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Funerary monuments of Macedonia featuring depictions of mortals in the guise of gods

Αρχαιολογία

• Τερζοπούλου, Δήμητρα

The present article deals with the burial monuments of Macedonia that portray individuals disguised as gods or bearing divine attributes. Scholars often use the terms «deification» or «apotheosis» to describe this phenomenon. Such terms should be avoided, since these depictions are figurative and serve to compare mortals to gods, in order to appropriate some of their virtues and characteristics. They do not imply the actual deification of the depicted individuals who are equated to gods only in illustration.Following recent findings, the number of catalogued monuments has almost tripled, leading us to believe that this phenomenon was considerably more widespread in Macedonia than was originally believed. It is mainly observed in central, west and north-west Macedonia, whereas in eastern Macedonia examples of this kind are few. The dating of the monuments ranges approximately from the end of the first century A.D. to mid-third century A.D., with the exception of a monument that belongs to the first half of the first century A.D.In the vast majority of cases, it is the deceased who is visually assimilated to a divinity. The selection of a particular deity is dependent on the gender, age and sometimes the god-bearing name of the honoree. These representations aim to accentuate the mortals’ virtues and their physical or mental qualities. Rarely, they relate to their profession, or underscore a family relation between those depicted. Mainly used for women, children and young persons, these depictions represent idealized pictures of the dead, meant to preserve their memory and to offer relief to those left behind. It seems that they also express a hope for a comfortable afterlife. Furthermore, it is possible that they constitute a request to the deities whose forms are borrowed, to lend their protection to the prematurely lost. In Macedonia, the local religious background is important, and the choice of particular deities in certain areas reflects the existence of corresponding cults. Macedonia is a region with efficient workshops that are gradually becoming independent from Roman norms while moving in their own direction.

• History and Archaeology
• Arts

• Ιστορία, Αρχαία
• Burial
• Sculpture, Classical

Στην παρούσα δημοσίευση παρουσιάζονται τα κυριότερα συμπεράσματα που προέκυψαν στο πλαίσιο της μεταπτυχιακής εργασίας με τίτλο: Θεόμορφες απεικονίσεις θνητών στα ταφικά μνημεία της Μακεδονίας, Θεσσαλονίκη 2009. Την επίβλεψη είχε αναλάβει η καθηγήτρια Θεοδοσία Στεφανίδου-Τιβερίου, την οποία επιθυμώ να ευχαριστήσω για την πολύτιμη βοήθειά της καθ’ όλη τη διάρκεια εκπόνησης της εργασίας, ενώ τα δύο άλλα μέλη της επιτροπής για την έγκρισή της ήταν οι καθηγητές Εμμανουήλ Βουτυράς και Μπάρμπαρα Σμιτ-Δούνα, τους οποίους επίσης ευχαριστώ για τις επισημάνσεις και παρατηρήσεις τους. Για τη μελέτη της χρησιμοποίησε, με την άδεια της κ. Θ. Στεφανίδου-Τιβερίου, το φωτογραφικό Αρχείο Γλυπτών στο Μουσείο Εκμαγείων του Α.Π.Θ., από το οποίο προέρχονται και οι εικόνες 1 και 8., Περιέχει εικόνες και κατάλογο μνημείων