No. XXXII-XXXIII (2002)
Articles

Divine Rape as Funeral Motif: Example of Stela from Viminacium

  • Sanja M. Pilipović
Sanja M. Pilipović
Institute for Balkan Studies, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2298/BALC0233061P

Published 01.12.2002

Keywords

  • stelae,
  • funeral motif,
  • Viminacium,
  • divine rape,
  • Balkans

How to Cite

Pilipović, S. M. (2002). Divine Rape as Funeral Motif: Example of Stela from Viminacium. Balcanica - Annual of the Institute for Balkan Studies, (XXXII-XXXIII), 61–88. https://doi.org/10.2298/BALC0233061P

Copyright (c) 2002 Balcanica

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Abstract

The theme of rape in the decorative program of the stela of M. Valerius Speratus from Viminacium and his wife Lucia Aphrodisia is expressed in the composition of the Rape of Kore and the Rape of Europa. This paper attempts to understand the said myths and their pictorial representations as funeral symbols of the after-death journey of the soul. Possible geopolitical meaning of the myth of the Rape of Europa has also been taken into consideration. The stela from Viminacium have also been viewed in relation to the monuments with the similar representations in the neighboring Danubian provinces.