To Entertain an Emperor
Sperlonga, Laokoon and Tiberius at the Dinner-Table
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9312467 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Andrew F Stewart (0000-0001-7866-5959, University of Otago, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1977 |
| Volume | 67 |
| Pages | 76-90 |
| Publication date | 1977-11-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Roman Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0075-4358 • E-ISSN: 1753-528X |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/299920 |
| OpenAlex | W2324872265 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 36 |
| References cited | 15 |
Even to-day, twenty years after its discovery in September 1957, the great corpus of sculptures from the grotto by the sea-shore at Sperlonga still retains many of its secrets. The sheer quantity and richness of the material, its clearly programmatic character, and the enigmatic personalities and affiliations of its sculptors cannot but prompt any visitor to the cave and museum, specialist or no, to ask: what was the purpose of this great complex of Odyssean themes? When were they carved and for whom? Only recently, with the preliminary publication of the major fragments and their replicas by Conticello and Andreae, have their subjects and positions been satisfactorily determined, and the groundwork laid for a solution to such problems as these. All four major groups had, as their protagonist, Odysseus. First of all, at the mouth of the cave on the left, he was shown dragging the limp corpse of Achilles away from the battle before Troy (Pl. IX, 1), and on the right, standing thwarted of his plan to snatch the Palladion away from Diomedes (Pl. IX, 2 and 3); in the centre of the pool the scene shifted to his wanderings, with his ship, its helmsman still clinging desperately to the stern, enmeshed in Scylla's coils (Pl. IX, 4–X, 2), while in the dim light of the cavern at the rear to the right, he appeared for the last time to direct his companions in the blinding of a gigantic Polyphemus (Pl. X, 3–XI, 4; cf. Pl. XII, I)
Ancient history · Art · Art history · Battle · Character (mathematics · Emperor · Literature · Theme (computing · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Classical Antiquity Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History
Saberes e poderes no mundo antigo
On the Literature and Thought of the German Classical Era
Epigraphy of Appropriation
The triumviral period
From Nero to Vespasian
The Senate and senatorial and equestrian posts
Augustus
The place of religion
Raetia
Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica
The Administration of Justice
Literature and society
Rome and its development under Augustus and his successors
The expansion of the empire under Augustus
Provincial administration and taxation
Spain
Italy and Rome from Sulla to Augustus
The imperial court
Social status and social legislation
The Imperial finances
Egypt
Tiberius to Nero
The Rationalisation of the Holy Trinity from Lessing to Hegel
The Skylla group in Constantinople’s hippodrome
Walking in Roman Culture
The Cambridge Ancient History
The Docimium Marble Sculptures of the Grotto of Tiberius at Sperlonga
Dine and Worship
The use of cues for attention in ancient Greek art
High-accuracy orientation survey in the Tiberius’ Cave near Sperlonga
Tiberiana 2
Agrippina Maggiore
Urbanity in a Roman landscape
Walking with Odysseus
Odysseus and the Historians
Antiquarianism and Prehistory in West Mediterranean Islands
The Classical Papers of A. E. Housman
Une transposition de la grotte de Tibère à Sperlonga ; le Ninfeo Bergantino de Castelgandolfo
Héraklès Epitrapezios
Early Rome and the Latins
The Cave and the Source
A Roman Poet Visits a Museum
Aeneas, Sicily, and Rome
The Pictures on Dido's Temple
Hellenistic Poetry and Art
The Sculpture and Sculptors of the Greeks
The Ulysses Theme
Sperlonga und Vergil
| Citations per year | 0.97 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1989 - 2024 (36) |
| Highly cited | No |