Activity 1

Roman emperors typically commissioned portraits depicting them in a variety of guises and attitudes. Consider, for example, the famous statue of Augustus, the Augustus of Primaporta. Now take a look these portraits of Marcus Aurelius, the last emperor of the Pax Romans; Constantine the Great who converted to Christianity and granted religious toleration to Christians within the Empire; and the Tetrarchs, the joint rulers of the divided late Empire. How does each portrait represent its subject? How do you think each emperor or group of rulers wished to be perceived by those who viewed the portrait? How do these portraits resemble and differ from each other? You viewed these portraits in chronological order, and they span about three centuries of imperial history: what do the differences among them suggest about how conceptions of the emperor changed over time?

Activity 2

One of the most notable features of the Roman Empire was its cosmopolitan, multicultural character. One of the most culturally diverse provinces of the Empire was Egypt. The region as a whole combined elements from Egyptian, Greek, and Roman culture; its capital, Alexandria, was one of the great cities of the ancient world, where people from every part of the Empire and beyond met to exchange goods and ideas. Read more about Roman Egypt, giving special attention to one of the region's most unique artistic productions: funeral portraits fixed to the mummified remains of the deceased. Now take a look at some examples of these portraits: Mummy with Portrait of a Youth, Portrait of a Young Woman, Portrait of a Young Woman II, Portrait of a Man, and Portrait of a Boy. What do you find most striking about these images? How do they represent the Greco-Roman artistic tradition? How do they represent the Egyptian tradition? What do they suggest about Egypt's position in the Empire?