Life-sized statues found in Pompeii

[guy]

 

 

Two life-sized statues have been found in Pompeii.

The woman may have been a priestess. She is holding laurel leaves used in religious ceremonies.

 

Quote

She is wearing lavish jewelry including earrings, bracelets and rings, as well as a necklace with a crescent moon pendant like those worn by priestesses of the cult of Ceres – a goddess of fertility, agriculture and motherly relationships – the Pompeii archaeological park said in a statement announcing the discovery.

 

Quote

The woman’s tunic is covered with a cape and she is holding what appears to be a papyrus roll and laurel leaves – often used for purifying and blessing religious spaces by dispersing the smoke from ceremonial incense throughout the area.

 

 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/02/science/life-size-statues-pompeii-tomb-scli-intl/index.html

 

https://pompeiisites.org/wp-content/uploads/04_E-Journal_A-Monumental-Tomb-with-a-relief-of-two-spouses-in-the-funerary-area-of-Porta-Sarno.pdf

 

 

Edited April 3 by guy

[caesar novus]

I sense this topic might be mistaken as an uplifting sign of exalted status of Roman women, but reading the fine print: 1) This Ceres type of priestess is the only one rivaling responsibility of a priest, and only 7 were known to ever practice in Pompeii. 2) Her husband (wedding ring on conventional finger as moderns) has subtle indications of upper class, and probably was the source of family status that enabled her to become priestess.

Lastly the most notable feature of the women to this rube tourist is her sculpted body veil. Several of these can be found in Naples churches from the 1800s and really impress onlookers. I guess it is a workable optical illusion to create riffles cross cutting thru riffles, but it seems like magic to this baclofen patient (side effect = false sense of well-being).

 

[guidoLaMoto]

You're right about the generally secondary role of women in Roman society, but the Vestals  and Sacerdotes Cerealis were notable exceptions, as mentioned in the article....

...I'm not sure if those are laurel branches she's holding. Laurel leaves are flat. Those look more like a sheaf of grain-- a more likely symbol for the goddess of grain. 

[caesar novus]

1 hour ago, guidoLaMoto said:

but the Vestals  and Sacerdotes Cerealis were notable exceptions

Oops, I had such a clear impression the pdf was saying Vestals and the Salian virgins were inferior to Ceres and male priests, but no, my confusion stemmed from their repeated use of the term priesthood to not mean exclusively males but in their case all female. Heck, next they will be implying that mankind includes women

I will post a couple of veiled statues from Compania in the 1700s or 1800s. They must have been inspired from Roman finds, altho don't have the the amazing orthogonal draping of the Ceres example near top of this thread:

Edited April 4 by caesar novus

[guy]

Little surprise that these statues are now part of a new exhibit in Pompeii “Being a woman in Pompeii.”

 

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/priestess-statue-found-preserved-within-the-walls-of-pompeii-necropolis-set-to-star-in-new-exhibit-on-roman-women/