THE ART OF ANCIENT ROME - PART I

Digging Through Time

- in the Forum, we notice we go down into the Forum & we look up at the streets around us. & even beneath this are several
other layers of ancient Rome. So, we'd go down another 20 feet to get to the archaic layers & every monument that u see
has a precedent
- This is Basilica Julia. This was built after fire in 283 A.D. It replaces the one that's burnt down that was built by Julius
Ceasar & completed by Augustus. It in turn replaced a second century B.C. Basilica It in turn replaced earlier republican
houses.
- So u've got layer upon layer upon layer. what they end up mostly satisfying themselves with for the Forum Piazza today.
What u see is largely on the Augustan to second century A.D. levels.

Roman Republic

Temple of Portunus
- In Rome st&ing near the Tiber, looking at an
ancient Roman temple, a temple that, was
misnamed Fortuna Verilis.
- Temple of manly fortune. It looks very much
like what u expect a classical temple look like in
ancient Roman-- it's relatively small. But it's
got fluted columns. Ionic columns--Ionic
capitals. Derived from the Greek, but this is
clearly not a Greek temple.
- It's different in important ways. It's on a
raised platform & the platform only has steps in
the front. & the Greeks-- the Parthenon, for
instance, u wud enter from the front/back. In terms of actually rising up to the stylobate, u cud ascend from any point. Greek
temple more as something where the worship took place outside of the temple, tho a statue of the god wud be inside. But a
Greek temple's almost like, to me, a kind of sculpture in the l&scape. Here, it is more of a directional-- Emphasis on the
front, on the porch, not just directional, the worshiper is actually being directed in a specific way
- The Romans are controlling the way u use the building. Like a Greek temple, only the priest wud have gone inside.
- It's also Roman in other important ways. Not only does it have a single staircase in the front, but the building extends out to
the edge almost. There's a larger interior space, so that the columns on the sides & the back r not freest&ing columns but
attached columns. They're engaged, that's a sort of particularly Roman thing. The Greeks wudnt have done that bcos the
Greek used columns as structural devices. Here, the columns are just purely decorative. As u move back-- The wall's
actually doing the work of holding up the roof
- The building is not in great condition. It dates from 100 BC, more than 2000 years old. & still st&ing, surrounded by the
modern traffic of the city-real sense of what an ancient Roman
- Beautifully proportioned. l kind of rhythm that's created by the columns as they move back. 4 columns across the front & 2
deep for that porch space
- A lot of this was based on the culture that lived here b4. The Etruscans. This borrows from ancient Etruscan architecture.
Lots of Greek influence-dentils. The Ionic columns. The pediment at the top. The importance of the Greek precedent was for
the Roman
Veristic Male Portrait
- b4 the emperor ruled Rome, Rome was ruled by a republic, by a senate (counsel of elders)-generally older men, who had
come from the elite families in Rome. the people accorded the most privilege, the most power in the Roman Republic, these
were older men. & their age, their experience, is what counted
 - Period of the late Republic, sculptures. This sculptor seems to have taken every pain record a
real sense of age & experience. 1 example of a veristic portrait is in the Vatican, from the
very late Republican period. This is just b4 Julius Caesar began the process of turning
the Republic into an empire.
- We refer to these as veristic portraits-from the Latin word "verus," for truth & so there's
this idea that they're very truthful, but maybe there's an exaggeration of that sense of
experience & wisdom & age
- A head of a man that probably came from a much larger sculpture, ultimately. His head is
covered with a toga, which suggests that he was involved in some sort of ritual. Concern
is expressed thru the eyes. The lips, which are quite thin, r pressed together. There is a
solemnity, there is a seriousness, a kind of authority that is born of the qualities of the face
that we're seeing
- It's really different from the tradition that will develop during the Empire. Augustus becomes
the first emperor of Rome & establishes a tradition that looks back to ancient Greece,
& the tendency that we see there to idealize the human face & the human body.
- This kind of veristic portrait will come to represent, later on, noble republican ideals. In the
later images of emperors, that they choose 2 some degree 2 idealize themselves. If they have themselves portrayed more
realistically, they're recalling the virtues of the ancient Roman Republic. If they idealize themselves more, they're recalling
an ancient Greek tradition. This was a very conscious set of attributes, a very conscious set of symbols that u cud draw on
- It was a visual language.

Roman Empire

- st&ing in the piazza, the square in front of the

Pantheon. This is the best preserved ancient Roman
monument & yet, look at the sense of age, the
weathering, the way in which its history is revealed thru
its surface.
- Its original bronze fittings have been ripped off. The
numerous holes in pediment, that tell of all the
different purposes that this building has been put to
- Originally a temple to the gods, then sanctified &
made into a church. Now, it's also a major tourist
attraction. This is a building that has had just a
tremendously complex history & u can see it all
over its surface
- We're seeing it very differently than anyone in antiquity wud have seen it- we're st&ing many feet higher than we wud have
been in the ancient world. Rome accumulated elevation from the debris of history. Once, u wud have stepped up to the
porch of the Pantheon. Now, we lie downhill. & the space in front of the Pantheon was framed by a colonnade. The
colonnade & the other buildings that wud have originally surrounded this building wud have obscured the barrel on the side,
& so that we wud have only seen this very traditional temple front
- The massive columns r supported by these enormous marble bases. They rise up unarticulated, without any fluting, & in
these massive fragments of what were originally marble Corinthian capitals. These are monoliths, single pieces of stone.
Unlike Greek columns, they were not segmented, They were not cut & they were imported from Egypt, which was symbolic
of Rome's power over most of the Mediterranean under the emperor Hadrian, who was responsible for the construction of
this building
- Under the porch. Thru massive bronze doors, just walked in under the strictly rectilinear porch & then the space opens up
into this vast circular space. The width of the building & the height of the building completely fills my field of vision & it is,
in a sense, an expression of the limits of my sight.
- Unlike a basilica, this is a radial building-it has a central point & radiates outward from that central point. What's fascinating
about this building is that it's not a traditional radial structure, in that
the point wud be on the floor. The central point-- its focus-- is
midway between the floor & the ceiling, & midway between its
walls. It is large enough, & geometrically perfect enough, to
accommodate a perfect sphere.
- As soon as u walk in, u notice that there's a kind of obsession with
circles, with rectangles, with squares, those kinds of perfect
geometrical shapes. This is a structure that is concerned with the
ideal geometries. But it also locates our place within those
geometries.
- it's really dynamic-One of the causes of that is if we move our eye up
the columns, they're beautifully aligned with the frieze of false
windows just above them. But then all of that does not align with the
dome. They don't align with the coffers that we see in the dome.
- What that does is creates this feeling that the barrel that the dome
rests on is independent from the dome, & almost makes it feel as if
the dome cud rotate. That complex visual relationship between the dome & the decorative structures in the barrel remind us
that the actual structural system here is dependent on concrete, & not these decorative columns that we see on the interior
- There's thick, thick barrel of concrete that supports the dome. Because a dome pushes down & out, Roman architects had to
think about how to support the weight & pressure of the dome & one of the things that's doing that r the thick concrete walls
of the barrel
- the Romans had really perfected concrete & this is one of the buildings that shows what was possible. This is shaping space,
bcos concrete cud be continuous. It cud be built upward continuously with wooden forms, which wud then be removed &
then cud open the space up in a way that post & lintel architecture never cud
- Concrete cud be laid onto a wooden support or mold, & cud be shaped in a way that u can't do with post & lintel
architecture. It allows for this vast, open, uninterrupted space. We walk into the space & we feel freed-We are given a
tremendous amount of freedom in terms of how we move & how we see thru this space.
- Because of the Roman use of concrete, the idea that architecture cud be something that shaped space & that cud have a
different kind of relationship to the viewer. The emperor Hadrian, under whose direction this building was constructed,
apparently loved the building & loved to actually have visitors come to him here.
- The Pantheon originally contained sculptures of the gods, of the deified emperors. It really was about the divine, the earthly
sphere meeting the heavenly sphere & also in some way about human perception. Look how rich the surface is & there
wud've been much more in antiquity, when the coffers probably had gilded rosettes. As we look at the drum, we see colored
marble-We see purples, & oranges, & blues. These marbles r taken from around the Roman Empire. Is really an expression
of Hadrian's wealth & Hadrian's power. This is the empire being able to reach across the globe 2 draw in these precious
materials
- Most exciting part of this space is the oculus-it almost seems to defy reason. It's the only light that comes into this space,
with the exception of some light wells in some of the recessed areas, & of course, the grill just above the door, & the door
itself. There is one great window & my students for years have asked, is there glass? & of course, the answer is no. When it
rains, the floor gets wet. The perfect circle of that oculus. The perfect circle of the dome. The oculus is critical in the issues
that u had raised b4.
- This is a building that in some way is a reflection of the movement of the heavens & what happens is light moves into this
space from the sun. It projects often a very sharp circle on the dome, & moves across the floor of the building as the sun
 moves across the sky, & then eventually creeps up the other side of the dome. & so this entire building functions in some
ways almost like a sundial. It makes visible the movements of the heavens & makes them manifest here on Earth.
- It was admired & copied in the Renaissance, & in fact is perhaps the most influential building in architecture in the
Renaissance & in the modern era. I mean, think about all of the different architects that have referenced this building. I'm
looking down at the floors & the geometry that u spoke of, the circles & squares. & I'm thinking about the pavement in front
of the Guggenheim Museum on Fifth Avenue in New York.
- Once u know the Pantheon, u begin to see copies of it & pieces of it everywhere. The dome especially is perhaps the most
copied element, especially with the oculus. U can see it in almost every Neoclassical building in Europe & North America.

Augustus of Primaporta
- Many people have portraits of their husb&.- this was found in the villa of Livia, Augustus' wife & it was found in her villa,
the Villa at Prima Porta. A full scale marble sculpture, that's exactly what Livia had. Except that, although this was found
there in her home, these sculptures had enormous political significance. They were filled with Roman political ideology, as
was so much ancient Roman art.
- this was probably a copy of a bronze, which wud have been used in a much more public environment. & probably many,
many copies were made & this is just one that has happened to survive. & it was important for the emperor to distribute his
image thruout the empire. & so many copies were made of images of the emperor.
- This is long b4 photography, of course, & so most people wud never actually get to see the emperor. So u distributed the
likeness, & in a sense, the attributes of the ruler thru sculpture & thru painting. & likeness is a good word, bcos it's like
Augustus but not exactly Augustus.
- This is idealized. He's made to look younger, & h&somer, more athletic-we can identify his features across many different
sculptures. Augustus is a complicated figure. He says that he is re-establishing the Senate, But he does that as a strategy to
in fact consolidate power 2 become Rome's first true emperor-& he does that at quite a young age, whereas the rulers of the
ancient Roman Republic were old, experienced men.
- There was an age requirement for holding office during the republic. In this new era-- ushered in by Augustus-- of the
empire he wants to communicate a very different image, one where he is more god-like, youthful, transcendent. So we have
the ruler of the empire, who is using this sculpture as a way of communicating how he wants to be understood--in a sense,
what he wants to represent to his public, to those that he rules. The identity that he wants to portray & communicate is
god-like, & very much recalling the ancient Greeks, the golden age of Pericles, of fifth century BC in Athens.
- Proportions of his body is following the "Kanon--" that is, a sculpture that we now call the "Doryphoros" by Polykleitos
from ancient Greece, a sculpture that showed the beauty of the body. & so here he's taking on that Greek ideal. He's saying,
I am going to create a golden age just like the Golden Age of Greece from the fifth century BC-I'm going to show myself
like the famous sculpture from that period-& he's then moving on 2 show us that he has what it takes to do that
- Down at his ankle pulling at his hem is Cupid & Cupid was the son of the goddess Venus. Augustus traced his ancestry back
to Aeneas, the founder of Rome & Aeneas was the son of Venus. So by putting Cupid down there, we're meant to remember
that Augustus is descended from a goddess. So Augustus is saying that he is actually, in part, divine also said he was the
son of the god Julius Caesar. Where that's an actual human being who has been deified, made it into a god subsequently
- he's got god written all over him & in fact, he literally does on his breast plate, where we see the god of the sky & the
goddess of the earth & so all of the divine forces come together here for Augustus' rule. This breast plate, it's probably a
thick leather cuirass. It is embossed with scenes that are almost a kind of personal resume. The most important scene shows
the Romans reclaiming their st&ards from the Parthians. Augustus had defeated this older enemy of Rome, the Parthians,
who had taken their st&ards in an earlier battle. So the fact that the Parthia's are shown here returning the st&ards is a
significant gesture of defeat & acknowledgement of the power of Rome
- we have a man that is of divine origin, that is a brilliant military leader, that is shown ennobled in the tradition of the great
ancient Greeks. This is tremendously powerful visual propag&a.
- Empire: Painted Garden, Villa of Livia
STEVEN ZUCKER: It's a hot day in Rome, but the ancient Romans had figured out how to stay cool. BETH HARRIS: They did.
We're in a room that reconstructs a room in the villa of Livia. Livia was the wife of the emperor, Augustus. There was a lovely
summer house, a resort, of sorts. & in the villa, there was one room that was partially underground, dug into the rock. STEVEN
ZUCKER: Which meant they wud stay much cooler in the summer. BETH HARRIS: & we can really appreciate that today.
STEVEN ZUCKER: But the sense of coolness wud come not only from the actual temperature, but also from the decoration. BETH
HARRIS: From the very cool colors that this room is painted in, what the artist did was paint an amazing illusion of a l&scape, a
garden, as though the walls were not walls at all, but views out beyond a fence, beyond a wall, with trees & bushes & fruits & plants
& birds. STEVEN ZUCKER: It's as if the walls have literally dissolved, & this is the great example of the second style of Roman
wall painting. BETH HARRIS: The first style was characterized by an attempt to recreate in paint & stucco the marble walls that
we've decorated Greek palaces. STEVEN ZUCKER: A kind of faux marble, a kind of trompe l'oeil. BETH HARRIS: Exactly. Now
here, instead of the illusion of marble, the artist has created an illusion of nature. STEVEN ZUCKER: & it's nature that spreads out
all around us. & it's not a menacing nature. It's a beautiful, cultivated nature. It's full of playful birds. There's fruit in the trees. There
are blossoms everywhere. BETH HARRIS: & there's light. The artist has used atmospheric perspective, so that the trees & the
leaves that are closest to us are rendered more crisply than the vegetation in the background. STEVEN ZUCKER: The only real
architecture that's represented is, as u mentioned, a straw fence, perhaps, within something that looks a little bit more substantial, in
a pink-gray. The artist has used that outer wall in order to create a subtle rendering of perspective. & u can see that, as the wall
reaches out in a couple of places to enclose trees that are just at the border. BETH HARRIS: So we see poppies & roses & irises &
pomegranates &-- STEVEN ZUCKER: Quince. BETH HARRIS: So there's a real sense of variety in the plants, in the flowers, in
the fruit, in the types of birds that we see, in the positions of the birds-- some with their wings stretched back, some sitting quietly,
some in the sky. There's a real search for the variety of nature. My favorite part is on this one tree that is framed by that pinkish-gray
wall. The branches move in exactly the haphazard way that a tree grows. & then there are places where we see light on the leaves &
branches & other places where the leaves are in shadow. STEVEN ZUCKER: It seems as if, actually, there's a breeze that's come
up. & it's blown some of those leaves over, so that we're seeing the more silvery underside. & then we get the darker shadows of the
tops of the leaves. So there's this real sense of the momentary, & of this being a breezy, beautiful day. BETH HARRIS: Yeah, u can
almost hear the leaves rustle in the wind. STEVEN ZUCKER: I think my favorite plant is probably the acanthus that grows up
around a pine on one of the short sides of the room. & probably the other element that I find most interesting is that in this open-air
space, there is perched precariously on that outer wall a bird cage. Now, thruout this entire room, there are paintings of birds that are
free, & flying thru the open sky. But here we have a bird in a cage. & it reminds me, as I st& in this room, that although these walls
have dissolved, I'm still inside.

Head of Augustus

This head of the emperor Augustus was originally part of a statue in Egypt. The Romans used statues to remind the empire's largely
illiterate population of the power of the emperor. Augustus is always depicted as a youth to reflect his strength and vitality. This
head was decapitated by an invading army from Mero in modern-day Sudan. They buried the head under the temple steps as an
insult to Augustus. Ironically, it was this act of defiance that preserved the head.

When did Rome become an empire?

Augustus was the first emperor of Rome. He transformed Rome from a republic, led by competing nobles, to an empire, ruled by
one man. In 31 BC Augustus defeated the armies of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra and made Egypt a part of the empire. Egypt's
immense wealth helped Augustus to develop an effective army to expand and protect the empire's borders. The Roman Empire
enjoyed a period of long-lasting peace under Augustus' reign. When he died he was declared a god by the Roman Senate.

One face to rule them all

Whats striking about this bust is of course the hairstyle, because it is deliberately designed to echo the locks of Alexander the Great,
the Hellenistic King, and what Augustus did - he was the first leader of Rome to claim that he was a God and in that he echoed
Hellenistic ruler cult and by claiming that he was a God, he became a vital part of the glue that held the whole Roman Empire
together. You could be out there in Spain or Gaul, you could be all over the world, you could go
to a temple and you would find women with images of Augustus, of this man depicted in this
bust sewn onto their cowls.

People at dinner parties in Rome, would have busts exactly like this above their mantle pieces -
imagine how freaky that was - imagine if in todays Britain we had busts of Gordon Brown
above peoples mantle place in Islington, we would think it was a culture that was completely
sick and mad, wouldnt we? But that was how he was able to infuse the entire Roman Empire
with that sense of loyalty and adherence to Rome.

If you wanted to become a local politician in the Roman Empire you became a member, you
became a priest in the cult of Augustus.

Ultimate authority and power?

The bronze head of Caesar Augustus, Emperor of Rome, has long occupied a prominent place in
the affections of British Museum visitors, but what few realise is that this powerful and striking
imperial sculpture was discovered in Sudan, not in a part of the Roman Empire.

While conducting excavations for the University of Liverpool in 1910, much to his surprise, John
Garstang a British archaeologist, found this classical statue head buried beneath the threshold of a temple in the Kushite royal city of
Meroe. In antiquity, those entering or leaving the temple would have purposefully trod on Augustus head in the process, an
insulting act calculated to demonstrate as much contempt and derision towards him as possible.

Situated along the Nile near the sixth cataract, Meroe is roughly 200 km north of modern Khartoum, Sudan. What was this head, of
the founder of the Roman Empire, doing so far from home?

Strabo, the classical historian, records that in 24 BC the Aethiopians, as the Kushites were known in the Greco-Roman world,
attacked the southern border of the Roman province of Egypt with 30,000 men looting and pulling down imperial statues in Aswan,
Elephantine and Philae including those of Augustus. The Kushites were led by a queen who was blind in one eye. Although later
required to return their booty, it is clear that the Kushites did not return everything that they had taken as the presence of the statue
head at Meroe clearly demonstrates.

This bronze head came from a larger than life statue of the Emperor and is perfectly proportioned in accordance with the classical
Greek ideal of the human form. The inlaid eyes stare off into the distance and are comprised of glass, calcite and metal rings.
Combined with the slightly turned neck, they serve to give the head a very life-like appearance.

Originally such statues of the ruler would have been spread throughout the provinces of the Roman Empire serving to remind his
subjects of the Emperors ultimate authority and power.

Forever young
In classical Greece there was a very famous sculptor called Polykleitos who came from Argos, and Polykleitos developed a canon of
proportions to represent the human figure. These were considered very beautiful, and very useful, and very helpful, and were very
much studied at the time when Octavian was coming to power and turning into Augustus the first Roman Emperor.

So his rather small body - which was by no means perfect became a Polykleitan hero, and his rather distracted expression and
tousled hairstyle became settled, and purposeful, and combed into place, so he looked extremely reassuring. Having assumed this
image when he was still in his 30s, he stayed with it until he died age 76 in AD 14. So theres no suggestion in his portraits, even
any subtle suggestion such as we see in the portraits of our Queen Elizabeth II, for example, of any aging process at all.

And this was a very enduring image we have surviving even today over 250 images of Augustus which come from all over the
Roman Empire in every size and every medium, and they are pretty much the same; the variations are really not very significant. So
the portrait was very, very recognisable, and very enduring, and it was very successful marketing, in a sense, of an image because
Augustus has never had a bad press.

Ara Pacis

Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace), 9 B.C.E. (Ara Pacis Museum, Italy)
Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace), 9 B.C.E. (Ara Pacis Museum, Rome, Italy) (photo:
Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The Roman state religion in microcosm

The festivities of the Roman state religion were steeped in tradition and ritual symbolism. Sacred
offerings to the gods, consultations with priests and diviners, ritual formulae, communal feastingwere all practices aimed at
fostering and maintaining social cohesion and communicating authority. It could perhaps be argued that the Ara Pacis
Augustaethe Altar of Augustan Peacerepresents in luxurious, stately microcosm the practices of the Roman state religion in a
way that is simultaneously elegant and pragmatic.

Portrait of Augustus as Pontifex Maximus from the Via Labicana, after 12 B.C.E. (Palazzo
Massimo alle Terme, Rome)
Portrait of Augustus as Pontifex Maximus from the Via Labicana, after 12 B.C.E. (Palazzo
Massimo alle Terme, Rome)
Vowed on July 4, 13 B.C.E., and dedicated on January 30, 9 B.C.E., the monument stood
proudly in the Campus Martius in Rome (a level area between several of Rome's hills and
the Tiber River). It was adjacent to architectural complexes that cultivated and proudly
displayed messages about the power, legitimacy, and suitability of their patronthe
emperor Augustus. Now excavated, restored, and reassembled in a sleek modern pavilion
designed by architect Richard Meier (2006), the Ara Pacis continues to inspire and
challenge us as we think about ancient Rome.
Augustus himself discusses the Ara Pacis in his epigraphical memoir, Res Gestae Divi
Augusti (Deeds of the Divine Augustus) that was promulgated upon his death in 14 C.E. Augustus states When I returned to
Rome from Spain and Gaul, having successfully accomplished deeds in those provinces the senate voted to consecrate the altar of
August Peace in the Campus Martius on which it ordered the magistrates and priests and Vestal virgins to offer annual sacrifices
(Aug. RG 12).
An open-air altar for sacrifice
The Ara Pacis is, at its simplest, an open-air altar for blood sacrifice associated with the Roman state religion. The ritual
slaughtering and offering of animals in Roman religion was routine, and such rites usually took place outdoors. The placement of the
Ara Pacis in the Campus Martius (Field of Mars) along the Via Lata (now the Via del Corso) situated it close to other key Augustan
monuments, notably the Horologium Augusti (a giant sundial) and the Mausoleum of Augustus.

Illustration showing the likely original placement of the Ara Pacis Augustae (far right) in proximity to
the Horologium Augusti (sundial) and the Mausoleum of Augustus. (Source)
Illustration showing the likely original placement of the Ara Pacis Augustae (far right) in proximity to the Horologium Augusti
(sundial) and the Mausoleum of Augustus in the background. (source)
The significance of the topographical placement would have been quite evident to ancient Romans. This complex of Augustan
monuments made a clear statement about Augustus physical transformation of Romes urban landscape. The dedication to a rather
abstract notion of peace (pax) is significant in that Augustus advertises the fact that he has restored peace to the Roman state after a
long period of internal and external turmoil.
The altar (ara) itself sits within a monumental stone screen that has been elaborated with bas relief (low relief) sculpture, with the
panels combining to form a programmatic mytho-historical narrative about Augustus and his administration, as well as about
Romes deep roots. The altar enclosure is roughly square while the altar itself sits atop a raised podium that is accessible via a
narrow stairway.

The Outer screenprocessional scenes

Processional scene (south side), Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace), 9 B.C.E.
(Ara Pacis Museum, Rome)
Processional scene (south side), Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace) 9 B.C.E.
(Ara Pacis Museum, Rome) (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Processional scenes occupy the north and south flanks of the altar screen. The solemn
figures, all properly clad for a rite of the state religion, proceed in the direction of the altar
itself, ready to participate in the ritual. The figures all advance toward the west. The
occasion depicted would seem to be a celebration of the peace (Pax) that Augustus had
restored to the Roman empire. In addition four main groups of people are evident in the processions: (1) the lictors (the official
bodyguards of magistrates), (2) priests from the major collegia of Rome, (3) members of the Imperial household, including women
and children, and (4) attendants. There has been a good deal of scholarly discussion focused on two of three non-Roman children
who are depicted.

A member of the Priestly college (association) of Septemviri epulones, carries an incense box,
processional scene (north side), Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace) 9 B.C.E. (Ara Pacis
Museum, Rome) (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
A member of the Priestly college (association) of Septemviri epulones, carries an incense box,
processional scene (north side), Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace) 9 B.C.E. (Ara Pacis
Museum, Rome) (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
The north processional frieze, made up of priests and members of the Imperial household, is
comprised of 46 figures. The priestly colleges (religious associations) represented include the
Septemviri epulones ("seven men for sacrificial banquets"they arranged public feasts connected to sacred holidays), whose
members here carry an incense box (image above), and the quindecimviri sacris faciundis ("fifteen men to perform sacred
actions" their main duty was to guard and consult the Sibylline books (oracular texts) at the request of the Senate). Members of
the imperial family, including Octavia Minor, follow behind.

Augustus (far left) and members of the imperial household (south side), Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of
Augustan Peace) 9 B.C.E. (Ara Pacis Museum, Rome) (source)
Augustus (far left) and members of the imperial household (south side), Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of
Augustan Peace) 9 B.C.E. (Ara Pacis Museum, Rome) (source)
A good deal of modern restoration has been undertaken on the north wall, with many heads heavily
restored or replaced. The south wall of the exterior screen depicts Augustus and his immediate family.
The identification of the individual figures has been the source of a great deal of scholarly debate. Depicted here are Augustus
(damaged, he appears at the far left in the image above) and Marcus Agrippa (friend, son-in-law, and lieutenant to Augustus, he
appears, hooded, image below), along with other members of the imperial house. All of those present are dressed in ceremonial garb
appropriate for the state sacrifice. The presence of state priests known as flamens (flamines)
further indicate the solemnity of the occasion.

Processional scene (south side), Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace) 9 B.C.E. (Ara
Pacis Museum, Rome) (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Processional scene (south side) with Agrippa (hooded), Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan
Peace) 9 B.C.E. (Ara Pacis Museum, Rome) (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
A running, vegetal frieze runs parallel to the processional friezes on the lower register. This
vegetal frieze emphasizes the fertility and abundance of the lands, a clear benefit of living in a
time of peace.

Mythological Panels
Accompanying the processional friezes are four mythological panels that adorn the altar screen on its shorter sides. Each of these
panels depicts a distinct scene:
a scene of a bearded male making sacrifice (below)
a scene of seated female goddess amid the fertility of Italy (also below)
a fragmentary scene with Romulus and Remus in the Lupercal grotto (where these two mythic founders of Rome were
suckled by a she-wolf)
and a fragmentary panel showing Roma (the personification of Rome) as a seated goddess.

Sacrifice Panel, Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace) 9 B.C.E. (Ara Pacis Museum,
Rome)
Sacrifice Panel, Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace) 9 B.C.E. (Ara Pacis Museum,
Rome) (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Since the early twentieth century, the mainstream interpretation of the sacrifice panel (above)
has been that the scene depicts the Trojan hero Aeneas arriving in Italy and making a sacrifice
to Juno. A recent re-interpretation offered by Paul Rehak argues instead that the bearded man
is not Aeneas, but Numa Pompilius, Romes second king. In Rehaks theory, Numa,
renowned as a peaceful ruler and the founder of Roman religion, provides a counterbalance to the warlike Romulus on the opposite
panel.

Tellus (or Pax) Panel, Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace) 9 B.C.E. (Ara Pacis Museum,
Rome) (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Tellus (or Pax) Panel, Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace) 9 B.C.E. (Ara Pacis Museum,
Rome) (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
The better preserved panel of the east wall depicts a seated female figure (above) who has been
variously interpreted as Tellus (the Earth), Italia (Italy), Pax (Peace), as well as Venus. The panel
depicts a scene of human fertility and natural abundance. Two babies sit on the lap of the seated
female, tugging at her drapery. Surrounding the central female is the natural abundance of the lands and flanking her are the
personifications of the land and sea breezes. In all, whether the goddess is taken as Tellus or Pax, the theme stressed is the harmony
and abundance of Italy, a theme central to Augustus message of a restored peaceful state for the Roman peoplethe Pax Romana.

The Altar
The altar itself (below) sits within the sculpted precinct wall. It is framed by sculpted architectural mouldings with crouching
gryphons surmounted by volutes flanking the altar. The altar was the functional portion of the monument, the place where blood
sacrifice and/or burnt offerings would be presented to the gods.

View to the altar, Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace) 9 B.C.E. (Ara Pacis Museum, Rome)
(photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
View to the altar, Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace) 9 B.C.E. (Ara Pacis Museum, Rome)
(photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Implications and Interpretation

The implications of the Ara Pacis are far reaching. Originally located along the Via Lata (now Romes Via del Corso), the altar is
part of a monumental architectural makeover of Romes Campus Martius carried out by Augustus and his family. Initially the
makeover had a dynastic tone, with the Mausoleum of Augustus near the river. The dedication of the Horologium (sundial) of
Augustus and the Ara Pacis, the Augustan makeover served as a potent, visual reminder of Augustus success to the people of
Rome. The choice to celebrate peace and the attendant prosperity in some ways breaks with the tradition of explicitly triumphal
monuments that advertise success in war and victories won on the battlefield. By championing peaceat least in the guise of public
monumentsAugustus promoted a powerful and effective campaign of political message making.

Rediscovery
The first fragments of the Ara Pacis emerged in 1568 beneath Romes Palazzo Chigi near the basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina.
These initial fragments came to be dispersed among various museums, including the Villa Medici, the Vatican Museums, the
Louvre, and the Uffizi. It was not until 1859 that further fragments of the Ara Pacis emerged. The German art historian Friedrich
von Duhn of the University of Heidelberg is credited with the discovery that the fragments corresponded to the altar mentioned in
Augustus Res Gestae. Although von Duhn reached this conclusion by 1881, excavations were not resumed until 1903, at which
time the total number of recovered fragments reached 53, after which the excavation was again halted due to difficult conditions.
Work at the site began again in February 1937 when advanced technology was used to freeze approximately 70 cubic meters of soil
to allow for the extraction of the remaining fragments. This excavation was mandated by the order of the Italian government of
Benito Mussolini and his planned jubilee in 1938 that was designed to commemorate the 2,000th anniversary of Augustus birth.

Mussolini and Augustus

Vittorio Ballio Morpurgo, Ara Pacis Pavillion, 1938 photo: Indeciso42 at Italian Wikipedia, CC
BY-SA 4.0)
Vittorio Ballio Morpurgo, Ara Pacis Pavillion, 1938 (photo: Indeciso42 CC BY-SA 4.0)
The revival of the glory of ancient Rome was central to the propaganda of the Fascist regime in
Italy during the 1930s. Benito Mussolini himself cultivated a connection with the personage of
Augustus and claimed his actions were aimed at furthering the continuity of the Roman Empire.
Art, architecture, and iconography played a key role in this propagandistic revival. Following the
1937 retrieval of additional fragments of the altar, Mussolini directed architect Vittorio Ballio Morpurgo to construct an enclosure
for the restored altar adjacent to the ruins of the Mausoleum of Augustus near the Tiber river, creating a key complex for Fascist
propaganda. Newly built Fascist palaces, bearing Fascist propaganda, flank the space dubbed Piazza Augusto Imperatore (Plaza
of the emperor Augustus). The famous Res Gestae Divi Augusti (Deeds of the Divine Augustus) was re-created on the wall of the
altars pavilion. The concomitant effect was meant to lead the viewer to associate Mussolinis accomplishments with those of
Augustus himself.
The Ara Pacis and Richard Meier

Richard Meier and Partners, Ara Pacis Museum, Rome, 2006

Richard Meier and Partners, Ara Pacis Museum, Rome, 2006
The firm of architect Richard Meier was engaged to design and execute a new and improved
pavilion to house the Ara Pacis and to integrate the altar with a planned pedestrian area
surrounding the adjacent Mausoleum of Augustus.
Between 1995 and the dedication of the new pavilion in 2006 Meier crafted the modernist
pavilion that capitalizes on glass curtain walls granting visitors views of the Tiber river and the
mausoleum while they perambulate in the museum space focused on the altar itself. The Meier
pavilion has not been well-received, with some critics immediately panning it and some Italian
politicians declaring that it should be dismantled. The museum has also been the victim of targeted vandalism.

Enduring Monumentality
The Ara Pacis Augustae continues to engage us and to incite controversy. As a monument that is the product of a carefully
constructed ideological program, it is highly charged with socio-cultural energy that speaks to us about the ordering of the Roman
world and its societythe very Roman universe.
Augustus had a strong interest in reshaping the Roman world (with him as the sole leader), but had to be cautious about how radical
those changes seemed to the Roman populace. While he defeated enemies, both foreign and domestic, he was concerned about being
perceived as too authoritarian--he did not wish to labeled as a king (rex) for fear that this would be too much for the Roman people
to accept. So the Augustan scheme involved a declaration that Rome's republican government had been "restored" by Augustus and
he styled himself as the leading citizen of the republic (princeps). These political and ideological motives then influence and guide
the creation of his program of monumental art and architecture. These monumental forms, of which the Ara Pacis is a prime
example, served to both create and reinforce these Augustan messages.
The story of the Ara Pacis become even more complicated since it is an artifact that then was placed in the service of ideas in the
modern age. This results in its identity being impossibly, a mixture of Classicism and Fascism and modernismall difficult to
interpret in a postmodern reality. It is important to remember that the sculptural reliefs were created in the first place to be easily
readable, so that the viewer could understand the messages of Augustus and his circle without the need to read elaborate texts.
Augustus pioneered the use of such ideological messages that relied on clear iconography to get their message across. A great deal
was at stake for Augustus and it seems, by virtue of history, that the political choices he made proved prudent. The messages of the
Pax Romana, of a restored state, and of Augustus as a leading republican citizen, are all part of an effective and carefully
constructed veneer.

Villa of Mysteries

Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii

Text and Images by James W. Jackson
Background
In the first century the Roman Empire contains many cities, but none in a more beautiful setting than the cities and towns lining the
Bay of Naples. On the 24th of August, 79 A.D., volcanic ash spews from Mt. Vesuvius. Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum disappear
from the face of the earth. Gradually grass and vines cover the land where the towns stood. The local people eventually forget even
the name of the buried towns.
Herculaneum was rediscovered in 1738 and Pompeii in 1748. By the mid-eighteenth century, when scholars made the journey to
Naples and reported on the findings, the imagination of Europe was ignited. Suddenly, the classical world was in vogue. Philosophy,
art, architecture, literature, and even fashion drew upon the discoveries of Pompeii and Herculaneum for inspiration; the
Neoclassical movement was under way.
Villa of The Mysteries

This villa, built around a central peristyle court and surrounded by terraces, is much like other large villas of Pompeii. However, it
contains one very unusual feature; a room decorated with beautiful and strange scenes. This room, known to us as "The Initiation
Chamber," measures 15 by 25 feet and is located in the front right portion of the villa.
The term "mysteries" refers to secret initiation rites of the Classical world. The Greek word for "rite" means "to grow up". Initiation
rites, then, were originally ceremonies to help individuals achieve adulthood. The rites are not celebrations for having passed certain
milestones, such as our high school graduation, but promote psychological advancement through the stages of life. Often a drama
was enacted in which the initiates performed a role. The drama may include a simulated death and rebirth; i.e., the dying of the old
self and the birth of the new self. Occasionally the initiate was guided through the ritual by a priest or priestess and at the end of the
ceremony the initiate was welcomed into the group.
The chamber is entered through an opening located between the first and last scenes of the fresco.
The fresco images you will see in the Villa of Mysteries seem to part of a ritual ceremony aimed at preparing
privileged, protected girls for the psychological transition to life as married women. The frescoes in the Villa of
Mysteries provide us the opportunity to glimpse something important about the rites of passage for the women
of Pompeii. But as there are few written records about mystery religions and initiation rites, any iconographic
interpretation is bound to be flawed. In the end we are left with the wonderful frescoes
and the mystery. Nevertheless, an interpretation is offered, see if you agree or disagree.

Interpreting the Frescoes

At the center of the frescoes are the figures of Dionysus, the one certain identification
agreed upon by scholars, and his mother Semele (other interpretations have the figure
as Ariadne).As he had been for Greek women, Dionysus was the most popular god for Roman women.

He was the source of both their sensual and their spiritual hopes.
Scene 1.
The action of the rite begins (below) with the initiate or bride crossing the threshold as the preparations for the rites
to begin. Her wrist is cocked against her hip. Is she removing her scarf? Is she
listening to the boy read from the scroll? Is she pregnant?
The nudity of the boy may signify that he is divine. Is he reading rules of the rite?
He wears actor's boots, perhaps indicating the dramatic aspect of the rites. The
officiating priestess (behind the boy) holds another scroll in her left hand and a stylus
in her right hand. Is she prepared to add the initiate's name to a list of successful
initiates?
(above and to the right) The initiate, now more lightly clad, carries an offering tray of sacramental cake. She wears a myrtle wreath.
In her right hand she holds a laurel sprig.

Scene 2.
A priestess (center), wearing a head covering and a wreath of myrtle removes a covering from a
ceremonial basket held by a female attendant. Speculations about the contents of the basket
include: more laurel, a snake, or flower petals. A second female attendant wearing a wreath, pours
purifying water into a basin in which the priestess is about to dip a sprig of laurel.

(Above right) Mythological characters and music are

introduced into the narrative. An aging Silenus plays a
ten-string lyre resting on a column.

Scene 3
A young male satyr plays pan pipes, while a nymph suckles a goat. The initiate is being made
aware of her close connection with nature. This move from human to nature represents a shift
away from the conscious human world to our preconscious animal state. In many rituals, this
regression, assisted by music, is requisite to achieving a psychological state necessary for
rebirth and regeneration. The startled initiate has a glimpse of what awaits her in the inner
sanctuary where the katabasis will take place. This is her last chance to save herself by running
away. Perhaps some initiates did just that. The next scene provides hints about what both
frightens and awaits the initiate.

Scene 4.
The Silenus looks disapprovingly at the startled initiate as he holds up an empty silver bowl. A young satyr
gazes into the bowl, as if mesmerized. Another young satyr holds a theatrical mask (resembling the Silenus)
aloft and looks off to his left. Some speculate that the mask rather than the satyr's face is reflected in the silver
bowl. So, looking into the vessel is an act of divination: the young satyr sees himself in the future, a dead
satyr. The young satyr and the young initiate are coming to terms with their own deaths. In this case the death
of childhood and innocence. The bowl may have held Kykeon, the intoxicating drink of participants in
Orphic-Dionysian mysteries, intended for the frightened initiate.

Scene 5
This scene is at the center of both the room and the ritual. Dionysus sprawls in the arms of his mother Semele.
Dionysus wears a wreath of ivy, his thyrsus tied with a yellow ribbon lies across his body, and one sandal is off his foot. Even
though the fresco is badly damaged, we can see that Semele sits on a throne with Dionysus leaning on
her. Semele, the queen, the great mother is supreme.

Scene 6.
The initiate, carrying a staff and wearing a cap, returns from the night
journey. What has happened is a mystery to us. But in similar rituals the
confused, and sometimes drugged initiate emerges like an infant at birth,
from a dark place to a lighted place. She reaches for a covered object
sitting in a winnowing basket, the liknon. The covered object is taken by
many to be a phallus, or a herm.
To the right is a winged divinity, perhaps Aidos. Her raised hand is rejecting or warding off something. She is looking to the left and
is prepared to strike with a whip.
Standing behind the initiate are two figures of women, unfortunately badly damaged. One woman (far left) holds a plate with what
appear to be pine needles above the initiate's head. The apprehensive second figure is drawing back.

Scene 7.
The two themes of this scene are torture and transfiguration, the evocative climax of the rite.
Notice the complete abandonment to agony on the face of the initiate and the lash across her
back. She is consoled by a woman identified as a nurse. To the right a nude women clashes
celebratory cymbals and another woman is about to give to the initiate a thyrsus, symbolizing
the successful completion of the rite.

Scene 8.
This scene represents an event after the completion of the ritual drama.
The transformed initiate or bride prepares, with the help of an
attendant, for marriage. A young Eros figure holds a mirror which
reflects the image of the bride. Both the bride and her reflected image
stare out inquiringly at us, the observers.

Scene 9.
The figure above has been identified as: the mother of the bride, the mistress of the
villa, or the bride herself. Notice that she does wear a ring on her finger. If she is the same female who
began the dramatic ritual as a headstrong girl, she has certainly matured psychologically.

Scene 10
Eros, a son of Chronos or Saturn, god of Love, is the final figure in the narrative.

Colossuem
The Colosseum or Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium, Italian Anfiteatro Flavio or
Colosseo), is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is one
of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering.
Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started between 70 and 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and
was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign (8196). The name
"Amphitheatrum Flavium" derives from both Vespasian's and Titus's family name (Flavius, from the gens Flavia).
Originally capable of seating around 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. It
remained in use for nearly 500 years with the last recorded games being held there as late as the 6th century. As well as the
traditional gladiatorial games, many other public spectacles were held there, such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions,
re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building eventually ceased to be used for
entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such varied purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious
order, a fortress, a quarry and a Christian shrine. <> Although it is now in a ruined condition due to damage caused by earthquakes
and stone-robbers, the Colosseum has long been seen as an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. Today it is one of modern Rome's most
popular tourist attractions and still has close connections with the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a
torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession to the amphitheatre.
The Colosseum is also depicted on the Italian version of the five-cent euro coin.

Name
The Colosseum's original Latin name was Amphitheatrum Flavium, often anglicized as Flavian Amphitheater. The building was
constructed by emperors of the Flavian dynasty, hence its original name. This name is still used frequently in modern English, but it
is generally unknown. In antiquity, Romans may have referred to the Colosseum by the unofficial name Amphitheatrum Caesareum;
this name could have been strictly poetic. This name was not exclusive to the Colosseum; Vespasian and Titus, builders of the
Colosseum, also constructed an amphitheater of the same name in Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli).
The name Colosseum has long been believed to be derived from a colossal statue of Nero nearby. This statue was later remodeled by
Nero's successors into the likeness of Helios (Sol) or Apollo, the sun god, by adding the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was
also replaced several times and substituted with the heads of succeeding emperors. Despite its pagan links, the statue remained
standing well into the medieval era and was credited with magical powers. It came to be seen as an iconic symbol of the permanence
of Rome.
In the 8th century, the Venerable Bede (c. 672735) wrote a famous epigram celebrating the symbolic significance of the statue:
Quandiu stabit coliseus, stabit et Roma; quando cadit coliseus, cadet et Roma; quando cadet Roma, cadet et mundus ("as long as the
Colossus stands, so shall Rome; when the Colossus falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, so falls the world"). This is often
mistranslated to refer to the Colosseum rather than the Colossus (as in, for instance, Byron's poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage).
However, at the time that Bede wrote, the masculine noun coliseus was applied to the statue rather than to what was still known as
the Flavian amphitheatre.
The Colossus did eventually fall, probably being pulled down to reuse its bronze. By the year 1000 the name "Colosseum" (a neuter
noun) had been coined to refer to the amphitheatre. The statue itself was largely forgotten and only its base survives, situated
between the Colosseum and the nearby Temple of Venus and Roma.
The name was further corrupted to Coliseum during the Middle Ages. In Italy, the amphitheatre is still known as il Colosseo, and
other Romance languages have come to use similar forms such as le Colise (French), el Coliseo (Spanish) and o Coliseu
(Portuguese).

History
Ancient
Construction of the Colosseum began under the rule of the Emperor Vespasian in around 7072. The site chosen was a flat area on
the floor of a low valley between the Caelian, Esquiline and Palatine Hills, through which a canalised stream ran. By the 2nd century
BC the area was densely inhabited. It was devastated by the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64, following which Nero seized much of the
area to add to his personal domain. He built the grandiose Domus Aurea on the site, in front of which he created an artificial lake
surrounded by pavillions, gardens and porticoes. The existing Aqua Claudia aqueduct was extended to supply water to the area and
the gigantic bronze Colossus of Nero was set up nearby at the entrance to the Domus Aurea.
The area was transformed under Vespasian and his successors. Although the Colossus was preserved, much of the Domus Aurea
was torn down. The lake was filled in and the land reused as the location for the new Flavian Amphitheatre. Gladiatorial schools and
other support buildings were constructed nearby within the former grounds of the Domus Aurea. According to a reconstructed
inscription found on the site, "the emperor Vespasian ordered this new amphitheatre to be erected from his general's share of the
booty." This is thought to refer to the vast quantity of treasure seized by the Romans following their victory in the Great Jewish
Revolt in 70.
The Colosseum can be thus interpreted as a great triumphal monument built in the Roman tradition of celebrating great victories.
Vespasian's decision to build the Colosseum on the site of Nero's lake can also be seen as a populist gesture of returning to the
people an area of the city which Nero had appropriated for his own use. In contrast to many other amphitheatres, which were located
on the outskirts of a city, the Colosseum was constructed in the city centre; in effect, placing it both literally and symbolically at the
heart of Rome.
The Colosseum had been completed up to the third story by the time of Vespasian's death in 79. The top level was finished and the
building inaugurated by his son, Titus, in 80.[1] Dio Cassius recounts that over 9,000 wild animals were killed during the inaugural
games of the amphitheatre. The building was remodelled further under Vespasian's younger son, the newly-designated Emperor
Domitian, who constructed the hypogeum, a series of underground tunnels used to house animals and slaves. He also added a gallery
to the top of the Colosseum to increase its seating capacity.
In 217, the Colosseum was badly damaged by a major fire (caused by lightning, according to Dio Cassius) which destroyed the
wooden upper levels of the amphitheatre's interior. It was not fully repaired until about 240 and underwent further repairs in 250 or
252 and again in 320. An inscription records the restoration of various parts of the Colosseum under Theodosius II and Valentinian
III (reigned 425450), possibly to repair damage caused by a major earthquake in 443; more work followed in 484 and 508. The
arena continued to be used for contests well into the 6th century, with gladiatorial fights last mentioned around 435. Animal hunts
continued until at least 523.

Medieval
he Colosseum underwent several radical changes of use during the medieval period. By the late 6th century a small church had been
built into the structure of the amphitheatre, though this apparently did not confer any particular religious significance on the building
as a whole. The arena was converted into a cemetery. The numerous vaulted spaces in the arcades under the seating were converted
into housing and workshops, and are recorded as still being rented out as late as the 12th century. Around 1200 the Frangipani
family took over the Colosseum and fortified it, apparently using it as a castle.
Severe damage was inflicted on the Colosseum by the great earthquake of 1349, causing the outer south side to collapse. Much of
the tumbled stone was reused to build palaces, churches, hospitals and other buildings elsewhere in Rome. A religious order moved
into the northern third of the Colosseum in the mid-14th century and continued to inhabit it until as late as the early 19th century.
The interior of the amphitheatre was extensively stripped of stone, which was reused elsewhere, or (in the case of the marble faade)
was burned to make quicklime. The bronze clamps which held the stonework together were pried or hacked out of the walls, leaving
numerous pockmarks which still scar the building today.

Modern
During the 16th and 17th century, Church officials sought a productive role for the vast derelict hulk of the Colosseum. Pope Sixtus
V (15851590) planned to turn the building into a wool factory to provide employment for Rome's prostitutes, though this proposal
fell through with his premature death. In 1671 Cardinal Altieri authorized its use for bullfights; a public outcry caused the idea to be
hastily abandoned.
In 1749, Pope Benedict XIV endorsed as official Church policy the view that the Colosseum was a sacred site where early Christians
had been martyred. He forbade the use of the Colosseum as a quarry and consecrated the building to the Passion of Christ and
installed Stations of the Cross, declaring it sanctified by the blood of the Christian martyrs who perished there (see Christians and
the Colosseum). Later popes initiated various stabilization and restoration projects, removing the extensive vegetation which had
overgrown the structure and threatened to damage it further. The faade was reinforced with triangular brick wedges in 1807 and
1827, and the interior was repaired in 1831, 1846 and in the 1930s. The arena substructure was partly excavated in 18101814 and
1874 and was fully exposed under Mussolini in the 1930s.
The Colosseum is today one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions, receiving millions of visitors annually. The effects of
pollution and general deterioration over time prompted a major restoration programme carried out between 1993 and 2000, at a cost
of 40 billion Italian lira ($19.3m / 20.6m at 2000 prices). In recent years it has become a symbol of the international campaign
against capital punishment, which was abolished in Italy in 1948. Several antideath penalty demonstrations took place in front of
the Colosseum in 2000. Since that time, as a gesture against the death penalty, the local authorities of Rome change the color of the
Colosseum's night time illumination from white to gold whenever a person condemned to the death penalty anywhere in the world
gets their sentence commuted or is released,[9], or if a jurisdiction abolishes the death penalty. Most recently, the Colosseum was
illuminated in gold when capital punishment was abolished in the American state of New Jersey in December, 2007
Today, the Colosseum is a common background in the busy metropolis that is modern Rome. Due to the ruined state of the interior,
it is impractical to use the Colosseum to host large events; only a few hundred spectators can be accommodated in temporary
seating. However, much larger concerts have been held just outside, using the Colosseum as a backdrop. Performers who have
played at the Colosseum in recent years have included Ray Charles (May 2002), Paul McCartney (May 2003), and Elton John
(September 2005). On July 7, 2007, the Colosseum was voted as one of New Open World Corporation's New Seven Wonders of the
World.
Physical Description

Exterior

Unlike earlier amphitheatres that were built into hillsides, the Colosseum is an entirely free-standing structure. It is elliptical in plan
and is 189 metres (615 ft / 640 Roman feet) long, and 156 metres (510 ft / 528 Roman feet) wide, with a base area of 6 acres. The
height of the outer wall is 48 metres (157 ft / 165 Roman feet). The perimeter originally measured 545 metres (1,788 ft / 1,835
Roman feet). The central arena is an oval (287 ft) long and (180 ft) wide, surrounded by a wall (15 ft) high, above which rose tiers
of seating.
The outer wall is estimated to have required over 100,000 cubic meters (131,000 cu yd) of travertine stone which were set without
mortar held together by 300 tons of iron clamps. However, it has suffered extensive damage over the centuries, with large segments
having collapsed following earthquakes. The north side of the perimeter wall is still standing; the distinctive triangular brick wedges
at each end are modern additions, having been constructed in the early 19th century to shore up the wall. The remainder of the
present-day exterior of the Colosseum is in fact the original interior wall.
The surviving part of the outer wall's monumental faade comprises three stories of superimposed arcades surmounted by a podium
on which stands a tall attic, both of which are pierced by windows interspersed at regular intervals. The arcades are framed by
half-columns of the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders, while the attic is decorated with Corinthian pilasters. Each of the arches in
the second- and third-floor arcades framed statues, probably honoring divinities and other figures from Classical mythology.
Two hundred and forty mast corbels were positioned around the top of the attic. They originally supported a retractable awning,
known as the velarium, that kept the sun and rain off spectators. This consisted of a canvas-covered, net-like structure made of
ropes, with a hole in the center. It covered two-thirds of the arena, and sloped down towards the center to catch the wind and provide
a breeze for the audience. Sailors, specially enlisted from the Roman naval headquarters at Misenum and housed in the nearby
Castra Misenatium, were used to work the velarium.
The Colosseum's huge crowd capacity made it essential that the venue could be filled or evacuated quickly. Its architects adopted
solutions very similar to those used in modern stadiums to deal with the same problem. The amphitheatre was ringed by eighty
entrances at ground level, 76 of which were used by ordinary spectators. Each entrance and exit was numbered, as was each
staircase. The northern main entrance was reserved for the Roman Emperor and his aides, whilst the other three axial entrances were
most likely used by the elite. All four axial entrances were richly decorated with painted stucco reliefs, of which fragments survive.
Many of the original outer entrances have disappeared with the collapse of the perimeter wall, but entrances XXIII to LIV still
survive.
Spectators were given tickets in the form of numbered pottery shards, which directed them to the appropriate section and row. They
accessed their seats via vomitoria (singular vomitorium), passageways that opened into a tier of seats from below or behind. These
quickly dispersed people into their seats and, upon conclusion of the event or in an emergency evacuation, could permit their exit
within only a few minutes. The name vomitoria derived from the Latin word for a rapid discharge, from which English derives the
word vomit.
Interior Seating
According to the Codex-Calendar of 354, the Colosseum could accommodate 87,000 people, although modern estimates put the
figure at around 50,000. They were seated in a tiered arrangement that reflected the rigidly stratified nature of Roman society.
Special boxes were provided at the north and south ends respectively for the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins, providing the best
views of the arena. Flanking them at the same level was a broad platform or podium for the senatorial class, who were allowed to
bring their own chairs. The names of some 5th century senators can still be seen carved into the stonework, presumably reserving
areas for their use.
The tier above the senators, known as the maenianum primum, was occupied by the non-senatorial noble class or knights (equites).
The next level up, the maenianum secundum, was originally reserved for ordinary Roman citizens (plebians) and was divided into
two sections. The lower part (the immum) was for wealthy citizens, while the upper part (the summum) was for poor citizens.
Specific sectors were provided for other social groups: for instance, boys with their tutors, soldiers on leave, foreign dignitaries,
scribes, heralds, priests and so on. Stone (and later marble) seating was provided for the citizens and nobles, who presumably would
have brought their own cushions with them. Inscriptions identified the areas reserved for specific groups.
Another level, the maenianum secundum in legneis, was added at the very top of the building during the reign of Domitian. This
comprised a gallery for the common poor, slaves and women. It would have been either standing room only, or would have had very
steep wooden benches. Some groups were banned altogether from the Colosseum, notably gravediggers, actors and former
gladiators.
Each tier was divided into sections (maeniana) by curved passages and low walls (praecinctiones or baltei), and were subdivided
into cunei, or wedges, by the steps and aisles from the vomitoria. Each row (gradus) of seats was numbered, permitting each
individual seat to be exactly designated by its gradus, cuneus, and number.

Arena and Hypogeum

The arena itself was 83 metres by 48 metres (272 ft by 157 ft / 280 by 163 Roman feet). It comprised a wooden floor covered by
sand (the Latin word for sand is harena or arena), covering an elaborate underground structure called the hypogeum (literally
meaning "underground"). Little now remains of the original arena floor, but the hypogeum is still clearly visible. It consisted of a
two-level subterranean network of tunnels and cages beneath the arena where gladiators and animals were held before contests
began. Eighty vertical shafts provided instant access to the arena for caged animals and scenery pieces concealed underneath; larger
hinged platforms, called hegmata, provided access for elephants and the like. It was restructured on numerous occasions; at least
twelve different phases of construction can be seen.
The hypogeum was connected by underground tunnels to a number of points outside the Colosseum. Animals and performers were
brought through the tunnel from nearby stables, with the gladiators' barracks at the Ludus Magnus to the east also being connected
by tunnels. Separate tunnels were provided for the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins to permit them to enter and exit the Colosseum
without needing to pass through the crowds.
Substantial quantities of machinery also existed in the hypogeum. Elevators and pulleys raised and lowered scenery and props, as
well as lifting caged animals to the surface for release. There is evidence for the existence of major hydraulic mechanisms and
according to ancient accounts, it was possible to flood the arena rapidly, presumably via a connection to a nearby aqueduct.
Supporting Buildings
The Colosseum and its activities supported a substantial industry in the area. In addition to the amphitheatre itself, many other
buildings nearby were linked to the games. Immediately to the east is the remains of the Ludus Magnus, a training school for
gladiators. This was connected to the Colosseum by an underground passage, to allow easy access for the gladiators. The Ludus
Magnus had its own miniature training arena, which was itself a popular attraction for Roman spectators. Other training schools
were in the same area, including the Ludus Matutinus (Morning School), where fighters of animals were trained, plus the Dacian
and Gallic Schools.
Also nearby were the Armamentarium, comprising an armory to store weapons; the Summum Choragium, where machinery was
stored; the Sanitarium, which had facilities to treat wounded gladiators; and the Spoliarium, where bodies of dead gladiators were
stripped of their armor and disposed of.
Around the perimeter of the Colosseum, at a distance of 18 m (59 ft) from the perimeter, was a series of tall stone posts, with five
remaining on the eastern side. Various explanations have been advanced for their presence; they may have been a religious
boundary, or an outer boundary for ticket checks, or an anchor for the velarium or awning.
Right next to the Colosseum is also the Arch of Constantine.
Use
The Colosseum was used to host gladiatorial shows as well as a variety of other events. The shows, called munera, were always
given by individuals rather than the state. They had a strong religious element but were also demonstration of power and family
prestige, and were immensely popular with the population. Another popular type of show was the animal hunt, or venatio. This
utilised a great variety of wild beasts, mainly imported from Africa, and included creatures such as rhinoceros, hippos, elephants,
giraffes, lions, panthers, leopards, crocodiles and ostriches. Battles and hunts were often staged amid elaborate sets with movable
trees and buildings. Such events were occasionally on a huge scale; Trajan is said to have celebrated his victories in Dacia in 107
with contests involving 11,000 animals and 10,000 gladiators over the course of 123 days.
During the early days of the Colosseum, ancient writers recorded that the building was used for naumachiae (more properly known
as navalia proelia) or simulated sea battles. Accounts of the inaugural games held by Titus in AD 80 describe it being filled with
water for a display of specially trained swimming horses and bulls. There is also an account of a re-enactment of a famous sea battle
between the Corcyrean (Corfiot) Greeks and the Corinthians. This has been the subject of some debate among historians; although
providing the water would not have been a problem, it is unclear how the arena could have been waterproofed, nor would there have
been enough space in the arena for the warships to move around. It has been suggested that the reports either have the location
wrong, or that the Colosseum originally featured a wide floodable channel down its central axis (which would later have been
replaced by the hypogeum).
Sylvae or recreations of natural scenes were also held in the arena. Painters, technicians and architects would construct a simulation
of a forest with real trees and bushes planted in the arena's floor. Animals would be introduced to populate the scene for the delight
of the crowd. Such scenes might be used simply to display a natural environment for the urban population, or could otherwise be
used as the backdrop for hunts or dramas depicting episodes from mythology. They were also occasionally used for executions in
which the hero of the story - played by a condemned person - was killed in one of various gruesome but mythologically authentic
ways, such as being mauled by beasts or burned to death

Today
The Colosseum today is now a major tourist attraction in Rome with thousands of tourists each year paying to view the interior
arena, though entrance for EU citizens is partially subsidized, and under-18 and over-65 EU citizens' entrances are free. There is
now a museum dedicated to Eros located in the upper floor of the outer wall of the building. Part of the arena floor has been
re-floored.
The Colosseum is also the site of Roman Catholic ceremonies in the 20th and 21st centuries. For instance, Pope John Paul II would
perform his new form of the Stations of the Cross called the Scriptural Way of the Cross (which calls for more meditation) at the
Colloseum on Good Fridays.

Christians and the Colosseum

The Colosseum has long been regarded as having been the scene of numerous martyrdoms of early Christians. However, this belief
appears to have arisen only around the 16th century. Roman and early medieval accounts refer to Christians being martyred in
various vaguely described locations in Rome (in the amphitheatre, in the arena etc) but without specifying which; there were, in fact,
numerous stadia, amphitheatres and circuses in Rome. Saint Telemachus, for instance, is often said to have died in the Colosseum,
but Theodoret's account of his death merely states that it happened "in the stadium" (eis to stadio). Similarly, the death of Saint
Ignatius of Antioch is recorded as having been in "the arena", without specifying which arena.
In the Middle Ages, the Colosseum was clearly not regarded as a sacred site. Its use as a fortress and then a quarry demonstrates
how little spiritual importance was attached to it, at a time when sites associated with martyrs were highly venerated. It was not
included in the itineraries compiled for the use of pilgrims nor in works such as the 12th century Mirabilia Urbis Romae ("Marvels
of the City of Rome"), which claims the Circus Flaminius - but not the Colosseum - as the site of martyrdoms. Part of the structure
was inhabited by a Christian order, but apparently not for any particular religious reason.
It appears to have been only in the 16th and 17th centuries that the Colosseum came to be regarded as a Christian site. Pope Pius V
(1566-1572) is said to have recommended that pilgrims gather sand from the arena of the Colosseum to serve as a relic, on the
grounds that it was impregnated with the blood of martyrs. This seems to have been a minority view until it was popularized nearly a
century later by Fioravante Martinelli, who listed the Colosseum at the head of a list of places sacred to the martyrs in his 1653 book
Roma ex ethnica sacra. Martinelli's book evidently had an effect on public opinion; in response to Cardinal Altieri's proposal some
years later to turn the Colosseum into a bullring, Carlo Tomassi published a pamphlet in protest against what he regarded as an act
of desecration. The ensuing controversy persuaded Pope Clement X to close the Colosseum's external arcades and declare it a
sanctuary, though quarrying continued for some time to come.
At the instance of St. Leonard of Port Maurice, Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758) forbade the quarrying of the Colosseum and erected
Stations of the Cross around the arena, which remained until February 1874. St. Benedict Joseph Labre spent the later years of his
life within the walls of the Colosseum, living on alms, prior to his death in 1783. Several 19th century popes funded repair and
restoration work on the Colosseum, and it still retains a Christian connection today. Crosses stand in several points around the arena
and every Good Friday the Pope leads a Via Crucis procession to the amphitheatre.

Flora
The Colosseum has a wide and well-documented history of flora ever since Domenico Panaroli made the first catalogue of its plants
in 1643. Since then, 684 species have been identified there. The peak was in 1855 (420 species). Attempts were made in 1871 to
eradicate the vegetation, due to concerns over the damage that was being caused to the masonry, but much of it has returned. 242
species have been counted today and of the species first identified by Panaroli, 200 remain.
The variation of plants can be explained by the change of climate in Rome through the centuries. Additionally, bird migration,
flower blooming, and the growth of Rome that caused the Colosseum to become embedded within the modern city centre rather than
on the outskirts of the ancient city, as well as deliberate transport of species, are also contributing causes. One other romantic reason
often given is their seeds being unwittingly transported on the animals brought there from all corners of the empire.