Roman sarcophagi that combined the sun god Sol and the moon goddess Luna during the 3rd century AD

Document Type : Original Article

Author

PhD in Greek and Roman Antiquities-Tanta University An archaeological inspector at the Archaeological Documentation Department Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

Abstract

The main sun god in Roman art is Sol, son of the Titan Hipparion by the nymph Theia and his sister Luna, the moon goddess. Sol emerges from his eastern palace in the oceanic waters to cross the sky, driving his Quadriga to illuminate the universe during the day, and sets at night to his western palace in the oceanic waters. Then his sister Luna, the moon goddess, emerges from the oceanic waters, driving her Pyga chariot to cross the sky at night after Sol sets, and with her exit, night falls on the universe. During her long journey from the sea to the sky, she saw the young man Endymion and loved him very much, and granted him eternal sleep so that he would not leave her and be tormented by her desire, as the god Pan did to her.

Sol is depicted on Roman sarcophagi in three main forms: the full-length portrait, in which he appears as a young man with a radiant head and naked body except for the chelamis, driving his quadriga drawn by four horses and holding the horses' reins in his hand; the half-length portrait, in which he places the radiant crown on his head and holds a whip in his hand, placing the chelamis; and the head-only depiction, in which he appears as a young man with the radiant crown on his head.

Keywords

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics