Pair of griffins grasp an urn. Roman sculpture on a sarcophagus or tomb chest in the Necropolis of Manastirine, a cemetery outside the walls of the ancient Greek and Roman city of Salona, at Solin near Split in Dalmatia, Croatia.
Salona, Solin, Dalmatia, Croatia: winged griffins with curved eagle beaks and talons flank an urn in Roman sculpture on a shattered and plundered sarcophagus or tomb chest in the Necropolis of Manastirine, outside the walls of ancient Salona, capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. Griffins, griffons or gryphons, powerful legendary creatures first encountered in the ancient art of Persia, combine the lion, the king of the beasts, with the eagle, the king of the birds. They were usually depicted with the bodies, tails and back legs of lions and the heads and wings of eagles. In Greco-Roman art, they were often shown guarding treasures and priceless possessions - in this case the remains of a Roman citizen of Salona. The griffin survived into medieval times and in heraldry, it became both a Christian symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine. Salona was founded by Illyrians in the 3rd century BC and was then a Greek city. It became a Roman colony in about 40 BC and was made the Dalmatian provincial capital during the reign of Augustus Caesar. Its cosmopolitan citizens had the use of public baths, an aqueduct, a forum, a theatre and an 18,000-capacity amphitheatre. Artistic detail on Salona's sarcophagi drawn from Greco-Roman or earlier mythology contrasts with early Christian symbols on some tombs commemorating saints and other citizens martyred by the Romans, as well as later generations of Christians who chose to be buried close to their graves. The Roman Empire began to collapse in the 5th century and Salona fell to the Ostrogoths in 493 AD. Although it was later returned to Rome, its citizens fled from attacking Avar forces in 614 AD, leaving ruined buildings and plundered tombs. The excavated site is now an archaeological park.
Size: 4256px × 2832px
Location: Salona, Solin, Dalmatia, Croatia.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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