Heroism and marital devotion - I - a photo on Flickriver

            The sarcophagus
The sarcophagus depicts the battle between Greeks and Amazons during the Trojan War. The episode of Achilles and Penthesilea occupies the center of scene: the hero after having hit to death the queen of the Amazons, falls in love with her at first sight just when she dies. Here Achilles supports the slumped body of the queen, and around them that appear indifferent to the events of the battle, the fight rages: Greeks and Amazons clash with their swords and axes. Many fighters and horses lie on the ground. The sizes of Achilles and Penthesilea relative to the background figures are increased to draw attention to them, and they appear surrounded by smaller, densely interwoven figures and similarly are clustered together, and there are figures not in full view and situated behind other figures. The confusion of the battle leaves the viewer with a disoriented feeling perhaps similar to being present within an actual battle.  
The mutual love between a couple is the central message of this sarcophagus. Achilles and Penthesilea are here depicted in the guise of the deceased spouses, and both the protagonists receive portrait features. According to the rendering of their portraits and hairstyle this sarcophagus dates back to the half of the III century AD. 
The group of Achilles and Penthesilea sarcophagi emerges around the start of the third century from a group of battle sarcophagi showing the Amazonomachy. While both husband and wife were celebrated in these sarcophagi, the type seems to stress the love and virtue of the man rather than that of the woman. Through his assimilation to the martial hero Achilles he is shown as a warrior, while his love and support for his wife are expressed through his embrace of her slumped body. What it meant for a wife to be likened to Penthesilea is less clear; perhaps it is primarily the fact of her death which is important here rather than any specific virtues which she is seen to embody. 
The Achilles and Penthesilea sarcophagi offer two sorts of messages. Like the chests celebrating Endymion and Selene and Mars and Rhea Silvia they use portrait heads to allude to the happy union between husband and wife. At the same time the presentation of this couple on a battlefield also stresses the martial vigor of the man.

Source: Jas´ Elsner and Janet Huskinson, “Life, Death and Representation”

The Lid
Aurelia Agrippina and her husband Publius Aelius Myron, are depicted on the lid no pertinent to the described sarcophagus. Their images are separated by the following inscription (CIL 6.10742):
“P[ublius] AE[li]US MYRON AURELIAE AGR[i]PPINAE // CO[N]IUGI SANCTISSIMAE ET AELI[i]S //ARRIAE CRESCENTI FILI[i]S DULCISSIMIS // AEDEM A[ere] S[u]O FECIT” 
“Publius Aelius Myron, made this temple (holy sepulcher) with his own bronze (money) for his sacred wife Aurelia Agrippina, and for the sweetest children Aelia Arria and Aelius Crescens”.
Myron dedicates his sarcophagus to his relatives, who must have predeceased him. The portrait busts of Agrippina and Myrron are placed on either side of the lid in front of curtains of honor, the parapetasma. Agrippina is pictured in the hairstyle and stola and palla of a matrona, while Myron proudly wears the toga of the Roman citizen. On the corner two angular acroteria decorated by Erotes holding a reversed torch, the iconographic symbols of the dying life. 
The hairstyles of the two beautiful portraits were in fashion in the middle of the 3rd century AD.

Source: Spinola G., Il Museo Pio Clementino, Vol. 1
 
Roman sarcophagus with non pertinent lid
Ca. 250 AD.
Vatican Museums, Museo Pio-Clementino, "Cortile Ottagonale" (Octagonal Courtyard).

   

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Taken in: Vatican / Vatican (show map)

Taken on: February 6, 2014

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Sets appears in: • Greek Mythology • Aithiopis more » • The 2nd Trojan War • Roman Funerary Art • VSC, Vatican Musems • VCS, Museo Pio Clementino « less

Groups appears in: • Greek Mythology • Roman Empire more » • The Ancient World • Marble & Marble Sculptures • Archeologia • THE ROMAN EMPIRE • World Archaeology & Arts/ΑΡΧΑΙΟΛΟΓΙΑ&ΤΕΧΝΕΣ-Rea • Heritage Key • Roma archeologica (Repubblicana, imperiale, medioevale). • Homer illustrated • Ancient Rome Empire • Photos at the Museum « less

Camera: Nikon D800, f/13.0, 1/200 sec, 24mm, ISO 2500 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D800
Lens:	24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture:	f/13.0
Exposure Time:	0.005 sec (1/200)
Focal Length:	24mm
ISO:	2500
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	High gain up
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Macintosh)
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