Roman Empire Trying to Analyze

Roman Empire

Trying to analyze Roman art can be extremely difficult, given that the Roman Empire lasted for more than one millennium and was divided between the west and the east. While it can be treated as a whole, Roman art can also be studied separately, given that the artistic work produced in the Western Roman Empire was largely different from that produced in the Eastern Roman Empire. Contemporary scholars have troubles determining the extent to which art in the Eastern Roman Empire was different from that in the West. Some actually believe that art in the Byzantine Empire uses little concepts that were common in the Western World because it developed on its own, considering the schism between the two parts of the Roman Empire.

The Byzantine Empire was influenced by a series of factors in doing things differently from how it was expected to, given that it formerly belonged to the Roman Empire. Greek traditions were extremely important in shaping the Byzantine Empire's culture, but it seems unlikely that this was among the major factors which made the Eastern Roman Empire adopt a different tactic in regard to art. The Western Roman Empire also had its artistic roots in Ancient Greece, thus making art in the territory being performed in accordance with several basic Greek rules.

Partly because of the civil wars that emerged throughout the 500 years of the Roman Republic and partly because people turned their interest toward things other than culture, the Western Roman Empire did not manage to produce a great deal of artistic material. The remains of Pompeii perfectly exemplify Roman life during the first centuries A.D. Because the city was successfully preserved because of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, contemporary scholars are able to gain a better understanding of the Roman Republic, the way it functioned, and some of its core values. The obscenity one can see through watching the frescoes and mosaics is overwhelming (Hnat, 2). It is obvious that people lived differently during the period, considering their powerful attraction to eroticism. The Byzantine world also expressed its desirability toward sexuality, but they did so to a lesser degree. Curiously, the Byzantine Empire did not inherit the eroticism favored by the Greeks and Romans. However, people in the Byzantine world were not introverted when it came to sexuality and in spite of the fact that they did not express themselves similar to the Romans, they too focused on exploring with eroticism (James, 10).

Prostitution was a thriving institution in Pompeii and artists did not hesitate to reproduce scenes regarding prostitutes in their works. With politics experiencing a period of decline, people in the city felt that they were not actually pressured by a particular authority and were accustomed to do as they pleased, with no regard to the consequences of their actions. Religion was also of little importance to the people of Pompeii and in addition to the fact that they did not even express an exceptional interest in their gods; they were not connected in any way to Christianity, which greatly influenced the Eastern part of the Roman Empire. "The locations of much of the erotic art, which will be discussed, were discovered within patrician villas, bathhouses, brothels, and taverns" (Hnut, 3). The brothels in particular contained open eroticism, most probably with the purpose of arousing clients. One can consider the erotic art present in brothels to be a form of advertisement, meant to attract customers, given that most would be unable to resist the temptation of entering such a place consequent to seeing the erotic artistic character in it (Hnut, 4).

The Byzantine world was nothing like Pompeii when concerning its dedication to exploiting eroticism. The Eastern Roman Empire is actually believed to have put across an innocent character in regard to sexuality, considering that some of the first recognized erotic works of art appeared as late as the twelfth century A.D. It is certainly surprising how a nation formed through the bonding of several nations committing to promoting eroticism was not actually interested in supporting the concept for several centuries. Even with that, it is difficult to claim that the Eastern Roman Empire was in point of fact untainted from an erotic artistic perspective (James 10).

Through studying hagiographic texts produced by Christians in the Eastern Roman Empire it becomes obvious that sexuality was not actually ignored by artists, but that it was isolated. As described by James (10), the account relating to when "Symeon the Fool attempted to enter the women's baths naked in order to demonstrate his apatheia, show a highly self-conscious erotic awareness."