tian art and unknown prior to the fifth century. Artists emphasized
Christ’s divinity and exemplary life as teacher and miracle worker,
not his suffering and death at the hands of the Romans. This sculp-
tor, however, alluded to the Crucifixion in the scenes in the two
niches at the upper right depicting Jesus being led before Pontius
Pilate for judgment. The Romans condemned Jesus to death, but he
triumphantly overcame it. Junius Bassus and other Christians,
whether they were converts from paganism or from Judaism, hoped
for a similar salvation.
STATUETTE OF CHRISTApart from the reliefs on privately
commissioned sarcophagi, monumental sculpture became increas-
ingly uncommon in the fourth century. The authorities continued
to erect portrait statues of Roman emperors and other officials, andartists still made statues of pagan gods and mythological figures, but
the number of statues decreased sharply. In his Apologia,Justin
Martyr, a second-century philosopher who converted to Christian-
ity and was mindful of the Second Commandment’s admonition to
shun graven images, accused the pagans of worshiping statues as
gods. Christians tended to suspect the freestanding statue, linking it
with the false gods of the pagans, so Early Christian houses of wor-
ship had no “cult statues.” Nor did the first churches have any equiv-
alent of the pedimental statues and relief friezes of Greco-Roman
temples.
The Greco-Roman experience, however, was still a living part of
the Mediterranean mentality, and many Christians like Junius Bas-
sus were recent converts from paganism who retained some of their
classical values. This may account for those rare instances of free-
standing Early Christian sculpture, such as the marble statuette
(FIG. 11-8) of Christ seated from Civita Latina. Less than three feet
tall, the figure closely resembles the Christ situated between Saints
Peter and Paul on the Junius Bassus sarcophagus (FIG. 11-7,top cen-
ter). As on the relief, Christ’s head is that of a long-haired Apollo-like
youth, but the Romans employed the statuary type only for bearded
philosophers of advanced age. Like those learned men, Christ wears
the Roman tunic, toga, and sandals and holds an unopened scroll in
his left hand. The piece is unique, and unfortunately its original con-
text and function are unknown. Several third- and fourth-century
marble statuettes of Christ as the Good Shepherd and of Jonah also
survive, but they too are exceptional.Architecture and Mosaics
Although some Christian ceremonies were held in the catacombs,
regular services took place in private community houses of the type
found at Dura-Europos (FIG. 11-4). Once Christianity achieved im-
perial sponsorship under Constantine, an urgent need suddenly
arose to construct churches. The new buildings had to meet the re-
quirements of Christian liturgy(the official ritual of public wor-
ship), provide a suitably monumental setting for the celebration of
the Christian faith, and accommodate the rapidly growing numbers
of worshipers.
Constantine was convinced that the Christian god had guided
him to victory over Maxentius, and in lifelong gratitude he protected
and advanced Christianity throughout the Empire as well as in the
obstinately pagan capital city of Rome. As emperor, he was, of course,
obliged to safeguard the ancient Roman religion, traditions, and
monuments, and, as noted in Chapter 10, he was (for his time) a
builder on a grand scale in the heart of the city. But eager to provide
buildings to house the Christian rituals and venerated burial places,
especially the memorials of founding saints, Constantine also was the
first major patron of Christian architecture. He constructed elaborate
basilicas, memorials, and mausoleums not only in Rome but also in
Constantinople, his “New Rome” in the East, and at sites sacred to
Christianity, most notably Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, and
Jerusalem, the site of the Crucifixion.Rome
The major Constantinian churches in Rome stood on sites associ-
ated with the graves of Christian martyrs, which, in keeping with
Roman custom, were all on the city’s outskirts. The decision to erect
churches at those sites also permitted Constantine to keep the new
Christian shrines out of the city center and to avoid any confronta-
tion between Rome’s Christian and pagan populations.Architecture and Mosaics 29511-8Christ seated, from Civita Latina, Italy, ca. 350–375. Marble,
2 41 – 2 high. Museo Nazionale Romano–Palazzo Massimo alle Terme,
Rome.
The earliest representations of Jesus show him as a young man.
Statues of Christ are rare during the Early Christian period, however,
because of the Second Commandment prohibition of idol worship.1 in.
11-8AChrist as
Good Shepherd,
ca. 300–350.