FUNERARY STELA OF FELICULA, C. 180-190 CE. CLOISTER OF S. PAOLO FUORI LE MURA Like most of the ancient pieces on display in the magnificent medieval cloister of the papal basilica built over the traditional burial site of St Paul, this probably came from the via Ostiensis necropolis which once occupied this area. A portrait, now almost completely effaced, shows a female face with short hair, her torso in a tunic and mantle. The inscription says "To the departed shades. To Felicula. She lived 12 years, 3 months. Her parents Cocceia Magna and Cocceius Chrestus made this for their sweetest daughter". This is a middling-level monument, not extravagant, and "dulcissima" is by far the most frequent adjective found on girls' tombs, though it most often refers to much younger girls, 2-3 years old, and may have evoked the innocence of a very little girl. But in that "dulcissima" is compressed all the sweetness of a whole lifetime unfairly stolen. This was a freedman family of the gens Cocceia, of which the emperor Nerva was a member.
For #EpigraphyTuesday we're in the #cloister of #SanPaolofuorileMura along the #ViaOstiense heading south out of #Rome. This damaged marble monument recalls a little girl, Felicula, 12 years old, daughter of Cocceia Magna and Cocceius Chrestus, from the later C2 CE. #AncientBluesky 🏺
