column of marcus aurelius and ostia · marcus aurelius, 180-185 the emperor now appears very often...
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Column of Marcus Aurelius and Ostia
Dr. Lorenzo
Today’s Topics
The Antonine Period
Ostia
3rd Extra Credit OpportunityAncient Cypriot Limestone Sculpture and Self-Taught Sculptors in the
Ancient World
The island of Cyprus in antiquity is known for many things, among them an international reputation for concentrated religious activity, and quarries of soft limestone. These two features come together in the survival of tens of thousands sculptural offerings on the island: diverse in style and form, locally made and locally dedicated. This lecture will explore the unique experience of worship in ancient Cyprus with a particular focus on these dedications. I argue that the soft limestone was easily carved, so the sculptors required little training. By examining many works of limestone sculpture, we’ll see the styles, techniques and themes of these artists reflect an environment similar to the self-taught artists working in more contemporary times..
Marcus Aurelius, 161-180
Hadrian chose his next three successors: (1) Antoninus Pius, AD 138-161; (2) Lucius Verus AD 161-169; and (3) Marcus Aurelius AD 161-180.
The bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, ca. AD 180.
He was the last of the Five Good Emperors. He is also considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers. He was not a great builder, being on almost constant campaign trying to defend the empire’s borders.
Marcus Aurelius, AD 161-180
What is it? What is it made out of? Where is it? What’s the date? Why is it significant?
Column of Marcus Aurelius 180-185Is located in the Campus Martius. It was designed as a funerary monument in conscious emulation of Trajan’s column. It has an internal spiral staircase, which leads to a viewing platform where the emperor’s statue was. Mausoleum of Augustus
PantheonColumn of M. A.
Column of Ant.Pius
Column of Marcus Aurelius, AD ca.180-185
Just like Trajan’s column a helical frieze is carved all the way up the shaft of the column. The frieze tells the story of the emperor’s wars north of the Danube, against the Marcomanni (172-3) and the Sarmatians (174-5).
Column of Marcus Aurelius,180-185
Is both a funerary monument and a commemorative monument, but, unlike Trajan’s column, it was designed from the beginning to be both.
Column of Marcus Aurelius , AD 180The helical frieze begins at the bottom where the Roman army crosses the Danube River. The ensuing action is almost continuous battle, with the conflicts far more cruel and violent than on Trajan’s column.
The Danube River
The Danube River
Bridge of boats
Roman army
Here is a scene of Romans massacring barbarians. The style of carving is more powerful, more visceral, and deeper than on Trajan’s column, but each scene is much simpler, with fewer figures and less circumstantial detail, than on T.’s column.
Column of Marcus Aurelius,
180-185
The whole frieze is almost continuous battle,with the conflicts far more cruel and violent than on Trajan’s column.
Column of Marcus Aurelius,
180-185
The humanity and human cost of the war, especially for the Marcomanni and Sarmatians, is much more in evidence than was the human cost for the Dacians on Trajan’s column.
The emperor receives barbarians begging for their lives.
Column of Marcus Aurelius,180-185
The barbarians are often depicted as being killed effortlessly, often after being lined up for summary execution. They react with terror sometimes crying out helplessly with facial expressions of pain and fear.
Column of Marcus Aurelius,180-185
The emperor can be seen to be carrying out all his important duties (receiving barbarian prisoners, addressing the troops (adlocutio), etc.)
Column of Marcus Aurelius,
180-185
Marcus Aurelius
Column of Marcus Aurelius,
180-185The emperor now appears very often as the central figure in a triad that faces outwards towards the viewer. This conception of an emperor detached from his context and almost an iconic figure would soon become the norm in imperial sculpture.
Marcus Aurelius
What do you know/remember about Ostia?
Ostia
The Romans founded the colony of Ostia at the mouth of the Tiber ca. 25 km from Rome in the late 4th cent. BC. What advantages does this location have?
Ostia
The earliest plan of Ostia resembles that of a Roman military camp or castrum.
Ostia
Forum DecumanusDecumanus
Cardo
CardoN
Gate
Gate
Gate
GateCapitolium
Wall
ca. 400 BC-late antiquity
Ostia
Forum
Decumanus
Decumanus
Cardo
Cardo
Gate
Gate
Capitolium
Theater and Forum of the Corporations
Baths of Neptune
What is it? What is it made out of? Where is it? What’s the date? Why is it significant?
Capitolium, Ostia, ca. 120-130Under Hadrian Ostia’s forum took final shape when a Capitolium was built at its north end. It stands on an exceptionally tall podium and was sheathed with…? What cult or cults?
An aerial view of the CapitoliumDecumanus
Capitolium, Ostia, ca. 120-130
An aerial view of the CapitoliumDecumanus
Capitolium, Ostia, ca. 120-130
What is it? What is it made out of? Where is it? What’s the date? Why is it significant?
While Ostia never had a amphitheater it did have a theater with portico originally built by Agrippa and remodeled under Domitian, Hadrian and Commodus. Its attached portico is now call the Forum of the Corporations. Why?
The Theater and Forum of the Corporations, Ostia, ca. 20 BC-AD 190
The layout of this complex reminds you of what structure in Rome? Other than as sturdy floors what function(s) did the complexes mosaics serve?
The Theater and Forum of the Corporations,
Ostia, ca. 20 BC-AD 190
What is it? What is it made out of? Where is it? What’s the date? Why is it significant?
The Baths of Neptune, Ostia, ca. 20 BC-AD 190The baths were financed directly by the imperial treasury under Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. What does this mosaic depict? Why? What is its color scheme? Why and for what purpose(s)?
The Baths of Neptune, Ostia, ca. 20 BC-AD 190Poseidon being pulled by four horses is surrounded by a multitude of creatures mostly marine and mostly mythological and then some not.
What is it? What is it made out of? Where is it? What’s the date? Why is it significant?
The Horrea Epagathiana, ca. 145-150The Horrea Epagathiana or Warehouse of Epagathius is one of the finest examples anywhere of the Roman’s new taste for exposed brick (see what Trajanic monument?)
The Horrea Epagathiana, ca. 145-150The architectural details show a continued respect for the Greek architectural vocabulary, as well as the transformation of that vocabulary into a new and distinctly Roman style.
Entrance with two locked doors
What is it? What is it made out of? Where is it? What’s the date? Why is it significant?
Insulae are apartment blocks. Archaeologists estimate that what percentage of Ostia’s population lived in insulae? Their ground floors consisted of what? Inside the insula where did the majority of the light and air come from? Where did cooking take place? What about going to the bathroom? Where were the best apartments?
The Insula of Diana, Ostia, ca. 150
Imperial period insulae were usually 2-5 floors high and made of brick faced concrete especially after the Great Fire in Rome of ca. 64. Nero instituted new building codes. What was urban life like in 2nd-century Ostia and Rome?
The Insula of Diana, Ostia, ca. 150
What is it? What is it made out of? Where is it? What’s the date? Why is it significant?
The Tomb of Tiberius Claudius Eutychus, Ostia, ca. 110-115
A good example of a standard tomb type that developed on the roads leading out of Ostia and Rome. It has exposed brick work like that used in houses, markets and warehouses. It very often consists of a facade with a doorway leading into a barrel vaulted chamber.
What do the panels on the facade depict? Why are they important? The tomb’s architectural vocabulary is similar to Ostian houses so this tomb was meant to be….? Was Eutychus’s tomb and other similar ones for a single occupant or multiple burials?
The Tomb of Tiberius Claudius Eutychus, Ostia, ca. 110-115
What is it? What is it made out of? Where is it? What’s the date? Why is it significant?
The exterior is exposed brick work like Eutychus’s tomb but inside it is more elaborate. The layout of the inside is important because it has evidence for the shift in what funerary custom?
Interior of Tomb of the Caetennii, ca. 150-160 small cinerary (ash) urns
See you on Tuesday for Roman sarcophagi and Severan art…
What is it? What is it made out of? Where is it? What’s the date? Why is it significant?
Funerary relief of vegetable vendor, ca. 150-200
A small painted terracotta plaque immortalizing the life of a vegetable vendor. What style is it done in? What is interesting about how the scene is depicted?
What is it? What is it made out of? Where is it? What’s the date? Why is it significant?
Funerary relief of the midwife, ca. 150A small painted terracotta plaque immortalizing the life of a midwife. What style is it done in? Why do we think the midwife looks out and not at what her hand is doing?