Ancient Rome

Imperial Rome

Portrait Statue of Emperor Augustus as a General, so-called “Augustus Primaporta”

  • “Primaporta” → gate north of the city of Rome

  • Found on the estate of Livia (Augustus’ wife)

  • Copy of an original bronze sculpture that was probably set up public

  • Made during military victory over Parthians

    • Romans kept losing before

    • Wearing a cuirass

      • Augustus has the gods on his sides

      • Internationally military victor

      • Pax Romana (peace that encompasses all the lands of the Roman Empire)

        • The sun is going to shine on all regions of the Roman Empire, bringing peace and prosperity to all citizens.

      • Left:

        • Roma? Represents Rome

        • Captive (female personification conquered by Augustus)

      • Right:

        • Parthian

          • Handing over a Roman standard which has an Eagle on top

            • Direct reference to when these standards were finally returned to Rome

          • Baggy trousers, beard, easily read as a barbarian

        • Captive (female personification conquered by Augustus)

      • Bellow: Tellus, goddess of the earth, holding 2 children and a cornucopia.

        • Symbol of fertility → healthy babies

          • Lower left: Apollo holding a lyre

          • Lower right: Diana riding a stag

      • Top: Personfication of the sky, holding up the sky

        • Top left: Sol (god of the sun)

        • Top right: Caelus (god of the sky/moon/dawn)

  • Was painted

  • Rome is the inheritor of Greece

    • Contrapposto → borrowed from the Greeks

    • Direct copy of Spear-Bearer

      • Golden Age of Greece → Augustus bringing a golden age to Rome

      • Depicting himself with the perfect body of a Greek athlete

  • Cupid

    • Son of Venus

      • Riding a dolphin

        • Venus was born from the sea

        • Became a symbol of Agustus’ great naval victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium

          • Conquest that made Augustus the sole ruler

    • Augustus linked his lineage back to the ancient hero Aeneas

      • Aeneas was from Greece → Traces his lineage back to Venus

      • Descended from the gods

    • Julius Caesar (adoptive father of Augustus) claimed to be descended from Venus

  • Augustus was older when the sculptures were made

    • Sculpture was idealizing Augustus

    • More youthful and athletic

    • New tradition → idealizes instead of verism

    • Propaganda

    • August invoked the power of imagery to communicate his idealogy

Altar of Augustan Peace (Ara Pacis)

  • Ara Pacis → altar of peace

  • Augustus established Pax Romana

  • Reconstructed under Mussolini

  • Mussolini thought himself equivalent to Augustus

  • Walls around the altar

    • Blood sacrifice and/or burnt offerings presented to the gods

  • Octavian → Augustus (“the illustrious one”)

  • Gave back some power to the senate

    • Senate said they would make this altar for Augustus

  • Lower frieze: highly decorate relief

    • 50 different spieces of plants

    • Massive elegant acanthus leaf → made famous in Corinthian capitals

    • Animals (frogs, lizards, and birds)

    • Sharp contrast between marble and shadows

      • Make it seem like it’s lifting off the surface

    • Symbol of fertility → abundance of the golden age

  • Meander

  • Upper frieze

    • Conflicting interpretations

    • Allegorical figures representings Rome and peace

    • Venus? Peace? Ellus? → figure suggests fertility and abudance

      • On her lap sit two children

        • One of offers fruit

      • Personifications of wind and sea sit beside her

      • At her feat, an ox and a sheep.

      • Sense of harmony and peace

  • Mythological scenes on front and back

    • Beaded male making sacrifice

    • Seated female goddess amid the fertility of Italy

    • Fragmentary scene with Romulus and Remus in the Lupercal grotto

    • Fragmentary panel showing Roma as a seated goddess

  • Procession on the sides

    • Figures are facing the main staircase

    • Different interpretations

    • Procession when the altar was inaugurated

      • Priests

      • Bodyguards

      • Members of the imperial household

      • Attendants

      • Inclusion of children

        • Sacred and formal event → children not allowed

        • Augustus was worried about the birth rate and passed laws that encouraged marriage and the birth of children

    • Different depths of the carving

      • Some in high reief

      • Some in low relief

      • Illusion of space

  • Originally painted (pinks, blues, and greens)

Arch of Emperor Titus

  • Shows the spoils of Jerusalem being brought into Rome

  • General of the losing army would be ceremonially murdered

  • Illusion of space

  • Jerusalem has people who are monotheistic

    • Roman Empire stole holy objects from temples

      • Menorah

      • Show table

  • Walk through Arch of Titus → Enter a temple

    • On one of the pedestals, self-same lamp stand, same table, and same horns.

Flavian Amphitheater (Colosseum)

  • Giving back to the people of Rome

  • Originally called Flavian Amphitheater

    • Only started calling it the Colosseum in the Middle Ages

    • Because there was a colossal statue next to it

  • Not in good condition

    • Earthquakes and pillaging

  • Top to bottom: Coritinthian, Ionic, and Doric (or Tuscan)

  • Arches

  • Treasure from Jerusalem temple paid for the Colosseum

  • Entrances were numbered for tickets

  • Cheaper seats are higher up

    • Emperor, magistrates, and priests sat in the lowest seats.

    • Behin sat senators

    • Behind sat weathy businessmen

    • Above sat plebeians

    • Top sat foreigners, slaves, and women.

      • Temporary wooden seats

    • Marble seats inscribed the names of the categories of people whowere allowed to sit there

  • Types of entertainment

    • Morning: animal hunts

      • Imported exotic animals from Africa

    • Afternoon: gladiatorial combats

      • Before gladiatorial combats, execution of prisoners.

    • Plays

  • Arena floor → wood planks

    • Trapdoors along them

      • Elevators manually operated by slaves

      • Used to bring animals or scenery and props

  • Emperor had a tunnel that went from Caelian Hill right to his box in the Colosseum

  • Netting protected the spectators in the lowest seats

  • Animals were kept away by a dtch that was dug around the arena and stakes that kept them from leaving

Pantheon

  • Originally a temple to the gods then sanctified and made into a church

  • Front framed by a colonnade

    • Monoliths, not cut, imported from Egypt

      • Symbol of Rome’s power over most of the Mediterranean

  • Has a central point and rediates outward from that central point (unlike a bassilica)

    • Central point is midway between the floor and the ceiling

    • Large enough to accomodate a perfect sphere

  • Geometric designs

  • Friezes don’t match up with the coffers in the dome

    • Giving the illusion that they’re two separate pieces

  • Thick brick & concrete walls to help the weight of the dome

  • Coffers were probably decorated

    • Weight reduction

    • Acoustic improvement

  • Patreons wealth and power

  • Oculus

    • Rain goes into hidden floor drains

    • Reflection of the movement of the heavens

    • Sundial

Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius

  • Addressing the troops or citizens of Rome

  • Sense of confidence

  • Wasn’t melted down because thought it represented Constantine

    • Emperor who legalized Christianity

  • Sense of motion

  • Marcus Aurelius is bigger than the horse

    • Emphasis on power?

  • Wears a senatorial ring on the left hand

  • Right hand: Orator gesture? Or celemcy gesture? (for vanquished enemy) Or restoration of peace?

Vocabulary

  • Aeneid

    • Epic poem about Aeneas, a Trojan prince, who leads survivors of the fall of Troy to the site or Rome, establishing the city’s foundation.

    • Written during the reign of Augustus, the first Roman emperor, and was commissioned by him to help legitimize his rule.

    • Reflects Roman values and history, and showcases the foundation of Rome through a narrative that intertwines with mythology.

  • Virgil

    • Wrote the epic poem, “The Aeneid.”

  • Aeneas

    • Trojan prince in the epic poem about Aeneas

  • Romulus and Remus

    • Twin brothers who founded the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom

    • Songs of Rhea Silvia and the war god Mars

    • Raised by a she-wolf after their basket washed ashore on the river bank

    • They wanted to build their city along the Tiber River

      • Disagreed on the location and Romulus killed Remus

    • Romulus then built a wall around Palatine Hill and established Rome

    • The image of a she-wolf nursing the twins has been a symbol of Rome since at least the 3rd century BC

    • Rome is named in honor of Romulus

    • Romulus ruled Rome for about 40 years before becoming a god

  • Orator Gesture

    • Gestures to convey emotions to their audience, emphasize points, and accompany certain types of speech.

    • Pointing with the index finger: used to emphasize a particular detail

    • Slow movement: Used in the introductory section of a speech to express firmness

    • Arm movement: The speed and amplitude of the arm movement varied depending on the section of the speech

  • Augustus Caesar

    • His great-uncle, Julius Caesar, adopted him and took the name “Caesar” as part of his adopted surname.

      • Originally named Gaius Octavius

    • The first emperor of Rome

    • Became emperor after defeating Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium

  • Pax Romana

    • Augustus’ reign

    • The Roman Empire was safe from outside attacks and there was little rebellion against the emperor

    • The Roman Empire experienced economic prosperity and the empire’s population grew to an estimated 70 million people

    • The Roman Empire reached its largest territorial extent, stretching from England to Morocco and Iraq.

    • Augustus moved the treasury to the Capitol in Rome to protect tax revenue from corrupt governors

  • Verism

    • Realistic and hyper-realistic art style

    • Exaggerate the subject’s natural features, such as wrinkles, lines, and furrows of the brow to emphasize the subject’s age to convey wisdom and maturity

  • Senate

    • Governing and advisory council that was a permanent part of the Roman constitution

  • Julius Caesar

    • Roman general, politician, and dictator who helped end the Roman Republic and establish the Roman Empire

    • Renowned military commander who conquered Gaul

    • Enacted reforms to strengthen Rome

      • Providing land to poor Romans

      • Reducing the number of slaves.

    • Created the Julian calendar

      • Based on the solar year and used a leap day every four years.

    • Standard calendar in most of the Western world for 16 centuries

    • Named himself dictator of the Roman Empire

      • His rule was cut short when he was assassinated by political rivals.

  • Cuirass

    • Piece of armor that protected the torso of the wearer from the neck to the waist

    • Leather, iron, bronze, and steel.

    • One or more pieces of rigid material that were fastened together with straps, buckles, and a gorget.

  • Bust

    • Sculpture of a head and may include the neck and part of the torso

    • Designed to capture the distinctive likeness of the subject

  • Flavian Dynasty

    • Roman Imperial dynasty

    • Second dynastic line of emperors to rule the Roman Empire

  • Apotheosis

    • Process of elevating a deceased emperor to divine status

    • After the death of most emperors

    • Ceremonies included releasing an eagle to carry the emperor’s soul to heaven

  • Drum

    • Cylindrical or polygonal vertical wall that supports a dome

    • The dome can rest directly on the drum or a drum can be inserted between a circular foundation and a dome to increase the height

  • Dome

    • Hemispherical architectural structure, typically forming a ceiling or roof, that is usually curved and rises from a circular or polygonal based.

  • Oculus

    • Circular opening in the center of a dome or wall that originated in classical architecture

    • Allowed natural light to enter the building and acted as a ventilation system

    • Symbolized the union of the earth and sky

      • Often seen as a connection between the temple and the heaves

      • Portal to Heaven

    • Sun dial

  • Coffer

    • Sunken panel that is used to decorate a ceiling or vault

    • Crossing wooden beams in a ceiling

  • Concrete

    • Heavy, rough building material made from a mixture of broken stone or gravel, sand, cement, and water, that can be spread or poured into molds and that forms a mass resembling stone on hardening.

  • Reciprocity

    • The idea that giving someone a benefit or service creates a moral obligation for them to respond in kind

  • Triumphal Arch

    • Monumental structures that commemorated significant events or honored important people

  • Niche

    • Decorative recess in a wall that was used to display objects like statues, busts, vases, or fonts.

    • Both interior and exterior walls

  • Central Plan

    • Design that organized a building around a vertical axis, often within a circle.

  • Divine Kingship

    • Idea that a ruler is a sacred figure chosen by the gods and has divine authority

  • Sacrifice

    • Offering material possessions or lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship

    • Show gratitude to the gods and intend to appease them

  • Syncretism

    • The practice of merging different religions, cultures, or schools of thought.

    • Incorporated many Greek gods into their religion

    • When the Romans encountered other cultures, they would often mix their gods with those of the new cultures.

  • Afterlife

    • The deceased live on in the Underworld