Tulliola, Priscilla e le altre. Riflessi dell’Egitto nell’antica Roma

Abstract

In the light of the recent discovery of the tomb ofMarcus Venerius Secundius in Pompeii, the article aims to review the knowledge relating to the
practice of embalming in the Roman world.
In the past many scholars had supported the idea that the choice to have the body embalmed may have been dictated by an Egyptian origin of the
deceased, by an influence of Egyptian cults or mystery religions of oriental origin.
On the other hand, the review of the data leads us to suppose that this funerary practice, albeit in a simplified form compared to that practiced in
Egypt, had a wider use, both in pagan and Christian circles by members of the local elites.