Relief of Publius Aiedius Amphio and Aiedia Fausta Melior Antikensammlung Berlin

The Grave relief of Publius Aiedius and Aiedia is an ancient Roman grave relief from the first half of the first century, now kept in the

Pergamonmuseum The Pergamon Museum (; ) is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It was built from 1910 to 1930 by order of German Emperor Wilhelm II according to plans by Alfred Messel and Ludwig Hoffmann in Stripped Clas ...

Antikensammlung Berlin The Antikensammlung Berlin (Berlin antiquities collection) is one of the most important collections of classical art in the world, now held in the Altes Museum and Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany. It contains thousands of ancient archaeological ...

, with Inventory number SK 840 (R 7). It was found in Rome on the

Via Appia The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, rec ...

. It is made of which marble and is 64 cm wide and 99 cm high. In 1866 it was purchased for the predecessor of the modern Antikensammlung Berlin. The inscription under the relief reads: Translated: Publius Aiedius Amphio is identified by the ''L'' in the inscription as ''libertus'' or

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom a ...

of a Publius Aedius. His slave name, the Greek name Amphio, typical for Roman slaves, is retained as his last name. The name of the wife, also identified as a freed slave of Publius Aedius, was Fausta Melior. Therefore, the social position of the pair is clear. The two slaves had gained a form of Roman citizenship on receiving their freedom, but it was of a lower class only, which bound them ever more to their former owner, who was now their

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

. Yet they now had the freedom, among other things, to enter into a legal marriage and children produced from such a marriage would be normal Roman citizens. The relief emphasises this situation further. The two are depicted in an almost coldly realistic way. No sign of an intimate connection or love can be seen. Both extend their hands towards the centre of the image, showing thereby their serious union and their status as a legally married couple. The wife's finger has two rings, indicating a degree of prosperity had been achieved by the pair. The image includes so much of their bodies that it is possible to identify the clothing worn by the pair. Aiedia wears a

chiton Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora (), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized. They are also sometimes known as gumboots or sea cradles or coat-of-mail s ...

and cloak, Aiedius a

toga The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...

, which was reserved for free citizens. His age and bodily blemishes are also undisguised. Wrinkles are depicted, carved deep into their skin, just as his leathery skin and the warts on his forehead and around his mouth are. All this recalls the traditional portraits on wax death masks. Age and its characteristics were signs of the worth ('' dignitas'') and excellence (''

virtus ''Virtus'' () was a specific virtue in Ancient Rome. It carries connotations of valor, manliness, excellence, courage, character, and worth, perceived as masculine strengths (from Latin ''vir'', "man"). It was thus a frequently stated virtue o ...

''), with which he had worked his way out of slavery. Today there are more than 125 reliefs of this type known. The similarity to windows, from which they get their name, is no accident. Such reliefs were placed in the walls of larger grave buildings and are often found, like windows next to doors which led into the grave building itself. The depictions "looked out" from their windows along the streets lined with tombs which led into ancient Rome. It was not unusual for freedmen to be interred in the large mausolea of their former masters.

Bibliography

* Max Kunze. "Grabrelief eines römischen Ehepaares." Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Preußischer Kulturbesitz. Antikensammlung (Ed.): ''Die Antikensammlung im Pergamonmuseum und in Charlottenburg''. von Zabern, Mainz 1992, , pp. 202f. *
Grabrelief eines römischen Ehepaares
. Königliche Museen zu Berlin (Ed.),

Alexander Conze Alexander Christian Leopold Conze (10 December 1831 – 19 July 1914) was a German archaeologist, who specialized in ancient Greek art. He was a native of Hanover, and studied at the universities of University of Göttingen, Göttingen and Unive ...

(Ed): ''Beschreibung der antiken Skulpturen mit Ausschluss der pergamenischen Fundstücke''. Spemann, Berlin 1891, , p. 325 (Inventory no. 840). {{Coord, 52, 31, 15, N, 13, 23, 47, E, display=title, region:DE-BE_type:landmark Archaeological discoveries in Italy 1st-century Roman sculptures Aiedius and Aiedia Sculptures of men in Germany Sculptures of women in Germany Marble sculptures in Germany category:Classical sculptures of the Berlin State Museums