Marcus Aurelius column

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marcus Aurelius Column in Piazza Colonna
Detailed view of the Marcus Aurelius Column

The Mark Aurelian Column , often also Marcus Column (full ancient name: Columna Centenaria Divorum Marci et Faustinae ), is a Roman honor column that was erected in honor of the Roman Emperor Mark Aurel . The Doric column with a spiral-shaped relief band is still standing today in its original place on the Piazza Colonna in Rome named after it . It was built on the model of the Trajan's Column , which was around 80 years older .

Dating

Since the base inscription has been lost due to the restoration measures from 1589, it is not certain whether the construction of the column was completed during the emperor's lifetime (on the occasion of the triumph over Teutons and Sarmatians in 176) or only after his death in 180. An inscription found nearby attests that the column was in any case completed in 193.

Location

The column stood and stands - based on the Rome of the imperial era - on the northern field of Mars , originally between a temple for Hadrian (probably the Hadrianeum ) and a temple for Marcus Aurelius himself, of which no remains have been preserved. The cremation site ( ustrina ), where the emperor's body was cremated, was also nearby .

Pillar structure

The column shaft is 29.62 meters high, approximately 100 feet. The total height is 39.72 m. However, since the 16th century, today's observer has been missing 3.86 m from the original base, which is now hidden in the ground. On the orders of Pope Sixtus V , Domenico Fontana restored the entire column in 1589 , adapting it to the level of the city at that time. The relief decorations on the base originally consisted of goddesses of victory wearing garlands and , facing the Via Flaminia , the depiction of submission. Since they had apparently become severely damaged or unsightly in the meantime, they were removed during the restoration. As a counterpart to the statue of Peter on Trajan's Column, the Pope had a bronze statue of the Apostle Paul with a sword in his hand placed on top of the platform. Originally there was a five-meter-high statue of Marcus Aurelius here, but by the end of the 16th century it was no longer there.

The column is also damaged by metal robbers who, in the Middle Ages, forcibly removed the lead dowels that were used to hold the segments together. They left large holes on the outside that were later grouted. ( Detail photo )

The column consists of 27 blocks of marble that were once brought to Rome from the marble quarries of Carrara . While still in Carrara, the blocks, each 3.70 m in diameter, were hollowed out so that a staircase could be built in the column, on which one could get up to the platform. As with the Trajan Column, this staircase with its 190 steps is illuminated by narrow slots in the column jacket integrated into the relief. In the Middle Ages, climbing the pillar was so popular that the right to charge an entrance fee for visiting the pillar was auctioned off to a highest bidder every year. Today it is not possible for the public to climb the column.

Relief tape

theme

The originally painted relief with 116 scenes in which Marcus Aurelius appears 62 times, rising in a spiral in 23 turns, was created by several artists. It depicts events from the Marcomann Wars , which the emperor waged in protracted and costly campaigns from 166 until his death. The story begins with the army crossing over the Danube, probably near Carnuntum . Halfway up, the depiction of a goddess of victory separates the episodes of two campaigns. The exact chronology of the events presented is controversial, but according to the most common thesis, the campaigns against the Marcomanni and Quadi in the years 172 and 173 are in the lower half, and the emperor's successes over the Sarmatians in 174 and 175 in the upper half to see.

A special event, which is represented and also historically attested, is the so-called " rain miracle in the Quadenland ", in which, according to Roman propaganda, a god, caused by a prayer of the emperor, saved the Roman troops from danger. The Christians associated this miracle with their God.

Type of representation

Detailed view of the relief

Despite many similarities with the Trajan column , the type of representation on the Marcus Aurelius column is completely different. The St. Mark's Column, which is laid out from a distance, has a relief depth of 9 centimeters, while the Trajan's Column, which, due to its location between the Greek and the Roman library on the Trajan's Forum, was relatively easy to see from there in the upper segments as well, only one 4 centimeters deep bas-relief, but had designed "the details in their informative wealth individualizing". The images of the Marcus Aurelius column are thus cut deeper into the stone, whereby the contrast between light and dark is more prominent for the viewer and what is represented appears much more vivid and impressive. The heads of the figures shown are also disproportionately large, so that the viewer can better interpret the facial expressions of the individual people.

The Marcomannic Wars were very costly for the Roman military and civilian population in the provinces. The victory column in honor of Mark Aurel, which was aimed at the representation of Roman greatness, power and fighting strength, shows the cruelty and relentlessness of the war but mainly in images of violence, despair and suffering that the hostile "barbarians" endure through the war had to. The reliefs show scenes of previously unknown brutality. It depicts villages being burned down, women and children rounded up and abducted, and men being executed. All of this is reflected in the fearful and horrified faces of the victims. Overall, the symbolic language is drastic and very expressive and leaves a completely different effect on the viewer of the column than on the Trajan column, on which a cool, well-organized military action is shown in sober visual language.

The emperor is usually depicted as a protagonist detached from his surroundings. The imperial dominance and authority are emphasized here in clear imagery and his leadership is emphasized: “He watches the army crossing the river, marching, fighting and sieging. He inspects the cavalry, consults with his staff, receives messages and receives ambassadors. Marcus negotiates with barbarians, accepts kneeling submissions, and has severed heads shown. He speaks to the army and sacrifices to the gods. "

At first glance, the column looks a bit more clumsy than its model, but greater efforts were made to bring the depicted closer to the viewer by deepening the emotions. The artists of the Marcus Aurelius Column turned away from the classic balance of the first half of the 2nd century and emphasized the drama of the events. The reliefs are therefore already closely related to those of the Arch of Septimius Severus , which was erected a short time later and which shows the typical dramatic style of the 3rd century. According to some researchers, the reliefs of the Marcus Aurelius Column are the artistic expression of the beginning crisis of the Roman Empire , which was to worsen in the 3rd century.

Since the brutality of the depicted scenes does not seem to match the image of the “philosopher emperor” Mark Aurel and his self- reflections, it has been suggested that the erection of the column should be attributed to his ill-reputed son and successor Commodus . The complete absence of the heir to the throne in the reliefs of the column speaks against this interpretation.

gallery

  • High-resolution detailed images
  • Column of Marcus Aurelius detailed view 01.jpg
  • Column of Marcus Aurelius detailed view 02.jpg
  • Column of Marcus Aurelius detailed view 03.jpg
  • Column of Marcus Aurelius detailed view 04.jpg
  • Column of Marcus Aurelius detailed view 05.jpg

Dimensions

  • Height of the base : 1.58 m
  • + Height of the column shaft : 26.49 m
    • Typical height of the column drums : 1,559 m
    • Diameter of the column shaft: 3.78 m
  • + Height of the capital : 1.55 m
  • = Height of the actual column: 29.62 m (≈ 100 Roman feet )
  • + Height of the pedestal : ≈ 10.1 m
  • = Height of the top of the column above the ground: ≈ 39.72 m

See also

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b CIL 6, 1585 .
  2. ^ Mark Wilson Jones: Principles of Roman Architecture , Yale University Press, New Haven 2000, ISBN 0-300-08138-3 , p. 220
  3. ↑ Alexander Demandt gives 203 steps and 56 lighting slots. (Alexander Demandt: Marc Aurel. The Kaiser and his world. Munich 2018, p. 80)
  4. ↑ Alexander Demandt: Marc Aurel. The emperor and his world. Munich 2018, p. 80.
  5. ↑ Demandt sees it as “more of a striking representation of Roman victoriousness”. (Alexander Demandt: Marc Aurel. The Kaiser and his world. Munich 2018, p. 80)
  6. ↑ Alexander Demandt: Marc Aurel. The emperor and his world. Munich 2018, pp. 80–82.
  7. ↑ All information from: Mark Wilson Jones: Principles of Roman Architecture , Yale University Press, New Haven 2000, ISBN 0-300-08138-3 , p. 220

literature

Monographs
  • Martin Beckmann: The Column of Marcus Aurelius. The Genesis & Meaning of a Roman Imperial Monument (Studies in the History of Greece and Rome), University of North Carolina Press 2011, ISBN 978-0-8078-3461-9
  • Catia Caprino et al. a .: La Colonna di Marco Aurelio (Studi e Materiali del Museo dell'Imperio Romano; Vol. 5). Bretschneider, Rome 1955.
  • Iain M. Ferris: Hate and War. The column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome . History Press, Stroud 2009, ISBN 978-0-7524-4695-0 .
  • Johannes Griebel: The Emperor at War. The pictures of the column of Marc Aurel (Image & Context; Vol. 11). DeGruyter, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-11-029538-2 (also dissertation, University of Munich).
  • Christiane Müller: Barbarus quid significaverit. From dealing with foreign peoples at the Traians and Marcus columns. Dissertation Erlangen-Nürnberg 2009 ( online ).
  • Eugen Petersen , Alfred von Domaszewski , Guglielmo Calderini (eds.): The Marcus column on the Piazza Colonna. Text and chalkboard. Bruckmann, Munich 1896 ( online ).
  • John Scheid , Valérie Huet (eds.): La column Aureliènne. Autour de la Colonne Aurélienne; gesture et image sur la column de Marc Aurèle de Rome . Brepols, Turnhout 2000, ISBN 2-503-50965-7 .
  • Willem Zwikker: Studies on the St. Mark's Column. Vol. 1. (Archaeological-historical Bijdragen; Vol. 8). Dissertation, University of Amsterdam 1941 (no more published).
Essays

Web links

Commons : Marcus Aurelius Column  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 41 ° 54 ′ 3.1 ″  N , 12 ° 28 ′ 47.9 ″  E