A Roman Christian Laughs at Death: Games at Play on a Sarcophagus

What do the designs of a famous 3rd-century Roman sarcophagus tell us about Christian attitudes toward death? The “Jonah sarcophagus” features biblical texts, early Christian writings, plus Roman essays on astronomy and on how humor works in language. Of the rhetorician Quintilian’s 35 ways to build verbal humor, 12 appear on the sarcophagus. The designs also suggest­­­ games such as rebus, crossword, or even ‘peek-a-boo’ to perceive the shape and names of “invisible” constellations when “invisibility” was understood to be an attribute of the pre-incarnate Logos. Constellation names then circle back to verbal wordplay. All of which leads us to ask, Why create such elaborate games in connection with death? Who could laugh at death?

The Christian Study Center of Gainesville welcomes Linda Fuchs for this evening lecture. Fuchs is a research art historian focusing on early Christian art. Her academic background comes through Wheaton College, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, the University of Chicago, and Cornell University.