Contemporary Theory of Metaphor says that unconsciousness of daily life operates in individuals in his/her condition of “reader”. This paper suggests that images of nature and the passing of time through the four seasons are fundamental for the textual formulation of unexpected death in Rome. The images of nature translated to painted walls, sarcophags, mosaic pavements, etc., create another kind of “text” through which the reader understands and faces the reality of unexpected death. 

Keywords: Rome in Antiquity, Daily life, Unexpected death, Mors immatura, Traditional Theory of Metaphor, Contemporary Theory of Metaphor, Cognitivism, Unconsciousness as reader, Texts and iconography.