Late Roman Empire, Heliodoros, an Actuarius, c 200 –256

This plaster-covered clay tile features a painting ofHeliodoros, an Actuarius (c 200 –256). It measures 30.5 × 44 × 6.7 cm and is part of the collection of Yale University Art Gallery. It originates from the ceiling of the sitting room in the House of Roman Scribes in Dura-Europos in Syria [1]. Built by Macedonian Greeks in around 300 BCE Dura-Europos was a Hellenistic outpost overlooking the Euphrates [2]. In 113 BCE it was conquered by the Parthians who established it as a fortress and a trading post [2,3]. In 165 CE, the Romans seized the city and developed it into a major border garrison town [2,3]; swelling its population by up to 2000 soldiers and 6000 dependants, servants and others [4]. Under Roman occupation the town was multicultural and multilingual; the languages used included Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Parthian, Hebrew and Safaitic [3]. Diverse faiths were followed; places of worship included temples to Greek, Persian, Roman and Syrian gods, a synagogue and the world ’s oldest Christian church dating to around 250 CE [5]. In 256 CE the town fell to the Sasanian (Iranian) Empire that had succeeded the Parthian Empire. Thereafter, the town was abandoned and eventually ­became buried under the sands of the desert [2].
Source: Occupational Medicine - Category: Respiratory Medicine Source Type: research