Transcript Trajan's Column

Trajan's Column
BACKGROUND
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Military architects drew detailed pictures of Trajan's
conquest of Dacia
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Made of Carrara Marble
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There are 2500 figures in the frieze
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The armies are shown
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Several divine figures also appear: The river Danube,
and Victory.
Trajan's Column still stands in Rome, topped by a
statue of Saint Peter where the original image of
Trajan once stood.
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Trajan's column was
built just after 100 AD
the date given was 113
AD to remind people in
Rome about the Roman
emperor Trajan's 2
victories in a war in
Dacia (DAY-see-ah)
(modern Rumania). It
stands in Trajan's
Forum in Rome, just
below Trajan's Markets,
and near the old
Roman Forum.
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All around the
column, there are
pictures of the Roman
soldiers fighting the
war. In this picture
you can see Roman
soldiers crossing the
Danube (DAN-youb)
river in boats with
oars.
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The message of the
column was that
the Romans were
civilized and good
fighters, organized
and skilled (and
that Trajan was a
great general),
while the Dacians
were shaggy,
messy, and
confused. In this
picture, you can
see a ladder near
the top, and some
men crossing a
little bridge near
the bottom.
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Here you can see a
lot of Roman soldiers
with their shields over
their heads in the
"testudo" formation
(it means "turtle").
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Here you can see the
little windows in the
column, to light up
the spiral staircase
that goes up the
inside.
Function
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The Column must be seen initially as part of a
much greater whole, which served important
practical purposes in the running of the city.
But there were also commemorative and
propagandist purposes behind various elements
of the Forum
* in the Column itself
* in the triumphal archway entrance
* decreed by the Senate in Trajan's absence as a
memorial to his victories
* in the equestrian statue of the emperor that
stood in the centre of the courtyard
Light Well
River god Danube
SYMBOLISM
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The Column commemorates Trajan's successes, but it does this
without making him seem superhuman in scale
Trajan personally led the campaigns and appears frequently in
the reliefs,
He remains the human leader of the Roman army, dominating
the scenes only by virtue of his continual presence.
The Column reliefs do not represent an apotheosis (deification
or epitome) of the emperor in the manner that the reliefs
The sculptor was interested primarily in making the essential
facts of the story clear.
He achieved this not only by using a series of themes for both
campaigns, and by making the figure of Trajan act as a
momentary focal point in the continuous narration, but also by
adopting a variety of perspectives that allow him to present
activities both inside and outside a camp or a town at the same
time.
ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS
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113AD
Trajans column stood 38m tall from pedestal to top. The
pedestal originally housed Trajan’s ashes. It was made from
marble from the island of Paros.
Dacian wars 101-102 and 105-6
- Figures got larger as they went up
- band height increased
- colour/brightness was used
Throughout the column Trajan is portrayed in a realistic
fashion. He is often involved in the action and dominates the
scenes because he is constantly in them. He is however
human sized rather than super human.
Roman
Battle with Dacians/Dacians trying to burn down city
Suicide of Dacian king/ building of army camps
Floppy felt hats, long-haired, bearded, tunics, capes, trousers
Telling a story, break up the narrative.
Satute of Trajan/Trajans ashes/colour and metal fittings.