sarcófago de meleagro

8/13/2019 sarcfago de meleagro

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A Myth for a Smith: A Meleager Sarcophagus from a Tomb in OstiaAuthor(s): Eve D'AmbraSource: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 92, No. 1 (Jan., 1988), pp. 85-99Published by: Archaeological Institute of AmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/505872.

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A Myth fora Smith:A Meleager Sarcophagus roma Tomb in Ostia*EVE D'AMBRA

AbstractThis articlefocuseson therelationshipbetweentheex-teriorand interiordecoration f twosecond-centuryombsin the IsolaSacraNecropolisoutsideOstia.Terracottare-liefsdepicting heoccupationsof thedeceasedwereplacedon the tomb facades while the chamberswere adornedwith mythologicalsarcophagiand paintings.The selec-tion of mythologicalsubjects s shown to complement heprofessionsof the deceased,and evidenceof a decorativeprogramemergesfor bothof the tombs.The socialback-groundof the deceased, he differences n themeandstyleofthedecorations, ndtheaudience or theseworkswithinandwithout the tomb are also discussed.

The tombs of the Isola Sacra Necropolis outsideOstia provide evidence for the artistic patronage of theclass of artisans, tradespeople, and professionals ofRome's port in the second century A.C.1 Questions oftaste and social class in Ostia have been discussed byKampen in her book on the portrayal of one group,working women.2 Several Isola Sacra tombs are, how-ever, decorated with depictions not only of occupationsbut also of mythological subjects. Two tombs in par-ticular indicate that reliefs representing the deceased'soccupation decorated the tomb facade while mytholog-ical scenes adorned the tomb interior. The relation-ship between the exterior and interior decoration ofthese tombs is the focus of this article.

This topic has not been addressed before in the lit-erature on Ostia. Although the tomb facades may re-main intact, it is often impossible to reconstruct theinteriors that have been stripped of paintings andsculptural ornament. Wrede has examined the pro-grams of the tombs of non-elite patrons in the city ofRome. These programs, however, frequently com-prise mythological portraits which allude to the apo-theosis of the deceased.3 The second-century Tomb ofClaudia Semne on the Via Appia, for example, dis-plays a unity of motifs and style which is lacking in thedecoration of the Isola Sacra tombs.4

The social context also differs: Claudia Semne'shusband was an imperial freedman of Trajan in thecapital while the Isola Sacra patrons earned their live-lihoods from the seagoing trade of Portus, the townwhich prospered in the second century after the con-struction of Trajan's harbor.' Imperial freedmen inOstia were active in the annona, yet the trade collegiaprovided opportunities for public service and the so-cial advancement of the entrepreneurial class.6The Isola Sacra Necropolis is located between thecity of Ostia and Portus, and is traversed by a roadwhich connects the two centers.' From a sample ofabout 200 tombs excavated at the necropolis, the dom-inant type in the second century is the columbarium,

* I would like to thank Diana E.E. Kleinerfor her criti-cism andencouragement.Susan B. Downey was responsiblefor my initial interestin this topic. Research for this articlewas supportedby the Samuel H. Kress Foundationand theAmericanAcademy n Rome, where I presentedthis mate-rial in an abbreviated orm as a shoptalk. Russell T. Scott,Karin Einaudi, and Shara Wassermanhelped me acquirephotographs,whichthe Soprintendenza f Ostiakindly pro-vided.FrancPalaia,CarolePaul, BrianRose,BarbaraKel-lum, Minott Kerr,and Paul Harveydiscussedvariousprob-lems with me.The followingabbreviationshave been used:Calza, La necropoli G. Calza, La necropolidel Porto di

Kampen,Image

Zimmer, RB

Roma nell'Isola Sacra (Rome1940).N.B. Kampen, Image and Status: Ro-man Working Women in Ostia(Berlin 1981).G. Zimmer, Rimische Berufdarstel-lungen (AF 12, Berlin 1982).

Zimmer,RH G. Zimmer, Rimische Handwerk-er, ANR WII.12.3 (1985)205-28.Calza, La necropoli267.2 See Kampen,Image.3H. Wrede, Stadtr6mischeMonumente, Urnen undSarkophagedes Klinentypus n denbeidenerstenJahrhun-derten n. Chr., AA 1977, 395-431. H. Wrede, Die Aus-stattungstadtrimischerGrabtempelund der UbergangzurKorperbestattung, M 85 (1978)412-33. H. Wrede,Con-secratio in formam deorum: Vergittlichte Privatpersonen inder r6mischen Kaiserzeit (Mainz 1981).4 H. Wrede, Das Mausoleum der Claudia Semne unddie biirgerliche Plastik der Kaiserzeit, RM 78 (1971)125-66, esp. 156,on the influenceof officialartandits style.The worksof this ensemblemay includethose executed inan archaizingstyle (136-37), but this does not detract romits generalstylisticunity.5J.M.C. Toynbee, Death and Burial in the RomanWorld Oxford1971) 82.6 R. Meiggs, Roman Ostia2 (Oxford 1973) 311-36.7Toynbee(supran. 5) 83.

85AmericanJournalofArchaeology92 (1988)

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86 EVE D'AMBRA [AJA 92with the tombs arranged in rows adjacent to one an-other.8 Although a home for the dead, the cemeteryalso provided amenities for the living: gardens,benches flanking the tomb doors, and precincts withwells and cooking facilities.' The last was necessaryfor the rites and banquets celebrated at the tomb tohonor the deceased.10 The prestige of the family wasalso enhanced by the size and decoration of the tomb.11The size of the tomb indicates its cost and conse-quently its value as a status object. Many of the IsolaSacra tombs have cellae or interiors ranging in sizefrom about 4 to 12 m.2, approximating the size ofthose of the contemporary tombs in the necropolis un-der the Vatican.12 Data collected from Italy and theprovinces suggest that the costs of burials with funer-ary monuments, stelai, and tombs typically vary from100 to tens of thousands of sestertii or more, with themedian cost in Italy being 10,000 sestertii.13 The de-sire to commemorate oneself or a loved one was evi-dently not beyond the reach of soldiers, the artisans ofOstia or Portus, and the low-level clerks and adminis-trators in public service such as those buried in thenecropolis under the Vatican.14 Within the Isola Sa-cra Necropolis, less costly memorials were in the formof small tombs in the shape of chests or trench gravescovered by tiles.15 The lowest rung of the social order,the non-imperial slaves and the freeborn poor, is rep-resented by the burials marked only by amphorae setin the ground.16

-;1

---L

Fig. 1. Restored acadeof Tomb 29, Isola SacraNecropolis.(AfterCalza, La necropoli65, fig. 18)

Marble inscriptional plaques on the facades of thecolumbaria identified the owners.'7 In some cases, ter-racotta reliefs depicting the deceased's trade wereplaced on either side of the inscription. About 13 sur-viving terracotta reliefs depict the occupations of amiller, tugboat operator, innkeeper, doctor, midwife,and smith.18

8 Calza, La necropoli 63, 69-76. Meiggs (supra n. 6)458-59.9Toynbee (supran. 5) 136.10Lucian, Dial. Mort. 9. F. Cumont, Recherches sur le

symbolismefuneraire des Romains (repr. New York 1975)352-53. Toynbee (supran. 5) 50-51, 61-64.11See Petronius,Satyricon71, fora descriptionof Trimal-chio'selaboratetomband his pridein it.12 For example, see Calza, La necropoli 285-369, for thetombdimensions.Calza omits the dimensionsof somecellae.M. Cebeillac, Quelques nscriptions neditesd'Ostie:de la

Republique ia 'Empire, MEFRA 83 (1971) 102-105, onthe inscriptionswhich give the dimensions of tomb plots,and 104, fora table which givestombdimensions n frontageand depth and the percentagefound in each category.TheseviriAugustales end to have the largesttombsafterthose ofthe governingelite, and other wealthy freedmen also com-memoratedthemselves with substantial monuments.Theaveragemeasurementof frontage s between20 and 30 Ro-man feet; the average for the depth is the same. For thetombs in the necropolis under the Vatican in Rome, seeJ.M.C. ToynbeeandJ.B. Ward-Perkins,The ShrineofSt.Peter and the Vatican Excavations (London and New York1956) 63, 70, on the tombdimensions.The tombstend to bemorecompact n the Vaticancemetery.

13 R. Duncan-Jones, The Economy of the Roman Empire,QuantitativeStudies(Cambridge1982) 127-33. Most of the

evidencecomesfromthe late firstcenturyA.C. The sum of20,000 sestertii s also a commonburialexpenditure.In theItaliansample,the freedmen's ombsrangefrom100,000to3,000 sestertii.This corresponds n some sense to income.On the lower end of the scale, it should be recalledthatNerva instituteda burial allowanceof 250 sestertiifor theRomanplebs.A. Degrassi, Nerva uneraticiumplebiurba-nae instituit, in Scritti vari di Antichit'i 1 (Rome 1962)697-702. Funerarycollegiaalso defrayedexpensesfor theurbanplebs.14 R.P. Saller and B.D. Shaw, Tombstonesand Roman

Family Relationsin the Principate:Civilians,SoldiersandSlaves, JRS 74 (1984) 124-56, esp. 124-39, on the funer-ary commemorations f lower-classRomans.Urban dwell-ers of relativelyhumble socialpositionsare frequentlyrep-resented n the sampleof inscriptions.The dedicationsndi-cate the strengthof the nuclearfamily:many of the com-memorationsare between husbandsand wives or parentsand children.See also infra n. 22. ToynbeeandWard-Per-kins (supran. 12) 105-106, and 108.15Calza, La necropoli 63, 76-80.16 Calza, La necropoli 63, 80. Toynbee (supra n. 5) 87.Meiggs (supran. 6) 464. I. Baldassarre, Unanecropoli m-periale romana: proposte di lettura, Annali dell'IstitutoUniversitario Orientale 6 (Naples 1984) 147.17 Calza, La necropoli 263.18 Calza, La necropoli 251-57. See infra n. 21.



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1988] A MELEAGER SARCOPHAGUS FROM A TOMB IN OSTIA 87

O O'O Oo o

Fig. 2. Plan of lower (left)and upper (right)floors of Tomb 29. (AfterCalza,La necropoli77, fig. 27)The smith's tomb, no. 29, is a late Hadrianic-earlyAntonine columbarium.' The brick-faced, barrel-vaulted columbarium proper, the facade of which wascrowned by a pediment, was preceded by a walled en-closure. The enclosure was probably added after theinitial construction because it extends beyond the

frontage shared between this tomb and the two adja-cent to it.20 The tomb consisted of the columbariumchamber and a space with a second story above (figs. 1and 2).The enclosure facade was interrupted by the tombentrance, a low portal set between two of three en-gaged brick pilasters surmounted by terracotta Corin-thian capitals. To one side of the entrance were twoterracotta reliefs depicting the smith at work (figs. 3and 4).21 The reliefs flanked the marble inscriptionplaque22 giving the smith's name as Verrius Euhelpis-

tus and that of his wife as Verria Zosime, and statingthat they had provided for the inclusion of their freed-men and freedwomen as well as their descendants inthe tomb:

D MVERRIA ZOSIME ET

VERRIUS EUHELPISTUSFECERUNT SIBI ET

LIBERTIS LIBERTABUS QUEPOSTERIS QUE EORUMVerrius and Verria were slave owners who hadfreed their slaves, perhaps, as was commonly the case,in order to manage their shop.23 In fact, the freedmen

may be depicted in the terracotta reliefs. The couplemay also have been libertini because their cognominaseem to be similar to those given to slaves.24 Both Eu-

19Calza, La necropoli 303-304, on the basis ofbrickstamps.20 Calza, La necropoli304. Toynbee (supran. 5) 85. Thethree adjacenttombs-nos. 29, 30 and 31-were probably

erectedat the sametime;theirfacadesare aligned.21 G. Calza, Artemestieri n Ostiaantica, Capitolium11(1935) 413-23, figs. 3, 4. Calza, La necropoli251-53, figs.150-51, 303-304, and 65, fig. 18. M. Floriani Squarciapi-no, Piccolocorpusdei mattoni scolpitiostiensi, BullCom76 (1956-1958) 186-87, pl. 2.1-2. Meiggs (supran. 6) 271,pl. 27a. Kampen,Image 142-43, nos. 13-14. Zimmer,RB183-84, nos. 117 and 119; Zimmer, RH pl. 4.1. W.Gaitzsch, Werkzeugeund Gerdte n derr6mischenKaiser-zeit: Eine Ubersicht, ANRW II.12.3 (Berlin 1985)170-204, fig. la-b. Ostia, Museo Ostiense,Magazzini. Di-mensions of the relief in fig. 3: H. 0.42; W. 0.41 m. Dimen-sions of the relief in fig. 4: H. 0.42; W. 0.41 m.22 Calza, La necropoli303. H. Thylander,Inscriptionsduport d'Ostie(Lund 1952) 197-98, no. A274, pl. 80.2. Theinscription s on a marbleplaque,0.62 x 0.57 m., located n

situon the tombfacade.Thylanderdates t within thereignsof HadrianandAntoninusPius, i.e., contemporarywith theerection of the tomb. It would seem that the enclosurewasbuilt soonafterthis.23 S. Treggiari,RomanFreedmenduringtheLateRepub-lic (Oxford1969) 87, and 95-98. Meiggs (supran. 6) 224.J.H. D'Arms, Commerceand Social Standing in AncientRome (Cambridge,Mass. 1981) 132.Verriusmayalso havefreedhis slavesuponhis death.24 L.R. Taylor, Freedmenand Freeborn n the Epitaphsof ImperialRome, AJP82 (1961) 121-22, notes the declineof the use of libertus n inscriptionsof the late firstandearlysecondcenturies.Taylor 127, on the Greekcognomenas asign of freedmanstatus. P.R.C. Weaver, Cognominange-nua:A Ncte, CQ 58 (1964) 315, on thedifficultyof distin-guishingbetween slaves and freeborn n the secondcenturyon the basis of personalnomenclature.A. M. Duff, Freed-men in the Early RomanEmpire (Oxford1928) 55-56, onthe servile status indicatedby Greeknames.Duff 57-58, onthe sonsof freedmenwho often receivedLatinnames.Treg-



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88 EVE D'AMBRA [AJA 92mmv?~

rv: -:

Ak.1 :

lowOppi i~:iz::::?:-::,,--,

:__::Jri--4&L

-:::I-:::::-:i:::,10:

Fig. 3. Smith at work.Relief fromenclosure acadeof Tomb 29. (CourtesySoprintendenza lle Antichitadi Ostia, neg. B702)

helpistus and Zosime are derived from Greek nounswhich suggest the beneficial qualities desirable forslaves.25 Although the Greek derivation of the cogno-mina need not indicate the servile status of the couple,Zimmer has found that the majority of those com-memorated by work scenes are freedmen.26Moreover,patrons who opened tombs to their freedmen wereoften freedmen themselves.27

After viewing the two reliefs and the inscription onthe enclosure facade, one would have passed throughthe tomb precinct paved with a geometric mosaic. Un-fortunately, the mosaic is not extant; it is, however,included in Calza's plan of the tomb (fig. 2). The onlyother decoration here was a third terracotta reliefplaced to the left of the columbarium entrance

(fig. 5).28 Like the other reliefs, this also depicts a fig-ure at work. A space above the columbarium door in-dicates that another inscription plaque, no longer ex-tant, was once inserted.A stairway which rested on the enclosure wall inthe tomb precinct led to the second floor. The blackand white pavement mosaic which decorated the up-per story is also no longer extant, but is illustrated inCalza's plan of the tomb (fig. 2).29 The mosaic repre-sented an apparatus which is similar in appearance tothat seen in two of the reliefs (figs. 3, 5).The interior of the columbarium chamber measuresabout 5 m.2 while the adjacent space is about 10 m.2.30The chamber was articulated with three niches oneach wall for the cinerary urns and with three arcoso-

giari (supran. 23) 5-7, on the problemof determining heoriginsof freedmen romtheirnames.25 M.L. Gordon, The Freedman's Son in MunicipalLife, JRS 21 (1931) 76, on the popularityof names sug-gesting goodluck,and 77 on the possibilityof the indiscrim-inate use of Greeknamesamongthe slave andfreedpopula-tion. H. Solin, Die griechischenPersonennamen n Rom.Ein Namenbuch1 (Berlin 1982) 60-61; 3, 1351 on Euhel-pistus;and 2, 823-25 on Zosime. These cognominaappearfrequentlyon inscriptionswhereservile or libertinestatus isindicated.

26 Zimmer, RB 6. According o Zimmer,about 70% be-longto libertiwhile 30%belongto freeborncitizens.27 Treggiari(supran. 23) 216. D'Arms (supran. 23) 132.28 Calza, La necropoli253, fig. 152. Kampen,Image 142,no. 12. Zimmer,RB 183-84, no. 118.The geometricmosaicis neither describednor fully illustratedby Calza.29 Calza,La necropoli304, and 77, fig. 27.30 During a visit to the Isola SacraNecropolis n January1986, I estimatedthese measurementsbecause it was not

possibleto enter the tomb.



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1988] A MELEAGER SARCOPHAGUS FROM A TOMB IN OSTIA 89lia under these for sarcophagi. Although inhumationwas gradually replacing cremation as the leadingpractice in the second century, both types of burialwere represented in the tomb.31 This is typical of thecolumbaria in Isola Sacra as well as of those in thenecropolis under the Vatican.32Most of the sculpture from the tombs was removedbefore or during Calza's excavation of 1930. Some ofthe finds were deposited in the garden of the offices ofthe Opera Nazionale dei Combattenti, the veterans'organization whose agricultural work prompted thediscovery of the cemetery in 1923.33 A sarcophagus lidfrom this group (fig. 6) is inscribed with the cognomi-

Fig. 4. Smith at work. Relief from enclosure facade ofTomb 29. (CourtesySoprintendenza lle Antichitadi Ostia,neg. B699)

Fig. 5. Man at work. Reliefto left of columbarium ntranceof Tomb 29. (Courtesy Soprintendenzaalle Antichita diOstia, neg. B697)na ZosimeandEuhelpistuswhich were alsofoundonthe tomb's inscription:34

D MBERRIA ZOSIME

FECIT SIBI ETBERRIO EUHELPISTOCOIUGI SUOBloch first observed hat the inscribedsarcophaguslid must have belongedto the smith'stomb becausethese identical names appear together on no othertombs.35 Thylander confirmed the provenance of the

31H. Brandenburg, Der Beginnder stadtr6mischenSar-kophag-produktion er Kaiserzeit, dl 93 (1978) 277-327.32Toynbeeand Ward-Perkins(supran. 12) 30.33G. Calza, Ostia. Rinvenimenti nell'IsolaSacra, NSc1928, 133-75, esp. 166. Calza publisheda preliminaryre-portof about 15 tombs;some of the materialwas keptat theCasa Nazionale dei Combattenti.In 1938, he discovered43additional ombs. See Calza,La necropoli369-78. Actually,several tombs were firstuncovered n 1790. See Thylander(supran. 22) 2. E. Gatti, Porto.Frammentiepigraficirin-venuti nell'IsolaSacra, NSc 1910, 291. E. Gatti, Fiumici-no-Avanzi di antiche fabbrichescopertenell'Isola Sacra,pressoS. Ippolito, NSc 1911, 410-16. Gatti excavated hearea nearTrajan'scanal.34 H. Bloch, AJA 48 (1944) 213-18, esp. 216-17. Ricci(infra n. 35) 71. Thylander (supra n. 22) 198, no. A275,pl. 80.3. The sarcophagus id measures 0.18 x 2.08 x 0.36m.;and the inscriptional ablet is 0.185 x 0.375 m. Before twas stolen in 1963, it was keptin thegardenof the CasaNa-

zionaledei Combattenti.G. Koch,Die mythologischen ar-kophage, Meleager (ASR 12.6, Berlin 1975) 126-27,no. 130.D, pl. 114f.35Bloch (supra n. 34) 216-17. Thylander (supra n. 22)196-97, no. A273,pl. 80.1, for an inscription romTomb 15which mentions a Veria Zosime and her husband VerriusEucharistus.AlthoughVeria is probablya shorthand ormof Verria,this personis to be distinguished romthe VerriaZosime of Tomb 29 becauseof the presenceof a differenthusbandanda contemporary atein the periodsof Hadrianand Antoninus Pius. There are no other examples of in-scriptionswith the names of Verria Zosimeand of VerriusEuhelpistusfromthe Isola SacraNecropolis.G. Ricci, Os-tia. Sculturerinvenutenell'IsolaSacra, NSc 1939, 70-73,

figs. 14-16, publishedthe sarcophagus id with other findsfrom Isola Sacra includinga fragmentwhich he suggestsmayhavebelonged o the sarcophagusbody.The sarcopha-gus fragmentof Luna marble measured0.66 m. in heightand0.32 m. in width.



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90 EVE D'AMBRA [AJA92

Fig. 6. Lid of sarcophagusof Zosimeand Euhelpistus,withscenes from the mythof Meleager. (AfterRicci, NSc 1939,figs. 14 and 15)sarcophagus lid on the basis of the nomenclature.36The lid's inscription informs us that Verria Zosimesurvived her husband. She had the sarcophagus madefor herself and for him. The V s in both Verria andVerrius are inscribed as B s on the lid, however, avariant ultimately deriving from the Greek alphabetand usually indicative of a lower-class background inRome and environs in the first and second centuriesA.C.37 Another variant spelling in the inscription iscoiugi for coniugi.Different workshops were probably responsible forthe facade inscription and that of the sarcophagus lid.Koch assigns a mid-Antonine date to the lid whileThylander prefers a date in the Hadrianic or earlyAntonine period, contemporary with the tomb's erec-tion.38The former date is preferable to account for thestyle of the figured relief and for the gap between thecouple's construction of the tomb and Verria's dedica-tion of the sarcophagus for her late husband.39The lid is of Roman or western type and shows twoscenes from the Meleager myth, the preparations forthe banquet after the boar hunt and the banquet itself(fig. 6). A fragment from Isola Sacra (fig. 7) may have

belonged to the sarcophagus body because of its simi-lar theme and context.40 The fragment depicts two fig-ures who can be identified as participants in the Caly-donian boar hunt by comparison with other sarcopha-gi of this type.41 On the basis of this evidence, it islikely that Verrius's sarcophagus represented scenesfrom the myth of Meleager in a conventional format.The sarcophagus was probably produced on consign-ment and the inscription was carved when Verria pur-chased it for her husband.42

The smith's tomb provides the opportunity to deter-mine whether an Ostian tomb with such different ex-terior and interior decoration can comprise a thematicprogram. The mythological theme of the sarcophagus

Fig. 7. Fragment of sarcophaguswith Calydonianboarhunt. (CourtesyDeutschesArchiologischesInstitut,Rome,neg. 56.404)

36Thylander(supran. 22) 198.37 The spellingmay indicatecircumstances f the commis-sion. The inscriptionwas the work of a Greek (or non-Latin) stonecutterwho was not familiarwith the Latin al-phabet. The Verrii were of non-Latin background hem-selvesand not fully literate.Either or both of these factorscouldhave resultedin the orthographicvariations.I wouldlike to thankPaul Harveyfor pointingthis out to me.38G. Koch, Nachlesezu den Meleagersarkophagen, A90 (1975) 542, on the goodqualityof the lid'sworkmanshipand the chisel-workwhich is datable to the mid-Antonine

period,A.D. 150-170/80. Koch(supran. 34) 127.Thylan-der (supran. 22) 198.39The sarcophagus id was stolen in 1963. Koch (supran. 34) 126.40 Ricci (supra n. 35) 70-72, figs. 14-16. Koch (supra

n. 34) 97, no.35, pl. 36f.AlthoughKochstatesthatthe frag-mentis from IsolaSacra,he doesnot associate t with the lid.He prefers o dateit to the lateAntonineperiod,althoughaslightly earlierdate in the mid-Antonineperiodwould notbe out of keepingwith the figuretype.41 Koch(supran. 34) 79, fora tableof the frequencyof therepresentationof individual scenes. R. Brilliant, VisualNarratives(Ithacaand London 1984) 146, fig. 4.4, on theschemesor arrangementof sceneswhich represent he Me-leagermython sarcophagi.The motifof the boarhunt wasthe mostpopular(147, 158).

42 J.B. Ward-Perkins, TheRole of Craftsmanshipn theFormationof Early ChristianArt, Atti del IX Congressointernazionaledi archeologia ristiana1 (Rome 1978) 648-49, on the marketingof sarcophagi.Toynbee (supra n. 5)273.



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1988] A MELEAGER SARCOPHAGUS FROM A TOMB IN OSTIA 91is conventional while the terracotta reliefs of workingscenes are rare. Only about 13 of the latter are extantin Isola Sacra. The context of these reliefs on tombswith traditional funerary imagery raises the questionof whether there are correspondences between thedecoration of the facade and that of the chamber.As Bloch has observed, it is not without interest tolearn that a toolmaker in Portus in the second centurychose to have himself buried in a sarcophagus withscenes from the myth of Meleager. 43 Although theMeleager myth was extremely popular in funeraryart because of its themes of the vicissitudes of fortuneand the inevitability of fate, elements of the narrativeor its standard motifs may have had special signifi-cance in this case. Considering that the most visibleworks, the facade reliefs, identify the deceased interms of his trade, it remains to be seen whether thesarcophagus representing the Meleager myth waschosen because of its relevance to the smith's profes-sion or for its customary message of consolation. Ver-rius Euhelpistus and Verria Zosime were familiarwith the trappings of Classical mythology and its sym-bolism although they were not of the cultivated elite.The exterior and interior works address differentaudiences: the sarcophagus was seen only by the fam-ily members who entered the tomb for the rites inhonor of the deceased while the facade reliefs werevisible to the public, including those passing the ceme-tery on the road between Ostia and Portus.44 Evident-ly Verrius Euhelpistus and Verria Zosime ordered thedecoration for the tomb, and assigned or, at least, ap-proved the ensemble of works and the arrangement inthe chamber and on the facade.

Wall paintings and stucco reliefs in the vault mayhave completed the tomb's decoration although noneof them is extant. The Tombs of the Valerii and of thePancratii on the Via Latina outside Rome as well asthat of the Nasonii on the Via Flaminia offer exam-ples of elaborate decorative ensembles representingtraditional mythological scenes on the walls andvaults.45 These tombs, which date to ca. A.D. 160,

were erected by private citizens on a grander scalethan those of Isola Sacra.46 Yet, even in the more mod-est milieu of the port's cemetery, the arrangement ofthe works in the smith's tomb may prove to be sig-nificant: the sarcophagus with its mythological themeis reserved for the interior while the reliefs illustratingan ordinary trade, the source of the deceased's incomeand status, are in public view.

The works on the interior and exterior differ in styleas well. Frontal and profile views, hierarchic scale, andthe lack of any overlapping forms distinguish the styleof the terracotta reliefs. The style of the sarcophaguslid with its crowding of fleshy figures approximates amore naturalistic model. Although there may be a gapas great as 40 years-from about 130-170-betweenthe manufacture of the terracotta reliefs and the sarco-phagus, the discrepancy in style can probably be at-tributed to the different types of monuments to whichthey belong. Reliefs depicting occupations, and mytho-logical sarcophagi conform to their own standards ofrepresentation or generic style.47 A closer look at thestyle and the iconography of the tomb's facade reliefsand the sarcophagus lid is necessary.The decoration which is the most informative aboutthe deceased's occupation is located on the tomb enclo-sure. The two terracotta reliefs indicate that the smith,a faberferrarius, was more precisely a ferramentariuswho made small objects, mostly tools (figs. 3 and 4).48In composition both reliefs resemble catalogues of thegoods made in the smith's shop. The one on the left(fig. 3) portrays a male bearded figure with individual-ized features standing in profile before an apparatusand perhaps making a tool. He wears a long apron,probably made of leather, over his tunic, and sandalson his feet. The attentive modeling of his face and hairis lacking in the rendering of his body as an elongated,tapering cylinder with impossibly long arms.The toolmaker stands before an apparatus which issimilar in shape to a millstone but without its scaleand proportions and the various attachments for themule or horse which usually turns it.49 The smith's

43Bloch(supran. 34) 216-17.44 Toynbee (supra n. 5) 51, 61-64. J.P. Oleson, TheSourcesof Innovation n LaterEtruscan TombDesign (ca.350-700 B.C.) (Rome 1982) 41, on the inherently publicnature of the tombfacade.45 E.L. Wadsworth, StuccoReliefs of the First and Sec-ond Centuries Still Extant in Rome, MAAR 4 (1924)69-72, 73-78. W. Dorigo, Late Roman Painting (London1971) 23-74. H. Joyce, The Decorationof Walls,Ceilings,and Floorsin Italy in theSecondand ThirdCenturiesA.D.(Rome 1981) 75-77.46 B. Andreae, Studien zur ramischenGrabkunst(RM-EH 9, Heidelberg1963) 88, n. 2, forthebibliographyon the

Tomb of the Nasonii. B. Andreae,The Artof Rome (NewYork 1977) 228, on the size of the chamberof the Tomb ofthe Nasonii which was about 30 x 15 ft. The paintedstuc-coesof the Tomb of the Pancratiimaybe compared o thoseof the Domus Aurea.47 0. Brendel, Prolegomenato the Study of Roman Art(New Haven and London 1979) 133-37. Kampen,Image87-88.48Zimmer, RB 15. H.C. Mercer, Ancient Carpenter'sTools(New York1975) 283-88.49K.D. White, Greekand Roman Technology(London1984) 65-67.



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92 EVE D'AMBRA [AJA 92equipment consists of a slab set into the top to create aflat surface rather than the open cavity of the mill-stone. The same apparatus is also depicted in thepavement mosaic on the upper story. Meiggs andZimmer have considered it a grindstone although theevidence for this implement in antiquity is sparse.s0A similarly shaped apparatus is depicted in a third-century relief.5 The relief may represent either ametalworker or a stonecutter who is making a grind-stone. The only other evidence for the Roman grind-stone is an engraved gem of doubtful authenticity.52The gem depicts Cupid sharpening his arrow on a re-volving grindstone mounted on a cart.53 Horace de-scribes a similar scene of a Cupid honing his arrowbut the Latin term cos may indicate either a stationarywhetstone or perhaps a revolving grindstone.54The depiction of the apparatus in the third-centuryrelief representing stone- or metalworkers indicatesthat it is either a grindstone or a worktable. The ob-ject which the figure grasps may be the handle of a toolwhich he is working. Most likely he is sharpening orpolishing an unfinished tool like those which surroundhim. The tools are shown in exaggerated sizes. A rowof enormous instruments-two sickles, a broad trian-gular knife, and a cleaver-and below this, two ax-heads and a drill, fill the right side of the reliefground.'6 They are shown in profile without anyoverlapping for maximum legibility. An incised X isrepresented on the middle of the larger ax-headwhich, in fact, is almost as tall as the figure. ' Chiselsand a plane are placed below the platform on which

he stands. Rather than a glimpse into the smith's shop,the focus of the relief is on the tools which he makes.Another relief commemorating a smith from La Be-

ligna near Aquileia also represents a group of toolsshown in exaggerated sizes.'8 A huge pair of tongs, ahammer, a file and a lock are displayed as emblems ofthe trade on the right half of the relief. In the center, asmith sits before an anvil at which he hammers a pieceof metal. A smaller figure (perhaps a slave or freed-man) works the bellows at the fireplace to the left. Thedisplay of the tools and two figures engaged in differ-ent activities is similar in conception to the second re-lief from the Isola Sacra tomb.

This accompanying relief, on the right side of theenclosure, portrays two figures superimposed in dif-ferent registers in a similar setting dominated by thedisplay of the iconic tool (fig. 4). Again the beardedfigure on the upper register is shown in profile clad ina tunic and a leather apron. Fewer individual featurescan be seen in his face than in that of the figure in theother relief but the gestures of both figures are similar.Although a forge is not represented, the display of thetools, which includes an anvil in the lower left corner,suggests that the figure is finishing, polishing, orgrinding a tool. The emblematic motifs of a hammer,tongs, and anvil frequently represent the smith's pro-fession in funerary reliefs.59The smith stands before a solid chest, ornamentedwith a dog's head and a handle, which Zimmer identi-fies as a container for a grindstone.60 Floriani Squar-ciapino has suggested that a dog's skin is stretched

soMeiggs (supran. 6) 470. Zimmer,RB 183, identifies tas a grindstone n the formof a millstone(catillus).Gaitzsch(supra n. 21) 201, also considers t to be a grinding imple-ment althoughdocumentation orthis is lacking.51 Chieti, Museo Nazionale, Coll. G. Pansa. H. Gumme-rus, Darstellungen aus dem Handwerk auf r6mischenGrab- und Votivsteinen n Italien, Jd128 (1913) 72-73. G.Pansa, Illustrazionedi un bassorilievoromanorappresen-tante un'officina monetaria dell'impero, RM 22 (1907)

198-206, pl. 4, considers the relief to show the strikingofcoins.Zimmer,RB 155-56, no. 78, identifiesthe figureas astoneworkermaking a grindstoneor catillus. The prove-nance of the relief is Rome, althoughits precisefindspot sunknown.52 B. de Montfaucon,MonumentsofAntiquityExplainedand Represented n Sculptures, rans. D. Humphreys (repr.New York and London 1976of 1721-1722 ed.) III, pl. 58.7.A. Rich, Dictionnairedes antiquitesromaineset grecques(Paris 1861) 199.53 F.M. Feldhaus, Die Technikder Vorzeit(Leipzig andBerlin 1914) 953-61. Feldhaus gives no reasonfor his sus-picionsaboutthe gem, and its present location is unknown.54 Hor. Carm. 2.8.13-16. H. Bliimner, Technologieund

Terminologie der Gewerbe und Kiinste bei Griechen undRbmern4 (Leipzig 1887) 54, n. 4, on the gem of doubtfulauthenticity.55 See infran. 70, on the bakerEurysace's omb.s6Gaitzsch(supran. 21) 201.57 Zimmer,RB 183-84, andRH 211, althoughI had diffi-culty seeingthe design duringa visit to the magazziniof theMuseoOstiense n January 1986.The detaillavishedon thetools can also be witnessedin the carefulrenderingof the

grindstonewith a slab set in the catillus.58Aquileia, Museo Nazionale. Zimmer, RB 186-87,no. 122. Kampen,Image 94, fig. 70. G. Brusin, Aquileia(Udine 1929) 118, no. 18, fig. 71. A. Calderini,Aquileiaromana (Milan 1930) 315. S. Panciera, Vita economica diAquileiain etaromana Venice 1957)29. The relief is datedto the late first or early secondcentury.5 Zimmer, RB 39. The commonemblem of the smith'strade is a hammerand plierssymmetricallyplacedto eithersideof an anvil.60 Zimmer,RB 39 andRH 210, also suggeststhat it con-tains a grinding lathe. A. Mutz, Die Kunst des Metalldre-hens bei den Rdmern (Basel and Stuttgart 1972) 39, pls.58-59, illustrates a reconstruction f a Roman lathe which



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1988] A MELEAGER SARCOPHAGUS FROM A TOMB IN OSTIA 93across the top of this instrument which was perhapsused to polish the blade or to collect filings.6' Thesmith's position and gesture indicate that it is aworktable.

An elaborate assortment of huge tools-clippers,cleavers, surgical instruments or nail irons, ax-heads,hammers, shoemakers' knives or awls, pliers, an anvil,and two frame saws-covers the left side of the reliefground and extends from the top to the bottom with-out observing the division between registers.62 Thecollection of tools dwarfs both figures, particularly thesmaller, bearded figure below. He is depicted seated,probably at an anvil, fashioning a tool.63 His pose andequipment recall that of the central figure in the relieffrom Aquileia. Behind him stand two tall upright con-tainers or amphorae.64 The man may represent aslave, freedman, or free worker of the larger figure,perhaps Verrius, above.65Rather than two floors or rooms of the workshop, therelief probably represents two different processes of thecraft: the figure working at the anvil below and Verriusor his manager finishing a tool above.66 The figuresare, however, subordinated to the display of goods. Theoversized tools are emblems of the occupation.The third relief from the smith's tomb (fig. 5),which was located on the tomb facade,67provides evi-dence that the terracotta reliefs were brightly colored.Traces of blue paint were found on the background ofthis relief and dark red was used for the figure'sskin.68 In composition it differs from the other two inits unarticulated background. A figure in a long tunic,belted at the waist, is working at an apparatus similarin shape to that seen in the first relief (fig. 3).This cylindrical object tapers in the middle and has asolid upper surface. It supports an object which the

figure is working or molding. Although the figure isshown in the same attitude and gesture as the figure inthe first relief, he had been initially identified as knead-ing dough for bread.69 If this were the subject of therelief, however, there ought to be other indications ofthe baker's profession such as sacks of flour or sieves.70Zimmer has identified the man as a toolmakersharpening an implement because of the figure's posi-tion and gesture. On close examination of the relief,one notices that the smith is holding two objects. Hishidden left hand seems to be holding a rectangularobject (little more than a corner of it is visible) next tothe roughly semicircular shape in his right hand. Heis probably rubbing the rectangular object, perhapsthe edge of a blade, against a whetstone and, therefore,is finishing a tool.This relief may represent a simplified version of theformer relief without the display of the iconic tools.Even the grindstone becomes an abstract shape, asloping hourglass form lacking detail. Perhaps thiswork was the first to be placed on the tomb facadewhile the other two followed when the enclosure wasadded.72 In this way, the basic scheme of the tool-grinder was elaborated by the representation of thestock in trade in the reliefs of the enclosure facade.

The modeling of the figure relies on the reduction oforganic forms to a simplified scheme: the hair isshown as a fringe encircling the scalp, a frontal eye isset in a profile face, the torso swells above the belt, andthe foot is a triangular wedge at the base of the leg.Rather than giving an individual likeness, the relieffocuses on the toolmaker's craft with this representa-tion of a man sharpening an implement.The decoration of the tomb chamber differs mark-edly in the mythological subject matter of the Melea-ger sarcophagus. The evidence of the sarcophagus lid

does not resemble the objecton the relief at all. Gaitzsch(supran. 21) 200, identifies t as a worktable or a grindingapparatus.6' Floriani Squarciapino(supran. 21) 186.62Zimmer,RB 183-84. Gaitzsch(supran. 21) 200-201.63Zimmer, RB 184. Calza, La necropoli 252, describes theobjectas a stool and the figure'sactivityas cuttinga pieceofiron. W.H. Manning, Catalogue of the Romano-BritishIron Tools, Fittings and Weapons in the British Museum(London 1985) 1, on a similar type of anvil. W. Gaitzsch,Eiserne r6mische Werkzeuge (BAR International Series 78,Oxford 1980) pls. 1-3, 69, no. 314.64 Zimmer,RB 184, suggeststhat it may be two anvilsorthe ironfromwhich anvilsare made. Gaitzsch(supran. 21)201, considers hem to be human figures,apprentices o thesmith.65 Zimmer,RB 15. It is less likelythat the small figure s a

son becauseno childrenare mentioned n the inscriptiononthe tomb.66 C. Pavolini, Ostia (Bari 1983) 264, implies that thesamefigure s representedwicein the panel in a continuousnarrative.I preferthe interpretationhat the figureaboveisthe patronusand the one belowis his slaveor freedman.67 Calza, La necropoli 253, fig. 152. Kampen, Image 142,no. 12. Zimmer,RB 183-84, no. 118. Dimensions:H. 0.47m.;W. 0.44 m. Ostia, Museo Ostiense,Magazzini.68 Zimmer,RB 183-84, no. 118.69 Calza, La necropoli 253.70 Forexample,onthe friezeof the bakerEurysaces' omb:P. Ciancio Rossetto, II sepolcro delfornaio M. Virgilio Euri-sace a Porta Maggiore (Rome 1973) pls. 26-37. Zimmer,RB 106-109, no. 18.71 Zimmer, RB 183-84.72 See supran. 20.



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94 EVE D'AMBRA [AJA 92

Fig. 8. Sarcophaguswith Calydonianboarhunt, Villa Aldobrandini,Frascati.(CourtesyDeutschesArchaologischesnstitut,Rome,neg. 67.2560)and the fragment which may have formed part of itsbody suggests that it depicted the hunt of the Calydo-nian boar.73Both panels of the lid flanking the centralinscription portray two consecutive narrative mo-ments which occur after the boar hunt, the prepara-tions for the banquet and then the banquet itself(fig. 6). Prominent in the former panel are the ser-vants cutting and chopping the boar's flesh.The same theme is found in the lid of another sarco-phagus from Ostia now in the Villa Aldobrandini inFrascati (fig. 8).74 The lid of the Frascati sarcopha-gus, which is dated to ca. A.D. 160, shows a kneelingfigure stoking a fire below a pot, a figure at a tabletrimming the boar meat with a cleaver, and two otherscarrying meat and bread on a tray. In the Isola Sacralid, however, three figures instead of one seem to beinvolved in dismembering the animal (fig. 6, top). Thefigures on the Isola Sacra lid are short and stocky, andappear compressed in the narrow band of the lid.Props such as tables are omitted. In the Frascati lid,however, where there is ample room for the full heightof standing figures, the figures also tend to have largeheads and round limbs.

The Isola Sacra lid may have derived from the typerepresented by the Frascati sarcophagus.75 There areother examples of the banquet scene in representa-tions of the Meleager myth, yet the arrangement offigures and their activities in these two works moreclosely resemble one another than those which alsodepict additional equipment such as amphorae orhunting nets.76An Ostian workshop was probably re-sponsible for both the Isola Sacra and the Frascati sar-cophagi. Perhaps this particular scene was developedfor the clientele of the port; only slight changes in thegrouping of figures and their attributes were requiredto create this type.The center tablet is not inscribed in the Frascatisarcophagus, suggesting that it was a workshop pieceinscribed at the time of purchase and perhaps neverused. As suggested above, Verrius's sarcophagus mayalso have been purchased ready-made.The scene to the right of the inscription on the IsolaSacra lid shows five figures, a bearded man who isperhaps Theseus, the two Dioscuri as harbingers ofvictory, and Atalanta and Meleager, all reclining atthe banquet and eating the meat which was prepared

73See suprans. 34 and 40.74Koch (supran. 34) 87, no. 7, pl. 4.5g-h, 114e, 118a-b.P. Kranz, Zwei Fragmenteeiner Thiasos-Lenos auf demCelio-mittelantonisch oder frtihseverisch? BullCom 84(1974-1975) 178, n. 2, considered he Frascatisarcophagusto be a moderncopy.This opinion,however,is unfounded.See Koch and Sichtermann infran. 76) 161, n. 9.

75J.B. Ward-Perkins, The DionysiacSarcophagin Bal-timore, RendPontAcc48 (1975-1976) 215, on the combi-nationof established iguresor groupsto createnewtypesofmotifsfor standardmyths.76 G. Koch and H. Sichtermann,RbmischeSarkophage(Munich 1982) 163. Koch(supran. 34) pl. 114.77See supra n. 42.



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1988] A MELEAGER ARCOPHAGUS ROMA TOMBIN OSTIA 95in the pendantscene on the left.78This is a standardbanquet scene which appears with minor variationson many sarcophagi.Besidesits significanceas a cele-brationfor the end of the terror inflictedby the fero-cious boar, the banquet also represents the turningpoint in Meleager's fortune.During the banquetMe-leager'sfate was sealed.79 is uncles triedto take thespoils which Meleager had given to Atalanta,and inthe courseof the struggle Meleagerkilled them.WhenMeleager's mother, Althaea,heard of her son'sdeeds,she lit a brand which the Fates had assigned as themeasure of the length of his life. When the brandburned away, Meleager died. For viewers familiarwith the myth, the banquet signaled the moment ofMeleager's changingfortune.The Meleager myth, like othermyths,was popularbecauseit allowedthe patronto identifywith the herothroughanalogy.8 The couple Atalanta and Melea-ger may also stand for Verria andVerrius, especiallybecause Verrius, like Meleager, died before his be-loved.81The sarcophagus id with the banquetof Me-leager and Atalanta was placed in a tomb where thefamily members came to feast on the anniversaryofthe deathsof Verria and Verrius.82At the same timethat it reflects he ritual enactedat the tomb,this sceneis also appropriatebecauseit representsa gatheringofheroes, the larger-than-life mythological characterswho now may accompanyVerrius.Besides the evocation of contemporary funerarypractice, the banquetscenesmay also foreshadowthetragicoutcome of the myth. As Brillianthas observed,the motif of the servant stoking the fire recalls Al-thaea'sburningof the brand.83The hero'svulnerabil-ity is intimated n the scene of his triumph.Sarcophagirepresentingthe death of Meleager frequently depicta scene of Althaea burning the brand with the Fatespresent.184The reversalsof fortune,the necessityof fate, and

the transience of life are all themes which make theMeleager myth appropriate for funerary art. Yetthere may have been other reasons for Verrius andVerria to select this myth for the sarcophagus.Thedecorationof the tombfacadeclearlyindicates he im-portanceof Verrius'sprofessionfor his imageto pos-terity. One may be temptedto draw an analogy be-tween the lid's motifof the servantstokingthe fireandthe smith at his forge. Yet, the facade reliefs do notdepictthe processof forgingbut focuson the tools,thefinely honed knives and cleavers, which the smithgrindsandpolishes.In fact,the butcheringof the boarshown on the sarcophagus id requiresthese utensils,and at least one cleaver can be seen on the Isola Sacralid as well as on the Frascati lid.

Although the body of Verrius's sarcophagus s nolonger extant, it can probablybe reconstructed romthe fragmentmentionedabove(fig. 7) andby compar-ing it to workssuchas the Frascatisarcophaguswhichconstitutethe established ypesfor the depictionof theMeleager myth. 5The fragmentmay depictthe Caly-donian boar hunt. It shows two hunters who carryspears,one of whom is seen fromthe back; hedisposi-tion of the figures is similar to that of an analogouspair represented n the Calydonianhunt. A Meleagersarcophagus rom the Palazzodei Conservatoridatingto ca. A.D. 190 is typical in its division of the panelwith groupsof figuresto indicatethe momentbeforethe hunt and the hunt itself. 6The figuresmovefromleft to right;the actionculminates with the hero Me-leager plunging his long spear into the boar on theright side. In this typicalcomposition he Isola Sacrafragmentwouldbelongto the upper registerof the re-lief's right side with its two figuresidentifiedas thoseattackingthe boarfromthe rear, with the animalen-circledand trapped.A figureanalogousto the hunterseen from the back is also depictedon the Frascatisarcophagus.

78KochandSichtermannsupran. 76) 163-64,on thedi-visionof thebanquet cene n twohalveswiththeinscrip-tional ablet n the center.Boththe Frascati nd the IsolaSacra lids show this arrangement.Koch (supran. 34)126-27,no.130.79Hornm.I.9.527-99.Ov.Met.8.260-525, mphasizesheweaponry.Apollod.Bibl.1.8.1-4.80 Brilliantsupran. 41) 150.81Brilliant supran. 41) 159-61,on the possibilityhatAtalanta ndMeleager repartof a romanticradition e-riving romVenusandMars.A third-centuryarcophagusinthePalazzoLepriGallo nRome epresents talantandMeleagerwithindividual ortraiteatures,perhaps f thecouplewhocommissionedt. SeeWrede supran. 3) 228,no.95,pl. 5.4.

82See supran. 10.83 Brilliantsupran.41) 157.84 Brilliantsupran.41) 152-54.85Ricci(supran. 35) 72, fig. 16.Koch supran. 34) 87,no.7, pl.4.5g-h,114e,118a-b.86 FortheMeleager arcophagusn thePalazzodei Con-servatori,see H. StuartJones, The AncientSculpturesPre-served in the Municipal Collections of Rome 2: Palazzo deiConservatori Oxford 1926) 33-34, no. 17, pl. 10. Helbig4,II, 206-209, no. 1402 (B. Andreae). Koch (supra n. 34)89-90, no. 12, pls.16b, 17c-d. The sarcophagus'sdimen-sions are H. 0.67 andW. 1.85 m. Cf. G. Daltrop,Die kaly-donische Jagd in der Antike (Hamburg and Berlin 1966)28-31, for representationsn general.



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96 EVE D'AMBRA [AJA 92Like the banquet theme on the lid of Verrius's sar-

cophagus, the Calydonian boar hunt also has implica-tions as a symbol appropriate to the occasion ofdeath. 7 Of course, the popularity of the Meleagermyth indicates that it held meaning for many on abasic level.88 Yet this motif may have had a particularsignificance for the smith Verrius.The Frascati sarcophagus (fig. 8), cited above for itssimilar lid, was also decorated with a relief of the boarhunt on its front panel.89 What distinguishes the huntscene of the Frascati sarcophagus is the careful delin-eation and accumulation of weapons, spears, javelins,arrows, axes, and so forth, wielded by the hunters.90The clarity with which these objects are represented inthe upper register of the relief recalls the display ofsimilarly sharp-bladed instruments on the reliefs ofthe tomb facade. Note the central grouping, the con-frontation between Meleager and the boar with Ata-lanta assisting, the focus of which is the boar's head asthe target of three projectiles-Meleager's long spear,Atalanta's arrow, and a shorter spear held above. Twoother spears, held upright, with pointed heads, framethe group. One figure identified as Ankaios or Orcus,who regularly is depicted in Calydonian boar huntscenes, carries an ax. This kind of ax is found in one ofthe tomb's facade reliefs (fig. 2). Given the resem-blance between the carved lids of the Frascati and IsolaSacra sarcophagi, it is likely that the relief on the frontof the latter sarcophagus was similarly composed.

As with the lid, the body of the Frascati sarcopha-gus also seems to diverge slightly from the format ofthe established types. The weapons appear moreprominent because of the spacing of the figures andthe absence of figures in the background or of anylarge elements such as horses which appear in otherrepresentations. 9 The composition could have re-sulted from the copying of other models or from pat-tern books: the original gradually became simplified

and non-essential figures were omitted. This composi-tion may have appealed to the taste of clients such asVerrius and Verria, and perhaps was determined bythem. The facade reliefs emphasize inanimate objectsas symbols of an occupation, and it is likely that inselecting a sarcophagus Verrius and Verria favored ascene representing such objects as props.The common denominator of the reliefs on the exte-rior of Tomb 29 and the Meleager sarcophaguswithin is the emphasis on sharp objects: the sharpen-ing apparatus and the implements with blades exhib-ited on the exterior reliefs, the grindstone representedin the mosaic of the upper story, the cutlery used bythe servants or slaves depicted on the sarcophagus lid,and the hunters' weapons shown on the front reliefpanel of the sarcophagus.92 The tomb reliefs indicatethe smith's pride in making a variety of precision in-struments requiring finely ground cutting edges, fromvineyard clippers to surgical knives.The Meleager myth provided a story in which thehero's weapon was a spear with a sharp point, andother sharp spears and tools were prominently dis-played in the reliefs of the sarcophagus and its lid. Byillustrating the utility of razor-sharp blades andpoints, this representation of the myth of Meleager isappropriate to commemorate Verrius. Other mythsdepicting hunts would have been less appropriate.Adonis, for example, is killed by a boar and Hippo-lytus rides on horseback, motifs which tend to obscurethe heroes' weaponry. The particular type of the IsolaSacra and Frascati sarcophagi-only one tradition forrepresenting the Meleager myth93 -may have beenpopular at Ostia because of its appeal to purchaserswho selected the myth for the emphasis on its secon-dary elements, the weaponry and cutlery, as well asfor its general theme.Other Ostian tombs furnish similar evidence for arelationship between the decoration of the facade and

87 J. Aymard, Essai sur les chasses romaines des origines a'la fin du siecle des Antonins (BEFAR 171, Rome 1951)513-16. A.D. Nock, Sarcophagiand Symbolism, re-printed in Z. Stewart ed., Essays on Religion and the An-cient World2 2 (Oxford1972) 606-41, esp. 627, 633, forthehunting motif as exemplifying virtus and representinganactivityfromthe deceased's ife (which was not the case forVerrius). B. Andreae, Die ramischen Jagdsarkophage (ASR1.2, Berlin 1980) 134-39. Brilliant (supra n. 41) 157-58.J.K. Anderson, Hunting in the Ancient World (Berkeleyand Los Angeles 1985) 83-122, on Romanhunting.

88 Brilliant(supran. 41) 145.89Koch and Sichtermann(supran. 76) 161. Koch (supran. 34) 87, no. 7, pl. 4.5g-h, 114e, 118a-b.9oCompared o otherrepresentationsof the boarhunt, theFrascatiexample shows a less compactarrangementof thefigureswhich allows the weaponsto be seen moreclearly.

91 Koch(supran. 34) pl. 16, no. 12;pl. 24, no. 17;pl. 24,no. 20; pl. 56, no. 67, amongotherexamples.92 It maybe arguedthat the Meleagermythis appropriateforthe smithbecausetheburnedbrandservesas a metaphorfor a life extinguishedprematurely.A brand s of particularuse to a smithbecause t transmits ire,andthe lossof suchavaluable implementcould signify the end of a productivecareerfor a smith. As BarbaraKellum has pointedout tome, however,the facadereliefsdo not portraythe smith athis forge(wherehe mayrequirea brand)but at a grindstonewherehe whetsthe blades of the tools.The ideaof theburn-ing brandmaystill be implicitin the selectionof the Melea-germythforVerrius'ssarcophagus,but in this casethe sym-bolismis moredirect. I wouldliketo thankBarbaraKellumfor her insights.

93See supran. 91, forexamples.



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1988] A MELEAGER SARCOPHAGUS FROM A TOMB IN OSTIA 97the interior. Of those tombs with extant facade reliefsdepicting trades, the smith's tomb is unique in pro-viding evidence of the sculptural work housed with-in.94 There are, however, other tombs with profes-sional reliefs on the facade which were decorated withpaintings of common mythological themes in theircellae.95 It is possible that these mythological themeswere also chosen because of their relevance to the de-ceased's occupation.Calza has described the painted interiors of thesetombs. Tomb 78 is a brick-faced, barrel-vaulted co-lumbarium with a facade crowned by a pediment,which stands in a row of four adjacent tombs.96 Itlacks a walled enclosure and opens immediately to thepath between the rows of tombs. The tomb can bedated to the late Trajanic period on the basis of a brickstamp.97 A marble inscription98 set above the doorstates that Tiberius Claudius Eutychus erected thetomb for himself, his wife, their children, his freedmenand freedwomen, and their descendants:

D MTI CLAUDIUS EUTYCHUSCLAUDIAE MEMNONIDI

CONIUGI BENE MERENTI ET SIBILIBERISQUE SUIS FECIT LIBERTISLIBERTABUSQUE POSTERISQUEEORUM ITU AMBITUM H M H N SIN FRONTE P XV IN AGRO P XV

The cognomen Eutychus appears frequently incontexts that suggest that Tiberius Claudius Eutychus

and Claudia Memnonis are probably also of the samesocial position as the Verrii, i.e., freed slaves.99 Theinscription also typically gives the dimensions of thefrontage and depth of the tomb's plot. Its size--15Roman ft.2-places it in the lower median range forOstian tombs.100 This tomb, like many others, doesnot provide space for family members over severalgenerations.101On either side of the inscription is a terracotta re-lief, one of which depicts a small boat or lenunculusmanned by four men (fig. 9) and the other a millstoneoperated by a man and a horse (fig. 10).102 In both, thefigures are reduced in scale in comparison to the boatand to the millstone. Zimmer, however, has observedportrait features on the head of the standing figuremanning the rudder in the boat relief.103The prow,stern, rope, and mast of the tugboat are clearly ren-dered, and the three figures of the crew are shownthrowing their weight forward as they pull the oars.The scene's realistic detail is enhanced by the model-ing of forms rather than the use of contour lines todelineate the figures.In the accompanying relief (fig. 10), the figures arerendered in a simplified, cursive style which flattensthe forms against the neutral background. The horseappears to float against the relief ground as if it werean appendage of the millstone, rather than the sourceof the energy which drives the machine.1'04 In an at-tempt to portray the animal in the act of turning themillstone, its hindquarters are simply not shown atall. The symmetrical arrangement of the horse and thefigure on either side of the central millstone recalls an

94 G. Calza, Ostia. Isola Sacra. La necropolidel 'PortusRomae', NSc 1931, 510-42; and Calza, La necropoli187-262, on the sculpturefromthe Isola SacraNecropolis.Thefinds were relativelyscarce. G.M.A. Hanfmann, ClassicalWeekly35 (Dec. 8, 1941) 90, on the contrast between theprimitivistic uality of the terracottareliefs and the im-portedsarcophagi ound in some of the tombs.95 Calza,La necropoli336-37.96 Calza,La necropoli336-37.97Thylander(supran. 22) 64-65, no. A61, pl. 20.3.98 Thylander (supran. 22) 64-65, no. A61, pl. 20.3.99Thylander(supran. 22) index478, with otherexamplesof the cognomenEutychus.Gordon(supran. 25) 73, 76, onthe servile or libertineconnotationsof the cognomenEuty-chus. Solin (supran. 25) 2, 801-806. Solin includes no ex-amplesof the cognomenMemnonis but Memno and Mem-noniaappearin epitaphs(1500-1501).o00Cebeillac (supra n. 12) 104.10'K. Hopkins, Death and Renewal (SociologicalStudiesin RomanHistory2, Cambridge1983) 205.102 Calza, La necropoli254-55, figs. 153-54. Meiggs (su-pra n. 6) pl. 28a-b. Kampen, Image 143, no. 15, on therelief of the millstone. Zimmer, RB 208-209, no. 156;113-14, no. 24. Dimensionsof the reliefof the boat: H. 0.40;

W. 0.58 m. Dimensions of the relief of the millstone: H.0.40; W. 0.40 m. Ostia, Museo Ostiense,Magazzini.103 Zimmer, RB 66-67, 209. He also points out that thefigureis wearinga subligaculum,eithera kind of loinclothor a pair of trunks.104 Meiggs (supran. 6) captionto pl. 28b,describes he fig-ure with whip in handas a slavebecause heywere knowntoperform his menialtask in antiquity.The verticalbeam on

the left side struck a stationarybell eachtime the stone re-volved.In this way, the ringingproved othe millownerthatthe work was proceeding.The triangular fitting abovetheupper partof the mill, the catillus,may representa hopperfor feedinggraininto the mill. The ovalobject n the upperrightsectionmay be a sieve. L.A. Moritz, Grain-MillsandFlourin ClassicalAntiquity Oxford 1958) 74-90. Forcom-parativescenes of molae asinariae,see: W. Amelung,DieSkulpturendes VatikanischenMuseums 1 (Berlin 1903)778, no. 685,pl. 84 (therelief of P. NoniusZethus);A. Mau,Pompeii.ItsLifeandArt,trans.F.J. Kelsey(New YorkandLondon 1904) 390, fig. 222 (relief in Museo Chiaramonti,Vatican Museums); Ciancio Rossetto (supra n. 70); andKampen, mage157,no.54,pl. 89 (thecalendarmosaic romSaint Romain-en-Gal,SaintGermain-en-Laye,Mus&edesAntiquitesNationales,Inv. MA 1334).



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98 EVE D'AMBRA [AJA 92

Fig. 9. Lenunculusrelief fromTomb 78, Isola Sacra Necro-polis. (Courtesy Soprintendenzaalle Antichita di Ostia,neg. B701)emblem of the baker's craft. Emblems also are charac-terized by this schematic economy of form as well asby the frontality of figures and objects.The columbarium interior (3.45 x 3.20 m.) is artic-ulated with a large semicircular niche in the rear wall,two rectangular niches on the side walls, and 20 smallsemicircular niches arranged around the chamber. Onthe right wall Calza reported seeing a damaged paint-ing of Hercules.105 The hero lacked his head, but heldhis club in his left hand and perhaps the apples of theHesperides in his right. Although no reproductions ofthis painting exist and the original has long since dis-appeared, examples of similar themes from Pompeianwall painting aid in reconstructing the lost tombpainting. One example from the Casa della ReginaMargherita in Pompeii shows Hercules observing thethree Hesperides at an altar.106The figures are set inthe middle ground of a rocky, mountainous landscapewith a tree and a corner section of an enclosure mark-ing the sacred site.A figure of Neptune or Poseidon was painted in acorresponding niche on the left wall. When Calzaviewed it, only the god's feet were visible along withthe trident in his left hand and his right hand restingon a dolphin.1'7 Medallions were painted in the vault

above, and it has been suggested that these depictedthe personifications of the Four Seasons as seen in thevault of the adjacent Tomb 79.'10 The extant medal-lionsof Tomb79 portrayheadsof the personificationswith appropriateattributessuch as hoods and marshreedsforwinter,or floralgarlands orspring.A conventionaldecorative chemeemerges romthefragmentary videnceof Tomb 78. BothNeptune andHercules with the Hesperidesrepresent voyagesonthe sea or to the ends of the earth. The motif of thevoyage,compoundedwiththatof the quest,commonlysymbolizesdeath.'09Also the watery depthsof Nep-tune's realm evoke the dissolution of life, and inmythology the Underworld was usually reachedbycrossingwater. 10A morespecific evelof symbolismrelates the inte-riorpaintingsto the facadereliefs.The significanceofa sea god to a port town cannotbe discounted.Nep-tuneprotects eagoingvesselslike the boatdepictedonthe facaderelief. '1For one who earnedhis living by

Fig. 10. Millstone relief fromTomb 78, IsolaSacra Necro-polis. (Courtesy Soprintendenzaalle Antichitaidi Ostia,neg. B698)

105Calza, La necropoli118, 337.106 C.M. Dawson, Romano-Campanian MythologicalLandscapePainting (YCS9, New Haven 1944) 89, no. 22,pl. 7.107 Calza,La necropoli118, 337.108Calza, La necropoli118, 337. For a relatedimage, see141, fig. 67.109M. Rostovtzeff,JRS 13 (1923) 206, on the motifof thelastjourneyin funeraryart.110Lucian, Dial. Mort. 2-3, for a contemporary ourceon

beliefs aboutdeath. Hades was thoughtto be surroundedby

greatrivers.I'I The Italian godof water also governed he sea throughhis identificationwith Poseidon. W.H. Roscher,Ausfiihr-lichesLexicondergriechischenund r6mischenMythologie3.1 (Leipzig 1898) 201-207, s.v. Neptunus, esp. 205 (G.Wissowa). W. Warde Fowler, The RomanFestivalsof thePeriodof the Republic(London 1908) 185-87. Meiggs (su-pra n. 6) 345-46, on a dedication o Neptune, CastorandPollux foundnear the centerof the cityalthough t probablyonce stood n the templearea.



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1988] A MELEAGER SARCOPHAGUS FROM A TOMB IN OSTIA 99ferrying cargo or towing large ships in the harbor inPortus, Neptune was a crucial deity who required fre-quent propitiation. It is likely that Neptune was rep-resented in the tomb painting because of his influenceover one of Claudius Eutychus's businesses.112

Hercules, the deified hero who undertook a series oflabors, was an appropriate choice because he was a godof luck to the Romans.113 More particularly, the for-tune of Hercules benefited those in trade or business,and the Temple of Hercules Invictus in Ostia was thefocus of an important and wealthy cult.114 The laborsof Hercules are depicted in a stucco frieze in anothertomb at Isola Sacra, and perhaps either these heroictasks or his acquired immortality or both merited hispopularity. '5The Four Seasons probably depicted on the vaultare a standard motif in funerary art because of theirevocation of the passage of time, of the cyclical returnof the seasons.116The seasons also serve as a metaphorfor the ages of man.117 In Late Antique and EarlyChristian art, they are personified by figures engagedin tasks typical of each season.118 Milling grain, asshown on the other facade relief, fits this tradition ofdepicting seasonal agricultural work.119 The reliefmay be an emblem of life's ceaseless toil through itsdepiction of the monotonous activity of the slave andthe horse. Only death offers an escape.In one sense, the tomb paintings of Hercules, Nep-tune, and the Seasons suggest the triumph of TiberiusClaudius Eutychus over mortality. The immortalhero and the god of the sea reflect his achievementswhile they imply a favorable reception in the nextworld. Medallions of the Seasons on the tomb's vaultcontinue the theme of eternal life. The decoration of

the tomb interior focuses on the concerns of the de-ceased and the promises of an afterlife.The facade reliefs of the boat and of the millstoneostensibly depict the deceased's transport business andhis bakery under the protection of Neptune and Her-cules. The relief of the boat may, however, also sym-bolize the last journey while the millstone relief evokeslife's labors through its depiction of a routine, menialtask. In this case, the professional scenes seem to sharethe symbolic content of the mythological works of theinterior, although they emphasize the equipment ofthe trades-the millstone and the boat-and indicatethe sources of Eutychus's wealth and his identity inthe port community.

In the two examples discussed above, there is evi-dence of a decorative program uniting the tomb exte-riors and interiors, although the scope and extentvaries in each case. The interior paintings of Tomb 78portrayed deities, Hercules and Neptune, and personi-fications, the Seasons, who govern the occcupationsshown on the facade reliefs. The decoration may beseen to be directed to different audiences: that of thetomb chamber to the relatives who celebrate rites inhonor of the deceased and that of the facade to the pub-lic who is reminded of the deceased's accomplishments.The smith's tomb, no. 29, offers a more extensiveprogram because of its rich decoration of three terra-cotta reliefs, one figured black-and-white mosaic, anda marble sarcophagus. The choice of a mythologicalsarcophagus for the smith did not depend upon a pa-tron deity such as Vulcan, but on a myth in which thesmith's products, the finely ground cutting blades,were prominent.120 The Meleager myth was visuallyappropriate and immediately appealing to Verrius,

112Zimmer,RB 15. TiberiusClaudiusEutychusmayhaveownedboth a bakeryanda boatwhich were probablyoper-ated for him by slaves or freedmen.See Meiggs (supran. 6)captionsto pl. 28.113 J. Bayet,Les originesde l'Herculeromain(Paris 1926)397-401, 420-21, 471.114 G. Dumezil, La religion romaine archaique (Paris1966) 424, on the correspondence etween Hercules'travelsto the ends of the earth, especiallywith the purposeof ac-quiringgoods suchas the applesof the Hesperides,and theactivitiesof a trader.Cebeillac (supra n. 12) 39-125, esp.65-70, on Herakles'roleas the patrondeityof businessmen.Wrede 1981 (supra n. 3) 99, on Hercules and MercuryasRoman gods of trade and business, and the 12 Labors assigns of virtus. Also, 238-53, nos. 121-58. G. Becatti, I1culto di Ercole ad Ostia ed un nuovo rilievo votivo,BullCom67 (1939) 37-60, on the importanceand wealth ofthis cult in Ostiaandon a curiousrelieffound n thevicinityof Ostia.115Calza,La necropoli108-10, on the HadrianicTomb95,decoratedwith a stuccofrieze in 12 rectangularpanels,dis-posedwith six panelson two facingwalls in the tombcham-

ber. M. Floriani Squarciapino, Fatiched'Ercole:Ercoleele stallediAugiain un emblemaostiense, ArchCl10(1958)106-15.116 G.M.A. Hanfmann,The SeasonSarcophagusn Dum-bartonOaks1 (Cambridge1951) 129-41.117Ov. Met. 15.179.18D. Parrish, Season Mosaics of Roman North Africa(Rome 1984) pls. 8a, 15, 17b,amongotherexamples.119E.g., see Kampen,Image 157,no. 54, pl. 89, fora third-century mosaic from a villa in Saint Romain-en-Gal.Themosaic depictsa woman milling grain, and she is shownholding a whip aloft to drive the mule which is emergingfrombehindthe millstone.Cf. supra n. 104.

120 A. Burford, Craftsmen n Greekand Roman Society(London1972) 72. The traditionalpictureof HephaistosorVulcan as a lame buffoonor a laughingstock,even thoughhe was a god, disqualifieshim frombeing depictedin thiscontext. For example, F. Brommer,Der Gott VulkanaufprovinzialromischenReliefs (Cologne 1973) pls. 7-10. F.Brommer, Hephaistos, Der Schmiedegott n der antikenKunst (Mainz 1978) 172, pls. 53.3, 56.1.

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