 | The Iconography of the Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus: Neofitus Iit Ad Deum Carved for a Roman city prefect who was a newly baptized Christian at his death, the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus is not only a magnificent example of "the fine style" of mid-fourth-century sculpture but also a treasury of early Christian iconography clearly indicating the Christianization of Rome--and the Romanization of Christianity. Whereas most previous scholarship has focused on the style of the sarcophagus, Elizabeth Struthers Malbon explores the perplexing elements of its iconography in their fourth-century context. In so doing she reveals the distinction between "pagan" and Christian images to be less rigid than sometimes thought. Elizabeth Struthers Malbon is Director of and Professor in the Religious Studies Program, Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She is also author of Narrative Space and Mythic Meaning in Mark, and Narrative Commentary on Mark. (Bowker Author Biography) |
