To My Family and Uğraş Uzun - Bilkent University

The seated and standing male figures of the Docimeum sarcophagi also
have Hellenistic counterparts. The bearded and himation-wearing philosopher
type figures are mostly represented seated and contemplating, sometimes
standing, and carrying scrolls in their hands (Smith, 1991: 34). The seated
Chrysippos (Fig. 102) and the standing philosopher from Capitoline (Fig. 103)
are examples of the philosopher type. When these examples are compared to the
Antakya Sarcophagus bearded male figures (Figures B, E, and I), the immediate
difference between them is that the philosopher statues do not wear a chiton
under the himation (Smith, 1991: 35). However, their full beards, untidy hair and
himatia and the bearded male figures on the Docimeum sarcophagi represent a
similar “man of intellect” image. In addition to that similarity, the lingulae
Chrysippos is wearing on his feet are notable for their resemblance to those of the
Figures B, E and I on the Antakya Sarcophagus.
The bearded male figures on the Docimeum sarcophagi could also be
identified as poets, as they also have counterparts from the Hellenistic Period. An
example is the statue of “Poseidippos”, a comic poet, wearing a chiton and a
himation, seated on a chair and holding a scroll in his hand (Fig. 104) (Smith,
1991: 39). Although the poet-type figures are mostly beardless, their poses and
the scrolls they carry in their hands are similar to those of the seated males of the
Docimeum sarcophagi, as for example, Figure E on the Antakya Sarcophagus.
It has been suggested that these people wearing himatia and carrying
scrolls in their hands on the Docimeum sarcophagi are intended to show men
with an interest in philosophical pursuits and are connected to the Roman
religious thought (Wiegartz, 1965: 84; Toynbee, 1965: 104; Ferguson, 1982:
142). In Roman religion it was thought that philosophers or poets symbolise the
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