8/5/2023 0 Comments Arch of titus relief![]() ![]() During the triumph, moving stages were produced which depicted the various sieges and battles, as well as models of ships, and the spoils of the war, amongst which were objects taken from the Temple of Jerusalem. The ceremony was celebrated in 71 CE, following their return to Rome Titus is described as riding in a quadriga, together with his father Vespasian, while his younger brother rode on a horse. In the seventh book of his Jewish War, Josephus describes the triumphal ceremony of Titus (Josephus, War VII.119-162). The fact that Titus had already died by the time the arch was completed is made clear by the depiction of the apotheosis depicted on the ceiling of the archway and by the inscription set on the western attic. The arch was finished in 82 CE, during the reign of Domitian, even if the work had probably begun sometimes before, during the rule of his brother Titus. The triumphal arch of Titus on the Velia may have been the work of Rabirius, the architect who designed the Domus Augustana, Domitian’s palace on the Palatine. The public nature of the buildings erected by the Flavians reflected their will to hand back to the Roman people, huge traits of land expropriated by Nero (Kleiner, Roman Sculpture, p. The choice of the location of the Arch of Titus was intentional: located on the Velia, the arch not only stood near the above buildings, planned by Vespasian and Titus, and completed by Domitian, but in fact also stood on the area of Nero’s Domus Aurea. It stood close to the other monumental contributions made by the Flavians in the centre of Rome: the Triumphal Arch of Titus in the Circus Maximus, the Flavian Amphitheatre (80 CE), and the Temple of Peace, consecrated in 75 CE, all of which laid emphasis on the new Flavian dynasty, their legitimacy, and in particular the successful outcome of their Jewish War (Millar, “Last Year in Jerusalem: Monuments of the Jewish War in Rome,” p. 101-128). ![]() The Arch of Titus, which still stands – much restored – on the edge of the Roman Forum was completed following the emperor’s death in 81 CE. In the centre of the ceiling of the archway, which is finished in soffits ( lacunaria), one sees a relief depicting the apotheosis of Titus, representing him (or rather his bust) as being carried up to heaven by an eagle (Kleiner, Roman Sculpture, p. Winged Victories are framed in the spandrels, whereas on the keystones stand representations of Roma, or Virtus, towards the Colosseum, and the Genius populi Romani, or possibly Bonus Eventus or Honos, towards the Forum. The northern panel depicts Titus riding on the quadriga, during his triumph, passing through a triumphal arch. The southern panel depicts the spoils from the Jerusalem Temple. On the inner jambs of the arch are the two famous reliefs. ![]() ![]() The lower part of the attic is decorated with a frieze, which depicts the triumphal procession. The surviving inscription, “The Senate and the People of Roman (dedicate this arch) to the divine Titus Vespasianus Augustus, son of the divine Vespasian,” is set on the western attic. The upper attic is framed by four piers on the corners. The capitals of these columns are the earliest examples of the composite style. Each façade is framed by an engaged and fluted Corinthian column, standing on a square pedestal. The monument, which follows the scheme of the traditional Roman triumphal arch, is characterised by the presence of two great piers joined by an archway, which is crowned with a flat entablature, the attic. The Triumphal Arch of Titus is located on the Velia, namely on the eastern edge of the Roman forum, which it enclosed when the building was erected. ![]()
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