The figure on the
reverse is sometimes identified as Eros (Cupid) or a generic winged
Genius. The inverted torch represents a life extinguished, indicating the figure is
Thanatos (death). By the
Severan Era, there was increased
hope for an afterlife in pleasant Elysium rather than in dismal Hades.
Thanatos was associated more with a gentle passing than a woeful demise.
Thanatos as a winged boy, very much akin to Cupid, with crossed legs and an inverted torch, became the most common symbol for death, depicted on many
Roman sarcophagi.
The top image is from an early 4th century
Roman sarcophagus.
The bottom image is from the sarcophagus of a couple found near
Tripolis dated to the 2nd or 3rd century. It is believed they died together in a plague. Is it possible these
types were struck shortly after a plague, in memory of those lost?
Thanatos is a
daimon, a
genius, but not just any
genius. He looks like
cupid or eros, but he is not.
Thanatos is not love, he is death, specifically non-violent death.
People would like to deny death but
Thanatos does not care.
