Getty Museum

Cameo gem

Date

3rd–4th century A.D.

Medium

Sardonyx

Culture

Roman

Department

Jewelry

Institution

Getty Museum

A goddess wearing a helmet decorates this Roman cameo. She is possibly Athena, the goddess of wisdom, or Roma, the personification of the city of Rome. A ring with a portrait of a divinity functioned as an amulet, placing the wearer under the deity's protection. Athena was a popular motif for such amulet rings. In mythology she was often a protector of heroes such as Herakles or Theseus. She was also connected with practical activities like skilled crafts and healing. The goddess Roma represented Roman power and the earliest known cults to her were in Greece in the second century B.C. She later became associated with the cult of the Roman emperor and her image was a common motif in imperial imagery. Cameos, gems with motifs carved in relief, were introduced in the Hellenistic period but only became popular in the Roman era. Carved from layered colored stones, most cameos display the decoration in a lighter layer against a dark background. Small cameos were often set into rings.

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