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sarcophagus
sarcophagus [Gr.,=flesh-eater], name given by the Greeks to a special marble found in Asia Minor, near the territory of ancient Troy, and used in caskets. It was believed to have the property of destroying the entire body, except for the teeth, within a few weeks. The term later generally designated any elaborate burial casket not sunk underground. The oldest known examples are from Egypt; they are box-shaped with a separate lid, which sometimes has sculptured effigies of the corpses. The sarcophagus of Tutankhamen (14th cent. BC), which was rediscovered in 1922, is of red granite and ornamented with reliefs of spirits with outspread wings. Later Egyptian sarcophagi were sometimes shaped to the body they contained. Sarcophagi were not in common use in Greece earlier than the 6th cent. BC because of the previous custom of cremation. After that time they became numerous. Records reveal that the majority of sarcophagi were made of wood, but those that remain are of stone and terra-cotta, as evidenced in the early 6th-century examples (British Mus.) from Clazomenae. Many Greek and Etruscan sarcophagi are in the shape of a couch; others, such as the sarcophagus of Alexander the Great, are carved and painted in imitation of temple architecture. The marble sarcophagi (excavated in 1877) from Sidon, a chief city of ancient Phoenicia, are among the finest examples of Greek art. In Rome sarcophagi became popular before the Punic Wars. The earliest known example is that of the consul Cneius Cornelius Scipio of the 3d cent. BC, now in the Vatican. Under the rule of the emperors Roman sarcophagi became elaborate, with mythological scenes carved on the sides and statues of the deceased on the lid. The early Christians also used sarcophagi for their distinguished dead. The carvings, usually representing Bible stories, are the chief source of early Christian sculpture. In the Middle Ages sarcophagi proper were used only in rare instances for especially elaborate entombments. Although memorials in the shape and decoration of sarcophagi were erected during the Renaissance and later, the body itself was almost always buried underground.
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"sarcophagus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "sarcophagus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-sarcopha.html "sarcophagus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-sarcopha.html |
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sarcophagus
sarcophagus. A stone (or more rarely terracotta) coffin. The term is particularly applied to large and richly decorated examples from the ancient world. According to Pliny the name (Greek: ‘flesh-devouring’) was derived from the custom of making or lining coffins with a slate stone found in Asia Minor that had the property of destroying the flesh of the corpse. In the 3rd and 4th centuries ad sarcophagi were the most common form of sculpture produced in the Roman Empire. Many surviving examples—more or less mass-produced—are mediocre, but some are of high quality and great historical interest, notably the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus (Vatican Grottoes, Rome). As an inscription informs us, Junius Bassus was prefect of Rome and was baptized a Christian on his deathbed in 359; the sarcophagus is richly adorned with relief carvings of subjects from the Old and New Testaments, and rather than being a memorial to an individual, it can be seen as a declaration of church teaching, marking the growing dominance of Christianity (it was not officially tolerated until 313, but by the end of the century it was the virtually compulsory religion for Roman citizens). On earlier sarcophagi the carvings are usually of pagan subjects and such sculptures were highly influential on Renaissance artists. In the Neoclassical era the sarcophagus form was revived.
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IAN CHILVERS. "sarcophagus." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. IAN CHILVERS. "sarcophagus." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-sarcophagus.html IAN CHILVERS. "sarcophagus." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-sarcophagus.html |
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sarcophagus
sarcophagus (pl. sarcophagi). Stone or terracotta sepulchral chest to contain a corpse, with or without a coffin, often enriched with sculpture or given architectural form (e.g. Tomb of the Weepers, Sidon, looking like a miniature Hellenistic temple). A common Antique type had a pitched roof-like lid with horns at the angles. Sarcophagi forms were often employed as architectural elements in Neo-Classicism, especially by Soane.
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "sarcophagus." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES STEVENS CURL. "sarcophagus." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-sarcophagus.html JAMES STEVENS CURL. "sarcophagus." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-sarcophagus.html |
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sarcophagus
sarcophagus a stone coffin, typically adorned with a sculpture or inscription and associated with the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Rome, and Greece. Recorded from late Middle English, the word comes via Latin from Greek sarkophagos ‘flesh-consuming’; the stone of which these coffins was made was originally believed to be able to consume the flesh of the dead bodies deposited in it.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "sarcophagus." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "sarcophagus." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-sarcophagus.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "sarcophagus." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-sarcophagus.html |
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sarcophagus
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"sarcophagus." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "sarcophagus." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-sarcophagus.html "sarcophagus." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-sarcophagus.html |
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sarcophagus
sarcophagus. A stone coffin, usually adorned with bas-relief. Until the Byzantine period sarcophagi were much used by both Christians and pagans. Those of the early Christians were often adorned with pagan designs, but from the 4th cent. some Christian subjects were depicted.
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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "sarcophagus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "sarcophagus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-sarcophagus.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "sarcophagus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-sarcophagus.html |
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sarcophagus
sarcophagus stone reputed by the ancient Greeks to consume corpses and hence used for coffins XVII; stone coffin XVIII. — L. — Gr. sarkophágos, sb. use of adj. f. sárx, sark- flesh + -phágos -eating, -PHAGOUS.
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T. F. HOAD. "sarcophagus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "sarcophagus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-sarcophagus.html T. F. HOAD. "sarcophagus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-sarcophagus.html |
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sarcophagus
sarcophagus
•horrendous, stupendous, tremendous
•Barbados • Indus • solidus • Lepidus
•Midas, nidus
•Aldous • Judas • Enceladus • exodus
•hazardous • Dreyfus • Josephus
•Sisyphus • typhus • Dollfuss
•amorphous, anthropomorphous, polymorphous
•rufous, Rufus
•Angus • Argus
•Las Vegas, magus, Tagus
•negus
•anilingus, cunnilingus, dingus, Mingus
•bogus
•fungous, fungus, humongous
•anthropophagous, oesophagus (US esophagus), sarcophagus
•analogous
•homologous, tautologous
•Areopagus • asparagus
•Burgas, Fergus, Lycurgus
•Carajás • frabjous
•advantageous, contagious, courageous, outrageous, rampageous
•egregious
•irreligious, litigious, prestigious, prodigious, religious, sacrilegious
•umbrageous • gorgeous
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"sarcophagus." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "sarcophagus." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 9, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-sarcophagus.html "sarcophagus." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 09, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-sarcophagus.html |
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