Sarcophagus for a dead boy - I
We need few words for summarizing the overcrowded scene carved on the surface of this sarcophagus: “ The entire Universe is involved in the birth and the death of this unknown boy”,
The sarcophagus is indeed dedicated to a boy shown on the lid as a sleeping kid dressed in a toga. The reliefs illustrate the creation of the first people by Prometheus and Athena, and also the death of the boy whose perfection is vaunted in the mythological allegory. The Sarcophagus probably dates from the late third or even early fourth century, and is thus one of the latest of all the mythological sarcophagi.
We shall consider it here briefly, in order to gain some idea of the opulence of such a tangle of figures and the range of associations and the problems of interpretation arising from it.
In the center the Titan Prometheus, larger than the rest, in his identity as creator of men, is portrayed as a sculptor modeling a little boy out of clay. Immediately to his right Athena, as goddess of reason and culture, sends the spirit (Psyche) in the form of a butterfly down to the completed body, which now stands on a pedestal like a work of art.
But behind Prometheus, Lachesis, one of the Parcae (Fates), is even at the very moment of ‘birth’ determining the horoscope of the newly born child on the celestial globe in which his early death is irrevocably laid down. Next to her is her sister Clotho, spinning the thread of life.
Immediately to the right of this central image and flowing straight on from it is a scene of mourning. The boy, now shown larger, has died, and is lying dead on the floor, lamented by a Cupid with an inverted torch. Next to him is again one of the Parcae, Atropos reading from the scroll of fate, while Hermes leads away the soul, freed from the body but still resisting in fear - Psyche is now depicted in the shape of a girl with butterfly wings. The figure between Athena and the mourning cupids could be the mother of the dead child. She is turned to face the observer, and perhaps has individualized features. On the other side of the image we see the earth goddess and the sea god; the chariots of Helios and Selene complete the scene. As on other sarcophagi of the third century, the entire universe is involved in the creation and the death of the boy.
Source, Zanker P. e Wwald B.C., “Vivere con I Miti – L’iconografia dei sarcophagi romani”
Reference for detailed Italian information:
Pentelic marble sarcophagus
Late 3rd early 4th century AD
From
Rome, Musei Capitolini
Palazzo Nuovo, Sala delle Colombe, Inv. No. 0329
Sarcophagus for a dead boy - I
We need few words for summarizing the overcrowded scene carved on the surface of this sarcophagus: “ The entire Universe is involved in the birth and the death of this unknown boy”,
The sarcophagus is indeed dedicated to a boy shown on the lid as a sleeping kid dressed in a toga. The reliefs illustrate the creation of the first people by Prometheus and Athena, and also the death of the boy whose perfection is vaunted in the mythological allegory. The Sarcophagus probably dates from the late third or even early fourth century, and is thus one of the latest of all the mythological sarcophagi.
We shall consider it here briefly, in order to gain some idea of the opulence of such a tangle of figures and the range of associations and the problems of interpretation arising from it.
In the center the Titan Prometheus, larger than the rest, in his identity as creator of men, is portrayed as a sculptor modeling a little boy out of clay. Immediately to his right Athena, as goddess of reason and culture, sends the spirit (Psyche) in the form of a butterfly down to the completed body, which now stands on a pedestal like a work of art.
But behind Prometheus, Lachesis, one of the Parcae (Fates), is even at the very moment of ‘birth’ determining the horoscope of the newly born child on the celestial globe in which his early death is irrevocably laid down. Next to her is her sister Clotho, spinning the thread of life.
Immediately to the right of this central image and flowing straight on from it is a scene of mourning. The boy, now shown larger, has died, and is lying dead on the floor, lamented by a Cupid with an inverted torch. Next to him is again one of the Parcae, Atropos reading from the scroll of fate, while Hermes leads away the soul, freed from the body but still resisting in fear - Psyche is now depicted in the shape of a girl with butterfly wings. The figure between Athena and the mourning cupids could be the mother of the dead child. She is turned to face the observer, and perhaps has individualized features. On the other side of the image we see the earth goddess and the sea god; the chariots of Helios and Selene complete the scene. As on other sarcophagi of the third century, the entire universe is involved in the creation and the death of the boy.
Source, Zanker P. e Wwald B.C., “Vivere con I Miti – L’iconografia dei sarcophagi romani”
Reference for detailed Italian information:
Pentelic marble sarcophagus
Late 3rd early 4th century AD
From
Rome, Musei Capitolini
Palazzo Nuovo, Sala delle Colombe, Inv. No. 0329