La morte come liberazione (CIL III 10214 = CLE 1781): stele con un episodio della storia di Oreste dalla Pannonia Inferiore

Abstract

This paper offers a new iconographic reading of a fragment of a Roman funerary stele in marble from the village of Putinci, near Bassiane in Lower Pannonia. Today, the lower part of the funerary stele is preserved. The fragment consists of a metrical epitaph and a relief below it. On the relief are depicted two fighting figures and one building on the right side. Both the epitaph and the relief are partially preserved. The relief has been interpreted as Orestes killing Clytemnestra. Following a tipological and iconographic analysis and comparison with Roman sarcophagi as well as with funerary monuments from Noricum and Pannonia, it has been suggested that it is most likely a scene with Orestes and the Taurians beside the temple of Artemis. Based on this interpretation, the fragment could be understood as an example of funerary iconography that is completely compatible with Norico-Pannonian funerary arts. Based on a comparison with a group of funerary monuments of merchants with metrical epitaphs, it is possible to presume that this stele was erected for a well-to-do merchant too.