The arts in Rome were public displays of the empire and emperor's might and as such were propaganda of them. Triumphal arches and victory columns such as Trajan's Victory Column and the Arch of Titus, celebrated the conquests of the empire. Everything was made to make the public opinion of the empire as grand and mighty as possible. The arches and columns described how the battles went and were carved war stories placed among the public. Sculptures were no exception to this. While the Romans valued realism, when it came to the public statues of their rulers, the figures became idealized- a sculptural equivalent to Photoshop. All of these were simply gilding to make the public believe that the rulers and the empire were strong and their decisions
