These two tondo/medallion style fresco portraits, now housed in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, were originally found in the House of the Cenaculum (Casa del Cenacolo, Regio V.2.h) in Pompeii (c. 1st century CE). They each depict a young man wearing a laurel wreath crown and holding a scroll (volumen and/or rotulus) with tags/labels (Latin: titulus/index | Greek: σίλλυβος/sillybos) reading “Homer” and “Plato” respectively (the order of the tags isn’t entirely clear, but I settled on using Homer in square capitals for the first slide and Plato in Roman cursive for the second; the museum says it should be Plato for portrait ‘a’ and Homer for portrait ‘b’). The frescos are displayed next to each other, suggesting a (fraternal) relationship. Both subjects appear to be wearing a garment resembling a toga or himation (ἱμάτιον) (though with the second one’s shoulder exposed, the garment resembles an exomis (ἐξωμίς) ironically). Laurel wreaths were commonly associated with victory and/or achievements; as suggested by the museum, perhaps these “poets” partook in a literary contest with a resulting success. 

The integration of select elements of Hellenistic culture (e.g., (laurel) wreaths, Greek authors and philosophers) into Roman society facilitated the emergence of a distinct identity among educated elite-class Romans. While literacy was an inherent expectation of the Roman educational system, the teaching of its contents did not carry the same artistic value or insight as the Greeks did. As the essence of Roman cultural refinement did not equally encompass or exhibit Greek values (of art/music, literature, or athletics, etc.), Roman Greek learning produced a superficial relationship, where Greek education was a controlled capital for sustaining the status and social distinction of wealthy families. 

In outwardly displaying one’s child’s education in this permanent, visual manner, (similar to the docta puella archetype), a paterfamilias may demonstrate his contributions to his family’s success and prosperity (firstly through his sons, and in a secondary, less emphasized manner, his daughters). 

Sources: 

Barrow, Robin. “The Persistence of Ancient Education.” A Companion to Ancient Education, Wiley, United Kingdom, 2015, pp. 281–291. 

Clarke, John R. Art in the Lives of Ordinary Romans: Visual Representation and Non-Elite Viewers in Italy, 100 B.C.-A.D. 315 (Joan Palevsky Book in Classical Literature). Berkeley, University of California Press, 2003. 

Cribiore, Raffaella. “School Structures, Apparatus, and Materials.” A Companion to Ancient Education, Wiley, United Kingdom, 2015, pp. 149–159. 

Mark Joyal, Iain McDougall, J. C. Yardley. Greek and Roman Education: A Sourcebook. Routledge, 2009. 

Sciarrino, Enrica. “Schools, Teachers, and Patrons in Mid‐Republican Rome.” A Companion to Ancient Education, Wiley, United Kingdom, 2015, pp. 226–239.