in the secrecy of the family vault. As
a work of art, each of the coffins is a choice specimen of Roman
funeral sculpture of the second century of our era. Some are simply
decorated with festoons, winged genii, scenic masks, or chimeras;
others with scenes relating to the Bacchic cycle, such as the infancy
of the god, his triumphal return from India, and his desertion of
Ariadne in the island of Naxos. The finest sarcophagus, of which we
give an illustration, represents the rape of the daughters of
Leukippos by Castor and Pollux.

[Illustration: Sarcophagus of the Leukippides.]

The collection of sarcophagi, inscriptions, urns, portrait-heads,
coins, and other objects belonging to the tombs, and the tombs
themselves, ought to have become public property, and to have been
kept together as a monument of national interest. Until recently the
marbles were to be seen on the ground floor of the Palazzo Maraini in
the Via Agostino Depretis, but some of them have now been removed to
No. 9 Via della Mercede.

Proceeding two hundred yards farther, on the same side of the Via
Salaria, we find the base of the tomb of the precocious boy Quintus
Sulpicius Maximus, the tomb itself having been discovered in 1871, in
the interior of the right tower of the Porta Salaria, while this was
being rebuilt after the bombardment of September 20, 1870.[133] The
tomb had formed the core of the tower, just as that of Eurysaces, the
baker, found in 1833, had been imbedded in the left tower of the Porta
Praenestina.

The tomb is composed of a pedestal, built of blocks of travertine,
with a marble cippus upon it, ornamented with a statue of the youth,
and the story of his life told in Greek and Latin verse. The story is
simple and sad.

On September 14, A. D. 95, the anniversary of his accession to the
throne, Domitian opened for the third time the _certamen
quinquennale_, a competition for the world's championship in
gymnastics, equestrian sports, music, and poetry, which he had
instituted at the beginning of his reign.[134] Fifty-two competitors
in Greek poetry were present. The subject, drawn by lot, was: "The
words which Jupiter made use of in reproving Apollo for having trusted
his chariot to Phaeton." Quintus Sulpicius Maximus improvised, on this
rather poor theme, forty-three _versus extemporales_. The meaning of
the adjective is doubtful. We are not certain whether the boy spoke
his verses extemporaneously, his words being taken down by