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Claudius, master of land and sea

Claudius, master of land and sea

Relief at Sebasteion: Ancient Aphrodisias School of Sculpture...

The god Claudius strides forward in a divine epiphany, drapery billowing around his head. He receives a cornucopia with fruits of the earth from a figure emerging from the ground, and a ship's steering oar from a marine tritoness with fish-legs. The idea is clear: the god-emperor guarantees the prosperity of land and sea. The relief is a remarkable local visualisation - elavated and panegyrical - of the emperor's role as universal saviour and divine protector. - Museum of Aphrodisias.


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