Roman Sarcophagus

A way for family to show its love and respect for the deceased is through the elaborate decoration on a sarcophagus, which large family back then displayed proudly. During the time period 150 to 250 A.D, burial in a sarcophagus was a popular custom. Romans had the practice of cremation before they were exposed to sarcophagus. The main influencers were Etruscans and the Greeks, making Rome the highest primary production center for sarcophagus. Roman Sarcophagus common characteristics were a low rectangular box and a flat lid. They depicted story telling of either their own life or a greek hero. Through the material used on sarcophagus it reveals the type of person the deceased and their family was. Portraying a greek hero in a sarcophagus was pretty common in funerary art because of their beliefs in the afterlife. According to ancient Roman myths, the importance of having a proper burial for loved ones was crucial in order to be granted entrance to either Elysium or Plain of Asphodel

instead of spending eternity in a purgatory-like existence in the underworld. Sarcophagus was a big highlight for funerary art. The Sarcophagus with life of Achilles is significant to world of funerary art because is an example of how sarcophagus can reveal the type of person the deceased was, and the beliefs of that era.
Through a sarcophagus, one can identify the deceased’s power, status, religion and other factors of their life. This Sarcophagus is roman, meaning it includes roman characteristics like it being rectangular but it also has a carved statue of a man and a woman as the lid. This is considered as a luxurious sarcophagus because it is made out of marble which is good material to use for intricate details and three dimensional carvings. The other type of inexpensive sarcophagus were made out of limestone, lead, and wood. Its dimensions are big especially because it had to fit a human inside. The artist is unknown but they used medium relief for the detailed, not having the figures around the box pop out to much so the figures on the lid can stand out. The deceased must of been in between medium and high social class because of the material and complex details. Even Though, the figures reclining on the lid were not finished, and there is no way of knowing if that was on purpose or not, it is said that back then they would premade sarcophagus with unfinished portraits. So when someone died, their families have a variety to pick from right away and can just add their finishing touches. Since sarcophagus was a big product because of its meaning in memorializing and practice of beliefs, it had an important impact on funerary art.
Due to the Sarcophagus being a reminiscence of Achilles’ life, but yet not meant for him, proves the idea of the deceased not using their own life on the sarcophagus to be remembered. The reason why families may chose the life of a hero to depict the deceased is because they wanted that hero to accompany them on their journey in death. In this sarcophagus, there is a depiction of three scenes of Achilles life. On one end, the scene of Odysseus discovering Achilles hiding among the daughters of King Lykomedes on Skyros is portrayed. On the other end, Achilles is putting his armor and lastly in the front shows Achilles dragging the fallen corpse of Hektor, a Trojan hero, behind his chariot. By desecrating another hero, it gives Achilles more power and strength for taking out another powerful hero. One may question why these specific scenes or even why chose Achilles life to be portrayed on their sarcophagus. But it was actually pretty common to use Achilles life in funerary art because he was known as the greatest greek heroes in the homeric period. Because of Achilles military prowess, ego, and his near-immortality, he was renowned. Which answered the question why people would choose Achilles to accompany the dead. Even Though, it is known who did this sarcophagus belong to, it did reveal the roman characteristics used back then and beliefs they had.
Funerary art has changed over the years, because of the funerary practices each culture held.

For example, the Egyptians really believed in the preservation of the human body, which we now know as mummification. They used funerary masks and its function served as representation of their socio-economic status and the immortal flesh. Also, it was the beginning of sarcophagus but yet its purpose was to preserve the body. Unlike egypt, Rome made sarcophagus to commemorate the dead moving on to the next world. Ancient Roman belief of the afterlife consisted of burying their loved ones with variety of artifacts in a Sarcophagus. Funerary rituals were important to them because they viewed them as a way to help the soul of the dead transcend into the next life. Some may say that a sarcophagus was just to remember and put their loved ones to rest but there is such a deeper meaning to it. Roman sarcophagus has a great impact on funerary art because it reveals the culture of that

dynasty.
In conclusion, Roman sarcophagus like The Sarcophagus with life of Achilles is important to identify the person’s information, and the beliefs they had. Sarcophagus has changed throughout the years, especially material, function and the belief in death. Roman sarcophagus changed and gave another option on how to view funerary art by giving the idea of having to prepare for the afterlife.