When the last Queen of Egypt, the tragic Cleopatra, died in 31 BC, Egypt became part of the mighty Roman Empire and many changes took place, even around the iconic Egyptian mummy. Realistic portraits of the deceased began to appear on their mummies, on linen, on thin sheets of wood or in gilded plaster.
In the 1880s the British archaeologist Sir William Flinders Petrie made a major discovery of dozens of portrait mummies in the Fayum region of Egypt about 100 miles south-west of Cairo. He recorded them in his journals and notebooks, describing them as works of art, but also realising they were real people who had lived and died in Roman Egypt.
We examine their daily lives, their hairstyles, jewellery and dress, ponder their racial origins and even their characters (or at least Petrie’s opinions on them!). We also gaze on two faces from the portraits, reconstructed from skulls which Petrie brought home, to see just how true to life these Ancient Faces are.
For the Romans, life meant getting together to eat and drink, in a pub or at a banquet. This talk, based on the 2019-2020 exhibition ‘Last supper in Pompeii’ at the Ashmolean Museum Oxford, celebrates the Roman love affair with food and drink – a journey, from fields and vineyards to markets and shops, from tables to toilets and the tomb.
We see the influence of the Greeks and mysterious Etruscans, and visit fertile Vesuvius to see how Romans got their food and drink (and a Roman vineyard buried in AD79!). Into the bustling city, past hawkers, shops and bars we enter the house, visit the shrine of the gods (with a chicken head!) and the gorgeous garden with its flowers and fountains. We recline in the dining room, with exotic food and fine wine, and surrounded by Greek-style luxury – fine silver, mosaics and frescoes. A skeleton mosaic reminds us that death is always at the feast…saying to us loud and clear “Seize the day – Carpe diem!!” Dare we see the kitchen? No fridge, no running water, no hygiene – and there is the toilet, feeding into a cess pit below….
Lastly, we look at how Roman ideas and customs on food caught on in Roman Britain. Along with Roman gods of fertility and wine, come exotic imports like pepper, figs and finest fish sauce. We witness the birth of the British beer industry with the first brewer, cooper and beer deliveryman and even see the British dead, feasting into the afterlife, like all good Romans.
Death comes as the end and we come face to face with the resin lady, a real inhabitant of Pompeii who died in the eruption, but we finish with the convivial afterlife she would have hoped for.
- ROME IN AFRICA, AFRICA IN ROME
This talk looks at the art and society of Roman North Africa, from Morocco to Egypt. Though divided, then as now, by their history and ethnicity these countries all once formed part of the Roman Empire – and a very important part, too. We see how Rome gradually conquered them and why – their incredible natural resources, from the fish of Morocco to the grain of Tunisia the oil of Libya and the fabulous wealth of Egypt.
Roman influence spread through these provinces – in buildings, art and language, but it is clear it wasn’t a one-way process. With the flood of imports from these provinces came changes in art, religion and society – some Africans even rose to be Emperors, including Septimius Severus, one of the greatest in Rome’s history. Ultimately the loss of Roman Africa in the Late Empire was a body blow from which the Empire never recovered – so great was the interdependence between them.
- MIRRORS OF STONE: THE ART OF GREEK AND ROMAN MOSAICS
This lecture explores the beauty and diversity of mosaics, from their origins in the pebble mosaics of early Greece to their adoption in the 5th century AD by Christianity. We focus on the Roman period with mosaics made of tesserae, cubes of stone and glass. These portrayed an almost infinite variety of subjects of daily life from hunting and banqueting to gladiators, chariot races, gods and heroes, and even still life. From masterpieces in Rome and Pompeii, to the more modest though still fascinating floors of Britannia these beautiful ‘mirrors of stone’ can offer us a very real reflection of life in the ancient world.
- PALMYRA: BRIDE OF THE DESERT
In this talk we look at one of the most beautiful cities of the ancient world, the fabled city of Palmyra, in the Syrian desert. Palmyra arose on a trade route that brought silk, spices and other luxuries across the desert from the east. Her wealth and power are displayed in gorgeous monuments, while her people, wealthy, sophisticated and cosmopolitan, are preserved in their hauntingly beautiful stone funeral portraits.
Palmyra became so powerful during the Roman empire that the warrior queen Zenobia challenged Rome itself. We’ll see Palmyra’s meteoric rise and its dramatic fall, its rediscovery by English lords and its desecration by Isis. But there is hope that beautiful Palmyra will rise again…
Athens and Rome were two of the most beautiful, powerful and important cities of the ancient world, cities that have framed our modern lives more than any others. Each stood at the centre of its world: Athens the home of democracy, the cradle of the arts, Rome the eternal city, the capital of the world.
In this talk we explore the art and architecture of these extraordinary cities at the height of their power. We wonder at their monuments, from Parthenon to Pantheon, from stadium to circus and from theatre to amphitheatre. We admire the products of their craftsmen, from the bronze and marble masterpieces of the Greeks to the fine paintings and mosaics of the Romans, and from the red figure vases of Athens to the silver cups and cameo glass of Rome.
We also look at the people who helped make these cities great. From slaves, who were the engine of both societies, to statesmen and thinkers such as Socrates, Pericles, Augustus and Hadrian, and writers such as Euripides and Vergil.
- HADRIAN: MAN OF MYSTERY
Hadrian is a Roman emperor we think we know. We know he built Hadrian’s Wall in northern Britain and imagine him as a man of peace, either travelling continuously through the empire or living a life of luxury in his villa at Tivoli, outside Rome.
But in reality, he was a person of huge contrasts. Adopted by the previous Emperor, Trajan, because of his skills as a shrewd politician and ruthless general, Hadrian was as capable of massacre as mercy. He was an obsessive in everything he did, from amateur architecture to love. Though married to his wife Sabina for nearly 40 years, Hadrian’s greatest love was a young man Antinous, whom Hadrian turned into a god after his suspicious death.
Today we try to find out more about Hadrian, this incredible, mysterious man.
- WHISPERING WALLS: LIFE AND ART IN ROMAN WALL PAINTING
This talk examines the history and development of Roman wall paintings (frescoes), from their origins in Greece to their high point in the first century after Christ.
We focus on the astonishing variety of beautiful paintings from Herculaneum and Pompeii – a treasure-trove of imagery from all areas of Roman life. Gods such as Venus and Mars together with heroes such as Hercules and Theseus rule the walls. Still life scenes equalling those of Dutch and Spanish masters show birds, fish and fruit with astonishing realism. Scenes of everyday life show us gladiators in the arena, shoppers in the market place and even gamblers in a tavern.
These painted echoes, some whispering, some shouting, give us an invaluable glimpse of Roman life.