McManus Images XV

Index of Images, Part XV: Barbara F. McManus

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

life-size marble sculpture of a sleeping satyr, Hellenistic, late third-early second century CE
Popularly known as the "Barberini Faun," this statue was found near Hadrian's mausoleum and was heavily restored in the eighteenth century.
Munich, Glyptothek. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2005
Keywords: Dionysaic followers

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
smaller version.
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

marble funerary relief of Aurelia Philematium, found by the Via Nomentana in Rome, c. 80 BCE; smaller version.
The inscription, in elegiac couplets, is in two parts ( detail: left side; detail: right side). On the left, the butcher freedman Lucius Aelius Hermia, laments the death of his wife, while on the right, his freedwoman and wife, Aurelia Philematium, declares her virtue and devotion. In the center, is a portrait of the couple, with Aurelia bending over to kiss the hand of her older husband.
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2006
Keywords: tombstone

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

marble head of girl laughing, Roman, second century CE;
side view.
Berlin, Altes Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: smiling; women

terracotta figurine of woman with a pet bird on her shoulder, Hellenistic Greek, 325-150 BCE;
detail: head and upper torso; another view; detail: head and upper torso.
The young woman has red hair and blue eyes.
Berlin, Altes Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: women; Tanagra figurine

marble plaque of three Graces with seated woman, Roman, 70-100 CE;
smaller version.
This plaque, without its inscription, was originally used in a funerary context; in low relief, the deceased woman is depicted as a respectable matrona, seated with her palla pulled over her head. The three Graces, naked, dance before her, clasping hands in their traditional pose; one of the Graces rests her hand on the knee of the deceased woman in a supportive gesture. All are enclosed by the pillars and pediment of a small shrine with two birds carved at the top (a motif often seen on tombstones). The inscription, AD SORORES IIII ("At the Four Sisters"), was added later in order to use the plaque as a shop sign, probably for a tavern or brothel.
Berlin, Altes Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012

mosaic depicting a fierce male lion, Roman, imperial period
This large mosaic (the lion is about 15 feet long) once adorned the floor of a Roman villa that may have belonged to a wealthy man named Leontius in the ancient port city of Sullectum in northern Africa.
Salakta Archaeological Museum, Tunisia. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2010
Keywords: animals

head of the bronze statue of a she-wolf, eleventh-twelfth century CE
This iconic statue, once thought to be a fifth-century BCE Etruscan work, has been recently dated by radiocarbon testing to the period between 1021-1153 CE.
Rome, Palazzo dei Conservatori (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2003
Keywords: animals

marble votive relief dedicated to Vesta, Roman, from Rome, 140-150 CE;
smaller version; alternate view; smaller version.
The inscription states that Gaius Pupius Firminus and Mudasena Trophime (a freedwoman who was presumably his wife), dedicated the relief. Firminus is freeborn, listed in other inscriptions with filiation and tribe; he was a baker, the quaestor of a guild of bakers under Antoninus Pius. The goddess Vesta, wearing a peplos tunic and a chiton pulled over the diadem on her head, is seated on a throne. At her feet is a grain measure (modius) with ears of grain drooping down its sides and a loaf of bread balanced on top, referring to the profession of Firminus and possibly his wife. At the foot of the modius is the tail of a large snake, which winds up behind the throne to eat an egg from the patera in her right hand; her left hand holds a scepter.
Berlin, Altes Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: religion

gilded bronze crown of a priest of the Magna Mater, Roman, c. 300 CE
This rare extant priest's crown is a circlet decorated with engraved blossoms and laurel leaves; the sculpted heads of Attis and Cybele are fastened to the crown. Cybele is shown with upswept hair and a mural crown (the turrets of a city wall), while Attis wears the Phrygian cap with its distinctive curved top. The crown is very similar to those rendered in marble, such as this relief of an archigallus, which indicates that the crown was tied with ribbons that flowed down the back of the neck.
Berlin, Altes Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: religion; foreign cults

fresco of the Three Graces, Roman, from the Isola Sacra Necropolis, Ostia, second century CE;
detail.
This painting decorated a niche in the burial chamber of Tomb 77.
Ostia Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: funerary

high relief marble plaque depicting an archigallus and Cybele, Roman, found at Portus, Ostia, second half of the third century CE;
smaller version.
The archigallus was the high priest of the cult of Cybele; he was a Roman citizen and state official and so was not castrated like the Galli, the other priests of the Magna Mater. He is shown here wearing his priestly crown, decorated with the heads of Attis and Cybele (see previous entry) and a gold bracelet (occabus) elaborately carved with images of Cybele and Attis; he is placing fruit on a small pillar and holding a shallow bowl containing incense. He stands before a shrine in which the goddess, Cybele, sits on a throne, wearing a mural crown, a veil, and an intricate necklace; she is flanked by two burning torches. At her knees stands a small figure of Mercury holding a caduceus and moneybag.
Ostia Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; foreign cults

high relief marble plaque depicting an archigallus and Attis, Roman, found at Portus, Ostia, second half of the third century CE;
smaller version.
This relief features the same archigallus as in the previous relief. He holds two burning torches and wears the same priestly crown and gold bracelet. He bends toward a small figure of Attis standing on a statue base with a tree with pine cones and a pair of dangling cymbals behind him; in his hands are a shepherd's crook and a pan pipe (syrinx).
Ostia Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; foreign cults

marble lid of a kline sarcophagus of an archigallus, Roman, found at Portus, Ostia, second half of the third century CE;
smaller version.
This lid covered the sarcophagus (never found) of the same archigallus depicted in the previous two reliefs, as is clearly shown by his portrait features. He is wearing the same gold bracelet and probably the priestly crown, though that part of the sculpture is broken. His right hand holds a pine branch and below his right foot is a cista mystica with a snake.
Ostia Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; foreign cults

marble statue of Attis seated on a lion, Roman, found at Ostia, second century CE;
smaller version.
Attis is wearing female attire (except for his Phrygian cap); bunches of grapes cover his ears. An inscription at the base of the sculpture reads C[aius] CARTILIVS EVPLVS EX MONITV DEAE D[onum] D[edit]. This same man dedicated numerous statues of Attis in Ostia.
Ostia Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: religion; foreign cults

funerary gold wreath, Hellenistic Greek, 400-200 BCE
This olive-leaf wreath has gold beads and emeralds nestled among the leaves to represent the fruit of the tree.
Berlin, Altes Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: jewelry; funerary

marble cinerary altar for Cornelia Cleopatra, Roman, found on the Via Appia, 100-150 CE
According to the inscription, this altar was set up by Marcus Cornelius Hymnus and Cornelia Corinthias for their daughter Cornelia Cleopatra, who lived 20 years, 2 months, and 3 days. The altar is lavishly decorated with garlands hung in loops from heads of Jupiter Ammon and rams supported by eagles. The relief at the top of the altar depicts an emphatically female sphinx with her paw upon a bull's head, while below the inscription is a reclining, sleeping female whose face may be a portrait of the deceased, possibly referring to Ariadne. The right side contains a libation bowl (patera), and the left side contains a ritual jug (urceus).
Copenhagen, Ny Carlsberg Glypotek. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: freedpeople; funerary

marble funerary altar of Lucius Aufidius Aprilis, Roman, found on the Via Flaminia, late first century CE
According to the inscription, this altar was dedicated by L. Aufidius Aprilis, a metalworker (corintharius) near the Theater of Balbus, to his wife, Gargilia Secunda, and to Gargilia Venusta (a freeborn but illegitimate woman who was possibly the daughter of Secunda) and her husband Marcus Antonius Felix, freedman of the freeborn Marcus Antonius Flaccus. The altar is lavishly decorated with garlands hung in loops from heads of Jupiter Ammon and rams supported by dancing female figures and eagles. The relief at the top of the altar depicts two facing griffins whose bodies end in vegetation, while below the inscription is a reclining, sleeping male flanked by goats, possibly a Dionysian satyr or an Endymion figure. The right side contains a libation bowl (patera) above two birds feeding a baby in the nest, and the left side contains a ritual jug (urceus) with identical birds. A leaping dolphin appears at the bottom of each side.
Rome, Crypta Balbi (National Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2004
Keywords: freedpeople; funerary

marble relief with amphora scene, Roman (provenance unknown), early third century CE (modern cast)
Many wine amphorae are piled up on the left, while a worker brings another amphora on his shoulder to a man in a long tunic.
EUR (Rome), Museum of Roman Civilization. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: commerce; trade

marble sarcophagus relief, Roman (from Tomb 90, Isola Sacra necropolis, Ostia), 270-280 CE (modern cast)
On the left, a ship sails into the port of Ostia as a small boat rows toward it with a lighthouse in the back; on the right, a barmaid serves customers wine with a counter depicted in the background and a small dog by the drinkers.
EUR (Rome), Museum of Roman Civilization. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: commerce; entertainment; dining; tavern

marble relief of a lenos, Roman (provenance unknown), 280-300 CE
The relief shows a vat for treading grapes; small wingless boys trample the grapes, whose extracted juice flows out through the mouths of two lions into amphorae place below them.
Rome, Vatican Museums (Gregoriano Profano). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: agriculture; wine-making

marble funerary altar, Roman (provenance unknown), 110-120 CE
The relief shows a sculptor carving the finishing touches on a woman's portrait in a round shield (clipeus)as his client, an elegantly dressed matrona with a fashionable Flavian hairstyle, supervises. The woman in the portrait, who has a much simpler hairstyle, may be the client's mother, daughter, or other female relative. In the absence of an inscription, it is not clear to whom the altar is dedicated--the client, the woman in the portrait, or even the sculptor. The left side of the altar depicts a chubby Cupid, while the right side shows an infant Psyche with butterfly wings, wearing a quiver and holding an arrow, with a decided sour expression.
Rome, Vatican Museums (Gallery of the Candelabra). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: craftsman; sculpture

model of columbarium niches for cinerary urns, modern;
smaller version.
The niches contain actual Roman cinerary urns dating from the first to the second centuries CE.
Berlin, Altes Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: funerary

bronze military diploma issued by Trajan to the cavalryman Mogetissa, Roman, 30 June 107 CE;
smaller version.
The top half of the inscription contains the formulaic statements about the Roman citizenship and privileges given to auxiliary cavalry upon their honorable discharge from service; the lower half of the inscription names Mogetissa, son of Comatullus, his wife Verecunda, and their daughter Matrulla. The other panel of the diploma lists the names of seven witnesses.
Munich, Archäologische Staatssammlung. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2005
Keywords: soldier; army

fresco depicting legendary events from Rome's foundation, Pompeii Regio V.4.13, first century CE;
smaller version.
This is the only extant painting with the theme of Rome's founding. The best preserved part of the fresco depicts Mars and Rhea Silvia, with Apollo driving the chariot of the sun on the left (smaller version; detail: Mars). In the lower panel, Mercury stands with a female (Venus?) pointing toward the wolf with Romulus and Remus and another female (Rhea Silvia? Acca Laurentia?).
Naples, National Archaeological Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: legend

statue of a priestess, Roman imperial period;
smaller version.
She holds a libation bowl in her left hand and wears a vegetal wreath with hanging grapes on her head. The belt on her tunic is tied with a Hercules knot.
Rome, Vatican Museums (Gallery of the Candelabra). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: religion

round marble funeral altar, Hellenistic, from the island of Rheneia, Greece, first century BCE
The altar is decorated with rosettes, grapes, and bull's heads from which are hung garlands.
Berlin, Altes Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: funerary

marble portrait bust of Julia Mamaea, Roman, 222-235 CE
Julia Mamaea, a member of the Severan imperial family was the niece of empress Julia Domna, the daughter of Julia Maesa, and the mother of the emperor Severus Alexander. She is shown with her characteristic crimped hairstyle wearing a diadem.
Rome, Crypta Balbi (National Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2004
Keywords: imperial women

marble portrait bust of Julia Mamaea, Roman, 222-235 CE
Julia Mamaea, a member of the Severan imperial family was the niece of empress Julia Domna, the daughter of Julia Maesa, and the mother of the emperor Severus Alexander. She is shown with her characteristic crimped hairstyle.
Rome, Palazzo Nuovo (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: imperial women

view of the Pantheon at night, showing the pediment and inscription.
Rome. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2004
Keywords: city of Rome

marble cinerary altar with an empty inscription table, Roman, Antonine period, second century CE
This elaborately carved cinerary altar was apparently never used. The front corners are spiral columns, while there are pilasters at the rear corners. The sides have a tree of life motif. The main image depicts Pluto carrying off Proserpina in a four-horse chariot while a winged Cupid holds the reins. Below the table for the inscription is a small ram's head with attached garlands and a tiny patera and urceus.
Rome, Terme Diocleziano, (National Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007, 2012
Keywords: funerary

central panel of a marble sarcophagus, Roman, found in the Via Praenestina, third century CE
This relief depicts a seated male teacher holding a scroll and reading to a female student.
Rome, Tabularium (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2007
Keywords: funerary; education

bronze statuette of Mars, Roman, found in Earith, Huntingdonshire, England, second century CE;
smaller version.
The god is shown wearng the armor of a Roman general.
London, British Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2008
Keywords: military

fresco depicting the end of a banquet, modern replica of wall painting from the Triclinium House, Pompeii
Rome (EUR), Museum of Roman Civilization. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: dining; leisure

relief depicting a man paying his taxes, modern replica of a Roman relief found in Metz, France, early third century CE
The tax collector is using an abacus to calculate amounts.
Rome (EUR), Museum of Roman Civilization. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: money; finance

painted wall from tablinum 92 of the rental property (praedia) of Julia Felix, Pompeii, first century CE;
smaller version.
This fourth-style wall painting has large blocks of red and gold with small scenes in the center, including a satyr and maenad. The top is divided into four separate scenes, three of which show shelves containing food, household items, and writing implements; the fourth is a seascape with various types of fish. The panel on the right depicts piles of coins and a moneybag on the top shelf; on the left are silver and gold coins, and on the right are brass and copper coins. The lower shelf contains writing implements: an inkwell and scroll (detail: silver inkwell and reed pen), and a stylus and wax tablet. The next panel depicts shelves in a kitchen, with silver vessels, a platter of eggs, a brace of partridges, and a napkin with dark red border and fringe hanging on the wall.
Naples, National Archaeological Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: fresco; money; dining

fresco with scroll case and moneybag, Pompeii, first century CE
The implement on the left may be an abacus; in the center is a carrying case (capsa) filled with scrolls and a open wax tablet with two leaves (diptych); on the left is a moneybag filled with coins.
Naples, National Archaeological Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: writing; money

"The Intervention of the Sabine Women", oil painting by Jacques-Louis David, 1799;
smaller version.
In this painting, the central scene depicts the Sabine women who had been carried off and married by the Roman intervening in the later battle between their fathers and husbands. Specifically, Romulus's wife Hersilia, the daughter of Titus Tatius, leader of the Sabines, rushes between her husband and her father and places her babies between them to stop the war.
Paris, Louvre Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 2009
Keywords: foundation of Rome; legend; Rape of the Sabine Women

gold ring with engraved magical amulet, Roman, second-third century CE;
smaller version.
The large amulet in its gold setting contains magical symbols with an Egyptian flavor surrounded by two circles of magical writing.
Rome, Palazzo dei Conservatori (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: jewelry; magic; superstition

gold ring with carnelian cameo, Roman, second-third century CE;
smaller version.
The cameo depicts Rome's legendary wolf suckling the twins Romulus and Remus.
Rome, Palazzo dei Conservatori (Capitoline Museums). Credits: Barbara McManus, 2012
Keywords: ; jewelry; foundation legend

revised November, 2012