Prometheus Myth
The burial of Saint Hilary of Arles: a pagan sarcophagus for a Christian bishop.
The decoration of the sarcophagus main side is dedicated to the myth of the creation of man and to his fate summarized by the three Moirai (Parcae) carved in central position. Although the composition is clear and orderly assembled, the scene is particularly complex.
To left, the Titan Prometheus, in his identity as creator of men, is portrayed as a seated sculptor modeling a little boy out of clay. Immediately to his right Athena, as goddess of reason and culture. This is the same Athena whom we shall meet again and again as the patroness of learning and culture. The head of Helios decorated by rays of sunlight is carved behind Athena. The presence of the god Sun in the far left of the scene means the beginning of a new life. Near the statuettes created by Prometheus there is Hermes, the escort of souls. The god is recognizable by his main attributes: petasos and caduceus. He pushes the spirit (Psyche) – represented in the form of a winged female figure - inside the body of one of the statuettes made by Prometheus. The female figure standing before Hermes is Lachesis, one of the Moirai (Fates), who determines the horoscope of the newly born child. She holds a sphere, representation of the celestial globe, and a bag; next to her there is her sister Clotho, spinning the thread of life. In a rightmost position, the third Moira, Atropos, is seated on a stool. She unrolls the scroll of fate reading the destiny of the human beings. It is Atropos who, when time is over, slices the tenuous thread of life. Between Clotho and Atropos the god Poseidon is represented with two female characters. The leftmost figure represent Selene recognizable by the crescent moon adorning her hair and the stars carved on the background of the sarcophagus chest. Here, the goddess is the counterpart of Helios carved on the far left corner of the scene summarizing the parabola of the human life from birth to death.
The female character wrapped in a mantel, standing in the right corner of the scene, is the deceased woman moving toward the Styx river here represented by his river divinity. In the lower right corner Tellus.
Roman Sarcophagus
Height : 0,71 m. ; Length : 2,21 cm
From Arles
Ca. 240 AC
Paris, Musée du Louvre – (Ma 339)
Prometheus Myth
The burial of Saint Hilary of Arles: a pagan sarcophagus for a Christian bishop.
The decoration of the sarcophagus main side is dedicated to the myth of the creation of man and to his fate summarized by the three Moirai (Parcae) carved in central position. Although the composition is clear and orderly assembled, the scene is particularly complex.
To left, the Titan Prometheus, in his identity as creator of men, is portrayed as a seated sculptor modeling a little boy out of clay. Immediately to his right Athena, as goddess of reason and culture. This is the same Athena whom we shall meet again and again as the patroness of learning and culture. The head of Helios decorated by rays of sunlight is carved behind Athena. The presence of the god Sun in the far left of the scene means the beginning of a new life. Near the statuettes created by Prometheus there is Hermes, the escort of souls. The god is recognizable by his main attributes: petasos and caduceus. He pushes the spirit (Psyche) – represented in the form of a winged female figure - inside the body of one of the statuettes made by Prometheus. The female figure standing before Hermes is Lachesis, one of the Moirai (Fates), who determines the horoscope of the newly born child. She holds a sphere, representation of the celestial globe, and a bag; next to her there is her sister Clotho, spinning the thread of life. In a rightmost position, the third Moira, Atropos, is seated on a stool. She unrolls the scroll of fate reading the destiny of the human beings. It is Atropos who, when time is over, slices the tenuous thread of life. Between Clotho and Atropos the god Poseidon is represented with two female characters. The leftmost figure represent Selene recognizable by the crescent moon adorning her hair and the stars carved on the background of the sarcophagus chest. Here, the goddess is the counterpart of Helios carved on the far left corner of the scene summarizing the parabola of the human life from birth to death.
The female character wrapped in a mantel, standing in the right corner of the scene, is the deceased woman moving toward the Styx river here represented by his river divinity. In the lower right corner Tellus.
Roman Sarcophagus
Height : 0,71 m. ; Length : 2,21 cm
From Arles
Ca. 240 AC
Paris, Musée du Louvre – (Ma 339)