Funerary Monuments in the Roman Empire
Introduction
The evolution and use of monuments can be traced as far back as 3 BC in the Roman Empire. The Romans have a wide use of this art in many areas including decorations, marking historical events, and funerary functions (Chaoy, 2001). This essay seeks to establish how this art was used in funeral occasions. The essay describes precisely how funerary monuments were used and their significance to the Romans.
Romans Funeral
The Romans' funeral was a rite of passage that signified the transition between life and death. A lot of importance was hence attached to ensuring descent burial such that they can avoid malicious spirit attacks from the underworld. Roman funerary practices were characterized by religious rituals concerning cremations, funerals, and burials (Toynbee, 1996). This was a tradition and an unwritten code that the Romans followed as a social norm. According to Hope (2001), these monuments were regularly visited with offerings of food and wine, and special observances during Roman festivals in honor of the dead.
Roman Funeral Monuments
Funeral monuments can be traced throughout the Roman Empire, and their inscriptions are a major source of information about their ancestors today hence making it easy for generations to trace their genealogy (Hope, 2001). The monuments included the face of the dead hence they gave generations a clear picture of the values and way of life of their ancestors (Malibu, 1989). The Roman sarcophagus was crafted artwork which was decorated with relief sculptures imploring a scene that was allegorical, historical, and a scene from everyday life. These erected monuments helped the Romans to remember and reflect the life of the departed souls as a means of appeasing them and assisting them in keeping the memory of who they were hence containing their spirits in the underworld (Weever, 2007).
Funerary include images and tombs (The J. Paul Getty Museum., 1990). Noble Roman families displayed a series of images in the atrium of their homes. These pictures could be arranged in the family tree with a title summarizing the honors and accomplishments. These images were made of bronze or stone and hung at the tomb and in their home as well. The images always gave a challenge to members of the families who have been deceased to work hard and impact other people's lives such that when they die, they leave a reputable legacy (Philips, 2008) which will be inscribed on their monuments and images in their homes.
Ancient Rome became an excavation site due to its rather extravagant cemeteries. The poor and wealthy families of the Romanian Empire were buried in the same cemeteries; the wealthy, however, had more elaborate tombs unique from those of the poor (The J. Paul Getty Museum., 1990). Their tombs were typically made out of bedrock and were rectangular in shape (Chaoy, 2001). These tombs resembled the Ancient Roman house structure, having doors, and many different chambers. A grand mausoleum could include bedrooms and kitchens for family visits which would include feasting this ceremony (Stierlin, 2005). The relatives of the deceased would come together and have dinner in one of the chamber camps (Toynbee, 1996). Other chambers were used for keeping anything deemed necessary for the deceased, including the paraphernalia needed for the memorial ceremony. The difference in tombs for reach and the poor ought to remind the poor that they are never equal to the rich even when they are dead (The J. Paul Getty Museum., 1990).
The cult of the dead was important to men whose profession exposed them to an untimely death. The Roman pietas value gave soldiers an opportunity to honor fallen comrades in war (Chaoy, 2001). Tombstones and monuments throughout the Empire document military personnel and units stationed at distinct camps. If the body of the deceased could not be located, the death could be celebrated with a cenotaph (Stierlin, 2005). Epitaphs on Roman military tombstones usually gave the soldier's name, birthplace, rank and unit, age, and total years he served, other information such as the names of his heirs could also be included (Toynbee, 1996). Some more elaborate monuments depicted the deceased, either in his parade regalia or in civilian dress to emphasize his citizenship (Chaoy, 2001). Cavalrymen were often shown riding over the body of a downtrodden foe; an image interpreted as a symbolic victory over death. Military funeral monuments from Roman Africa reflected progressively more concrete forms (Chaoy, 2001): in the 1st century steles were used, altars in the 2nd, and copulas in the 3rd century. Tombs were mostly grouped in cemeteries along established roads that led out of the camp (Toynbee, 1996). A centurion could be well-off enough to have a mausoleum built. All these procedures were done to honor and make known the efforts of such fallen soldiers and their contributions to the Roman Empire (Stierlin, 2005).
Funerary monuments were part of the culture and tradition of the Romans and they were meant to offer this culture to generations to come (The J. Paul Getty Museum., 1990). The monuments too gave the Romans an identity for they were the first people ever to use funerary monuments to commemorate their loved ones (Toynbee, 1996). By erecting the monuments they believed that the spirits of their loved ones were contained in the underworld hence overcoming their worries of being attacked by those spirits. Since many of the Romans had a talent for artwork and needed to develop this talent (Hope, 2001), they found it wise to express their gratitude to their ancestors by virtue of erecting and decorating funerary monuments. The Roman practice of erecting monuments has been adapted widely around the globe. Many nations today have erected monuments in tribute to their founding fathers and to heroes and heroines who have contributed to various noble causes, such as the fight for freedom or human rights (Steirlin, 2005). This art has turned out to be a source of income for many people involved in this area of artwork
Conclusion
The Romans are today identified across the world through the adoption of funerary monuments and those used for other purposes in the world. All these adoptions as evident in many cities are an indication of the level of appreciation of the Romans who were pioneers of these monuments.
References
Chaoy, F., 2001. The invention of the historic monument. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hope, V, M., 2001. Constructing Identity: The Roman Funerary Monuments of Aquileia, Mainz and Nimes. Oxford: Hadrian Books, 2001. Print.
Phillips, C., 2008. Ancient Monuments. New York: M E Sharpe.
Stierlin, H., 2005. Great monuments of the ancient world. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd.
The J. Paul Getty Museum., 1990. Roman Funerary Monuments in the J. Paul Getty Museum: Volume 1. Malibu, Calif: Getty Publications.
Toynbee, J M. C., 1996. Death and Burial in the Roman World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Weever, J., 2007. Ancient Funeral Monuments. New York: W. Tooke.
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