On the lintel of the tomb of the Haterii (family of builders, ex-slaves that lived during the Flavian era) are probably depicted the Great Gods of Samothrace (Kadmilos, Axiokersa, Axiokersos and Axieros), who were also called Kabeiroi by the ancient Greek writers. On the left, Kadmilos-Hermes (his head is missing) is depicted holding the caduceus (God Hermes' symbol, a thin laurel or olive rod with two small wings and two snakes that serpentine head-on). Axiokersa-Persephone is next to him. Her head is covered and a garland of fruits decorates her cloak. Axiokersos-Hades, the Ruler of the Underworld, is in the center wearing a himation and holding a sceptre in his left hand. To the right, Axieros-Demeter holds an ear of wheat and a torch. All four gods are associated with the underworld and the afterlife.
Caption Marble lintel relief from the Tomb of the Haterii with the Great Gods of Samothrace
Mythic people Demeter (Deity), Persephone (Deity), Hermes (Deity), Hades (Deity) ,Cabeiri (Divinities), Persephone (Goddess)
Type Relief
Artist/Creator workshop of Rome
Origin Tomb of the Haterii, Rome (Via Labicana)
Current position Vatican, Museo Gregoriano Profano, Rome
Index number 10018
Dating late 1st c. - first quarter of the 2nd c. AD
Notes
Popkin M.L. Samothracian Influences at Rome: Cultic and Architectural Exchange in the Second Century B.C.E. AJA 2015 119.3, 343–373.
Trimble J. “Figure and ornament, death and transformation in the Tomb of the Haterii.” In Nikolaus Dietrich and Michael Squire (eds.), Ornament and Figure in Graeco-Roman Art: Rethinking Visual Ontologies in Classical Antiquity. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2018: 327-52.
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