Flesheaters

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In this volume, Classicists, Classical Archaeologists, and Ancient Historians—many not specializing in sarcophagi—explore fundamental questions about Roman mythological sarcophagi. They investigate why Greek myth was a favored decoration for these monumental marble coffins, how to interpret the selected myths, and the challenges of identifying and understanding the represented stories. The authors consider the emotions these often violent and tragic narratives aimed to evoke in mourners and the implications of incorporating portrait figures into mythological scenes. They also discuss the significance of sarcophagi that were buried, concealing their carved reliefs, and the potential insights these intricately carved artifacts offer for Roman social and cultural history. Disagreement exists among contributors regarding these critical questions and the nature of a cultural history focused on Roman funerary commemoration. However, there is a shared belief in the extraordinary, yet unrealized, potential of the carved sarcophagus-reliefs for cultural historians. This collection of essays, rooted in diverse premises and assumptions, provides readers with illuminating perspectives on the promise of a more nuanced understanding of the unique society that thrived in the Roman Empire during the second and third centuries AD.