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Column of Marcus Aurelius

 
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The Column of Marcus Aurelius, , is a Doric column, with a spiral relief, built in honour of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death in 180. He was the last of the "Five Good Emperors", and is also considered one of the most important stoicism philosophy....
 and modeled on Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column

Trajan's Column is a monument in Rome raised in honour of the Roman Empire emperor Trajan and constructed by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate....
. It still stands on its original site in Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
, in Piazza Colonna
Piazza Colonna

Piazza Colonna is a piazza at the center of the Colonna in the historic heart of Rome, Italy. It is named for the marble Column of Marcus Aurelius which has stood there since 193 CE....
 before Palazzo Chigi
Palazzo Chigi

The Palazzo Chigi is a palace or noble residence in Rome, overlooking the Piazza Colonna and the Via del Corso. It was begun in 1562 by Giacomo della Porta and completed by Carlo Maderno in 1580 for the Aldobrandini....
.

use the original dedicatory inscription has been destroyed, it is not known whether it was built during the emperor’s lifetime (on the occasion of the triumph
Roman triumph

A Roman triumph was a civil religion and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publically celebrate the achievements of an army commander who had won great military successes, originally and traditionally, who had successfully completed a war....
 over the Teutons
Teutons

The Teutons or Teutones were mentioned as a Germanic tribe by Greece and Roman Empire authors, notably Strabo and Marcus Velleius Paterculus and normally in close connection with the Cimbri, whose ethnicity is contested between Gauls and Germani....
 and Sarmatians in the year 176) or after his death in 180; however, an inscription found in the vicinity attests that the column was completed in 193 .

In terms of the topography of ancient Rome, the column stood on the north part of the Campus Martius
Campus Martius

The Campus Martius , was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about 2 km? in extent. In the Middle Ages it was the most populous area of Rome....
, in the centre of a square.






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]]

The Column of Marcus Aurelius, , is a Doric column, with a spiral relief, built in honour of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death in 180. He was the last of the "Five Good Emperors", and is also considered one of the most important stoicism philosophy....
 and modeled on Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column

Trajan's Column is a monument in Rome raised in honour of the Roman Empire emperor Trajan and constructed by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate....
. It still stands on its original site in Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
, in Piazza Colonna
Piazza Colonna

Piazza Colonna is a piazza at the center of the Colonna in the historic heart of Rome, Italy. It is named for the marble Column of Marcus Aurelius which has stood there since 193 CE....
 before Palazzo Chigi
Palazzo Chigi

The Palazzo Chigi is a palace or noble residence in Rome, overlooking the Piazza Colonna and the Via del Corso. It was begun in 1562 by Giacomo della Porta and completed by Carlo Maderno in 1580 for the Aldobrandini....
.

Construction

Because the original dedicatory inscription has been destroyed, it is not known whether it was built during the emperor’s lifetime (on the occasion of the triumph
Roman triumph

A Roman triumph was a civil religion and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publically celebrate the achievements of an army commander who had won great military successes, originally and traditionally, who had successfully completed a war....
 over the Teutons
Teutons

The Teutons or Teutones were mentioned as a Germanic tribe by Greece and Roman Empire authors, notably Strabo and Marcus Velleius Paterculus and normally in close connection with the Cimbri, whose ethnicity is contested between Gauls and Germani....
 and Sarmatians in the year 176) or after his death in 180; however, an inscription found in the vicinity attests that the column was completed in 193 .

In terms of the topography of ancient Rome, the column stood on the north part of the Campus Martius
Campus Martius

The Campus Martius , was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about 2 km? in extent. In the Middle Ages it was the most populous area of Rome....
, in the centre of a square. This square was either between the temple of Hadrian
Temple of Hadrian

The Temple of Hadrian is a temple to the deified Hadrian on the Campus Martius in Rome, built by his adoptive son and successor Antoninus Pius in 145 and now incorporated into a later building in the Piazza di Pietra ....
 (probably the Hadrianeum) and the temple of Marcus Aurelius
Temple of Marcus Aurelius

The Temple of Marcus Aurelius was a temple in Rome dedicated to the apotheosis Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius by his son Commodus. The temple has no surviving archaeological remains, but was probably sited just to the west of the column of Marcus Aurelius, where now stands the Palazzo Wedekind on Piazza Colonna....
 (dedicated by his son Commodus
Commodus

Lucius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus , was a Roman Emperor who ruled from 180 to 192 . The name given here was his official name at his accession to sole rule; see 'Commodus#Changes of name' for earlier and later forms....
, of which nothing now remains - it was probably on the site of Palazzo Wedekind
Palazzo Wedekind

Palazzo Wedekind is a palazzo in Piazza Colonna in Rome, located next to the church of Santi Bartolomeo ed Alessandro dei Bergamaschi. It is notable as the historic offices of the daily paper Il Tempo ....
), or within the latter’s sacred precinct, of which nothing remains. Nearby is the site where the emperor’s cremation occurred.

The column’s shaft is 29.60 m (about 100 feet) high, on a 10 m high base, which in turn originally stood on a 3 m high platform - the column in total is 41.95 m. About 3 metres of the base have been below ground level since the 1589 restoration.

The column consists of 27 or 28 blocks of Carrara marble, each of 3.7 m diameter, hollowed out whilst still at the quarry for a stairway of 190-200 steps within the column up to a platform at the top. Just as with Trajan’s Column, this stairway is illuminated through narrow slits into the relief.

Relief

The spiral picture relief tells the story of Marcus Aurelius’ Danubian or Marcomannic wars
Marcomannic Wars

The Marcomannic Wars were a series of wars lasting over a dozen years from about 166 until 180. These wars pitted the Roman Empire against the Marcomanni, Quadi and other Germanic peoples, along both sides of the upper and middle Danube....
, waged by him from 166 to his death. The story begins with the army crossing the river Danube, probably at Carnuntum
Carnuntum

Carnuntum was an important Roman Empire army camp in what is now Austria. It belonged originally to Noricum province, but after the 1st century was part of Pannonia....
. Because of the height restriction, a Victory separates the accounts of the two expeditions. The exact chronology of the events is disputed, however the latest theory states that the expeditions against the Marcomanni
Marcomanni

The Marcomanni were a Germanic tribe, probably related to the Buri , Suebi or Suevi....
 and Quadi
Quadi

The Quadi were a smaller Germanic tribe, about which little definitive information is known. The history of non-literate peoples is written by their opponents, and we can only know the Germanic tribe the Romans called the 'Quadi' through Roman eyes....
 in the years 172 and 173 are in the lower half and the successes of the emperor over the Sarmatians
Sarmatians

The Sarmatians, Sarmat? or Sauromat? were a people of Ancient Iranian peoples origin. Mentioned by Classics authors, they migrated from Central Asia to the Ural Mountains around fifth century B.C....
 in the years 174 and 175 in the upper half.

One particular episode portrayed is historically attested in the Roman propaganda – the so-called "rain miracle in the territory of the Quadi", in which a God, answering a prayer from the emperor, rescues Roman troops by a terrible storm, a miracle claimed by the Christians for the Christian God also.

In spite of many similarities to Trajan’s column, the style is entirely different, a forerunner of the dramatic style of the 3rd century and closely related to the triumphal arch of Septimius Severus
Arch of Septimius Severus

The white marble Arch of Septimius Severus at the northeast end of the Roman Forum is a triumphal arch dedicated in AD 203 to commemorate the Parthian War of Emperor Septimius Severus and his two sons, Caracalla and Publius Septimius Geta, in the two campaigns against the Parthians of 194/195 and 197-199....
, erected soon after. The figures’ heads are disproportionately large so that the viewer can better interpret their facial expressions. The images are carved less finely than at Trajan’s Column, through drilling holes more deeply into the stone, so that they stand out better in a contrast of light and dark. As villages are burned down, women and children are captured and displaced, men are killed, the emotion, despair, and suffering of the "barbarians" in the war, are represented acutely in single scenes and in the figures’ facial expressions and gestures, whilst the emperor is represented as a protagonist, in control of his environment.

The symbolic language is altogether clearer and more expressive, if clumsier at first sight, and leaves a wholly different impression on the viewer to the whole artistic style of 100 to 150 as on Trajan’s column. There, cool and sober balance – here, drama and empathy. The pictorial language is unambiguous - imperial dominance and authority is emphasized, and its leadership is justified. Overall, it is an anticipation of the development of artistic style into late antiquity
Late Antiquity

Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the transitional centuries from Classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world: generally from the end of the Roman Empire's Crisis of the Third Century to the Islamic conquests and the re-organization of the Byzantine Empire under...
, and a first artistic expression of the crisis of the Roman empire that would worsen in the 3rd century
Crisis of the Third Century

Crisis of the Third Century was the crumbling and near collapse of the Roman Empire between 235 and 284 caused by invasion, civil war, Plague of Cyprian, and economic collapse....
.

Later history

In the Middle Ages, climbing the column was so popular that the right to charge the entrance fee was annually auctioned, but it is no longer possible to do so today. Now the Column serves a centerpiece to the piazza in front of the Palazzo Chigi
Palazzo Chigi

The Palazzo Chigi is a palace or noble residence in Rome, overlooking the Piazza Colonna and the Via del Corso. It was begun in 1562 by Giacomo della Porta and completed by Carlo Maderno in 1580 for the Aldobrandini....
. painting of the Palazzo Montecitorio
Palazzo Montecitorio

The Palazzo Montecitorio is a palace in Rome, which is currently the seat of the Italian Chamber of Deputies....
, with the base of the Column of Antoninus Pius
Column of Antoninus Pius

The Column of Antoninus Pius is an honorific column in Rome, devoted in 161 to the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius, in the Campus Martius, on the edge of the hill now known as Monte Citorio, and set up by his successors, the co-emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus....
 in the right foreground (1747).]]

Restoration


About 3 metres of the base have been below ground level since 1589 when, by order of pope Sixtus V, the whole column was restored by Domenico Fontana
Domenico Fontana

Domenico Fontana was a Switzerland-born Italy architect of the late Renaissance.He was born at Melide, Switzerland on the Lake Lugano and died at Naples....
 and adapted to the ground level of that time. Also a bronze statue of the apostle St. Paul
Paul of Tarsus

Saint Paul, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul or Paul of Tarsus , was a Hellenistic Judaism, who called himself the "Apostle to the Gentiles", and was, together with Saint Peter and James the Just, the most notable of early Christian missionaries....
 was placed on the top platform, to go with that of St. Peter on Trajan’s Column (27 October 1588). (Originally the top platform probably had a statue of Marcus Aurelius, but it had been already lost by the 16th century.) That adaptation also removed the damaged or destroyed original reliefs on the base of garland-carrying victories
Victoria (mythology)

In Roman mythology, Victoria was the personification/Goddess of victory. She is the Roman version of the Greek mythology Nike , and was associated with Bellona ....
 carrying and (on the side facing the via Flaminia
Via Flaminia

The Via Flaminia was a Roman road leading from Rome to Ariminum , and was the most important route to the north....
 ) representations of subjected barbarians, replacing them with the following inscription mistakenly calling this the column of Antoninus Pius
Column of Antoninus Pius

The Column of Antoninus Pius is an honorific column in Rome, devoted in 161 to the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius, in the Campus Martius, on the edge of the hill now known as Monte Citorio, and set up by his successors, the co-emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus....
, which is now recognised as lost:

SIXTVS V PONT MAX(Sixtus V, Chief Priest,
COLVMNAM HANCrestored this spiral column,
COCLIDEM IMP 
ANTONINO DICATAMdedicated to the emperor Antoninus,
MISERE LACERAMsadly broken and ruinous,
RVINOSAMQ(UE) PRIMAEinto its original form.
FORMAE RESTITVIT 
A. MDLXXXIX PONT IV1589, 4th year of his pontificate.)


See also

  • Column of Antoninus Pius
    Column of Antoninus Pius

    The Column of Antoninus Pius is an honorific column in Rome, devoted in 161 to the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius, in the Campus Martius, on the edge of the hill now known as Monte Citorio, and set up by his successors, the co-emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus....
  • List of ancient spiral stairs
    List of ancient spiral stairs

    File:Koldewey-Sicilien-vol2-table15-detail01.pngThe list of ancient spiral stairs contains a selection of Greco-Roman spiral stairs constructed during classical antiquity....
  • Roman Architecture
    Roman architecture

    The Architecture of Ancient Rome adopted the external Greek Architecture for their own purposes, which were so different from Greek buildings as to create a new architecture style....


Bibliography



External links