IMAGES OF POWER: EARLY ROMAN EMPIRE

(Art during the Flavian Dynasty)

ROMAN ART of the FLAVIAN

DYNASTY

Online Links:

Colosseum - Wikipedia, the free

encyclopedia

Colosseum by night - Colosseo -

Monumenti - Roma – Arounder

The-Colosseum.net: the

resourceful site on the Colosseum

Colosseum cleaning yields old

frescos, graffiti - Yahoo! News

Discovery of Nero's Rotating

Dining Room

Vespasian was a Roman emperor

who ruled from 69 CE to 79 CE.

He was the founder of the Flavian

Dynasty. On June 9, 68, amidst

growing opposition of the Senate

and the army, the emperor Nero

committed suicide, and with him

the Julio-Claudian dynasty came

to an end.

Rome then saw a succession of

short-lived emperors and a year of

civil war. Vespasian immediately

embarked on a series of efforts to

stay in power and prevent future

revolts. Many modern historians

note the increased amount of

propaganda that appeared during

Vespasian's reign.

In 64, most of Rome was destroyed

in a great fire, which many

Romans believed Nero himself had

started in order to clear land for

his planned palatial complex, the

Domus Aurea. This view (left) of

the shows a domed octagonal room

from the Domus Aurea (Golden

House).

Severus and Celer. Octagonal

Hall of the Domus Aurea

(Golden House) of Nero, 64-68

CE

After the great fire, Nero asked

Severus and Celer, two

architect-engineers, to build a

grand new palace for him on a

huge confiscated plot of fire-

ravaged land near the Forum.

The ceiling of the octagonal

room is a dome that modulates

from an eight-sided to a

hemispherical form as it rises

toward the oculus- the circular

opening that admitted light to

the room. Decorative recesses

enlivened satellite rooms, one of

which contained a waterfall.

The architects ingeniously lit the

rooms by leaving spaces between their

vaulted ceilings and the central

dome’s exterior. But the most

significant aspect of the design is that

here, for the first time, the architects

appear to have thought of the walls

and vaults not as limiting space but

shaping it.

Cultures from pre-history to

modern times constructed

domed dwellings using local

materials. Although it is not

known when the first dome was

created, sporadic examples of

early domed structures have

been discovered. The Romans,

however, are known for their

extensive use of the dome,

essentially in three

environments: bath, villas (or

palaces), and tombs.

The senate passed a law conferring the powers of emperor on Vespasian when he

arrived in Rome in the late summer of 70 CE, having left his elder son Titus in charge

in Judaea. Jerusalem was taken in August 70 CE and the Jewish temple was destroyed.

Vespasian's major objectives during his reign were to restore Rome's finances after

Nero's wasteful reign, to restore discipline in the army after the civil wars and to ensure

the succession of his son Titus. He was successful in all three. The immunity from

taxation that Nero had given to the Greeks was revoked, and the Colosseum was begun

in Rome with spoils from the conquest of Jerusalem.

Colosseum (Rome) 79-80 CE

The sheer magnitude of such

Roman amphitheaters such as the

Circus Maximus, which seated

200,000 spectators and the

Colosseum, which covered six acres

and accommodated fifty thousand,

is a reminder that during the first

century CE, Rome’s population

exceeded on million people, many

of whom were the impoverished

recipients of relief in the form of

wheat and free entertainment,

hence “bread and circuses.”

The Roman amphitheaters testify

to the popular taste for

entertainments that included

chariot races, mock sea battles,

gladiatorial contests, and a variety

of violent and brutal blood sports.

Roman audiences watched a

variety of athletic events and

spectacles, including animal hunts,

fights to the death between

gladiators or between gladiators

and wild animals, performances of

trained animals and acrobats. The

Flavians erected it to bolster their

popularity in Rome, and its name

then was the Flavian

Amphitheater.

The name “Colosseum,” by which it

came to be known, derived from

the Colossus, a bigger-than-life

statue of Nero that had been left

standing next to it. The opening

performance in 80 CE lasted 100

days, during which time, it was

claimed, 9,000 wild animals and

2,000 gladiators were killed.

Construction of the Colosseum

began under the rule of the

Emperor Vespasian in around 70–

72 CE, funded by the spoils taken

from the Jewish Temple after the

Siege of Jerusalem. The Colosseum

can be thus interpreted as a great

triumphal monument built in the

Roman tradition of celebrating great

victories, placating the Roman

people instead of returning soldiers.

It was built on the site of Nero’s

Domus Aurea, land that Nero seized

after the Great Fire of 64 CE. Much

of the Domus Aurea was torn down

by Vespasian. The Colosseum itself

was built on an artificial lake Nero

created for his personal domain.

Above: Medieval map of Rome depicting

the Colosseum

The Colosseum was used to host

gladiatorial shows as well as a

variety of other events. The shows,

called munera, were always given

by private individuals rather than

the state. They had a strong

religious element but were also

demonstrations of power and

family prestige, and were

immensely popular with the

population.

Another popular type of show was

the animal hunt, or venatio. This

utilized a great variety of wild

beasts, mainly imported from

Africa and the Middle East.

The floor of the Colosseum was laid over a foundation of service rooms and tunnels that

provided a backstage area for the athletes performers, animals, and equipment. (This

floor was covered in sand, or arena in Latin, hence the English term “arena.” Sand was

used to prevent the combatants slipping and to soak up the blood from deadly battles. )

The hypogeum was connected by underground tunnels to a number of points outside

the Colosseum. Animals and performers were brought through the tunnel from

nearby stables, with the gladiators' barracks at the Ludus Magnus to the east also

being connected by tunnels. Separate tunnels were provided for the Emperor and the

Vestal Virgins to permit them to enter and exit the Colosseum without needing to

pass through the crowds.

Similar to a modern sports arena,

the Colosseum in Rome is actually

a massive amphitheater (from the

Greek amphi, meaning “around,”

or “both,” and theatron, meaning

“theater.” The floor of the

Colosseum was laid over a

foundation of service rooms and

tunnels that provided a backstage

area for the athletes performers,

animals, and equipment. (This

floor was covered in sand, or arena

in Latin, hence the English term

“arena.”)

Some 50,000 spectators could

easily move through the seventy-

six entrance doors to the three

sections of seats and the standing

area at the top. Each had an

uninterrupted view of the

spectacle below.

Like many stadiums today, the

Colosseum was oval with a

surrounding exterior wall and

ascending tiers of seats laid over

barrel-vaulted corridors that

provided access to them. Entrance

tunnels connected the ring corridors

to the inside ramps and seats on

each level.

The intersection of the entrance

tunnels and the ring corridors, both

barrel-vaulted, created what is

called a groin vault. The walls on

the top level of the arena supported

an awning system (called a

velarium) that could shade the

seating areas. Former seamen who

had experience in handling ropes,

pulleys, and large expanses of

canvas were employed to work the

apparatus.

The curving, outer wall of the Colosseum consists of three levels of arcades

surmounted by a wall-like attic story. Each arch in the arcades is framed by engaged

columns, which support entablature-like bands marking the divisions between levels.

Each level also uses a different architectural order: the plain Tuscan order on the

ground level, the Ionic on the second level, the Corinthian on the third, and flat

pilasters on the fourth.

Engaged Corinthian pilasters above the Corinthian

columns of the third level support another row of

corbels beneath the projecting cornice. All of these

elements are purely decorative and serve no structural

function.

The addition of post-and-lintel decoration to arched

structures was an Etruscan innovation. The

systematic use of the orders in a logical succession from

sturdy Tuscan to lighter Ionic to decorative Corinthian

follows a tradition inherited from Hellenistic

architecture.

Top: Architectural Orders (Tuscan, Doric,

Ionic, Corinthian, Composite)

Above: Doorways

Right: Example of a pilaster

Arch of Titus (Rome),

after 81 CE

The Arch of Titus is a 1st-

century honorific arch located

on the Via Sacra in Rome, just

to the southeast of the Roman

Forum. It was constructed

around 82 CE by the Roman

Emperor Domitian shortly after

the death of his older brother

Titus to commemorate Titus’

victories, including the Seige of

Jerusalem in 70 CE.

This was celebrated by a

specified ritual procession

where the troops marched

before the populace and

exhibited the booty and

prisoners-of-war so as to

confirm the success of the

general and his army.

The arch is situated on a prominent rise, the Velian Hill, which is a low

saddle between the Palatine and Esquiline Hills.

The corners are articulated with a

massive order of engaged columns

that stand on a high ashlar

basement. The capitals are

Corinthian, but with prominent

volutes of the Ionic order

projecting laterally above the

acanthus foliage- the earliest

example of the Composite order,

combining both designs.

Above the main cornice rises a high, weighty 4.40m high attic on

which is a central tablet bearing the dedicatory inscription. The

spandrels on the upper left and right of the arch contain

personifications of victory as winged women.

Between the spandrels is the

keystone, on which there

stands a female on the East

side and a male on the West

side.

The soffit (underside of the arch) of

the axial archway is deeply coffered

with a relief of the apotheosis

(ascension to heaven) of Titus at

the center. The sculptural program

also includes two panel reliefs

lining the passageway within the

arch. Both commemorate the joint

triumph celebrated by Titus and

his father Vespasian.

The south panel depicts the spoils

taken from the Temple in

Jerusalem. The Golden Candlestick

or Menorah is the main focus and

is carved in deep relief. Other

sacred objects being carried in the

triumphal procession are the Silver

Trumpets and the Table of

Shewbread (see Exodus 25:23-30).

These spoils were originally gilded

with gold, with the background in

blue.

The north panel depicts Titus as triumphator attended by various genii (divine beings)

and lictors (civil servants), who carry fasces (bundles of reeds symbolic of power). A

helmeted Amazonian, Valour, is leading the quadriga or four horsed chariot, in which

there is Titus. He is being crowned with a laurel wreath by the winged Victory. This is

significant because divinities and humans are presented in one scene, together,

contrasting the panels of the Ara Pacis where they are separated.

The sculpture of the outer faces of the two great piers was lost when the

Arch of Titus was incorporated in medieval defensive walls. The attic of the

arch was originally crowned by more statuary, perhaps of a gilded chariot.

The inscription reads:

“Senatus Populusque Romanus divo

Tito divi Vespasiani filio Vespasiano Augusto”

which means "The Roman Senate and People (dedicate this) to the divine

Titus Vespasianus Augustus, son of the divine Vespasian."

The Arch of Titus stands at the highest point of the Via Sacra, looking across to the

Temple of the Emperor and his father, Vespasian. Both reliefs suggest that the

spectator is walking beneath the arch in the direction from the Colosseum into the

forum, which would indeed be the way a procession would be moving when coming

into the city center. Law and convention required that the soldiers had to lay down

their arms outside the city walls, before marching beneath the triumphal arch.

The Arch provides one of the few contemporary depictions of Temple period artifacts.

It became a symbol of the Jewish diaspora. In a later era, Pope Paul IV made it the

place of a yearly oath of submission. Roman Jews refused to walk under it. The

menorah depicted on the Arch served as the model for the menorah used on the

emblem of the state of Israel.

A Roman denarius depicting Titus, c. 79. The reverse commemorates his

triumph in the Judean Wars, representing a Jewish captive kneeling in

front of a trophy of arms.

The reign of Titus was

struck by multiple

natural disasters, the

most severe of which was

the eruption of Mount

Vesuvius in 79. The

surrounding cities of

Pompeii and

Herculaneum were

completely buried under

ash and lava. One year

later, Rome was struck

by fire and a plague.

Almost all of the painted portraits

found on the walls of some Pompeian

houses were cut out of the walls on

discovery and brought to Naples. One

must go to Naples to see the portrait of

a husband and a wife, but originally it

formed part of a Fourth Style wall of an

exedra (recessed area) opening onto the

atrium of a Pompeian house. The man

holds a scroll and the woman a stylus

and a wax writing tablet, standard

attributes in Roman marriage portraits.

They suggest the fine education of those

depicted- even if, as was sometimes

true, the individuals were uneducated

or even illiterate… The heads are not

standard types but sensitive studies of

the man and woman’s individual faces.

This is another instance of a realistic

portrait placed on a conventional figure

type.

Dionysiac mystery frieze from the Villa of the Mysteries

(Pompeii), c. 60-50 BCE

One of the most famous

painted rooms in Roman art

is the so-called Villa of the

Mysteries at Pompeii. The

room must have been a

shrine or meeting place for

a religious cult, probably

that of Bacchus, the god of

vegetation, fertility, wine,

and the arts, who was one

of the most important

deities in Pompeii, along

with Hercules and Venus.

The Second Style murals

depict what has been

interpreted as the initiation

rites of a new member of

the cult, which was for a

long time limited

exclusively to women.

Although covered with meters of ash and other volcanic

material, the villa sustained only minor damage in the

eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE, and the majority of its walls,

ceilings, and most particularly its frescoes survived largely

undamaged.

The Villa is named for the paintings in one room of the

residence. This space may have been a triclinium (or dining

room), and is decorated with very fine frescoes. Although the

actual subject of the frescoes is hotly debated, the most

common interpretation of the images is scenes of the

initiation of a woman into a special cult of Dionysus, a

mystery cult that required specific rites and rituals to become

a member. Among many interpretations who believes that it

depicts a young woman undergoing the rites of marriage.

The Villa had both very fine rooms for dining and

entertaining and more functional spaces. A wine-press was

discovered when the Villa was excavated and has been

restored in its original location. It was not uncommon for the

homes of the very wealthy to include areas for the production

of wine, olive oil, or other agricultural products, especially

since many elite Romans owned farmland or orchards in the

immediate vicinity of their villas.

Left: Bust of Titus; Right: Bust of Domitian

Despite initial concerns over his character, Titus ruled to great acclaim following the

death of Vespasian on June 23, 79 and was considered a good emperor by

contemporary historians. In this role he is best known for his public building program

in Rome, and completing the construction of the Colosseum in 80. After barely two

years in office, Titus unexpectedly died of a fever. His brother Domitian then became

the third and last emperor of the Flavian Dynasty reigning from 81 to 96.

IMAGES OF POWER: EARLY ROMAN EMPIRE

(Art during the Flavian Dynasty) ACTIVITIES and REVIEW

STUDENT PRESENTATION

#1:

Where a structure is located

can be crucial to understanding

its symbolic function as an

expression of power. Analyze

how the location of these two

structures conveyed meaning at

the time in which they were

built.

STUDENT PRESENTATION #2:

What does this triumphal arch

commemorate? In what ways does this

work reflect the propagandistic aims of

the Roman empire during the time of

the Flavian emperors?