been using it. This document has been split in different parts including history of roman sarcophagi, significance of various events, and artistic work on the sarcophagus so as to achieve the purpose of this document. History of Roman Sarcophagi A Roman sarcophagus was not developed until the commencement of the second century A.D. Sarcophagi was used in occasions of funeral. They were named according to the prominent figures deceased. Some of the renowned sarcophagi include the Adonis’s sarcophagus, Endymion’s sarcophagus, among others. Adonis’s sarcophagus was inspired by the Adonis’s tale. There are numerous literatures on the Adonis’s tale. According to UC E-Book Collection (2011), most of this briefing of the tale comprises the Ovid’s work of Metamorphoses. The tale is about the prohibited act of the father, King Cinyras, unknowingly slept with his daughter, Myrrha. Myrrha was obsessed with her father to the extent of tricking him into drunkenness and under cover of darkness, had him sleep with her. In need of knowing his partner, he lighted his bed to discover it was her blood daughter. Enraged with no other option, he chased her from the palace (UC E-Book Collection, 2011). She pleaded with gods to take her from both life and death. Her wish was granted and she transformed into a myrrh tree. The inevitable consequence of the illicit act, led to the birth of the son Adonis from this tree. It produced the goddess Aphrodite, adores Adonis and allowed him in heaven and made him her companion. Even Persephone- the other angle- succumbed to his charm and consequently was intervened by the Jupiter by invoking the law of annual cycle where the Adonis oscillated between upper and lower realms and each angle had a share of the chance. Aphrodite loved him more, cared for him and warned him about untamed jungle animals. The prince however took his chances and pursued hunting (UC E-Book Collection, 2011). He either died out of attack from a wild boar, as a result of failure to heed the Aphrodite’s warning, or as a consequence of punishment by other gods, Artemis and Ares. After his death, he transformed into a flower in the arms of Aphrodite. This fateful death of Adonis having taken place, Aphrodite went ahead to orchestrate an annual ritual, named Adonis, to mark the death of Adonis. This event is characterized by women expressing the bitter-sweet nature of love. The event was marked by purification, feasting, lamentations and planting of tender seedlings in a scorching heat of sun. The seedlings burnt out in a short while, symbolizing the short life of Adonis (Awan, 2011). They also marked the whole episode of Adonis mother transforming into a tree and the tree into flower- the transformed corpse of young Adonis. Nevertheless, the whole story does not constitute the Sarcophagi. Only certain aspects are represented by the sarcophagi. Therefore, what does not or what constitute the sarcophagi? The romance, the sympathy, the love, the sinful act and the metamorphoses do not or at least only make a tiny contribution to sarcophagi. The three main contributors to sarcophagi from the Adonis’s tale are his journey to the hunt- totally indifference to goddess warning, wounding by the boar and the event of death in the goddess arms. One of the Adonis’s sarcophagi dated 150-160 AD illustrates these scenes arranged from left to right in the same order as stated above. This arrangement maintains the sequence of events as they did happen. The significance of these events The departure This is the beginning of the events. Adonis and the goddess, Aphrodite, are shown with prominence given to the goddess to emphasize her caliber above Adonis’s. This emphasis is indicated by the height of her statue which towers above that of Adonis (Awan, 2011). There is so much to be interpreted from this first including the fact that Adonis is nude. This is however contradicted by other sarcophagi as follows: The boar hunt This is the second, the central and the prominent scene. It is enlarged and emphasized. It is tautologus to state that it agrees with the say that it portrays the Battle between the Soldiers and the Amazons. More importantly, this is one of the important pillars of the sarcophagus culture. It depicts demise of Adonis’ fate which can be taken literally to stand for the Amazons because the same fate faced them in the hands of Roman soldiers. Death in the arms of the goddess Aphrodite Several events are implied in this scene. For instance, love and affection is faced with departure and separation. Secondly, Adonis’s ungrateful nature confers his demise. Three Adonis’s inability to kill the boar shows his inadequacy. And lastly, Aphrodite’s inability to hold him despite her goddess nature shows a remarkable paradox. These events, compared to the events in the battle scene involving Roman soldiers and the Amazons are a complete antagonism. Why then would Roman warriors embrace this culture? The following questions are therefore answered below: who is behind this culture? What is the practical function of this practice on the culture of the Roman society? What is the symbolic meaning of this practice on the Roman people? As stated above, the Roman culture of sarcophagi was inspired by Etruscans and Greeks (Awan, 2011). Artistic work on the sarcophagus According to Awan (2011), most Roman sarcophagi were rectangular boxes with lid. They were placed in the tombs with only the visible sides decorated. Most of the decorations borrowed the Greek culture and literature. Common decoration themes assorted battle scenes such as Trojan wars, Achilles’ battle, the Amazon War, among others. It also consisted of hunting scenes, weddings, biography of the deceased and sometimes the profession of the deceased. The decorations used the Greek style of art heavily. The symbolic meaning of the Roman sarcophagi is believed divergently to mean either, Roman religious beliefs, notion of death and the belief of what life after death entails, or the idea about love life, involving men and gods, portraying them as ordinary beings without peculiarity (MFAH, 2011). The examples given are those of Endymion, Psyche and Eros tales which were tales of love between the men and goddesses. The latter offered immortality to the men. In the art work on the sarcophagi, these amnesties were interpreted to imply a happy life after death in heaven. Adonis’s tale could be interpreted to imply the consequence of failure to heed warning, bravery, among others. The Achilles represented bravery and virtue. The meanings of some of the artistic impressions on the sarcophagi are the Dionysiac scenes representing celebration and freedom from the troubles of life, the Gorgon faces presenting protection from evil, Seasons representing the nature’s cycle of death and rebirth or sequential stages of human life (MFAH, 2011). Nikai are embodiments of Victory, representing victory over death, but they could also represent the success of the deceased during his or her life. References Awan, S. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: Roman Sarcophagi. Web. Retrieved on November 6, 2011 MFAH. 100 Highlights of the MFAH. Web. Retrieved on November 6, 2011 UC E-Book Collection. Myths, Meaning and Memory of Roman Sarcophagi. Web. Retrieved on November 6, 2011 Read More