This is the arch of Trajan at Beneventum in Southern Italy. Built of Parian marble, it stands over the Via Traiana at the entrance to Brundisium. The dedication inscribed on the attic reads: To the most blessed emperor Caesar Nerva Trajan Augustus, Son of the divine Nerva, [Conquerer] in Germania and Dacia, High Priest, [Vested with] tribunician power seventeen times, [Declared] Imperator seven times, [Elected] consul six times, Father of the fatherland, The strongest emperor, The Senate and the Roman people [dedicate this]. The attic does not only bear the inscription, but also a bas-relief panel on either side of the inscription. The left attic relief on the city façade clearly exalts Trajan. It depicts Jupiter awarding Trajan with a thunderbolt. The sculpture on the right features Trajan returning to Rome, presumably victorious.
The majority of the arch is decorated with sculptural panels, including the attic, both facades and the passageway. Each panel has Victory sacrificing a bull and nearly every panel forms a distinct scene. It has four fluted engaged columns with composite capitals on either façade. There are two on the end and two in the middle flanking the passageway on either side. There are relief panels between them.
According to the dedication, the arch was built circa 114 CE between August …show more content…
Clearly, its function was ultimately to glorify Trajan. This is ancient political propaganda at its finest. The arch advertises that he is a war hero. It has the ancient equivalent to pictures of politicians kissing babies and visiting churches in its depictions of Trajan feeding hungry children and sacrificing to the gods. In some scenes, Trajan is not only portrayed as pious towards the gods, but literally among them, including the Capitoline Triad. The King of the Gods even recognizes his divinity by entrusting him with his most powerful weapon, the
The majority of the arch is decorated with sculptural panels, including the attic, both facades and the passageway. Each panel has Victory sacrificing a bull and nearly every panel forms a distinct scene. It has four fluted engaged columns with composite capitals on either façade. There are two on the end and two in the middle flanking the passageway on either side. There are relief panels between them.
According to the dedication, the arch was built circa 114 CE between August …show more content…
Clearly, its function was ultimately to glorify Trajan. This is ancient political propaganda at its finest. The arch advertises that he is a war hero. It has the ancient equivalent to pictures of politicians kissing babies and visiting churches in its depictions of Trajan feeding hungry children and sacrificing to the gods. In some scenes, Trajan is not only portrayed as pious towards the gods, but literally among them, including the Capitoline Triad. The King of the Gods even recognizes his divinity by entrusting him with his most powerful weapon, the