Serving in the Roman navy

 I've been catching up on my reading and thoroughly enjoyed the article "Roman Fleet Personnel" by Duncan Campbell in Volume XIV, Issue 2 of Ancient Warfare Magazine.

So today's featured "Antiquities Alive" artwork are the frescos of Roman galleys found in the porticus of the Temple of Isis at Pompeii.

Campbell points out that the Roman navy was crewed by fleet soldiers/marines termed "milites classiarii", sailors known as "nautae" and oarsmen called remiges.  However, on funerary monuments these men referred to themselves as just milites.  They were commanded by a centurion just as they would have been if a regular member of the legions.  The main distinction found on recovered gravestones is the mention of the name of the ship on which they served, although some men just recognized the name of their centurionate, such as "member of the centuria of Antonius Priscus."

Two uniquely naval officers were the trierarchus, captain of the a ship, and navarchus, a title thought to be that of a naval administrative post as it was usually not mentioned in the context of a ship but of overall naval operations.  Only a dozen or so navarchs have been identified and the tombstone of Publius Petronius Afrodisis informs us that he progressed from the position of trierarch to navarch, and ultimately to the head of the Praetorian Fleet of Ravenna. It is Galen who tells us that the position of trierarch originally meant the captain of a trireme but it eventually came to be used for any vessel's captain. 

Although sailors thought of themselves as milites (soldiers) they were usually non-citizens who were granted Latin status upon enlistment but not full Roman citizenship.  Therefore  their promotional prospects were thereby limited.  Campbell relates the example of Claudius Terentianus who joined the Roman navy at Alexandria but longed for service in an auxiliary cohort where he might at least rise in rank to a centurion.

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributors Miguel Hermoso Cuesta and ArchaiOptix

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Cypriot funerary colonettes from the Roman period

Only a handful of these funerary colonettes, referred to as cippi, decorated with portrait busts, have been recovered from Roman Cyprus.  The Museum of Cycladic Art points out that this type of grave marker was used commonly from the Late Hellenistic to the Late Roman period in several parts of Cyprus, such as Limmasol (Amathous), Larnaca (Kition), Famagusta (Ammochostos) and Kyrenia but the majority are simply inscribed with the deceased name, sometimes the name of the father or spouse, and expressions of condolence such as "no one is immortal." 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art compares their appearance during this period to the development of personalized Egyptian painted portraits around the same time. I couldn't help but see the resemblence of these grave markers to chess pieces, though.There may be absolutely no connection at all but I found it interesting that the game of chess is thought to have originated around the same time (or possibly earlier) in the Gupta Empire of ancient India.  From there it spread to Persia and became part of the courtly education of Persian nobility.  Cyprus was ruled briefly by the Persians until its conquest by Alexander the Great and, eventually, the Romans in 58 BCE.  Although chess is thought to have been developed before 600 CE, its earliest origins are uncertain.

I've read a number of historical fiction novels set in ancient Rome where political maneuvers are referred to as part of "The Great Game." I can easily imagine followers of an ancient philosopher with the same viewpoint fashioning their funerary monuments to personify their lives as pieces in life's Great Game! 

Cypriot Cippus (Grave Column)  Middle-Late Roman, 100-300 CE from Tremithousa, Larnaca (Cyprus) at the Museum of Cycladic Art.

Cypriot limestone funerary cippus (tomb marker) depicting a woman named Kratea.   In an attempt to capture her individuality, she is represented with rather bony and irregular features, and her hair is parted down the middle, a convention that seems to imply that she was elderly. Her jewelry is meant as an indicator of her wealth and status.  Roman, , 2nd–3rd century CE at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Cypriot limestone funerary cippus (tomb marker) depicting  a youth is identified by the Greek inscription that reads: “Good Artemidoros, farewell”, Roman, 2nd–3rd century CE at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

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"Emerging" Aphrodite

This morning while searching for additional information about rare Roman funerary cippi recovered on Cyprus, I stumbled across this little figurine of "emerging" Aphrodite in the collections of the Museum of Cycladic Art. The reason it caught my attention is the pose is strikingly similar to the fresco of Venus in the triclinium of the House of the Prince of Naples that I studied earlier this year.  At the time, I was  wondering why the fresco was identified as Venus (Aphrodite) when the other main fresco in the room was identified as Bacchus (Dionysus), since Ariadne was the consort of Dionysus, not Venus.  Dr. Wallace-Hadrill had patiently explained to me that the goddess in the triclinium was identified as Venus because she is depicted wringing the sea water from her hair as described in Greek mythology (Hesiod's "Theogony" to be exact) but up until now I had never seen other ancient artwork with Venus in that particular pose.

According to the museum, the emerging Aphrodite was a common theme up to about the 1st century BCE, corresponding with the period leading up to Pompeii's destruction. The museum points out that, although Aphrodite was represented in Greek art as early as the 5th century BCE, the "emerging" Aphrodite was a creation of the Hellenistic period rather than the Classical period.

 "Some scholars believe that the type derives its origin from a famous painting of the emerging Aphrodite by the painter Apellis in the Asclepieion of Kos (second half of the 4th century BCE), which, like the pragmatic statue of Cnidia Aphrodite, is mentioned in innumerable ancient sources and seems to have contributed to the formation of a new model of female beauty in Hellenistic times. It is, after all, clear that the erotic dimension of Aphrodite emerges only during the Hellenistic period, when the naked depictions of the goddess increase and the word "Aphrodite" becomes synonymous with the erotic encounter. This fact is probably connected with an improvement of the social position of the woman and her release from the conservatism of the strictly male-dominated cities of the Classical era but also of classical art, which based its aesthetics on the worship of the male body." - Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, Greece.

So the depiction of "emerging" Venus in the House of the Prince of Naples was not a questionable mismatch of consorts that I initially perceived as the less educated choice of art made by a merchant class resident seeking to project a more elite status, but simply a reflection of Pompeii's earlier Greek influence.  Sigh...so much to learn about ancient art and so little time!! 

 

Fresco of Emerging Venus (Aphrodite) in the summer triclinium of the House of the Prince of Naples in Pompeii.

Terracotta  Figurine of "Emerging" Aphrodite, Hellenistic 200 BCE - 1 BCE courtesy of the Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, Greece.

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Evolution of the Roman cheekpiece

In his book, The Armour of Imperial Rome, published in 1975, British classicist H. R. Robinson identified 30 different types of cheek guards. However, Robinson's typology has been heavily criticized by other scholars as too rigid and closed to adapt to new discoveries. Thomas Fischer, author of "Army of the Roman Emperors, Archaeology and History," points to the systematic identification of every elaborate ornate cavalry helmet as parade armor that resulted in hardly any of the recovered helmets from the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE as regular cavalry helmets. He observes that on the basis of finds made at Ostrov and Tell Oum Hauran, ornamentation alone was not enough to assign a helmet to parade armor.  

"...these assemblages contained two ornate helmets: one with a face-mask and one without a mask.  It seems logical that the latter was the piece for everyday use and combat."

The oldest recovered Roman helmet dates to the 3rd century BCE.  It was recovered from Pizzighettone near Cremona.  It was so similar to helmets used by the Etruscans, it took some time before it was finally accepted as a piece of Roman armament. It has been designated as a Montefortino type and was relatively unadorned.  This helmet with cheek pieces was used for about 300 years. During Caesar's Gallic Wars, the Montefortino helmet type has been found along with the Mannheim type.  Unfortunately no cheekpieces have been found with the Mannheim type, although holes for cheekpiece attachment are present.  During the Gallic Wars, the Celtic Port-type iron helmet, with higher bowl and separately attached neck guard, was adapted. During the Augustan period the Port-type was transformed into what is now referred to as the Weisenau type. 

Ornamentation became more pronounced with the Weisenau type helmet.  A helmet now known as the Gutmann variant displays an engraved ornamentation on its cheekpiece. Rivets added to cheekpieces for strength were sometimes capped with florets. These florets were sometimes combined with enamel-filled rivet heads, embossed strips, edging and ornamental sheet appliques. The helmet bowl itself began to exhibit what is termed "stylized eyebrows" as well.

As the 1st and 2nd century CE progressed, the cheekpiece became wider and wider, especially those of the cavalry.  They were always decorated and on the part covering the ear was usually an embossed replica of the ear. The earplate itself was perforated to improve hearing. These helmets were so distinctive, scholars gave them the subtype designation of Neiderbieber type.  By the middle of the 4th century CE, cheek pieces covered so much of the facial region they left just the eyes and nose exposed.

A ridged cavalry helmet of the Deurne-Berkasovo type with jewel-studded cheekpieces at the Vojvodina Museum at Novy Sad courtsy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Filip Popovic

Fragment of a Roman cheekpiece, 3rd century CE at the Roman museum Kastell Boiotro ( Passau ) courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Wolfgang Sauber

A cheekpiece from the Hallaton Cavalry Sports Helmet Type 1, cheekpiece courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Prioryman

Part of a Roman cavalry parade helmet with relief of a bacchant at the Archaeological Museum Gunzenhausen in Bavaria courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Wolfgang Sauber

Bronze cheek piece of a Roman officer's helmet 2nd century CE at the Metropolitan Museum of Art courtesy of the museum. This left cheek piece is decorated with the figure of Victory bearing a trophy. It probably belongs to an officer's helmet, since its ornate workmanship would accord with the owner's high rank.

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Roman stucco

 Traditional stucco was made of lime, sand, and water. Animal or plant fibers were often added for additional strength. Stucco was easily molded or modeled into relief decoration for walls, ceilings, and floors and was traditionally used as both an interior and exterior finish applied in one or two thin layers directly over a solid masonry, brick, or stone surface. The finish coat often contained an integral color and was typically textured for appearance.

Stucco relief was used in the architectural decoration schemes of many ancient cultures. Examples of Egyptian, Minoan, and Etruscan stucco reliefs remain extant. In the art of Mesopotamia and ancient Persian art there was a widespread tradition of figurative and ornamental internal stucco reliefs.

In Roman art of the late Republic and early Empire, stucco was used extensively for the decoration of vaults. Though marble was the preferred sculptural medium in most regards, stucco was better for use in vaults because it was lighter and better suited to adapt to the curvature of the ceiling.  Stuccowork grew in popularity in late Republican and early imperial Rome as a result of the construction boom associated with brick and cement construction. 

"Artists working in Roman Italy created expansive stucco schemes in private homes, tombs, and public buildings, particularly in baths. On walls, architectural members such as balustrades, column capitals, pilasters, columns, cornices, and frieze borders were fashioned in stucco and integrated into painted schemes. The stucco elements enhanced the two-dimensional decorative surfaces with projecting architectural members, adding a play of light and shadow to the interior spaces. The pieces in high relief were secured to the walls with metal rods or nails. Some forms were molded before they were attached to the walls, but other shapes and designs, such as cornices or frieze borders, were stamped into semi-dry plaster after application to the wall or ceiling. The stamped patterns imitated the egg-and-dart and vegetal borders carved on monumental architecture, a fashion that is also seen in contemporary Roman wall paintings, particularly those painted in the Second Style." - Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Read more about it at:

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/stuc/hd_stuc.htm

To see many of the stuccos in the tepidarium of the Forum Baths in Pompeii:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Forum_Thermae_(Pompeii)_-_Stuccos_in_Tepidarium

1st century CE stucco relief of a woman with deer from a Roman villa that I photographed at the Art Institute of Chicago

Stucco reliefs that I photographed in the tepidarium of the Forum Baths in Pompeii in 2007

Stucco relief fragment with standing figure identified as the Emperor Antoninus Pius on the basis of his similarity to known portraits. Before him kneels a barbarian suppliant. 138–161 CE, Roman, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

Stucco relief panel depicting nude female, 2nd half of 1st century CE, Roman, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

Stucco relief panel depicting nude follower of Dionysus, 2nd half of 1st century CE, Roman, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

Stucco relief panel depicting maenad with tympanum, 2nd half of 1st century CE, Roman, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

Stucco relief panel depicting Eros, 2nd half of 1st century CE, Roman, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

Stucco relief panel depicting a painther frequently associated with Dionysus, 2nd half of 1st century CE, Roman, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

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