Funerary games of boxers and gladiators, wall; painting ; [Tomb 90a], [Paestum, 370 BCE.]

16_00348

unknown

Friedland AH3102

[...a column separates the two scenes of different events .On the left a pair of boxers pummel each other until blood flows freely to the accompaniment of a flute player. On the left a pair of gladiators, armored with helmets and greaves and armed with spear and shield, also fight until blood flows freely, watched by a figure who may be a supervising official. The emphasis on blood flow is significant and sets these apart from the athletic contests known from Greek funeral games where blood flow was not the object of the competition. Here the blood seems to be a sacrifice to the dead, over whose tomb they might have fought so the blood soaked the ground above the deceased, perhaps as a sacrifice to the gods of the dead easing their passage. These scenes likely do not illustrate the actual games for this individual, but represent the idealized version, operating as a sort of promise to the deceased witnessed by those attending the funeral. [Tuck, Steven L.; A History of Roman Art, 2015]

wall painting on limestone

370 BCE (creation)

Etruscan - ; Greek (ancient) -

on limestone

General View: Front view l: Figure 3.6, Funerary games of boxers and gladiators, wall painting from Tomb 90a, Paestum, 370 BCE. Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Paestum. Photo courtesy Steven L. Tuck. [Tuck, Steven L.; A History of Roman Art, 2015]

18423_16_00348.jpg

FAAH Collection

April 28, 2016

April 28, 2016