Alexandria.pdf
Posted at Mar 02/2011 03:49PM:
rdwarner: Was this made for her or by her? Do we know anything about the relationships priestesses had with their families and would it have been commissioned by a male figure or would she have had the money to do it herself?
Posted at Mar 03/2011 09:10AM:
ylee: Along with the questions rdwarner asked, I am also curious about the creator and his/her purpose of making this sarcophagus. Besides commemorating the priestess, would there had been other intentions? Considering the fact that this was made during marked political instability of Rome, would this sarcophagus indicating belief in foreign religion stand for something other than just a funeral work?
Posted at Mar 04/2011 11:06AM:
jconnuck: The references to Isis, Nile, Bacchus etc., possibly highlight the foreignness of the deceased, but more importantly they show the willingness on both the part of the conquered, and the Romans to trade cultures. The Romans adopted gods their gods from the Greeks and Etruscans, and did not hesitate to add new mythologies to their beliefs. Bacchus/Dionysus is a symbol of the "East", and more generally of the foreign, exotic and mysterious, as is Isis. It seems to be this person took great pride in her adopted nationality, which in turn was accepting of her as well.
