Ancient Roman/Early Christianity

Commodus As Hercules
Rome, c.191-192
This sculpture is of Commodus, who became emperor after his father's death. He was known for having no political skills, administrative competence, or intellectual distinction, as well as being "insane". He believed that he was the reincarnation of Hercules and the incarnation of the god Jupiter. He was a man of luxury and thoughtless amusements. This piece shows how vain he was, in having a bust made of him being the reincarnation of the great demi-god Hercules, while his face reflects that of his fathers by the elongated face and large eyelids.


Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. The small brick chapel is plain and modest on the outside, concealing the glittering treasures inside.Entrance is through a small door on the north side. The plain north facade was once covered in marble.The interior is lit by 14 small windows, several of which are on the second floor called clerestory windows. these windows are made to give the mosaic in the dome a heavenly glow. the figures in the mosaic are representative of the disciples. Matthew is represent by an angel, Mark by a lion, Luke by an ox, and John by an eagle, While Christ is represented by the cross in the center. As we can kind of see this picture glowing towards the center. 

From the beginning of time religion has been portrayed in art. It has shifted from the focus of a person, their achievements, and god-like divinity, to focus on the Christian belief in one savior. In the bust above Commodus is being portrayed as the demi-god Hercules which is an example of pagan, archaic beliefs. In Roman times the only real connection with religion was through mythological gods. However, instead of mythological stories and glorifications of other gods, Christian art portrayed miraculous, but humble stories of Christ and his followers. As Christianity spread throughout Rome the people soon realized they needed a place to worship and they began to borrow specific aspects from Roman architecture just as others have done throughout time. For example, Christian congregations needed a large well-lit space for worship and the Roman basilica model provided the perfect inspiration.

   This piece of pottery is an Aryballos-style Archaic Greek "vessel". It was created around 570 BCE. This piece would have been used for holding oil for the bathing process after one was finished at the gym. It stands around three feet tall, making it extremely portable, and is made out of terracotta. It is decorated by a black-figure painting on a light background. The figures we see beside the lip of the aryballos are pygmies and cranes in an epic battle. On the side of the handle we can see Hermes and Perseus  with two Tritons on top of the handle that are less visible from this angle, and there are three satyrs painted on the main face of the handle.
   The vessel was likely crafted and painted by Nearchos. Signing his name in an isolated portion of his works we can find him making other vessels earlier in the Archaic time period.