Sarcophagi
Main Ideas
Nomination
Development
Materials
Shapes
Decoration Themes
Examples
Nomination
The sarcophagus was used to protect the corpse against dark forces through protective gods which are listed in vertical lines on the sarcophagus.
The Egyptian word for sarcophagus is krsw , and in some other cases the ancient Egyptians referred to sarcophagi as drwt
They also called it nb ankh, which means " lord of life" referring to it's function in keeping the body safe until it reaches eternal life.
The word sarcophagus consists of two parts ,sarco which is derived from the Greek sarx which mean flesh, and phagues which means to eat, as sarcophagus means ( flesh eater),
This name may refer to its function as a container used to house the body of the deceased.
Development
During the Old Kingdom, it was rectangular in shape and sometimes plain of decorations, in other cases it was decorated from outside with the façade of the Egyptian palace or serekh motif .
By the beginning of the 6th dynasty Egyptians began to use pyramid texts formulas, and only in this dynasty royal sarcophagi began to be inscribed using the pyramid texts.
In the Middle Kingdom, new type of decorations and inscriptions used the coffin texts.
In the New Kingdom sarcophagi took a new shape, it was rounded at the head end, making the shape of a cartouche.
In the Graeco-Roman period, the sarcophagus was widely spread in Egypt among the ruling elite and also the higher classes of the community.
It was first imported from the Roman states, and thus it was left unfinished, and the majority of these sarcophagi were carrying only decorations for floral bands and sometimes figures of unknown people
Materials
The Materials
The most commonly used materials of sarcophagi in ancient Egypt were wood, limestone, granite, and quartzite, but during the Greco-Roman period the materials of sarcophagi varied and differed, and the most important materials are
1- Wood
It was the favorite materials for the anthropoid coffins in ancient Egypt, it was used in the Graeco-Roman sarcophagi because it was cheap and existed in the Egyptian nature like sycamore wood, besides some imported sorts like cedar wood from Phoenicia.
2- Pottery
It was used in making the sarcophagi of children's maybe because it was easy to be found in nature as it was available in the Nile Delta and it was cheap.
3- Marble
It was a very expensive material, but it was also the most common material in manufacturing sarcophagi, especially in the Roman era.
It was imported from Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy
Marble sarcophagi were common in Lower Egypt and Alexandria, as thirty marble sarcophagi were found in Alexandria and its suburbs, and all these sarcophagi were made of a type of marble called Procnasus; proportion to "proconsus" the Asian city near which the quarries of this type of marble existed.
These sarcophagi were imported in a semi-manufactured state, and they were decorated and finished according to the desire of the client, and it was decorated either from two sides or from four sides.
4- Porphyr stone
Used especially for kings and emperors, available in the Eastern Desert.
The term "porphyr" is from Greek and means "purple". Purple was the color of royalty, and the "Imperial Porphyr" was a deep purple.
Shapes of Sarcophagi and lids
Basically, sarcophagi from the ancient times is a rectangular stone container, with a flat lid, with no decorations on it or on its lid, but the shape of the sarcophagus and its lid has been developed many times during the pharaohs period and also during the Graeco-Roman period.
Then the lid was developed to be vaulted with end bars, and this shape of lid was the most common and popular shape of it in the Middle Kingdom.
By the New Kingdom many innovations occurred in the shape of sarcophagi, it was turned into the cartouche shape buried in crypts, with huge granite lids.
During the Greco-Roman period rectangular sarcophagi with flat, vaulted or pyramidal shaped lids continued to be used, but with variety in decorations and figures sculpted on them.
But a striking innovation has occurred to sarcophagi and lids during the Roman period, in this time the lid with a manifestation of the deceased appeared.
The basin sarcophagi: this new type of sarcophagi appeared during the Roman time, and this new shape was a result of constructing a huge number of private baths in the houses of rich Alexandrians, in these baths Alexandrians used rectangular or oval-shaped basins and later they were used as sarcophagi for the bodies of their owners .
Decoration Themes
1- Floral decorations
floral decorations were frequently used in the decorations of the Graeco-Roman sarcophagi, either alone or with other decorative elements to refer to the meanings of rebirth, life, and renewal.
Leaves and bunches of grapes, a symbol of Dionysos .
lotus and acanthus as a symbol of power and eternity.
Flower buds don't bloom yet as a symbol of renewal life.
Laurel plant was used to refer to the victory of spirit over death.
2- Gods and mythological characters
There were many principal gods and mythological characters appeared in the decorations of sarcophagi for two reasons
if the deceased follow a cult of a certain god or goddess he may prefer to depict his divinity on his sarcophagus' surface.
There were certain gods and mythological characters which were used because they were related to death and afterlife or just used as protective elements
Ariadne
In Greek mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of Minos, King of Crete, she loved Theseus the son of King Aegeus, who volunteered to come and kill the Minotaur. Ariadne fell in love at first sight and helped him by giving him a sword and a ball of thread so that he could find his way out of the Minotaur's labyrinth.
Theseus abandoned Ariadne sleeping on Naxos, and Dionysus rediscovered and wedded her
Dionysus approaches the sleeping Ariadne on the island of Naxos where Theseus, whom she had rescued from the Minotaur's labyrinth, had abandoned her. He is surrounded by his attendants, including satyrs, maenads, and multiple figures of the half-man, half-goat deity Pan
Cyclopes
three Cyclopes, in that Arges added brightness, Brontes added thunder, and Steropes added lightning.
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