Marine Themes

Abstract The marine scenes on these sarcophagi reveal a wonderful world of romance and fantasy, with all kind of sea creatures, nereids, cupids, and, occasionally, more realistic appearances of boats and lighthouses. Their general line of development can be traced from early garland sarcophagi (4.1-4.4) to friezes of nereids and tritons (4.12-4.14) with the addition of a supporting cast of cupids and dolphins and the possibility of incorporating a central portrait. These themes are interlinked with several others which are discussed separately (such as the sea voyages and cupids boating, in Sects. 1 and 6 respectively). The similarity of many of their decorative schemes (often from a Hellenistic heritage) and the repetition of individual motifs in different combinations and contexts point to a repertoire of models (or cartoons) available to be copied by sculptors to suit requirements. Children’s sarcophagi depict virtually the whole range of themes (except the marine Venus, it seems), but in modest numbers and without iconographical differentiation; in short, this subject appears to have had no special association with children (see Sects. 14 and 20 for discussions of its significance).