Cleveland Museum of Art

Sarcophagus

Date: c. 100–125 CE
Medium: Greek marble
Culture: Italy, Rome, Roman Empire
Department: Greek and Roman Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID: 110232

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

The tragic figure Orestes appears three times on the front of this sarcophagus, always wielding a short sword. In the center he stands over the body of his mother Clytemnestra, and at center left over the body of her lover Aegisthus. Orestes has killed them both to avenge their murder of his father Agamemnon, upon his return from years of fighting at Troy. At the far left, three Furies (avenging spirits) rest upon Agamemnon's tomb, while at the far right, Orestes atones for the murders at the Delphian shrine of Apollo, marked by a tripod and rock. On the lid, four reclining women symbolize the seasons, arranged in right-to-left order: Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, as indicated by their dress and the contents of their baskets. From the Greek word for “flesh-eating,” sarcophagus is now used generically for “coffin.”

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line: Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust

Part of a LinkedCulture topic

Papal Commemorative Medals
These objects are medals and sculptures commemorating various popes from Italian culture, primarily cast in bronze or silver during and after their papacies.
158 objects from 4 institutions