The specific availability for this course is not currently known. If you would like to know if this course will be offered during your session, please contact us.
Throughout human history, the concept of death has been inseparable from that of life, and the commemoration of the dead has traditionally been an important point of convergence and locus of expression for a wide range of cultural, political, religious, and social values, fears and beliefs. This was especially true in ancient Roman society, which placed a high value on honoring the dead, on ancestry, and remembrance, not least because perpetuating the memory of the deceased was a means to assert the identity and status of the survivors. Roman funerary art was, therefore, a primary vehicle for the self-representation of the living. Moreover, the patrons of commemorative art range from the imperial family to the middle classes to freedmen and slaves, so that extant funerary monuments provide unparalleled insights into the values of ancient Roman men and women across the social spectrum. The course examines Roman funerary art and architecture from the first century B.C. to the fourth century AD. In-class lectures will be complemented by on-site visits to take advantage of the many Roman funerary monuments still extant in the city of Rome. On-site AH classes require a small fee for museum tickets.
