page_title: Roman funerary art
section_title: Attic
hierarchical_section_title: Roman funerary art / Sarcophagi / Metropolitan Roman, Attic, and Asiatic sarcophagus production centers / Attic
caption_attribution_description: English: Unlike many sarcophagi, this one is carved on all four sides in high relief. Garlands held by winged goddesses or personifications on the corners and Eros (Cupid) figures on the sides support the busts of a crowned deity (left) and a young girl (right). The sarcophagus was probably intended for her. In the center, on both the front and back, is a theatrical mask-on this side Tragedy, on the other, Comedy. Medusa heads decorate the ends. The lid takes the form of a temple roof with a pediment (triangular gable) at each end. This sarcophagus can be traced to a particular workshop active near the ancient quarry of Dokimeion in Phrygia in Asia Minor. Its discovery in Rome illustrates the long-distance trade in even very large, heavy luxury goods that took place at the height of the Roman Empire.
context_page_description: Roman funerary art changed throughout the course of the Republic and the Empire and comprised many different forms. There were two main burial practices used by the Romans throughout history, one being cremation, another inhumation. The vessels that resulted from these practices include sarcophagi, ash chests, urns, and altars. In addition to these, buildings such as mausoleums, stelae, and other monuments were also popular forms used to commemorate the dead. The method by which Romans were memorialized was determined by social class, religion, and other factors. While monuments to the dead were constructed within Roman cities, the remains themselves were interred outside the cities.
  After the end of Etruscan rule, Roman lawmakers became very strict regarding the ethics of laying the dead to rest. A prime issue was the legality and morality of interring the dead within the city limits. It was nearly unanimous at first to move the dead outside of the pomerium to ensure the separation of their souls from the living, and many politicians remained assertive in enforcing the idea well into the Empire.
context_section_description: Athens was the main production center for Attic style sarcophagi. These workshops mainly produced sarcophagi for export. They were rectangular in shape and were often decorated on all four sides, unlike the Metropolitan Roman style, with ornamental carvings along the bottom and upper edge of the monument. The lids were also different from the flat metropolitan Roman style and featured a pitched gable roof, or a kline lid, which is carved in the style of couch cushions on which the form of the deceased reclines. The great majority of these sarcophagi also featured mythological subjects, especially the Trojan War, Achilles, and battles with the Amazons.
caption: This is an example of an Asiatic garland sarcophagus, dated between 150 and 180 C.E. The sarcophagus is made from Dokimeion marble, so it was likely sculpted in Phrygia and then shipped to Rome. The sarcophagus has a gable-roof lid and exemplifies the garland tradition common on ash altars and chests. It also has several incomplete parts on its four sides, suggesting the work was interrupted or the sarcophagus was needed on short notice.
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