The Role of Distaff and Spindle in the Roman Burial Cult Cover Image

A guzsaly és orsó szerepe a római temetkezési kultuszban
The Role of Distaff and Spindle in the Roman Burial Cult

Author(s): Mária T. Bíró
Subject(s): History, Archaeology, Ancient World, Theology and Religion, History of Religion
Published by: Károli Gáspár Református Egyetem
Keywords: funerary practices and rites in the Late Antiquity; Roman Empire;

Summary/Abstract: On the funerary steles of the Roman Empire the portraits of the deceased were often represented. In these images the women often hold a comb, a mirror, distaff and spindle, the men point at a volumen held in their left hand. At the inhumed burials of the Late Antiquity the same objects can be found as funerary gifts in the grave. In this paper I offer evidences that the objects of everyday life carry a symbolic meaning in the funerary rites as special attributes of the Fates.

  • Issue Year: III/2011
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 63-74
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: Hungarian