Revista Romn de Studii Eurasiatice, an VII, nr. 1-2/2011, p.

45-52

THE SYMBOLISM OF THE FUNERARY ART AT TOMIS IN THE PRINCIPATE EPOCH (1st - 3rd CENTURIES A.D.) Angela-Anca Dobre
Universitatea ,,Dunrea de Jos din Galai; e-mail: ancaangeladobre@yahoo.com

Abstract. The funerary customs and practices represent a projection of the people beliefs and mentalities about the other world. The funerary rites and rituals were established according to the human communities representations about the Earth pre-existence. We can affirm that the religious life was reduced, in all the epochs, to speculations about the soul faith after death. Anyway, both the ancient Greek and Roman philosophy and literature is rich in theories and descriptions of the life after death. There can be considered the most suggestive for representing the belief in immortality, the symbols as funerary monuments themselves, and we speak here about the pine cone, Thanatos or the funerary lions. A unique sample on the Romanian territory is the pine cone in the necropolis of Tomis. The sculpted lions on the funerary monuments are to be found in the whole Roman world. Beginning with the 2nd century A.D., there are to be found lions with ptotecting role as independent funerary monuments. This type of funerary monument appears also in the Tomitan necropolis dated in the period of the principate. Another representation of the deceased on the funerary monument is Thanatos. In the Tomitan funerary customs, as well as in the Dobrujan ones, there were defined many iconographic types of him. Rezumat. Obiceiurile i practicile funerare reprezint o proiecie a credinelor i mentalitilor oamenilor despre lumea de dincolo. n funcie de aceste reprezentri ale comunitilor umane despre preexistena pmntean se stabilesc ritul i ritualul funerar. Putem afirma c viaa religioas s-a redus, n toate epocile, la speculaii
ISSN: 1841-477X e - ISSN: 2247-4536

Angela-Anca Dobre
privind soarta sufletului dup moarte. Oricum, att filosofia ct i literatura antic, greac i roman, abund de teorii i descrieri ale vieii de dup moarte. Cele mai sugestive, pentru exprimarea credinei n nemurire pot fi considerate reprezentrile simbolurilor ca monumente funerare de sine stttoare, vorbim aici despre conul de pin, Thanatos sau leii funerari. O pies unicat pe teritoriul Romniei este conul de pin din necropola cetii Tomis. Leii sculptai pe monumente funerare se regsesc n ntreaga lume roman. ncepnd din secolul II p. Chr. se ntlnesc lei apotropaici ca monumente funerare independente. Acest tip de monument funerar apare i n necropola tomitan datat n epoca principatului. O alt form de expresie a ideii defunctului pe monumentul funerar este repreyentarea lui Thanathos. n funeraria tomitan dar i n cea dobrogean au fost definite mai multe tipuri iconografice ale acestuia. Keywords. funerary, rite, ritual, funerary lions, Thanathos

ISSN: 1841-477X e - ISSN: 2247-4536