The tomb of Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces the baker is one of the largest and most well preserved freedmen funerary monuments in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

. Its sculpted friezes are classic exemplars of the "plebeian style" in Roman sculpture, which was eventually to overwhelm the Greek influenced style of the Imperial court. Eurysaces built the tomb for himself and his wife, Atistia, and it is located at Porta Maggiore

Porta Maggiore

The Porta Maggiore , or Porta Prenestina, is one of the eastern gates in the ancient but well-preserved 3rd-century Aurelian Walls of Rome....

. The tomb was built in the late Republic (ca. 50-20 BC) but later was transformed as it became part of the Aurelian Wall and the Porta Maggiore What is interesting about this extravagant tomb is that a freedman, a former slave, built it.

Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces

Much can be inferred about Eurysaces simply from his name. The first part, or the praenomen and nomen

Roman naming conventions

By the Republican era and throughout the Imperial era, a name in ancient Rome for a male citizen consisted of three parts : praenomen , nomen and cognomen...

, is from a well known family that owned Eurysaces during his time as a slave. His given name, Eurysaces, is of Greek origin, specifically from the region of Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

. It can also be inferred that he either sold himself or was sold by his family into slavery, possibly to give him an opportunity to become a baker one day.

Description

This monument is just as much a monument to Eurysaces as it is to the profession of baking. Only one of two inscriptions on his epitaph survived and it says: “EST HOC MONIMENTVM MARCEI VERGILEI EVRYSACIS PISTORIS REDEMPTORIS APPARET,” or in English, “This is the monument of Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces, baker, contractor, public servant.” While the final word in this quote, "Apparet", is often translated as public servant, the actual Latin word for a public servant is Apparitor. Apparet is a verb meaning to appear or make apparent, this translation however does not seem to fit the rest of the inscription. The word Apparet is yet to be translated within the context of this quote. Because only a small percent of the Roman population was literate, the inscriptions are below a frieze decorated with scenes from baking, to further emphasize the theme.

One of the most striking features of this 33-foot-tall tomb is the series of cylindrical holes along the sides. This is very different from the classical Roman styles of tombs, and thus, allows Eurysaces’ tomb to stand out on the very busy Via Praenestina and Via Labicana, the streets that intersected next to the monument. It was later discovered that these unusual holes are the exact size of one unit of grain, so some people believe that Eurysaces was also creating a practical contribution to his society.

The incorporation of the cylinders, perhaps imitating kneading-machines or grain-measuring vessels as suggested above furthers the association with Bakery. A relief frieze representing stages of bread production runs along the top of the tomb.

Freedmen's Tombs

This tomb is one of many lavish tombs created by freedmen. These men were at first slaves, but from the help of their masters, were able to buy their freedom and begin their own livelihoods. They were proud of their freedom and earnings. Because of this, they many times created such lavish funerary monuments, such as Eurysaces’ tomb. These freedmen had no family lines, which were important in Roman society. Therefore, these tombs may have been attempts at beginning a family history for future generations to appreciate.