Chapter 27. Art in the Roman Period, 168 BC–337 AD

Abstract

From the Roman conquest to the end of Constantine's reign, the finds in Macedon allow one to examine mainly two categories of large-scale art: sculpture and mosaic floors. The surviving monuments are numerous, whereas wall-paintings are not, but they differ in their chronological duration and, up to a point, in their function. The types and imagery of the funerary monuments of the late Hellenistic and early imperial period show a continuation of Hellenistic tradition. In the imperial period, sculpture flourished in Macedonia. It is easier to trace elements of Romanisation in monuments coming from the Roman colonies. The types of the portrait statues are not new, with the exception of the togati. Of the numerous private portrait statues, honorary and funerary, and of the busts, few examples retain the torso and the head together. The idealistic statues largely reproduce known types of the classical and Hellenistic period. Keywords: early imperial period; funerary monuments; Hellenistic period; Macedon's art; mosaic floors; private portrait statues; Roman period; wall-paintings