In questo articolo presentiamo una serie di statuette, vasi plastici e lucerne trovate ad Ostia antica, e studiati nell’ambito del progetto “Segregated or Integrated? Living and Dying in the Harbour City of Ostia, 300 BCE-700 CE”, che ha esaminato le forme culturali della coesistenza degli abitanti romani e non-romani della città portuale. Il contributo si focalizza sulle rappresentazioni degli stranieri nelle arti minori in forma grottesca legate alla sfera sessuale e analizza gli usi di tali immagini come apotropaia. La discussione comincia da una serie di erme priapiche, continua con lucerne plastiche in forma fallica e con una statuetta c.d. pseudo-Baubo egiziana. La parte finale è dedicata alla discussione approfondita di una particolare lucerna erotica ostiense, importata dalla fabbrica ateniese di Preimos, e probabilmente trovata in contesto funerario.

The present paper offers a series of case studies on statuettes, plastic vases and lamps from Ostia antica, studied in the framework of the project “Segregated or Integrated? Living and Dying in the Harbour City of Ostia, 300 BCE-700 CE”, that has examined the cultural forms of coexistence of Roman and non-Roman inhabitants of the harbour city. This article focuses on the grotesque and sexualized representations of foreigners in minor arts, and analyses their uses and meanings as apotropaia. The discussion starts with a series of Priapus’ herms, continues with phallic lamps in human form and a statuette of so-called pseudo-Baubo of Egyptian origin. In the second part, a particular erotic lamp, imported to Ostia from the Athenian workshop of Preimos, and probably found in a funerary context, is analysed more in detail.

This chapter will take a new approach to the study of migration and mobility to the harbour cities of Ostia and Portus in Late Antiquity. The trade networks of the Mediterranean created a system of seasonal mobility. Thus, temporary populations of the cities, the harbours, and the countryside of Ostia and Portus changed the image of the cities during the year, from the peaceful period of the winter months to the busy period of the summer months with traders, seamen, labour force of the harbours, and visitors arriving from the Roman provinces all over the Mediterranean. The connection and the mutual dependence of the two harbour cities to the metropolitan area of Rome, the Mediterranean area and the provinces of the Roman Empire are discussed and compared to the previous studies of migration in Antiquity and Laurence Tacoma’s definitions of migration to Rome. As Tacoma did not include the analysis of migration to Ostia and Portus in his study, this paper aims to raise the specific character of the harbour cities of Rome to the centre of attention, with an emphasis on the development in Late Antiquity, with the help of archaeological evidence, literary sources and inscriptions, also through a comparison to the latest geological studies of the coastal area of Latium and the Tiber river, and the latest results of ancient DNA studies.

This case study will analyse various ways of integration in the harbour city of Rome through inscriptions, archaeological material, and literary sources, to study how Jewish immigrants and inhabitants of the city were integrated into Roman culture and the urban society of Ostia. To give examples of different ways of integration, we present four inscriptions from Ostia that tell us more about the Jewish inhabitants in the city. These four inscriptions make it possible for us to discuss in greater detail the role of the Jewish inhabitants as members of the Ostian society, their participation in the various activities of the Ostian community, as well as their social roles. For this ‘case study’, the names of the individuals reveal information about both their background and their personal history.

Det är få antika städer som är så välbevarade att de kan ge oss ovärderlig information om hur människors vardag såg ut för 2000 år sedan. Staden Ostia är en av dessa. Lyssna på när vår gäst Arja Karivieri, professor i Antikens kultur och Samhällsliv på Stockholms universitet berättar om de pågående undersökningarna och forskningsprojekten i Ostia och hur folket i staden levde.

Den här historiepodden handlar om allt mellan Zeus och Hades: arkitektur, slag, sex, enskilda personer, religion och mytologi, mat, bajs, konst och mycket mer. En perfekt podd för dig som vill veta mer om Romarriket, antikens Grekland, Egypten och flera av de andra folk och kulturer som levde och verkade runt Medelhavet under den här perioden.