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| The Roman Empire |
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| Republic :: Pompeii And The Cities Of Vesuvius :: Early Empire :: High Empire :: Late Empire | Images courtesy of Saskia Ltd. |
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| HIGH EMPIRE The Roman Empire at its peak: Under Trajan, Hadrian, and the Antonines in the second century CE, the Roman Empire reached its greatest geographic extent and the height of its power. Trajan (98-11:7 CE) The first Spanish Emperor: Under Trajan, the first non-Italian to become emperor, Rome expanded its rule even further abroad. Trajan instituted a number of social programs to secure the welfare of the Roman people. A new colony in Africa: A new colony for army veterans, founded by Trajan in 100 CE at Timgad in North Africa, follows a plan that resembles a Roman military encampment. 10-42: Plan of Timgad (Thamugadi), Algeria, founded 100 CE. Rome's geatest Forum: The huge Forum of Trajan in Rome includes a triumphal arch, a colonnaded open square, a basilica, a temple, two libraries, and a giant commemorative column with a tomb at its base. 10-43: Apollodorus of Damascus, model of Forum of Trajan, Rome, Italy, dedicated 112 CE. Museo della Civiltà Romana, Rome. Trajan's columnar tomb: The colossal freestanding column is decorated with a continuous spiral narrative frieze depicting Trajan's two successful campaigns against the Dacians. |
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| 10-44:
Column of Trajan, Forum of Trajan, Rome, Italy, dedicated 112
CE. Shopping in Imperial Rome: The Markets of Trajan, built as a multilevel complex on the slope of the Quirinal hill, house both shops and administrative offices. |
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| 10-45: APOLLODORUS
OF DAMASCUS, aerial view of Markets of Trajan, Rome, Italy, ca. 100-11:2 CE. |
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| 10-46: APOLLODORUS
OF DAMASCUS, interior of the great hall, Markets of Trajan, Rome, Italy, ca.
100-11:2 CE. The Triumphal Arch as billboard: Relief panels illustrating Trajan's achievements cover both façades of the Arch of Trajan at Benevento. 10-47: Arch of Trajan, Benevento, Italy, ca. 114-11:8 CE. Racing in the Circus Maximus: Employing the technique of continuous narration, a relief shows chariot racing in the refurbished Circus Maximus in Rome. Hadrian (117-13:8 CE) Hadrian and Greece: An idealized portrait of a bearded Hadrian was modeled on statues of mature Greek men. 10-48: Portrait bust of Hadrian, from Rome, ca. 117–120. Marble, 1’ 4 3/4” high. Museo Nazionale Romano—Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome. The temple of all gods: The Pantheon, a huge temple dedicated to all the gods, is one of the best-preserved buildings of antiquity. The cylindrical drum enclosing the interior space is topped by a concrete hemispherical dome pierced in the center by an oculus. |
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| 10-49: Aerial
view of the Pantheon, Rome, Italy, 118-12:5 CE. 10-50: Longitudinal and lateral sections of the Pantheon, Rome, Italy, 118-12:5 CE. |
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| 10-50: Interior
of the Pantheon, Rome, Italy, 118-12:5 CE. Hadrian's country retreat: Hadrian's villa at Tivoli includes a pool and an artificial grotto, called the Canopus and Serapeum, which commemorated the emperor's trip to Egypt. The Canopus, however, is lined with marble copies of Greek statues and has an arcuated Corinthian colonnade at one end. |
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| 10-51: Canopus
and Serapeum, Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli, Italy, ca. 130-13:8 CE. A Baroque tomb in a mountain: The so-called "Treasury" at Petra is cut into the living rock face of the cliff. The design of the two-story façade utilizes a Greek architectural vocabulary, but the elements have been articulated in a "baroque" manner that ignores Classical rules. 10-53: Al-Khazneh ( Treasury"), Petra, Jordan, second century CE. Ostia The crowded life of the city: Insulae are multi-story apartment blocks with exposed brick façades in which shops occupied the ground floor and families lived in apartments on the upper floors. 10-54: Model of an insula, Ostia, Italy, second century CE. Museo della Civiltà Romana, Rome. Frescoed walls and vaults: Although the decoration of Ostian insulae tended to be more modest than that of private houses in Pompeii, the finer apartments had mosaic floors and painted walls and ceilings. 10-55: Neptune and creatures of the sea, floor mosaic in the Baths of Neptune, Ostia, Italy, ca. 140 CE. Communal tombs at Ostia in the second century CE were usually constructed of brick-faced concrete with façades that resembled those of the insulae. Many were adorned with small, painted terracotta plaques that recorded the activities of middle-class merchants and professional people. 10-56: Funerary reliefs of a vegetable vendor, and a midwife, from Ostia, Italy, second half of second century CE. Painted terracotta, approx. 1' 5" and 11" high, respectively. Museo Ostiense, Ostia. The Antonines (138-19:2 CE) Succession by adoption: In 138 CE, Hadrian adopted Antoninus Pius, whom he required at the same time to adopt Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. On Hadrian's death, Antoninus Pius became emperor. When he died 23 years later, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus became Rome's first co-emperors. Classical and Non-Classical: On one side of the pedestal of the column of Antoninus Pius is a Classical relief illustrating the apotheosis of Antoninus and his wife Faustina the Elder. On two other sides are identical representations of the decursio, in which the stocky figures signal a break with Classical convention. 10-57: Apotheosis of Antoninus Pius and Faustina, pedestal of the Column of Antoninus Pius, Rome, Italy, ca. 161 CE. Marble, approx. 8' 1 1/2" high. Vatican Museums, Rome. 10-58: Decursio, pedestal of the Column of Antoninus Pius, Rome, Italy, ca. 161 CE. Marble, approx. 8' 1 1/2" high. Vatican Museums, Rome. Imperial majesty on horseback: The larger-than-life-size, gilded-bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius shows the emperor weary and thoughtful. |
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| 10-59: Equestrian
statue of Marcus Aurelius, from Rome, Italy, ca. 175 CE. Bronze, approx. 11' 6"
high. Musei Capitolini, Rome. Disquieting Antonine portraits: In the following portrait of March Aurelius, the sculptor, in keeping with contemporary practice, used a drill to render the emperor's long hair and beard and even to accentuate the pupils of his eyes, creating bold patterns of light and shadow across his face. Portraits of aged emperors were not new, but Marcus's were the first ones in which a Roman emperor appears weary, saddened, and even worried. This challenge to the classical style marked the beginning of the end of classical art's domination in the Greco-Roman world. From cremation to burial: In the second century CE, Romans began to favor burial over cremation, which in turn led to a demand for sarcophagi. Orestes on Roman sarcophagi: The story of the Greek tragic hero Orestes carved in relief in a continuous-narrative composition decorates one side of a Western type sarcophagus. 10-60: Sarcophagus with the myth of Orestes, ca. 140-15:0 CE. Marble, 2' 7 1/2" high. Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. All four sides of an Eastern type sarcophagus are carved with images of
Greek gods and heroes in architectural frames, while on the lid is carved a
portrait of the deceased woman reclined on a bed in the tradition of Etruscan
sarcophagi.
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| Republic :: Pompeii And The Cities Of Vesuvius :: Early Empire :: High Empire :: Late Empire | ||||
