Columnar Sarcophagi from Aphrodisias

Elite Emulation in the Greek East

Dados Bibliográficos

ID4533780
AutoresEsen Öğüş (Texas Tech University, autor correspondente)
Ano2014
Volume118
Fascículo1
Páginas113-136
Data de publicação2014-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAmerican Journal of Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0002-9114 • E-ISSN: 1939-828X
EditoraUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.3764/aja.118.1.0113
OpenAlexW2611658041
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas5
Referências citadas16

There has recently been interest in understanding the meaning of Roman metropolitan sarcophagi, particularly those decorated with mythological subject matter. Most of the previous studies have focused on sarcophagi produced in Rome and Athens. This article aims to address a specific lacuna in the scholarship by focusing on the meaning of a group of sarcophagi from Aphrodisias in Caria. These sarcophagi are decorated in relief with a columnar facade, an arcaded entablature, and human figures standing in the intercolumniations. Drawing evidence from funerary inscriptions and archaeological context, the first part of the article establishes the chronology of these sarcophagi and the social classes that commissioned them. The second part explains and contextualizes the architectural form and the "types" of human figures represented on the sarcophagus chests. The final part takes into consideration the iconography and offers explanations for the unique relief decoration by situating the sarcophagi within the social context of Asia Minor in general and of the city of Aphrodisias in particular

Archaeology · Art · Context (archaeology) · Elite · Iconography · Meaning (existential) · Metropolitan area · Mythology · Scholarship · Visual arts · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classics · History · Law · Psychology