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Marble sarcophagi—elaborately sculpted coffins, massive in size, and often richly carved with scenes from Greek mythology—were the dominant artistic product of the high and late Roman empire. Carved in the hundreds of thousands, their production absorbed vast quantities of marble, labor, and capital, and yielded some of the most gorgeous monuments to survive from the ancient world.
Many of these sarcophagi show Dionysus, the Greek god of alcohol and ecstasy, and his frisky followers—Centaurs, Satyrs, and Maenads—boozing it up with riotous abandon. Drinking, dancing, flirting, vomiting and collapsing in a drunken stupor….all appear with astonishing frequency on the sides of these coffins designed to honor Rome’s richest and most powerful citizens. But why? Why would any respectable ancient Roman think it appropriate to be buried in a coffin showing such scenes?! Some of these sarcophagi were even shaped like the massive tubs in which Romans made wine—but why would any family want to imagine that their dearly beloved was resting forever in a wine vat?! And what do these images reveal about Roman attitudes towards celebrating life, death, and what mattered most?
About Your Presenter
Dr. Mont Allen is an art historian and archaeologist at the University of Arizona who studies the classical Greek & Roman worlds. With a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, his research concentrates on Greek mythology and Roman funerary art. Dr. Allen is a former national lecturer for the Archaeological Institute of America. He has also won five teaching awards over his career—including the Liberal Arts Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award from Southern Illinois University and the ‘Everyday Hero’ Award from the University of California, Berkeley—and currently teaches courses ranging from ancient Greek and Roman to Renaissance and Baroque art at the U of A.