Tomb Garden of L. Ogius Patroclus

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Location

Sublocation

Garden

Keywords

Garden Description

A marble slab reported at Altinum in the sixteenth century and now in Venice records, above a depiction of an axe, a plumb-line, and a tree with birds, the epitaph of L. Ogius Patroclus, who some time (probably) in the late first or second century, "following the tradition of dutiful respect maintained by the corporation of firemen, donated while still living the gardens with building adjoining the tomb, so that from their revenue roses and food would be supplied generously for his patron and, eventually, for himself" (secutus pietatem col(legii) cent(onariorum) hortos cum aedificio huic sepult(urae) {a} iunctos vivos donavit, ut ex reditu eor(um) largius rosae et esce patrono suo et quandoque sibi ponerentur). The pairing of roses for the dead and food for the living (rosae et escae) was common in Roman funerary celebrations at the grave site, which perhaps suggests that mixed planting of flowers and vegetables was common in Roman tomb gardens as well (cf. ILS 6711, 8371).

Dates

unspecified

Excavation Date

16th century

Bibliography

CIL 5.2176
ILS 8369

Gardens of the Roman Empire

Tomb Garden of L. Ogius Patroclus

Location

Sublocation

Garden

Keywords

Garden Description

Dates

Excavation Date

Bibliography

Places