The Goddess Fortuna in Imperial Rome: Cult, Art, Text - University of ...

comparison with Greek myths, rare. As we have seen, this applies especially to
the presence of the Aeneas-Ascanius group in the Greek East.
The complex relationship between the East and West during the imperial
period recently has become the subject of intense study. 39 Roman ideas and
themes, though usually not myths, appeared frequently in the Greek East setting
during the imperial period, in the form of statuary and monumental constructions,
often dedicated by dual citizens of Rome and Greek cities. A famous example is
the Trajanic-dated Tomb of Philopappos on the Mouseion hill in Athens. 40 The
multi-storied façade of the tomb depicts the deceased Philopappos in the upper
floor, seated, surrounded by prestigious ancestors, the Hellenistic Greek kings
Antiochus IV (on the left) and Seleucus Nikator (on the right, now lost). The
lower story depicts Philopappos in his consular chariot in Rome, preceded and
followed by lictors. In this relief, however, Philopappos wears a radiate crown,
commonly worn by Hellenistic kings, not Roman consuls. 41 The tomb presents a
combination of Greek and Roman images (as well as an intermingling of motifs
from the East and West) for both a local Greek audience and Romans living
abroad in the Greek East, both familiar with the attributes of the Roman consul
during the imperial period as well as the standard iconography of regal
personages.
39 Many studies are cited in Sturgeon (2000) 659-667, Alcock, ed. (1997). Greeks under Romans:
Habicht (1985) 117-140.
40 Kleiner (1983), Kleiner (1992) 233-235 with bibliography.
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