• Tuesday 18 March - Panel VIII

Muses as models: learning and the complicity of authority

Inge Lyse Hansen

The image of the philosopher is a potent and popular model of association for Roman elite men throughout the Empire; and it is also one of the more popular motifs in the art commissioned by Christians in late Antiquity. In the funerary art of metropolitan Rome between the late second and early fourth centuries AD the image of the learned man not only gets appropriated for the self-imaging of 'middle level' groups, but the figure of the philosopher now also often occurs accompanied by a woman depicted as associated with the Muses. In this context - and within a very short period of time - the Muses become one of the most popular models for the depiction of women in divine guises. In sheer numbers of occurrence, the association with learning becomes popular as had only depictions in the guise of Venus been previously. The paper will examine this type of imaging of women and suggest that learning here acts as a symbol of Roman cultural identity and the virtue of authority.

As is a general characteristic for late Roman sarcophagus depictions with couples, the male and female representations are designed as embodying complementary values in an visual model of the ideal and exemplary couple. Though the association with the Muses may be emphasised by the use of portrait features the association itself is rarely a precise identification with an individual Muse; suggesting that the idea or attribute of learning was the primary concern. Indeed, the circumscribed representational choice of the philosopher male would similarly suggest that the sarcophagus images were intended as visual depictions of personal virtue and status rather than of philosophical allegiances. What sets the images of learning apart from the majority of contemporary funerary depictions is the reinforcement of the couple by a joint complicity of domestic and cultural authority, rather than through a complicity of sensuality and desire. The visual narrative of exemplary status - accomplished through a combination of personal virtue and achievement - is here enhanced by more extrovert social concerns. The link between literacy and social authority is particularly clear in the art of the late Antique world, where the figure of the learned man often appears as a complementary symbol of authority to that of the political or military figure. Despite the change in context, the private dedications can be seen as having similar narrative implications: the scenes being depictions of exemplary activity highlighting the reciprocal relationship between advisory and active figures. The gendered image of learning in these sarcophagi therefore situates women on the cusp between exemplary virtue, domestic authority and social identity.

British School at Rome, Via Gramsci 61, 00197 Roma.

i.hansen@bsrome.it