Coelia Athenaïs

By
Elisabeth Schwinge
Elisabeth Schwinge is a graduate student in the Interdepartmental Program in Classical Art and Archaeology, based in the Classics Department. Her interests include Roman history and archaeology, and she is currently working on her dissertation on the commemoration of victories in the Roman Republic.
  • Accession Number: JHUAM 74
  • Measurements: Height: 31.5 cm, Width: 59.2 cm, Thickness: 36.9 cm.
  • Material: Marble
  • Date/Culture: Roman, 1st century CE
  • Provenance: Rome, Italy.

Translation

“To Coelia Athenaïs, freedwoman of Quintus
Quintus Coelius Primus
Patron [dedicated this].”

Description

This cinerary urn, dated to the first century CE, was dedicated to Coelia Athenaïs. Coelia appears to have come from Greece, as indicated by her second name. When she was freed she took the name of her former owner as a first name. The same man, Quintus Coelius Primus, also dedicated this urn. The urn still contains burned human bones, presumably those of the two individuals named in the inscription.

References

H.L. Wilson, “Latin Inscriptions at the Johns Hopkins University VI,” American Journal of Philology 32 (1911), 166-187, 176-7.