Living with Myths The Imagery of Roman Sarcophagi

by Zanker, Paul; Ewald, Bjorn C.; Slater, Julia

• ISBN13: 9780199228690
• ISBN10: 0199228698
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-02-08
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Roman sarcophagi have fascinated posterity since the Middle Ages, largely because of their mythological reliefs.Living with Mythsprovides a comprehensive introduction to this important genre, exploring such subjects as the role of the mythological images in everyday life of the time, the messages they convey about the Romans' view of themselves, and the reception of the sarcophagi in later European art and art history. The volume is fully illustrated with high-quality photographs, which enable readers to appreciate the artistic quality of the reliefs and to explore for themselves the messages they convey. Together with the text, which includes analyses of specific sarcophagi, the pictures open up a panorama of Roman cultural history in the 2nd to the early 4th centuries CE.

Author Biography

Paul Zanker is Professor of Ancient Art History, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa.

Bjorn C. Ewald is Assistant Professor of Art, University of Toronto.

Table of Contents

1
Images with a long history
Mourning, grief, and comfort: the solace of myth
Visions of bliss
Image cultivation, role images, and ideals
Images and values in transition
2. Documentation