''Velificatio'' is a stylistic device used in

ancient Roman art The art of Ancient Rome, and the territories of its Roman Republic, Republic and later Roman Empire, Empire, includes Roman architecture, architecture, painting, Roman sculpture, sculpture and Roman mosaic, mosaic work. Luxury objects in metal-wo ...

to frame a

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

by means of a billowing garment. It represents "vigorous movement," an

epiphany Epiphany may refer to: Psychology * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany seaso ...

, or "the vault of heaven," often appearing with celestial, weather, or sea deities. It is characteristic of the

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

of the

Aurae In Greek and Roman mythology, Aura ( , or Αὔρη ) is a minor wind goddess, whose name means "breeze". The plural form, Aurae () is sometimes found to describe a group of breeze nymphs. According to the late antiquity writer Nonnus, Aura is th ...

, the Breezes

personified Personification is the representation of a thing or abstraction as a person, often as an embodiment or incarnation. In the arts, many things are commonly personified, including: places, especially cities, countries, and continents; elements of ...

, and one of the elements which distinguish representations of Luna, the Roman goddess of the Moon, alluding to her astral course. A figure so framed is a ''velificans'' (plural ''velificantes''). Not all deities are portrayed as ''velificantes'', but the device might be used to mark a member of the

Imperial family A royal family is the immediate family of monarch, monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or emperor, empress, and the term papal family describes the family of ...

who had been divinized (a ''divus'' or ''diva''). Villa dei Misteri V - 2

''Velificatio'' is a frequent device in Roman art, including painting,

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

, and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, though it poses technical difficulties for freestanding sculpture. The Athenian sculptor

Praxiteles Praxiteles (; ) of Athens, the son of Cephisodotus the Elder, was the most renowned of the Attic sculptors of the 4th century BC. He was the first to sculpt the nude female form in a life-size statue. While no indubitably attributable sculpture ...

was able to achieve it. The term is also used to describe

Hellenistic art Hellenistic art is the art of the Hellenistic period generally taken to begin with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and end with the Roman Greece, conquest of the Greek world by the Romans, a process well underway by 146 BC, when the G ...

. The device continued to be used in later

Western art The art of Europe, also known as Western art, encompasses the history of visual art in Europe. European prehistoric art started as mobile Upper Paleolithic rock and cave painting and petroglyph art and was characteristic of the period bet ...

, in which it is sometimes described as an ''aura'', "a breeze that blows from either without or from within that lifts the veil to reveal the face of an otherwise invisible being."

Usage and examples

classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a Literary language, literary standard language, standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It formed parallel to Vulgar Latin around 75 BC out of Old Latin ...

, the

abstract noun In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an object or subject within a phrase, clause, or sentence.Example ...

''velificatio'' is uncommon, and refers to the act of setting sail, from ''velum'', "sail" (but also "cloth, garment, veil") and the ''-fic-'' combining element from ''-ficio, -ficere'' (= ''facio, facere'', "do, make"). The verbal form was the basis for modern scholarly usage. Pliny describes ''

velificantes sua veste'', the Breezes "making a sail with their own garment" at the

Porticus Octaviae The Porticus Octaviae (Latin language, Latin for the 'Portico of Octavia'; ) is an ancient structure in Rome. The colonnaded walks of the portico enclosed the Temple of Juno Regina (Campus Martius), Temples of Juno Regina (north) and Temple of J ...

Portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

of Octavia"). Such depictions of the Aurae are known from extant Roman art, and have been used as comparative material to identify the pair of ''velificantes'' in a scene from the Augustan Altar of Peace. On the basis of a passage from the ''

Carmen Saeculare The ''Carmen saeculare'' ("Song of the ages") is a Latin hymn written by Horace and commissioned by Augustus. It was sung by a choir of girls and boys at the secular games in 17 BC. It is written in Sapphic meter and follows the themes of the po ...

'' of

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

, composed and performed for

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

's staging of the

Saecular Games The Secular or Saecular Games () was an ancient Roman religious celebration involving sacrifices, theatrical performances, and public games (). It was held irregularly in Rome for three days and nights to mark the ends of various eras () and to c ...

in 17 BC, the central figure is often identified as Tellus (Earth):

Fertile in produce and cattle, let Tellus grant Ceres a crown of grain; let the healthful waters and breezes of Jove nourish offspring.

Not all scholars agree on this analysis of the scene. The creatures on which the ''velificantes'' are seated also suggest

Nereids In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides ( ; ; , also Νημερτές) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the 50 daughters of the 'Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanids, Oceanid Doris (Oceanid), Doris, sisters to their bro ...

, and the reference may point to the Cult of the Nymphs. The significance of the veil is sometimes explained in terms of the

initiation rite Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformatio ...

s of the

mystery religions Mystery religions, mystery cults, sacred mysteries or simply mysteries (), were religious schools of the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved to initiates ''(mystai)''. The main characteristic of these religious schools was th ...

. Initiates wore drapery or a veil which was lifted by a priestess. The veil was a symbol of death, and its removal in the rite signified the initiate's rebirth. The ''velificatio'' thus appears in scenes on

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ� ...

and in other

funerary art Funerary art is any work of art forming, or placed in, a repository for the remains of the death, dead. The term encompasses a wide variety of forms, including cenotaphs ("empty tombs"), tomb-like monuments which do not contain human remains, a ...

. File:The Kidnapping of Europa Mosaic.jpg,

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliffs, Alexan ...

(mosaic, 1st–2nd century) File:Proserpina kidnapped Kircheriano Terme.jpg,

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of Trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Su ...

(cinerary urn, 2nd century) File:Clipeus Selene Terme.jpg,

Selene In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Selene (; , meaning "Moon")''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη is the goddess and personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene (), she is traditionally the daughter ...

(

clipeus In the military of classical antiquity, a ''clipeus'' (; Ancient Greek: Aspis, ἀσπίς) was a large shield worn by the Ancient Greece, Greek Hoplite, hoplites and Ancient Rome, Romans as a piece of defensive armor, which they carried upon t ...

from a

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

, early 3rd century) File:Sousse neptune.jpg,

Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...

(mosaic, 3rd century) File:French Empire mantel clock.jpg,

French Empire mantel clock A French Empire-style mantel clock is a type of elaborately decorated mantel clock that was made in France during the Napoleonic Empire (1804–1814/15). Timekeepers manufacturing during the Bourbon Restoration (1814/1815–1830) are also inclu ...

(1822) depicting the nereid Galatea File:Las Incantadas (Louvre) Aura.jpg, Aura of

Las Incantadas Las Incantadas of Salonica ( or , meaning "the enchanted ones") is a group of Roman sculptures from a portico dating to the second century AD that once adorned the Roman Forum (Thessaloniki), Roman Forum of Thessaloniki, Thessalonica in Northern ...

(marble relief, 2nd century AD)

Outside Greco-Roman culture

Greek deities were abundantly used in

Greco-Buddhist art The Greco-Buddhist art or Gandhara art is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between Ancient Greek art and Buddhism. It had mainly evolved in the ancient region of Gandhara, located in the northwestern fringe of t ...

, so too their depiction elements, as with the Boreas and its velificatio element. Boreas became the Japanese wind god Fujin through the Greco-Buddhist Wardo/Oado and Chinese Feng Bo/Feng Po ("Uncle Wind"; among various other names), spreading the velificatio as an element of portraying deities of the sky.

List of ''velificantes''

The ''velificatio'' motif may be found with numerous deities, divine beings, and ''divi'', including: * Nyx * Aura *

Horae In Greek mythology, the Horae (), Horai () or Hours (, ) were the goddesses of the seasons and the natural portions of time. Etymology The term ''hora'' comes from the Proto-Indo-European ("year"). Function The Horae were originally the ...

(Seasons) *

Maenad In Greek mythology, maenads (; ) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of his retinue, the '' thiasus''. Their name, which comes from μαίνομαι (''maínomai'', “to rave, to be mad; to rage, to be angr ...

s *

Niobids In Greek mythology, the Niobids were the children of Amphion of Thebes and Niobe, slain by Apollo and Artemis because Niobe, born of the royal house of Phrygia, had boastfully compared the greater number of her own offspring with those of Leto, ...

Niobe Niobe (; : Nióbē) was in Greek mythology a daughter of Tantalus and of either Dione or of Eurythemista or Euryanassa. She was the wife of Amphion and the sister of Pelops and Broteas. Niobe is mentioned by Achilles in Homer's ''Iliad ...

or Luna *

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personification, personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

Caelus Caelus or Coelus (; ) was a primordial List of Roman deities, god of the sky in Roman mythology and Religion in ancient Rome, theology, Roman art, iconography, and Latin literature, literature (compare 'sky', 'heaven', whence English ''celestia ...

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

Ariadne In Greek mythology, Ariadne (; ; ) was a Cretan princess, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. There are variations of Ariadne's myth, but she is known for helping Theseus escape from the Minotaur and being abandoned by him on the island of N ...

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

Amphitrite In ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite (; ) was the goddess of the sea, the queen of the sea, and her consort is Poseidon. She was a daughter of Nereus and Doris (or Oceanus and Tethys).Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). Under the influence ...

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

Tarpeia In Roman legend, Tarpeia (; mid-8th century BCE), daughter of the Roman commander Spurius Tarpeius, was a Vestal Virgin who betrayed the city of Rome to the Sabines at the time of The Rape of the Sabine Women, their women's abduction for what sh ...

Vibia Sabina Vibia Sabina (83–136/137) was a Roman Empress, wife and second cousin once removed to the Roman Emperor Hadrian. She was the daughter of Salonia Matidia, Matidia (niece of Roman Emperor Trajan) and suffect consul Lucius Vibius Sabinus. Early ...

Vogel, ''The Column of Antoninus Pius'', p. 45.

References

{{italic title Art criticism Ancient Roman art Roman Empire art Ancient Roman religion Religious symbols Iconography Visual motifs

Usage and examples

Outside Greco-Roman culture

List of ''velificantes''

See also

References