The Politics of Perpetuation: Trajan's Column and the Art of Commemoration

Davies, Penelope J. E.

doi:10.2307/506249

Cited by 36 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…The usual content of the deforestation scenes is exceptionally revealing: beyond three instances of Dacian tree-felling, all within the same scene, Roman soldiers are felling Dacian trees, in line with the general theme of industry on the column's relief. Davies (1997: 63) commented that the column ‘downplay[s] the gruesome realities of war’ and instead depicts more peaceful themes, of travel, construction, adlocutio , submissio and sacrifice 14 . Coulston (2003: 403) has added to Davies’s earlier comments, noting that the battles are commonly fought by ‘non-citizen auxiliary troops’, while the Roman citizen troops are lauded for their ‘building construction, field-craft and siege warfare’ 15 .…”

Section: Deforestationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Coulston (2003: 403) has added to Davies’s earlier comments, noting that the battles are commonly fought by ‘non-citizen auxiliary troops’, while the Roman citizen troops are lauded for their ‘building construction, field-craft and siege warfare’ 15 . The absence of warfare and the prominence of construction scenes is, for Davies (1997: 63), part of an effort to portray a mechanized Roman army, in complete control of both its surroundings and the war. In this reading of the column, the tree-felling scenes are key, and when this is put in the context of the Romans’ relationship with the environment in times of war, a fresh understanding of the usage of trees on Trajan's Column begins to emerge.…”

Section: Deforestationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trajanic Trees: The Dacian Forest on Trajan's Column

Fox

2018

Pap. Br. Sch. Rome

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Trajan's Column stands in the centre of Rome as a proud monument to Trajan's triumph over Dacia in the early second century. On its 29 m tall shaft, a helical frieze depicts the events of the two wars which won the province for the Roman Empire. There are 224 trees to be found throughout this relief, 222 of which are native to Dacia. These trees have traditionally been treated as scene dividers and background material to the column's action. This article, which begins by exploring the identification of the trees in previous scholarship, argues that they are in fact crucial to the column's narrative of industry and conquest. The discussion of identification is followed by an examination of the numerous tree-felling scenes on the column as a metaphor for conquest. The article closes with a detailed analysis of contrasting representations of the two leaders on the column, Trajan and Decebalus, one an urban emperor, the other a forest king. By directing attention towards the arboreal population of the column, this article argues that trees cannot be dismissed as mere background detail, but play an active and significant role in the communication of ideas about triumph, imperialism and the conquest of nature.

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Section: Deforestationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Deforestationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trajanic Trees: The Dacian Forest on Trajan's Column

Fox

2018

Pap. Br. Sch. Rome

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“…;ders. (2002);Davies (1997);Coarelli (2000) 11-14;grundsätzlich zur römischen Repräsentationskunst Hölscher (1987);ders. (2004 zum Inbegriff des römischen Imperators und Triumphators, wie man ihn aus der Überlieferung der glorreichen Siege der alten Republik kannte; es ist dies eine sehr viel eingängigere, fein gesponnene und überzeugender wirkende Heroisierung des Kaisers als die plakative Siegesikonographie des Großen Frieses.…”

Section: Abschließende Bemerkungen Zum Reliefband Der Säuleunclassified

Columna Traiani. Traianssäule - Siegesmonument und Kriegsbericht in Bildern

Mitthof¹,

Schörner²

2017

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“…military triumph, festival day of a god or goddess, marriage, funeral, imperial cult or games). For Romans in the early empire, a ritual procession was more than simply walking or marching; rather, it had sacred qualities which were believed to protect and sanctify an area as well as focus the attention of the participants (Davies, 1997: 54–56; Moede, 2011: 170–171). 10 In the procession’s representation in Roman art, it is not always possible to distinguish the various types although the triumph is usually recognizable through scenes depicting the carriage of the triumphator , subjugated enemies in chains, decorated sacrificial animals, soldiers in military formation, and musicians who separate the different sections of the procession (Fless and Moede, 2011: 260).…”

Section: Children and Sacred Processionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 10. Penelope Davies has suggested that the spiral direction of the frieze on Trajan’s column, which was added when it became the emperor’s mausoleum during Hadrian’s reign, dictated a ritual direction which viewers were expected to follow. As such, the route taken by the viewer re-enacted the funerary rite of circumambulation through the movement of a circular procession (Davies, 1997: 52–59). …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual Representations of Children and Ritual in the Early Roman Empire

Tulloch¹

2012

Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses

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This paper takes the position that the best way to identify figures of children participating in scenes of early Christian ritual is through a comparison of child figures in Roman art and ritual. For the purpose of this comparison we refer to Roman scenes showing children in processions, offerings/sacrifices and banquets. Early Christian scenes of offerings which continued the representation of children but omitted the priest and musicians may have aided the identification of the scene as a gift or donation rather than a Roman sacrifice. While there is no ambiguity as to the figures in many of the early Christian baptism scenes being children, there is a long standing debate whether the child figures symbolically represent Jesus’ immersion in the Jordan river or actual baptizands. Possible similarities between Roman purification rituals by immersion in water and early Christian baptism, especially with regard to the visual representation of these rituals, remain a fruitful area for future research. Cet article propose que la meilleure façon d’identifier les images d’enfants qui participaient aux scènes d’anciens rituels chrétiens est par une comparaison des images d’enfants représentés dans l’art et le rituel romains. Aux fins de cette comparaison nous nous référons à des scènes montrant des enfants romains dans les processions, les offrandes/sacrifices et les banquets. Les anciennes scènes chrétiennes de l’offrande qui ont inclus la représentation des enfants, mais qui ne représentent ni le prêtre ni les musiciens, ont pu avoir aidé à l’identification de la scène comme un cadeau ou un don chrétien plutôt que d’un sacrifice romain. Bien qu’il n’y ait aucune ambiguïté que les images dans la plupart des scènes d’ancien baptême chrétien sont des enfants, il y a un débat de longue date de savoir si les images d’enfants représentent symboliquement l’immersion de Jésus dans le fleuve Jourdain ou bien de baptisés réels. Il est possible qu’il y ait des similarités entre les rituels de purification romain par immersion dans l’eau et l’ancien baptême chrétien, en particulier à l’égard de la représentation visuelle de ces rituels, ce qui mérite davantage de recherche.

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The Politics of Perpetuation: Trajan's Column and the Art of Commemoration

Cited by 36 publications

References 0 publications

Trajanic Trees: The Dacian Forest on Trajan's Column

Trajanic Trees: The Dacian Forest on Trajan's Column

Columna Traiani. Traianssäule - Siegesmonument und Kriegsbericht in Bildern

Visual Representations of Children and Ritual in the Early Roman Empire

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