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Column of Marcus Aurelius
The Column of Marcus Aurelius (Latin: Columna Centenaria Divorum Marci et Faustinae, Italian: Colonna di Marco Aurelio) is a Roman victory column located in Piazza Colonna, Rome, Italy. A Doric column adorned with a detailed spiral relief, it was built in honor of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and modeled after Trajan's Column. Dedicated to the emperor and his military campaigns during the Barbarian Wars, the monument stands as a testament to his reign from 161 to 180 AD. The column's frieze, approximately 367 feet (112 meters) long, spirals upward 21 times, depicting the emperor’s campaigns against the Germanic and Sarmatian tribes. Its construction likely began after his death in 180 AD and was completed around 193 AD, under the reign of Septimius Severus.
Throughout its history, the Column of Marcus Aurelius has remained in the same location. The column was in the northern part of the Campus Martius, located on Via Flaminia, an ancient Roman road, that leads in and out of the city. Today, the column is located in the Piazza Colonna in Rome and is central to the geography of mapping of the city. The location of the Piazza Colonna is in the Northern sector at the heart of the city. Though the completion of the Column wasn’t until 193 AD, after the Barbarian wars and the death of Marcus Aurelius, it was still placed where the public and Roman soldiers could draw strength and pride.
The column's shaft is 29.6 metres (97 ft) high, on a 10.1 metres (33 ft) high base, which in turn originally stood on a 3 metres (9.8 ft) high platform – the column in total is 39.7 metres (130 ft).
The column consists of 27 or 28 blocks of Carrara marble imported from the ancient quarry of Luna north of Pisa, Italy. Each marble blocks of 3.7 metres (12 ft) diameter, hollowed out while still at the quarry for a stairway of 190–200 steps within the column up to a platform at the top. Just as with Trajan's Column, this stairway is illuminated through narrow slits into the relief.
Nicknamed the Columna Centenaria, by contemporary Romans, and Columna Cochlis (snail column), because of the size of the monument, commonly referred to it by its size, because of it enormity, the Column of Trajan was nicknamed the same way. The column is made of white Italian Carrara marble, brought from Northern Rome for the monument. Constructed in a Doric style, which refers mostly to the shape of the cap of the monument before the placement of the statue on top. The statue on top of the monument is probably a Roman tradition dating back to the 4th century BCE. The pedestal is made up of large rectangular blocks, with an inscription around the base, a Column with a frieze of the Germanic war north of the Danube, and originally had a bronze statue of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, which was then replaced with that of St. Paul in the 16th century. The Column's shaft is made up of 17 marble drums that were carved and stacked to shape, then the frieze was carved in after the monument was standing.
The spiral picture relief tells the story of Marcus Aurelius' Danubian or Marcomannic Wars, waged by him from 169 to his death. The story begins with the army crossing the River Danube into the modern day Czech Republic and Hungary. While commonly interpreted as a depiction of the major campaigns during the Marcomannic Wars, the chronological order is still disputed among scholars today.
One particular episode portrayed is historically attested in Roman propaganda – the so-called "rain miracle in the territory of the Quadi", in which a god, answering a prayer from the emperor, rescues Roman troops by a terrible storm, a miracle later claimed by the Christians for the Christian God.
As seen in the images, the figures' heads are disproportionately large so that the viewer can better interpret their facial expressions from a distance. The images are carved less finely than on Trajan's Column, through drilling holes more deeply into the stone, creating a stronger contrast of light and dark. As villages are burned down, women and children are captured and displaced and men are killed. The emotion, despair, and suffering of the "barbarians" in the war, are represented acutely in single scenes and in the figures' facial expressions and gestures, whilst the emperor is represented as the protagonist, in control of his environment.
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Column of Marcus Aurelius
The Column of Marcus Aurelius (Latin: Columna Centenaria Divorum Marci et Faustinae, Italian: Colonna di Marco Aurelio) is a Roman victory column located in Piazza Colonna, Rome, Italy. A Doric column adorned with a detailed spiral relief, it was built in honor of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and modeled after Trajan's Column. Dedicated to the emperor and his military campaigns during the Barbarian Wars, the monument stands as a testament to his reign from 161 to 180 AD. The column's frieze, approximately 367 feet (112 meters) long, spirals upward 21 times, depicting the emperor’s campaigns against the Germanic and Sarmatian tribes. Its construction likely began after his death in 180 AD and was completed around 193 AD, under the reign of Septimius Severus.
Throughout its history, the Column of Marcus Aurelius has remained in the same location. The column was in the northern part of the Campus Martius, located on Via Flaminia, an ancient Roman road, that leads in and out of the city. Today, the column is located in the Piazza Colonna in Rome and is central to the geography of mapping of the city. The location of the Piazza Colonna is in the Northern sector at the heart of the city. Though the completion of the Column wasn’t until 193 AD, after the Barbarian wars and the death of Marcus Aurelius, it was still placed where the public and Roman soldiers could draw strength and pride.
The column's shaft is 29.6 metres (97 ft) high, on a 10.1 metres (33 ft) high base, which in turn originally stood on a 3 metres (9.8 ft) high platform – the column in total is 39.7 metres (130 ft).
The column consists of 27 or 28 blocks of Carrara marble imported from the ancient quarry of Luna north of Pisa, Italy. Each marble blocks of 3.7 metres (12 ft) diameter, hollowed out while still at the quarry for a stairway of 190–200 steps within the column up to a platform at the top. Just as with Trajan's Column, this stairway is illuminated through narrow slits into the relief.
Nicknamed the Columna Centenaria, by contemporary Romans, and Columna Cochlis (snail column), because of the size of the monument, commonly referred to it by its size, because of it enormity, the Column of Trajan was nicknamed the same way. The column is made of white Italian Carrara marble, brought from Northern Rome for the monument. Constructed in a Doric style, which refers mostly to the shape of the cap of the monument before the placement of the statue on top. The statue on top of the monument is probably a Roman tradition dating back to the 4th century BCE. The pedestal is made up of large rectangular blocks, with an inscription around the base, a Column with a frieze of the Germanic war north of the Danube, and originally had a bronze statue of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, which was then replaced with that of St. Paul in the 16th century. The Column's shaft is made up of 17 marble drums that were carved and stacked to shape, then the frieze was carved in after the monument was standing.
The spiral picture relief tells the story of Marcus Aurelius' Danubian or Marcomannic Wars, waged by him from 169 to his death. The story begins with the army crossing the River Danube into the modern day Czech Republic and Hungary. While commonly interpreted as a depiction of the major campaigns during the Marcomannic Wars, the chronological order is still disputed among scholars today.
One particular episode portrayed is historically attested in Roman propaganda – the so-called "rain miracle in the territory of the Quadi", in which a god, answering a prayer from the emperor, rescues Roman troops by a terrible storm, a miracle later claimed by the Christians for the Christian God.
As seen in the images, the figures' heads are disproportionately large so that the viewer can better interpret their facial expressions from a distance. The images are carved less finely than on Trajan's Column, through drilling holes more deeply into the stone, creating a stronger contrast of light and dark. As villages are burned down, women and children are captured and displaced and men are killed. The emotion, despair, and suffering of the "barbarians" in the war, are represented acutely in single scenes and in the figures' facial expressions and gestures, whilst the emperor is represented as the protagonist, in control of his environment.