Roman Archaeology From Caesar and Constantine Test #2

Palm branch

was a sign of victory

Castra Praetoria

• camp of the praetorian guard

• built in AD 21-23 by Tiberius

• created a military prescence in the city that wasn’t present before

Villa Jovis

• The Imperial Palace of Tiberius

• he exiled himself there after leaving Rome in AD 26

Grotto of Tiberius

• located in Sperlonga, Italy

• It was another imperial villa

• had a dining room, fronted by fish ponds

• Made the grotto into a fancy banquet hall

• decorated with a program of statues

  • The key theme of the statues is the Odyssey

Hellenistic Baroque

• A type of statuary style from Greece

• The goal is to show emotional complexity

  • The struggles and fortune of mankind

The Pasquino Group

• One of the statue groups

• Depicts Odysseus carrying Achilles’ dead body

• It is supposed to invoke pity and fear

  • Pity for the dead Achilles

  • Fear in Odysseus’ eyes - he’s a soldier in enemy territory

• Roman values depicted

  • fides - trustworthiness, looking after the younger soldier

  • officium - duty, fulfilling your duty as a soldier to recover the dead body

The Palladium Group

• Another statuary group in the grotto

• Depicts Diomedes stealing the Palladium at Troy and Odysseus attempting to steal the Palladium from Diomedes

• Roman value

  • dolus - guile, trickery

dolus

guile, trickery

The Scylla Group

• Odysseus fights the Scylla

• Made by Hagesandros, Athanodoros, and Polydoros of Rhodes

• Roman value

  • fortitudo - courage

fortitudo

courage

The Polyphemus Group

• Odysseus blinding Polyphemus

• Roman value

  • calliditas - cunning

calliditas

cunning

The Ganymede Group

• Depicts the abduction of Ganymede by an eagle

• Tackles the argument of divine favor vs human achievement

  • Which is more important to humans?

  • Ganymede undergoes an apotheosis of sorts, becoming an immortal through divine favor

Domus Tiberiana

• was located on the Palantine Hill

• expanded on the Augustan villa

Cult of Isis

• was established in Rome by Emperor Caligula

• offered secret rites promising spiritual rebirth and afterlife bliss

  • salvation

Iseum

• Temple to Isis built by Caligula

• was situated on the Campus Martius

sistrum

a musical instrument used in the worship of Isis

Liburnian galleys

• ships built by Caligula

• were massive structures

• contained

  • 10 banks of oars

  • sterns set with gems

  • particolored sails

  • spacious baths, colonades, and banquet halls

  • vines and fruit trees

Protome

a decorative architectural piece that was added to the ends of beams

apotropaic

believed to protect agaisnt evil or bad luck

opus sectile

a type of mosaic

Diva Druscilla Panthea

• “Divine Drucilla to all the gods”

• Julia Druscilla

  • was the sister of Caligula

    • They had an alleged incestual relationship

  • was deified by Caligula after her death

    • was the first Roman woman to be deified

    • was depicted as one of the graces

Circus of Caligula

• Also known as the circus of Gaius

• placed an obelisk he brought from Egypt inside

• Many Christians were killed here - Peter and Paul

censorial powers

• The position was given to the most distinguished Roman

• Powers:

  • could assess who was a citizen and who was not

  • Assess the property of the citizens

  • put people into classes based on their wealth

  • could remove senators

• Tiberius enrolled senators from Gaul

Lyon Tablet

• AD 48

• Lugdunum (Lyon, France)

• The actual inscription of Cladius’ speech to the Italian elite

• It was made of bronze

Sebasteion

a temple to worship the emperor

sebastos

• “the one to be worshipped or revered”

• means Augustus in Greek

Aphrodisias

• “City of Aphrodite/Venus”

• was located in Turkey

• There was a sebasteion located there

Aqua Claudia

• was the aqueduct to bring water to the Palatine Hill

Gardens of Maecenas

• Maecenas was the patron of Virgil

• Maecenas gifted it to Augustus when he died

• was located on the Esquiline Hill

Domus Transitoria

• Nero wanted to build a “walkway” from his palace to the Gardens of Maecenas

• was supposed to be an achitectural wonder and very cutting edge

• had wall and ceiling paintings, statues

Domus Aurea

• “The Golden House”

• Built by Nero

• The roof tiles were gilded

• encompassed the Palatine, Caelian, and parts of the Esquiline

• There was an artificial lake in the middle

• After this was built the Palatine become the residence of the emperor only

Chi-Rho

• The first two letters in Christos

The Esquiline Wing

• a section of the Domus Aurea

• had more light and air ventilation than any other building before

• also functioned as a musuem and many famous artworks were placed there

Octagonal Room

• a section of the Domus Aurea

• was the earliest known domed ceiling

• contained fountains

• It was for hosting parties/banquets

• The smaller rooms would have different forms of entertainment It

Coenatio Rotunda

• a part of the Domus Aurea

• was a rotating dining room

• great architectural feat

Lex de imperio Vespasiani

• “Law on the imperium of Vespasian”

• gave the powers of the princeps to Vespasian

  • power to make treaties

  • to convene the senate

  • Extend the line of the pomerium

• gave him the same power and authority as the previous emperors

Flavian Amphitheater (Colosseum)

• took 10 years to build

• was inaugurated by Titus

• was a manubial monument

• was a victory monument over Judea

  • was decorated with items that would have emphasized their victory over the Jews

• was built specifically for gladiatorial bouts

velum

the awning system that would provide shade for spectators

could be deployed within minutes

Temple of Peace

• Built by Vespasian to align himself with Augustus

  • bringing peace through conquest

  • stability

    • He ended the civil war and brought peace back to the Empire

• Also functioned like a museum

  • had paintings and statues

    • Great works of art from ancient Greece and Eygpt

  • spoils from the Temple of Solomon

• Located in the Forum of Vespasian

Forma Urbis Romae

• The Marble Plan

• A topographically accurate map of the city made of marble

• Kept in the Temple of Peace, in the room of the urban prefect

• Built under Septimius Severus in AD 203-211

Fortuna Augustus

Fortune of the emperor

censor perpetuus

• censor for life

• tile held by emperor Domitian

  • gave him power over enrollment in the senate, and the constitution of the senate

  • could judge senators and have some removed

dominus et deus

• “lord and god”

• was a title that Domitian demanded he be called

  • was unprecendented

Arch of Titus

• AD 81

• Built by Domitian

• was on the sacred road

• depicts the apotheosis of Titus, the Triumphal procession

Triumphalis

• a gate that was only opened when there was a triumph

Temple of Vespasian

• materialized the deification of Vespasian

• became the main temple of the Flavians

• “across” from the temple of divus lulius

aspergillum

the sprinkler of the water

galerum of Flamen Dialis

hats worn by the priesthood of Jupiter

praefericulum

held the hoy water

secespita

a knife that was used to cut open the sacrificial animal

securis

the axe that was used to kill the bull

simpulum

was used to pour in sacred liquid ( water or wine)

Domus Augustana

• was located on the palatine

• had two major parts

  • the private residence of the emperor

  • the public areas where the emperor would meet with senators

Domus Flavia

• The public part of the Domus Augustana

• Aula Regia, Basilica, Lararium, Cenatio Jovis, Nymphaeum

Aula Regia

• “the royal hall”

• The emperor sat on a curule seat at the end of the hall

• where he heard petitions and reports from senators

• Had statues of Hercules and Dionysus made of Egyptian green basalt

“Basilica”

• located in the Domus Flavia

• was a private room where the emperor would meet with his advisors

Lararium

• “for the lares”

• located in the Domus Flavia

• It was the headquarters for the praetorian guard when the emperor was in the building

Cenatio Jovis

• “the dining room of Jove”

• locate in the Domus Flavia

• the dining hall

Nymphaeum

• located in the Domus Flavia

• The small fountains next to the dining rooms

damnatio memoriae

• damnation of memory

• A person is essentially erased from history

  • names removed, statues destroyed,

Forum of Nerva

• Really the Forum Transitorium (the passage, the corridor)

  • Built by Domitian

• Inaugurated by Nerva

• Temple of Minerva

• In the Forum of Nerva

• represents divine favor

  • Minerva/Athena was able to perform his labors because of Athena’s backing

  • Myth

• Had a relief decoration of the myth of Arachne

  • criticizes hubris

  • could have been directed to women specifically

Lapilli

• rock fragments ejected from a volcano

• pumice fall

• highly porous stone

• accumulated on the roofs of houses in Pompeii and made them collapse

Pyroclastic surge

• high-density currents of pumice, ash, blocks, and volcanic gas

• very destructive

Herculaneum

• The first surge killed everyone in the city

Fornici

• root of the word fornicate, was used to meet prostitutes

• ship sheds

  • But not just for ships

palastra

• a public place for the training of gladiators and athletes

Retiarius

• a type of gladiator

• wielded a net and trident or short sword

• wore a galerus

galerus

• worn by a retiarius

• rectangular bronze plate tied to left shoulder

Thracian

• a typle of gladiator

• had:

  • a short, curved (sica)

  • small shield

  • arm guard

  • Two high leg guards

  • helmet with a griffen’s head

Murmillo

• a type of gladiator

• had:

  • short sword (gladius)

  • high wooden rectangular shield

  • helmet with a visor

  • arm-guard

Quinquennial Duovir

• elected to the highest magistracy possible

toga virilis

• “toga of manhood”

• would be given to a boy ages 15-17 during their coming of age ceremony

venatio

• beast fights

Eumachia building

• located in the forum of Pompeii

• was the largest building in the forum

• in a sense was another imperial cult building

• inspired by the Portico of Livia

momento mori

• “remember that you will die”

  • So live for the day

  • Don’t get too caught up in the little details

• sometimes symbolized with little skeletons

• imagery would be in places were people would socialize

optimus

• “the best”

• Title was given to emperor Trajan

optimus principus

• “the greatest emperor”

Forum of Trajan

• was built on a hill

• was tied directly to the forum of Augustus

• contained statues of the preceding royal families

  • even women

• was manubial

• The conquest of Dacia was highlighted there

• didn’t have a temple at the end but rather a basilica

  • use for judicial, capital finance, and business reasons

Atrium libertatis

• where slaves would be free

• was moved to the forum of Trajan

Basilica Ulpis

• located in the Forum of Trajan

• contained the atrium libertatis

• had two libraries

  • one for Greek texts, another for Latin texts

Apollodorus of Damascus

• was the architect of the basilica

• was also Trajan’s personal and military architect

The markets of Trajan

• located in the forum of Trajan

• 6 different floor levels

• over 150 tabernae

• Perhaps the earliest shopping mall

• was still multifunctional - places of administration

tabernae

• shops/offices

• found in the market of Trajan

column of Trajan

• had a spiral relief that was a visual account of the conquest of Dacia from Trajan’s perspective

• had excerpts of the war

• had the corona civica along the base

• also served as Trajan’s tomb

commentarii

• a documentary story

• generals would give account of what happened during a war

Roman Trophy

• enemy armor and equipment would be placed on a wood stump