Funerary Monument of Flavius Bassus (1st C)
On his tombstone Flavius Bassus is depicted as a galopping horseman, a symbol of military valor known in norther Greece and Thrace since the 5th century BC. By the 1st century AD, when this monument was erected, it had reached the Rhineland with the foreign auxiliaries in the Roman army. The laurel tree (on the side face) expresses the hope of immortality, usually seen as a continuation of earthly life. It is interesting to compare this monument with early Christian monuments, which placed less emphasis on the achievements of this life and shows their desire to "rest in peace" and "be with God."
