Cimon and Pero

133×200 cm.
Ed.3/5+2Ap.
2010

Roman Charity or Carità Romana, in other words Cimon and Pero, is the exemplary story of a daughter, Pero, who secretly breastfeeds her father, Cimon, after he is incarcerated and sentenced to death by starvation. She is found out by a jailer, but her act of selflessness impresses officials and wins her father’s release. The story is recorded in Nine Books of Memorable Acts and Sayings of the Ancient Romans (De Factis Dictisque Memorabilibus Libri IX) by the ancient Roman historian Valerius Maximus, and was presented as a great act of filial piety and Roman honor. A painting in the Temple of Pietas depicted the scene. Among Romans, the theme had mythological echoes in Juno’s breastfeeding of the adult Hercules, an Etruscan myth. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, many famous European artists depicted the scene. Most outstandingly, Peter Paul Rubens painted several versions. Baroque artist Caravaggio also featured the deed (among others) in his work from 1606, The Seven Works of Mercy. Neoclassical depictions tended to be more subdued. The fictional account of Roman Charity is also seen in 20th century’s novels, for instance John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (1939). At the end of the novel, Rosasharn (Rose of Sharon) breastfeeds a sick and starving man in the corner of a barn.