Roman Empire

==Arts==
{{Main|Roman art|Art collection in ancient Rome}}
[[ancient Greek art|Greek art]] had a profound influence on Roman art.{{Sfnp|Kousser|2008|pp=4–5, 8}} [[Public art]]—including [[Roman sculpture|sculpture]], monuments such as [[List of Roman victory columns|victory columns]] or [[triumphal arch]]es, and the iconography on [[Roman currency|coins]]—is often analysed for historical or ideological significance.<ref>{{Harvp|Kousser|2008|p=1}}; {{Harvp|Potter|2009|pp=75–76}}</ref> In the private sphere, artistic objects were made for [[votum|religious dedications]], [[Roman funerals and burial|funerary commemoration]], domestic use, and commerce.{{Sfnp|Gazda|1991|pp=1–3}} The wealthy advertised their appreciation of culture through artwork and [[decorative arts]] in their homes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zanker |first=Paul |title=Pompeii: Public and Private Life |date=1998 |publisher=Harvard University Press |page=189 |translator-last=Schneider |translator-first=Deborah Lucas |author-link=Paul Zanker |orig-date=1995}}</ref> Despite the value placed on art, even famous artists were of low social status, partly as they worked with their hands.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|pp=312–313}}

===Portraiture===
{{Main|Roman portraiture}}
{{Multiple image
 | width = 125
 | footer = Two portraits {{Circa|130 AD}}: the empress [[Vibia Sabina]] (left); and the ''[[Antinous Mondragone]]''
 | image1 = Busto de Vibia Sabina (M. Prado) 01.jpg
 | image2 = Antinous Mandragone profil.jpg
}}
Portraiture, which survives mainly in sculpture, was the most copious form of imperial art. Portraits during the Augustan period utilize [[classicism|classical proportions]], evolving later into a mixture of realism and idealism.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Toynbee |first=J. M. C. |date=December 1971 |title=Roman Art |journal=The Classical Review |volume=21 |issue=3 |doi=10.1017/S0009840X00221331 |pages=439–442 |s2cid=163488573}}</ref> Republican portraits were characterized by [[verism]], but as early as the 2nd century BC, Greek [[heroic nudity]] was adopted for conquering generals.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zanker |first=Paul |title=The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus |date=1988 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |pages=5ff}}</ref> Imperial portrait sculptures may model a mature head atop a youthful nude or semi-nude body with perfect musculature.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|p=451}} Clothed in the toga or military regalia, the body communicates rank or role, not individual characteristics.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fejfer |first=Jane |title=Roman Portraits in Context |date=2008 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |page=10}}</ref> Women of the emperor's family were often depicted as goddesses or divine personifications.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

Portraiture in painting is represented primarily by the [[Fayum mummy portrait]]s, which evoke Egyptian and Roman traditions of commemorating the dead with realistic painting. Marble portrait sculpture were painted, but traces have rarely survived.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|p=453}}

===Sculpture and sarcophagi===
{{Main|Roman sculpture|Ancient Roman sarcophagi}}
[[File:10 2023 - Palazzo Altemps, Roma, Lazio, 00186, Italia - Sarcofago Grande Ludovisi (Grande Ludovisi sarcophagus) - Arte Romana - Photo Paolo Villa FO232047 ombre gimp bis.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|On the [[Ludovisi sarcophagus]]]]

Examples of Roman sculpture survive abundantly, though often in damaged or fragmentary condition, including freestanding statuary in marble, bronze and [[Ancient Roman pottery#Terracotta figurines|terracotta]], and [[relief]]s from public buildings and monuments. Niches in amphitheatres were originally filled with statues,{{Sfnp|Kousser|2008|p=13}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Strong |first=Donald |title=Roman Art |date=1988 |publisher=Yale University Press |edition=2nd |page=11 |orig-date=1976}}</ref> as were [[Roman gardens|formal garden]]s.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|pp=274–275}} Temples housed cult images of deities, often by famed sculptors.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|pp=242}}

Elaborately carved marble and limestone [[sarcophagus|sarcophagi]] are characteristic of the 2nd to 4th centuries.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Newby |first=Zahra |chapter=Myth and Death: Roman Mythological Sarcophagi |date=2011 |title=A Companion to Greek Mythology |publisher=Blackwell |page=301 |author-link=Zahra Newby}}</ref> Sarcophagus relief has been called the "richest single source of Roman iconography",{{Sfnp|Elsner|Huskinson|2011|p=14}} depicting [[classical mythology|mythological scenes]]{{Sfnp|Elsner|Huskinson|2011|p=12}} or Jewish/Christian imagery{{Sfnp|Elsner|Huskinson|2011|p=1, 9}} as well as the deceased's life.
{{Clear}}

===Painting===
{{Main|Painting in ancient Rome}}
[[File:Zeffiro-e-clori---pompeii.jpg|thumb|''The Wedding of [[Zephyrus]] and [[Chloris]]'' (54–68 AD, [[Pompeian Styles|Pompeian Fourth Style]]) within painted architectural panels from the Casa del Naviglio]]

Initial Roman painting drew from [[Etruscan art#Wall-painting|Etruscan]] and [[Ancient Greek art#Painting|Greek]] models and techniques. Examples of Roman paintings can be found in [[List of ancient monuments in Rome#Palaces|palaces]], [[List of ancient monuments in Rome#Cemeteries|catacombs]] and [[Roman villa|villas]]. Much of what is known of Roman painting is from the interior decoration of private homes, particularly as preserved by the [[Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79|eruption of Vesuvius]]. In addition to decorative borders and panels with geometric or vegetative motifs, wall painting depicts scenes from mythology and theatre, landscapes and gardens, [[#Spectacles|spectacles]], everyday life, and [[Erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum|erotic art]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

===Mosaic===
{{Main|Roman mosaic}}
[[File:Neptune Roman mosaic Bardo Museum Tunis.jpg|thumb|''[[Neptune (mythology)|The Triumph of Neptune]]'' floor mosaic from [[Africa Proconsularis]] (present-day Tunisia){{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|p=463}}]]
[[Mosaic]]s are among the most enduring of Roman [[decorative arts]], and are found on floors and other architectural features. The most common is the [[opus tessellatum|tessellated mosaic]], formed from uniform pieces ''([[tessera]]e)'' of materials such as stone and glass.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|p=459}} ''[[Opus sectile]]'' is a related technique in which flat stone, usually coloured marble, is cut precisely into shapes from which geometric or figurative patterns are formed. This more difficult technique became especially popular for luxury surfaces in the 4th century (e.g. the [[Basilica of Junius Bassus]]).{{Sfnp|Dunbabin|1999|pp=254ff}}

[[Figurative art|Figurative]] mosaics share many themes with painting, and in some cases use almost identical [[Composition (visual arts)|compositions]]. Geometric patterns and mythological scenes occur throughout the Empire. In North Africa, a particularly rich source of mosaics, homeowners often chose scenes of life on their estates, hunting, agriculture, and local wildlife.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|p=463}} Plentiful and major examples of Roman mosaics come also from present-day Turkey (particularly the ([[Antioch mosaics]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 March 2016 |title=Antioch and the Bath of Apolausis – History of the excavations |url=https://www.getty.edu/publications/romanmosaics/catalogue/excavations-antioch |access-date=16 June 2020 |website=J. Paul Getty Museum |archive-date=18 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200318165702/http://www.getty.edu/publications/romanmosaics/catalogue/excavations-antioch/ |url-status=live }}</ref>), Italy, southern France, Spain, and Portugal.

===Decorative arts===
{{further|Ancient Roman pottery|Roman glass}}
[[Decorative arts]] for luxury consumers included fine pottery, silver and bronze vessels and implements, and glassware. Pottery manufacturing was economically important, as were the glass and metalworking industries. Imports stimulated new regional centres of production. Southern Gaul became a leading producer of the finer red-gloss pottery (''[[terra sigillata]]'') that was a major trade good in 1st-century Europe.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|p=202}} [[Glassblowing]] was regarded by the Romans as originating in Syria in the 1st century BC, and by the 3rd century, Egypt and the [[Rhineland]] had become noted for fine glass.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Butcher |first=Kevin |title=Roman Syria and the Near East |date=2003 |publisher=Getty Publications |isbn=0-89236-715-6 |pages=201ff}}; {{Harvp|Bowman|Garnsey|Cameron|2005|p=421}}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="120">
File:Skyphos Boscoreale Louvre Bj2367.jpg|Silver [[skyphos|cup]], from the [[Boscoreale Treasure]] (early 1st century AD)
File:Céramique sigillée Metz 100109 2.jpg|Finely decorated Gallo-Roman ''[[terra sigillata]]'' bowl
File:Boucles d'oreilles 3ème siècle Musée de Laon 030208.jpg|Gold earrings with gemstones, 3rd century
File:Munich Cup Diatretum 22102016 1.jpg|Glass [[cage cup]] from the Rhineland, 4th century
</gallery>

===Performing arts===
{{Main|Theatre of ancient Rome|Music of ancient Rome}}
[[File:Choregos actors MAN Napoli Inv9986.jpg|thumb|All-male theatrical troupe preparing for a masked performance, on a mosaic from the [[House of the Tragic Poet]]]]
In Roman tradition, borrowed from the Greeks, literary theatre was performed by all-male troupes that used face masks with exaggerated facial expressions to portray emotion. Female roles were played by men in [[Drag (clothing)|drag]] (''[[travesti (theatre)|travesti]]''). Roman literary theatre tradition is particularly well represented in [[#Literature|Latin literature]] by the tragedies of [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

More popular than literary theatre was the genre-defying ''mimus'' theatre, which featured scripted scenarios with free improvisation, risqué language and sex scenes, action sequences, and political satire, along with dance, juggling, acrobatics, tightrope walking, striptease, and [[dancing bear]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fantham |first=R. Elaine |date=1989 |title=Mime: The Missing Link in Roman Literary History |journal=The Classical World |volume=82 |issue=3 |doi=10.2307/4350348 |pages=153–163|jstor=4350348 }}; {{Cite journal |last=Slater |first=William J. |date=2002 |title=Mime Problems: Cicero ''Ad fam''. 7.1 and Martial 9.38 |journal=Phoenix |volume=56 |issue=3/4 |doi=10.2307/1192603 |pages=315–329|jstor=1192603 }}; {{Harvp|Potter|Mattingly|1999|p=257}}</ref> Unlike literary theatre, ''mimus'' was played without masks, and encouraged stylistic realism. Female roles were performed by women.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Conte |first=Gian Biagio |title=Latin Literature: A History |date=1994 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |page=128 |author-link=Gian Biagio Conte}}</ref> ''Mimus'' was related to ''[[Pantomime#Ancient Rome|pantomimus]]'', an early form of [[story ballet]] that contained no spoken dialogue but rather a sung [[libretto]], often mythological, either tragic or comic.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Franklin |first=James L. |date=1987 |title=Pantomimists at Pompeii: Actius Anicetus and His Troupe |journal=The American Journal of Philology |volume=108 |issue=1 |doi=10.2307/294916 |pages=95–107|jstor=294916 }}; {{Cite book |last=Starks |first=John H. Jr. |chapter=Pantomime Actresses in Latin Inscriptions |date=2008 |title=New Directions in Ancient Pantomime |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=95, 14ff}}</ref>

[[File:Scena_di_commedia,_musici_ambulanti,_da_villa_di_cecerone_a_pompei,_9985,_03.JPG|thumb|left|Trio of musicians playing an ''[[aulos]]'', ''cymbala'', and ''[[Tympanum (hand drum)|tympanum]]'' (mosaic from [[Pompeii]])]]
Although sometimes regarded as foreign, [[Music of ancient Rome|music]] and dance existed in Rome from earliest times.{{Sfnp|Naerebout|2009|p=146}} Music was customary at funerals, and the ''[[aulos|tibia]]'', a woodwind instrument, was played at sacrifices.<ref name="klar">{{Cite journal |last=Ginsberg-Klar |first=Maria E. |date=2010 |title=The archaeology of musical instruments in Germany during the Roman period |journal=World Archaeology |volume=12 |issue=3 |doi=10.1080/00438243.1981.9979806 |pages=313–320}}</ref> Song ''([[Carmen (verse)|carmen]])'' was integral to almost every social occasion. Music was thought to reflect the orderliness of the cosmos.{{Sfnp|Habinek|2005|pp=90ff}} Various woodwinds and [[brass instrument|"brass" instruments]] were played, as were [[stringed instruments]] such as the ''[[cithara]]'', and percussion.<ref name=klar/> The ''[[Cornu (horn)|cornu]]'', a long tubular metal wind instrument, was used for military signals and on parade.<ref name=klar/> These instruments spread throughout the provinces and are widely depicted in Roman art.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sonia Mucznik |title=Musicians and Musical Instruments in Roman and Early Byzantine Mosaics of the Land of Israel: Sources, Precursors and Significance |publisher=Tel Aviv University}}</ref> The hydraulic pipe organ ''([[hydraulis]])'' was "one of the most significant technical and musical achievements of antiquity", and accompanied gladiator games and events in the amphitheatre.<ref name=klar/> Although certain dances were seen at times as non-Roman or unmanly, dancing was embedded in religious rituals of archaic Rome.{{Sfnp|Naerebout|2009|pp=146ff}} Ecstatic dancing was a feature of the [[mystery religions]], particularly the cults of [[Cybele]]{{Sfnp|Naerebout|2009|pp=154, 157}} and [[Isis]]. In the secular realm, dancing girls from [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria]] and [[Cádiz|Cadiz]] were extremely popular.{{Sfnp|Naerebout|2009|pp=156–157}}

Like [[gladiator]]s, entertainers were legally ''[[infamia|infames]]'', technically free but little better than slaves. "Stars", however, could enjoy considerable wealth and celebrity, and mingled socially and often sexually with the elite.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Richlin |first=Amy |date=1993 |title=Not before Homosexuality: The Materiality of the ''cinaedus'' and the Roman Law against Love between Men |journal=Journal of the History of Sexuality |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=539–540}}</ref> Performers supported each other by forming guilds, and several memorials for theatre members survive.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Csapo |first1=Eric |title=The Context of Ancient Drama |last2=Slater |first2=William J. |date=1994 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |page=377}}</ref> Theatre and dance were often condemned by [[Christian polemic]]ists in the later Empire.{{Sfnp|Naerebout|2009|p=146}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=MacMullen |first=Ramsay |title=Christianizing the Roman Empire: (A. D. 100–400) |date=1984 |publisher=Yale University Press |pages=74–75, 84 |author-link=Ramsay MacMullen}}</ref>