The Most Valuable Exhibit of Roman Art: The Sarcophagus of the Legend Achilles

Roman art is a very broad topic, spanning almost 1,000 years and three continents, from Europe into Africa and Asia. The first Roman art can be dated back to 509 B.C.E., with the legendary founding of the Roman Republic, and lasted until 330 C.E. Roman art also encompasses a broad spectrum of media including marble, painting, mosaic, gems, silver, and bronze work. The city of Rome was a melting pot, and the Romans had no qualms about adapting artistic influences from the other Mediterranean cultures that surrounded and preceded them. For this reason, it is common to see Greek, Etruscan and Egyptian influences throughout Roman art. This is not to say that all of the Roman art is derivative, though, and one of the challenges for specialists is to define what is 'Roman' about Roman art. There exist burial chambers that are carved from different types of stone called sarcophaguses and associated with classical antiquity that were also known to be very impressive art carrying a lot of narratives about the history of Greek and Romans in general.

One of the most important roman sarcophaguses is that of the legend Achilles. It is a masterpiece found today and well preserved in the Natural Museum of Beirut. Before describing the physical appearance of this Roman sarcophagus, this is a glance about its owner. He is a famous legendary warrior present in Greek mythology. He was known to be a victorious immortal character that fought on several battlefields throughout his life.

This sarcophagus is a roman one since it was found in a Roman cemetery that was discovered in a city located in the south of Lebanon called Tyre. It is made up of limestone, the natural bedrock of Lebanon. On its four sides, there exist sculptural masterpieces that amaze all eyes that fall on it. Artworks from ancient times are innovative concepts that depict the circumstances, culture, and events at the time. This artwork shows a funeral receptacle for a corpse. Each side has a separate narrative uniquely carved in high relief, creating mystical and amazing variations of shadows and effects. Visually, the front side shows the fallen Trojan hero, Hektor's corpse, which is being pulled behind the chariot by the Greek legend Achilles. The scene is focused on the battle between the centaurs and the Greeks, not about the life of Achille specifically. On the other side of this artwork, we can recognize the depiction of Achilles fully armed and hide among the daughters of King Lykomedes on Skyros. We can conclude that this scene depicts the battle of the Greeks and centaurs, as well as the life of Achilles after he acquired knowledge from the centaur Chiron. Therefore, Achilles' life was a major aspect of the time and became very popular for the decoration of the Roman sarcophagi.

The different sides of this three-dimensional rectangle sarcophagus are covered by a huge lid supporting the bodies of two unfinished figures dressed by long clothes. These figures are depicting the bodies of a male and a female. As for the female, she has a rounded face with no emotions and long hair, meanwhile, the male has masculine facial features and a long beard By observing the different sides of this shape we can see sculptures of some warriors that are depicted in heroic nudity, an idea Romans have copied from Greek art. At the front relief, there exists a warrior holding a shield and talking to another figure that is probably pointing to a certain conversation. This scene shows a conversation going on. There are other naked male and dressed warriors in the figure, and a naked male figure on the ground seemed to be tied to the chariot. A male warrior is seen to be moving away and looking at the others who stay. There's a man in the central figure having a helmet and a shield behind him. The figure shows that he's been helped by the other men.

On one end of this sarcophagus, we can see the depiction of the legend Achilles fully armed and probably getting ready to fight the battle. The amazing fact about this sculpture is the presence of all the details carved uniquely and showing a sense of motion similar to a 3D in our modern-day concept. Getting closer to inspect this masterpiece, we can see at the bottom a figure sitting with a lion beside him. On the top of this artifact, we see a woman and a man both with unfinished heads sitting on a couch in a relaxing position. The faces were left unfinished which was a common practice back then because they used to carve the face of the deceased on top of the already carved body upon the purchase of the sarcophagus. When looking at the right side of one of the sides, we can spot king Priam kneeling and kissing a hand of a certain figure as a form of getting blessings.

On one of the sides, we can see the Greek warrior Achilles ashamed and showing some sad facial expressions because he killed Polydorus, Lycaon, and Hector ( the sons of Priam) within one day. The death of Hector, which signified the end of Troy's hopes, also broke the spirit of the king. Priam's paternal love impelled him to brave the savage anger of Achilles and to ransom the corpse of Hector; Achilles, respecting the old man's feelings and foreseeing his own father's sorrows, returned the corpse. When Troy fell, Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, butchered the old king on an altar. Both Priam's death and his ransoming of Hector were favorite themes of ancient art.

To sum up, this sarcophagus which is preserved in the heart of the city of Beirut is considered a precious finding holding cultural and historical knowledge. It is a valuable artifact that catches all eyes and grabs the attention of all generations. Such a finding is an actual wealth for the whole of humanity. Our responsibility as human beings living on this planet is to protect all historical findings and educate people about them to share the hidden art and knowledge the hide.

Citation:

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