Modern Representations
An anecdote, likely invented, demonstrates Cornelia's devotion to and admiration for her sons. When women friends questioned Cornelia about her mode of dress and personal adornment, which was far more simple and understated than was usual for a wealthy Roman woman of her rank and station, Cornelia indicated her two sons and said, "These are my jewels."
A large statue on the grounds of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus entitled "These Are My Jewels," makes allusion to this story. It is surmounted by a figure of Cornelia, personifying the state of Ohio, with arms wide spread, and arrayed before her are the state's "jewels" – military and political leaders who contributed to the Union Cause during the American Civil War.
"Cornelia", a poem by Susanna Roxman, is included in her poetry collection Imagining Seals (Dionysia Press, Edinburgh 2006-7). This poem contains the lines "But I never asked for heroes./Some jewels would have been enough."
Read more about this topic: Cornelia Africana
Famous quotes containing the word modern:
“Information is the oxygen of the modern age. It seeps through the walls topped by barbed wire, it wafts across the electrified borders.”
—Ronald Reagan (b. 1911)