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Freedmen Tombs of Pompeii |
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written
by julia625 / 10.12.2005 |
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Themes / Meanings of Tombs |
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Describe |
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In Ancient Rome, a tomb served a very distinctive purpose beyond housing the body of the deceased; it preserved the inhabitants’ immortality. In a time where there was virtually no written record documenting an average citizens existence, maintaining ones immortality played a very important part in ancient Roman life and especially death. By decorating the front of their tombs with portraits, drawings and inscriptions, the deceased were effectively able to achieve immortality through each viewer. As long as their tomb remained standing, they would never be forgotten. Another benefit of using tombs to document ones existence was that the Romans could chose how they wanted to be remembered. They could create this lasting monument, to themselves, and be remembered however they desired. The libertini were able to replicate the style used by the wealthy in their tombs in hopes that future generations would associate them with the noble class. The decorations that were part of the reliefs were meant for the passerby to interact with; some tombs even contained inscriptions to the spectator saying things along the line of “stop, read this”.
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