Greek Cross Hall

Compare the carvings on the two large red-porphyry sarcophagi. One carries military scenes with mounted soldiers and prisoners. The other spreads vines, cupids and grape gathering across its sides. The shared stone brings very different imagery into the same hall. The military sarcophagus is associated with Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine. Its subject has led scholars to suggest that it may first have been made for a male member of the imperial family. The other was probably made for Constantine’s daughter Constantia. Its grape-harvest decoration also belongs to the visual world of late Roman funerary art. Michelangelo Simonetti designed the Greek Cross Hall under Pope Pius VI as an entrance vestibule to the Pio Clementino Museum. The words Museum Pium above the imposing opening recall that role. An Athena mosaic lies in the floor, while Egyptian-style granite figures frame the historic entrance. The museum gathered objects from several ancient settings to make this new approach to its collections.