Why was Greek Mythology such an important theme on Roman Sarcophagi.

From the second to fourth centuries AD, burial was a popular method Romans disposed of their
dead. Many of these burials involved stone sarcophagi, some of which were carved with extremely
ornate designs as per the customer’s request, a very expensive service. This carving usually depicted
scenes from Greek mythology. Sometimes these scenes would be slightly altered, replacing
mythological figures’ faces with those of the deceased. This essay explains why Greek mythology was
such a prominent theme on Roman sarcophagi. I argue that it provided a unique and culturally
powerful language through which the deceased and living could emphasise messages.

Up until the second century AD, cremation was the main way the Romans disposed of their dead.
Sarcophagi began to appear throughout this century, a time also known as the ‘Second Sophistic’.
The Second Sophistic refers to the second and third centuries AD, when Greek culture was
particularly prominent in the Roman literature and rhetoric we have available to us. It was a period
of nostalgia for the past traditions of the Greeks, who had now become completely assimilated
within the empire both in land and society; by this time some Greeks were senators and consuls.
Therefore, the appearance of Greek mythological scenes and figures on sarcophagi has been judged
to be a reaction to this revival. However, this explanation fails to appreciate the power of Greek
mythology as the most erudite and emphatic language among the Romans. Knowledge of myths was
widespread, thus comparisons to them was a language through which all understood the seriousness
of events. For example, one could say “he was extremely strong”, or one could say “he was strong as
Hercules”, tapping into banks of common Roman knowledge and therefore not just highlighting
strength, but other qualities reflected by myths like determination or masculinity. Therefore, the
appearance of Greek mythology on sarcophagi was not just a reaction to the Second Sophistic’s
fashions, it was a carefully chosen way of representing oneself to the living. Thus, figures like
Hercules were common (figure 1), these scenes had little to no relation to the deceased’s life but
they emphasised virtues they embodied or want to be remembered as embodying. For example,
other virtues like virtus was highlighted by mythological battle scenes, clementia by barbarians
supplicating Greek heroes, pietas by scenes of sacrifice to the gods, and concordia emphasised by
images of married couples clasping hands.

Figure 1. Hercules Sarcophagus in the British Museum

Alternatively, some Greek mythology on sarcophagi emphasised the tragedy of death. Examples
include the regular feature of Actaeon (figure 2), a man torn apart by his own dogs when he
accidentally observed Diana bathing. Other Sarcophagi achieved this by highlighting the uncertainty
of death, such as images of Theseus and Ariadne. Ariadne had committed herself to Theseus and
even helped him defeat the minotaur, yet when he had accomplished this he abandoned her. Figure
shows Ariadne’s anxiousness at being alone. Figure shows her lying down in a pose replicating
representations of ‘sleep’ on other sarcophagi, metaphorical for her approaching death. Yet, this
depiction offer salvation as she is approached by Dionysus, her future husband; potentially she will
die and become a spirit, or potentially she will have a better life with Dionysus, mirroring the
uncertainty of death.

Figure 2. Actaeon Sarcophagus in the Louvre.

Another sarcophagi highlighting potential salvation is the joint sarcophagus of Caius Junius Euhodus
and Metilia Acte (AD 161-170), which depicted the death of Alcestis (figure 3). In the play by
Euripides, on the day of Alcestis’ marriage, her betrothed husband Admetus forgot to correctly
honour Artemis, who becomes enraged and curse Admetus to an early death. Apollo decided to help
Admetus by extracting a promise from The Fates, that if anyone wanted to die instead of Admetus
they would accept it. The man asks his parents, who refuse, prompting his loyal and loving wife
Alcestis to volunteer herself instead. She dies and is taken to the Underworld. However, Hercules had
been staying within Admetus’ household at the time, and to show his gratitude for his host’s
hospitality, he descends into the underworld and brings Alcestis back to Earth with him. This story on
the sarcophagi has been interpreted as its occupant’s belief in life after death; their hopes for their
souls to be reunited in this world or the next. This opinion has been strengthened by the
replacement of Alcestis’ and Admetus’ faces with oversized versions of their own, and an inscription
stating their subscription to the cult of the Magna Mater, a cult which believed in the possibility of
life after death. Wood (1978) has highlighted the other messages of this sarcophagi such as its
emphasis on the love between Caius and Metilia. Not only do they embody Alcestis’ and Admetus’
love story, “Nearly every figure of the typical wedding scene finds a parallel in the scene of Alcestis's
return on the Euhodus sarcophagus. First, and most important, the veiled figure of Alcestis closely
resembles a conventional bride. Her upper body is enveloped in a palla which is drawn over her head
and conceals much of her face… Not only the figure of Alcestis but the overall grouping of the return
scene echoes a typical wedding: husband and wife stand facing one another, and are drawn together
by an intermediary, though in this case Concordia and Hymenaeus are replaced by the adult, male
Heracles”. Thus the message is such: like Alcestis, the couple have earned victory over death by
virtue of their devotion and love for each other.
 Figure 3. Euhodus Sarcophagus featuring Alcestis.

Zanker (2012) is correct that these “images contain a multiplicity of prompts and associations for the
viewer”, and this speaks to their power on sarcophagi. Everyone knows myths and understands the
significance of their stories, thus as a lasting representation of oneself post mortem, one can say
many things about their life and its values. Myth is a language of longevity and of seriousness, much
more assertive than saying one’s life was ‘like this’ to make direct comparisons to heroic figures. For
these reasons, Greek mythology was the Roman language of mourning and consolation. Newby
(2014) highlights this by comparing the consolatory poems of Statius (45-96 AD) to sarcophagi
imagery. In poems the immense qualities of the deceased, and the grief of the living, is captured by
comparisons with mythological figures in scenarios an audience would be used to and understand.
For example, in Statius poetry his patron, the receptor of a consolation poem, visits his father in the
afterlife to reprimand him for leaving them, a scene evocative of Aeneas’ visit to Anchises. Newby
highlights that this Sarcophagi imagery is an extension of this, “poetry in stone”, an attempt to
preserve these comparisons longer than oration. In other words, Greek mythology is the language of
grief and death in the Roman world, hence its addition onto sarcophagi.

Ostia imported, maybe finished off there. Using lunar marble from Tuscany. Athens making
mythological sarc, pentellec sarco. Asia minor NW Turkey, Island of Marmara, made out of marble.
Proconnesus.

Open air. Italian ones are smaller.

Large ones put in cemetery spaces, exporting to eastern med.

Start to design them in the quarry and then they're finished off when they arrive. Must been some
kind of coordination.

Thought, personal, most expensive person making it.

Frequent phenomena no faces. Didn’t want the face finished while alive?

Similar representations. Ariadne, abandonment arm above head. Figure type for sleeping figures.
Standard composition.

Not mass produced despite repetitive.

Paintings improvisation, sculpture slower. More expensive to fix sculpture, do tried and tested.
Repetition of a few good designs that work. Made to order.

Doesn’t really mean anything with mythological motifs. Symbolism about the afterlife? Or creating an
atmosphere. Comparison with Chinese sarc, could be semi-religious monuments. they're versatile.

Might make them for yourself. Personal and not showing off. Private. Empathetic imagery, context of
the family and grieving, like a consolation poem it is right to represent oneself like this.

Philostrophus. Things have become more Greek, but it is not necessarily new. No sharp change.