Editing Roman Empire (section)

===Sculpture and sarcophagi===
{{Main|Roman sculpture|Ancient Roman sarcophagi}}
[[File:10 2023 - Palazzo Altemps, Roma, Lazio, 00186, Italia - Sarcofago Grande Ludovisi (Grande Ludovisi sarcophagus) - Arte Romana - Photo Paolo Villa FO232047 ombre gimp bis.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|On the [[Ludovisi sarcophagus]]]]

Examples of Roman sculpture survive abundantly, though often in damaged or fragmentary condition, including freestanding statuary in marble, bronze and [[Ancient Roman pottery#Terracotta figurines|terracotta]], and [[relief]]s from public buildings and monuments. Niches in amphitheatres were originally filled with statues,{{Sfnp|Kousser|2008|p=13}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Strong |first=Donald |title=Roman Art |date=1988 |publisher=Yale University Press |edition=2nd |page=11 |orig-date=1976}}</ref> as were [[Roman gardens|formal garden]]s.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|pp=274–275}} Temples housed cult images of deities, often by famed sculptors.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|p=242}}

Elaborately carved marble and limestone [[sarcophagus|sarcophagi]] are characteristic of the 2nd to 4th centuries.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Newby |first=Zahra |chapter=Myth and Death: Roman Mythological Sarcophagi |date=2011 |title=A Companion to Greek Mythology |publisher=Blackwell |page=301 |author-link=Zahra Newby}}</ref> Sarcophagus relief has been called the "richest single source of Roman iconography",{{Sfnp|Elsner|Huskinson|2011|p=14}} depicting [[classical mythology|mythological scenes]]{{Sfnp|Elsner|Huskinson|2011|p=12}} or Jewish/Christian imagery{{Sfnp|Elsner|Huskinson|2011|p=1, 9}} as well as the deceased's life.
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