Deck 16: Burying the Dead During the High Empire

Question 1

Despite shifts in burial practices among the Roman populace, the imperial family continued to practice the burial rite of

A) exposure.
B) embalming.
C) cremation.
D) inhumation.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The large-scale demand for sarcophagi during the second century CE was primarily driven by

A) the increasing contact between Rome and Etruria.
B) the increasing wealth of provincial cities.
C) the increasing popularity of burial by cremation.
D) the increasing popularity of burial by inhumation.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

According to Roman funerary custom, what usually happened at the tomb of a deceased person?

A) Family members visited the tomb regularly and participated in ritual feasts in honor of the deceased.
B) Family members concealed all parts of the tomb underground except for a small grave marker.
C) Family members ritually sealed the tomb and did not visit it again.
D) Family members regularly sold the burial plot soon after the funeral, and older bodies were removed to make way for new ones.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Sarcophagus sculptors typically relied on ____________ as guides in representing the various myths on their customers' coffins.

A) oral histories
B) pattern books
C) sacred hymns
D) literary treatises

Question 5

Why did Roman patrons choose to represent Greek heroes on their sarcophagi?

A) Through the representation of Greek heroes on sarcophagi, Roman patrons could equate themselves with the legendary heroes of the past.
B) Through the representation of Greek heroes on sarcophagi, Roman patrons could present themselves as sharing the same qualities of the heroes.
C) Through the representation of Greek heroes on sarcophagi, Roman patrons could achieve apotheosis through the representation of heroes.
D) Through the representation of Greek heroes on sarcophagi, Roman patrons could be worshiped as heroes in the afterlife.

Question 6

The major centers for sarcophagus production during the second and third centuries were Rome, Asia Minor, and

A) North Africa.
B) Gaul.
C) Attica.
D) Persia.

Question 7

The choice to represent Niobe on sarcophagi probably served to associate the deceased with what feminine virtue?

A) fecundity
B) beauty
C) courage
D) humility

Question 8

All of the following were popular battle subjects on Roman sarcophagi except

A) the mythological battle between the Greeks and the Amazons.
B) the historical battle between the Greeks and the Gauls.
C) scenes of contemporary warfare.
D) the historical battle between the Romans and the Carthaginians.

Question 9

Sarcophagi like the one in Mantua, which depict generic types that celebrate essential characteristics of the ideal Roman, are called

A) decursio relief sarcophagi.
B) mythological sarcophagi.
C) encaustic sarcophagi.
D) biographical or pseudo-biographical sarcophagi.

Question 10

In Egypt, Roman mummies differed from those of pharaonic times because the Roman mummies contained

A) stylized masks of the deceased.
B) painted portraits of the deceased.
C) imagery related to Egyptian religion.
D) cremated remains of the deceased.

Question 11

The method of mixing colors with hot wax and applying them to a hard surface is called ____________ painting.

A) encaustic
B) fresco
C) grisailles
D) tempera

Question 12

The Egyptian deity associated with the theme of resurrection is

A) Hathor.
B) Artemidorus.
C) Osiris.
D) Serapis.

Question 13

____________ sarcophagi contain carved figures in columnar frames.

A) Asiatic
B) Attic
C) Roman
D) Western

Question 14

Why were Attic sarcophagi carved on all four sides?

A) The extra expense of the relief carving increased the prestige of the owner.
B) The sarcophagi were set up so that they could be seen from all sides.
C) The owners believed that each relief directly affected his or her afterlife.
D) Attic sarcophagi were modeled after quadrifons arches.

Question 15

Why was Hercules an appropriate choice for representation on a sarcophagus?

A) His presence was considered to be apotropaic.
B) He was believed to preside over the final judgment at the end of one's life.
C) Through his labors and virtue, he achieved immortality.
D) In Greek mythology, he was the traditional escort to the Underworld.

Question 16

Explain how the second-century shift in burial practice affected the type of funerary art produced in Roman territories.

Question 17

Describe several of the most popular Greek mythological subjects used for relief decoration on Roman sarcophagi.

Question 18

Explain why Greek heroes such as Hercules and Meleager were popular subjects for representation on sarcophagi.

Question 19

Compare and contrast the appearance of Roman, Attic, and Asiatic sarcophagi.

Question 20

Discuss how feminine virtues were represented on the sarcophagi of female patrons.

Question 21

Discuss how the manly virtue of valor was displayed on Roman sarcophagi.

Question 22

Discuss how scenes of battle and warfare on Roman sarcophagi should be interpreted.

Question 23

Describe examples of pseudo-biographical sarcophagi and explain what they represent.

Question 24

Discuss how burial practices in Roman Egypt differed from burial practices elsewhere in the Roman Empire.

Question 25

Describe the types of funerary images and motifs that appeared on Egyptian mummies.

Question 26

Explain the technique and function of encaustic portraits.

Question 27

Discuss how Egyptian funerary portraits combine elements of both Egyptian and Roman imagery.

Question 28

During the second century CE, Romans began to favor cremation over the traditional means of disposing the dead by inhumation.

Question 29

To protect the relief carving on sarcophagi during transport, sarcophagi were commonly shipped with the decoration only roughly blocked out.

Question 30

Amazon sarcophagi represented a historical battle in which many Romans fought and defeated the Amazons.