The death of myth on Roman sarcophagi: allegory and visual narrative in the Late Empire
A strange thing happened to Roman sarcophagi in the third century: their Greek mythic imagery vanished. Since the beginning of their production a century earlier, these beautifully carved coffins had featured bold mythological scenes. How do we make sense of this imagery's own death on later sa...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Book |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge
Cambridge University Press
2022
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| In: | Year: 2022 |
| Series/Journal: | Greek culture in the Roman world
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Roman Empire
/ Sarcophagus
/ Death (Motif)
/ Allegory
/ History 27 BC-284
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| Further subjects: | B
Art and society (Rome)
B Mythology, Classical, in art B Sarcophagi, Early Christian Themes, motives B Sarcophagi, Roman Themes, motives B Relief (Sculpture) Themes, motives (Rome) |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | A strange thing happened to Roman sarcophagi in the third century: their Greek mythic imagery vanished. Since the beginning of their production a century earlier, these beautifully carved coffins had featured bold mythological scenes. How do we make sense of this imagery's own death on later sarcophagi, when mythological narratives were truncated, gods and heroes were excised, and genres featuring no mythic content whatsoever came to the fore? What is the significance of such a profound tectonic shift in the Roman funerary imagination for our understanding of Roman history and culture, for the development of its arts, for the passage from the High to the Late Empire and the coming of Christianity, but above all, for the individual Roman women and men who chose this imagery, and who took it with them to the grave? In this book, Mont Allen offers the clues that aid in resolving this mystery. |
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| ISBN: | 1009039032 |
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/9781009039031 |