Glanum

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Glanum

Glanum was a Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
city in Gallia Narbonensis

Gallia Narbonensis

Gallia Narbonensis was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in southern France. Narbonese Gaul "lay between the Alps, the Mediterranean Sea, and the C?vennes Mountains....
— Provence

Provence

Provence is a region of southeastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative regions of France of Provence-Alpes-C?te d'Azur....
in southern France

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
— sited on the flanks of the Alpilles

Alpilles

The Cha?ne des Alpilles is a small Mountain range in Provence, southern France, located about 20 km south of Avignon at approximately ....
, a range of mountains in today's Bouches-du-Rhone

Bouches-du-Rhône

Bouches-du-Rh?ne is a departments of France in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rh?ne River....
départment
Department

A department is a part of a larger organization with a specific responsibility. For the division of organizations into departments, see departmentalization....
. It was situated about 20 km (12 miles) south of the modern city of Avignon

Avignon

Avignon is a Communes of France in the Vaucluse Departments of France in southeastern France with an estimated mid-2004 population of 89,300 in the city itself and a population of 290,466 in the aire urbaine at the 1999 census....
, and just a kilometre south of its successor town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

Saint-R?my-de-Provence is a Communes of France in the Bouches-du-Rh?ne Departments of France in southern France....
.

city, founded by Celto-Ligurians and subsequently Hellenised

Hellenistic civilization

File:Diadochen1.pngHellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Ancient Greece influence in the Classical Antiquity from 323 BC to about 146 BC ....
as Glanon, was already old when it became a Romanised

Culture of ancient Rome

Ancient Rome culture evolved throughout the almost 1200-year history of that civilization. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which, at peak, covered an area from Cumbria and Morocco to the Euphrates....
settlement in the first century BC; a shrine to the Celtic god

Celtic mythology

Celts mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure....
Glanis

Glanis

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Encyclopedia

Glanum was a Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
city in Gallia Narbonensis

Gallia Narbonensis

Provence

Provence is a region of southeastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative regions of France of Provence-Alpes-C?te d'Azur....
in southern France

France

Alpilles

The Cha?ne des Alpilles is a small Mountain range in Provence, southern France, located about 20 km south of Avignon at approximately ....
, a range of mountains in today's Bouches-du-Rhone

Bouches-du-Rhône

Avignon

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

Saint-R?my-de-Provence is a Communes of France in the Bouches-du-Rh?ne Departments of France in southern France....
.

History

The city, founded by Celto-Ligurians and subsequently Hellenised

Hellenistic civilization

Culture of ancient Rome

Celtic mythology

Glanis

Glanis was a Gaulish god associated with a healing spring at the town of Glanum in the Alpilles mountains of Provence in southern France. There are cisterns at the site of the springs, where pilgrims may have bathed....
(glann, "shining"), who was associated with a local healing spring, had been erected on the site in the fourth century BC. The Romans adopted the shrine and the divinity, naming the town after Glanis, and also adopted a triad of local mother-gods, similar to the Matres
Matres

The Matres and Matrones were ancient female deity venerated in North-West Europe from the 1st to the 5th century AD. They are depicted on Votive deposit and altars that bear images of goddesses, depicted almost entirely in groups of three, that feature inscriptions , that were venerated in regions of Germania, Gaul, and upper Italy...
, whom they termed the Glanicae. The gods Epona

Epona

In Gallo-Roman culture religion, Epona was a protector of horses, donkeys, and mules. She was particularly a goddess of fertility, as shown by her attributes of a patera, cornucopia, and the presence of foals in some sculptures ....
, Mercury

Mercury (mythology)

In Roman mythology, Mercury was a messenger, and a god of trade, profit and commerce, the son of Maia Maiestas, also known as Ops, the Roman version of Cronus, and Jupiter ....
and Rosmerta

Rosmerta

In Gallo-Roman religion, Rosmerta was a goddess of fertility and abundance, her attributes being those of plenty such as the cornucopia. Rosmerta is attested by statues, and by inscriptions....
were also represented there. The Augustan age saw the city elevated to the status of colonia
Colonia

Colonia may refer to:*Colonia **Colonia , an outpost of the Roman Empire**Colonia , a neighborhood of large urban areas in Mexico**Colonia , a low-income community along the U.S./Mexican border...
, and many monumental buildings were erected, including an enlarged forum

Forum (Roman)

The Forum was the public space in the middle of a Ancient Rome city.A gathering place of great social significance, it was often the scene of diverse activities, including political discussions, meetings, et cetera....
, baths

Thermae

The terms balnea or thermae were the words the Ancient Rome used for the buildings housing their public baths.Most Roman cities had at least one, if not many, such buildings, which were centers of public bathing and socialization....
, a triumphal arch

Triumphal arch

A triumphal arch is a structure in the shape of a monumental arch, in theory built to celebrate a victory in war, actually used to celebrate a ruler....
, and various temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A ??templum?? constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur....
s (some of which were erected by Augustus' general

General

A General officer is an Officer of high military rank. The term or equivalent is used by nearly every country in the world. General can be used as a generic term for all grades of general officer, or it can specifically refer to a single rank that is just called general....
and son-in-law

Son-in-Law

Son-in-Law was an United Kingdom Thoroughbred horse racing and an influential Father, especially for sport horses.The National Horseracing Museum says that Son-in-Law is "probably the best and most distinguished stayer this country has ever known."...
Agrippa

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was a Roman statesman and general. He was a close friend, son-in-law, lieutenant and minister to Octavian, the future emperor Caesar Augustus....
).

Glanum was destroyed by the Alamanni

Alamanni

The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic languagess located around the upper Main river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211?17 and claimed thereby to be their defeater....
in 260 and was subsequently abandoned, its inhabitants moving a few miles north into the plain to found a city that later was named Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

Saint-R?my-de-Provence is a Communes of France in the Bouches-du-Rh?ne Departments of France in southern France....
. Glanum was not excavated until 1921, but has since become one of the most important Roman excavations in France.

Monuments

Glanum possesses an impressive triumphal arch

Triumphal arch

A triumphal arch is a structure in the shape of a monumental arch, in theory built to celebrate a victory in war, actually used to celebrate a ruler....
, erected between 10 and 25 AD, making it the oldest to be found in Gaul

Gaul

Gaul is the name used for the region of Western Europe comprising part of present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River Rhine....
. It portrays Gaulish captives being led away in chains by the victorious Romans. Close nearby is a virtually intact cenotaph

Cenotaph

A cenotaph is a tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere....
, the well-known Cenotaph of the Julii, dating from the 20s BCE, one of the best preserved to be found anywhere in the Roman world. The inscription can still clearly be discerned, reading:

SEX · M · L · IVLIEI · C · F · PARENTIBVS · SVEIS
Sextius, Marcus and Lucius Julius, sons of Gaius, to their forebears
Ancestor

An ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor .Two individuals have a genetics relationship if one is the ancestor of the other, or if they share a common ancestor....

Its tiered form is unusual. At the base is a pedestal carved with historical and mythical reliefs. The faces show the following scenes:

* North: a cavalry battle representing a scene from the Iliad
ILiad

The iLiad is an electronic handheld device, or e-book device, which can be used for document reading and editing. Like the Sony Reader or Amazon Kindle, the iLiad makes use of an electronic paper display....
.

East: inspired by the Amazonomachy
Amazonomachy

An Amazonomachy was a portrayal of legendary battle between Greeks and Amazons. The mythic all-female warrior society succumbed to the likes of Heracles and Theseus, and symbolised the triumph of Greek civilization over the barbarian....
, the mythical war between the Greeks
Greeks

The Greeks , also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions, who can also be found in Greek diaspora communities around the world....
and the Amazons
Amazons

The Amazons , ) are a nation of all-female warriors in Classical and Greek mythology, who were possibly historical. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatians....
, it shows a warrior taking trophies from a dead enemy.
South: the legend of the hunt for the Calydonian Boar
Calydonian Boar

The Calydonian Boar is one of the monsters of Greek mythology that had to be overcome by heroes of the Olympian age. Sent by Artemis to ravage the region of Calydon in Aetolia because its king failed to honor her in his rites to the gods, it was killed in the Calydonian Hunt, in which many male heroes took part, but also a powerful wom...
, conducted by Meleager
Meleager

In Greek mythology, Meleager was the son of Althaea and Oeneus and, according to some accounts father of Parthenopeus and Polydora. His story has similarities with the Scandinavian Norna-Gests ??ttr....
, with Castor and Pollux shown on horseback.
West: a battle scene from the Trojan War
Trojan War

In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta....
and the struggle for possession of the corpse of Patroclus
Patroclus

In Greek mythology, as recorded in the Iliad by Homer, Patroclus, or Patroklos , son of Menoetius , was Achilles? beloved comrade and, according to some , his lover....
.

Above the pedestal is a fourfold arch (quadrifrons
Quadrifrons

Quadrifrons is a Latin language word, meaning four-fronted or four-faced, particularly:*Form of triumphal arch with four arches and hence with barrel vaulted passageway in the form of a cross....
), reminiscent of a triumphal arch. This, its location and the subject matter of the carvings has led to archaeologists surmising that one of its dedicatees was a distinguished soldier. The cenotaph is topped with a structure strongly resembling a round temple or tholos

Tholos

As a generic term tholos tomb is an alternative name for a Beehive tomb from the late Bronze Age.It is also the name given to several Ancient Greece structures and buildings:...
, which houses statues of the dedicatees (the lost heads were replaced in the eighteenth century).

The two monuments, known today as les Antiques, are the largest surviving fragments of the ancient city and were for a long time the only substantial visible remnant. On the other side of the modern road, excavations (open to the public) have now revealed the heart of the ancient town, with the main street flanked by houses, the forum, a sacred well, a bouleuterion

Bouleuterion

A bouleuterion was a building which housed the council of citizens in Ancient Greece. There are several extant remains of Bouleuterions around Greece and former Greek territories of ancient times....
(council chamber) and temples, including a shrine to Hercules with several inscribed altars.

Glanum in popular culture

In Robert Holdstock

Robert Holdstock

Robert Paul Holdstock is an English novelist and author best known for his works of fantasy literature, predominantly in the fantasy subgenres of mythic fiction....
's fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of Plot , Theme , and/or Setting . Fantasy is generally distinguished from science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of technological and macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three ....
novel Ancient Echoes, Glanum is a sentient, living, moving city which eventually settles at its present site in Provence.

External links

, both in French and in English. Contains information on Glanum.