Ancient Roman citizens making an offering at an altar. The supplicant at right holds a laurel or olive branch and a bowl. The priest or Prospolus holds a bowl of barley and vase of wine. Another priest offers a libation on the altar, and a musician plays a double flute (tibia or aolus). The altar is a Doric column with bellows to fan the sacrificial fire. Copperplate engraving by Thomas Kirk (1765-1797) from Sir William Hamilton’s Outlines from the Figures and Compositions upon the Greek, Roman and Etruscan Vases of the Late Sir Hamilton, T. M’Lean, London, 1834.

---

Size: 7814px × 4920px
Photo credit: © Florilegius / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: altar, ancient, aolus, barley, bellows, bowl, branch, classical, classics, column, compositions, copperplate, design, doric, double, engraving, etruscan, figures, fire, flute, georgian, greek, hamilton, kirk, late, laurel, libation, musician, myth, mythology, offering, olive, outlines, priest, prospolus, regency, religion, ritual, roman, rome, sacrificial, sir, thomas, tibia, vase, vases, william, wine