Purposes of Roman Statues

By Ricky Jassal 11Y 27/9/2010

Intro

The Ancient Romans were always making statues. They were master sculptors and had amazing accuracy when making statues. There are 3 reasons for the statues they made.

Reason No. 1 – Personal Enhancement

The Ancient Romans lived in an age of official superstition and believed that an accurate sculpture of a person would allow them to rest in peace if they were dead and had the power to protect them if they were alive.

Example:

Reason No. 2 - Communication

Sculptures fulfilled a publicity role, as they had no newspapers or photographs these sculptures were a way to communicate to the public how the armies latest conquests had gone. - This is a relief sculpture from an old Roman sarcophagus.

Example:

Reason No. 3 – Personal Belongings

Sculptures are works of art and that is why the Ancient Romans had personal statues for themselves. They were not for the public eye. Emperors sometimes had sculptures which displayed offensive, explicit or violent content.

Examples: