Myth and Love

The focus of the book is on the mythological representations of love on the funerary monuments from the Roman province of Upper Moesia. These funerary monuments are often luxurious, which indicates that they were commissioned by well-to-do citizens of the province, or more precisely of the city of Viminacium where most monuments have been found. The first part of the book looks at the role of Greek myth in Roman funerary art, formulating the theme of Myth and Love and the myths related to it. Myths are classified according to whether they depict the world of gods, the world of mortals, or an encounter between the two: thus three thematic sets are formulated (divine rape, love encounter, love in the world of heroes and heroine). These findings, as well as the cultural and anthropological aspects of the perception of myths are employed to look at the Upper Moesian monuments showing the rape of Europa flanked by the Dioscuri, the rape of Persephone, Amor and Psyche, the return of Alcestis, Helen and Menelaus etc. Much attention is devoted to the question of donors, and an answer is looked for in the surviving inscriptions and the iconography, but also in the material used for the monuments. The important question of craftsmen and local Upper Moesian workshops, those of Viminacium in particular, is also discussed. The book offers a catalogue of the reliefs with detailed descriptions and photographs, as well as a map showing findspots.