Two naked priests making a sacrifice to Mars, the Roman god of war. Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus in a lionskin holds a torch, his son Commodus passes a snake through flames at the altar with Corinthian helmet. From a cameo gem. Sacrificium in Cameo. Copperplate engraving from Francesco Valesio, Antonio Gori and Ridolfino Venuti’s Academia Etrusca, Museum Cortonense in quo Vetera Monumenta, (Etruscan Academy or Museum of Cortona), Faustus Amideus, Rome, 1750.

---

Size: 5094px × 6364px
Photo credit: © Florilegius / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 18th, academia, academy, altar, amideus, antoninus, antonio, archaeology, aurelius, cameo, carving, century, classical, commodus, copperplate, corinthian, cortona, cortonense, culture, emperor, engraving, etruria, etrusca, etruscan, faustus, flames, francesco, gem, god, gori, helmet, history, italy, lionskin, marcus, mars, monumenta, museum, myth, mythology, naked, priest, ridolfino, roman, rome, sacrifice, sacrificium, sculpture, snake, son, statue, torch, valesio, venuti, vetera, war