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Unit TWO: Etruscan Art
A The Etruscans
1. “Etruscan civilization, which flourished between c.
1000 and 100 BC, was contemporary with the Greek
culture discussed in the previous chapter. The Iron
Age predecessors of the Etruscans, known as
Villanovans, after a site near modern Bologna in
northern Italy, had elaborate burials that included
objects of iron, bronze, and ivory. The Etruscans are
important in Western history both in terms of their
own art and culture and because of the significant
links they provided between ancient Greece and
Rome. Their homeland, Etruria (modern Tuscany),
occupied the west-central part of the Italian
peninsula. It was bordered on the south by the River
Tiber, which runs through Rome, and on the north
by the Arno” (Adams, Art Across Time 189).
STUDY GUIDE
B Fibula with Orientalizing lions from the Regolini-Galassi
Tomb (Cerveteri), c. 650-640 BCE
fibula/ Eastern influences
1. “Tumuli lined the streets in the richer Etruscan cemeteries, while poorer
people were often buried in box-like rectangles cut in the bedrock. The largescale tombs, which are impressive monuments in themselves, have also
provided us with valuable evidence for Etruscan houses, which they imitate,
and they have provided, too, a rich source for our knowledge of ancient
painting and even of daily life” (Ramage and Ramage 26).
2. “One of the largest early tombs of Cerveteri
(known as the Regolini-Galassi Tomb after its first
explorers) had passageways and chambers that
were partly dug out of the native rock and partly
built of cut stone. Its contents were particularly
rich, and included not only the traditional fibula,
but also a much more elaborate example that
shows the lengths to which artists would go to
create ornaments for their wealthy patrons. This
huge gold pin, which folded in two at the central
hinge, is decorated with lions hammered into the
gold on one part, and tiny three-dimensional lions
on the others.
Gold droplets, applied with a
sophisticated technique known as granulation,
attest to the high level of skill of these metal
workers” (26-27).
2. “The Greeks called the Etruscans Tyrrhenians,
after whom the sea was named, and the Romans
called them Tusci or Etrusci. Like the Greeks, the
Etruscans never formed a single nation, but
coexisted as separate city-states with their own
rulers. Unlike the Romans, they never established
an empire” (189).
3. “Although the ancient Greek historian Herodotos
thought that the Etruscans had come from Lydia, in
modern Turkey, scholars today believe that they were
indigenous to, or at least developed their civilization
in, Italy. They lived as a distinct group of people
whose culture contributed to, and benefited from, the
larger Mediterranean world. From the seventh to the
fifth centuries BC- the period of their greatest powerthe Etruscans controlled the western Mediterranean
with their fleet, and were an important trading
nation. They rivaled the Greeks and the Phoenicians
and established commercial trade routes throughout
the Aegean, the Near East, and North Africa. At the
same time, the Etruscans were largely responsible for
extending Greek influence to northern Italy and
Spain” (189).
4. “The Greeks and Romans considered the
Etruscans to be a decadent, bloodthirsty people with
a predilection for piracy, superstition, and magic.
Archaeological evidence indicates that on occasion
they practiced human sacrifice. But this reputation
was only partly justified and, since the midnineteenth century, with the development of new
archaeological techniques, the study of the
Etruscans has become more scholarly” (189).
5. “The Etruscan language resembles none other that
is presently known and its origin is uncertain. The
alphabet was taken from the Greeks in the seventh
century BC. In contrast to Greek script, but similar
to Phoenician (from which the Etruscan alphabet,
like the Greek, ultimately derives), Etruscan is
written from right to left. All Etruscan literaturewhich, according to Roman sources, was rich and
extensive- has disappeared. The writing that has
survived is mostly in the form of epitaphs on graves
or religious texts. Only a few Etruscan words, most
of them names and inscriptions, have been
deciphered” (189).
C Etruscan Temples
1. “The basic construction material of an Etruscan temple was mud
brick. The columns and entablatures were made of wood or a
quarried volcanic rock called tufa, which hardens upon exposure to
the air. The bases, shafts (sometimes fluted), and capitals of the
columns could resemble those of either the Greek Doric or the Greek
Ionic orders, and the entablature had a frieze resembling that of the
Doric order. Virtuvius used the term Tuscan order for the variation
that resembled the Doric order, with an unfluted shaft and a
simplified base, capital, and entablature. Although Etruscan temples
were stark and geometrically simple in form, they were embellished
with dazzling displays of terracotta sculpture. In an innovative
feature, the temple roof served as a base for large statue groups”
(Stokstad, Art History 227, 229).
2. “The temple had a pronaos, a deep porch with two rows of
columns that stood at the front of the building. A sanctuary to the god,
called the cella, was at the back of the temple, and was entered through a
door from the porch. Smaller temples would have a single cella and larger
ones would have three long, narrow, contiguous chambers, each entered from
the porch. So little of Etruscan temples, other than foundations, survives,
because the Etruscans continued to build their temples in wood, mud brick
and terracotta long after the Greeks were using stone masonry” (Pedley 28,
29-31).
3. “The temple at Veii rested on a tall podium. One could enter it only by
climbing a set of steps at the front. This is in distinct contrast to the typical
Greek temple, which stood on three steps that could be approached from any
angle. Etruscan temples, like the one at Veii, usually only columns only on
the porch, at the front, whereas Greek examples normally had columns on all
four sides. On Etruscan temples, the walls that surround the interior
sanctuary usually came out to the edge of the building, more or less flush with
the edge of the podium” (31).
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Unit TWO: Etruscan Art
STUDY GUIDE
D Apulu (Apollo) from the roof of the Portonaccio
E Sarcophagus with reclining couple
Temple (Veii), c. 510-500 BCE, painted terracotta
Etruscan temples/ animated figures/ terracotta
1. “Etruscan artist excelled at making monumental
terracotta sculpture, a task of great technical and
physical difficulty. A splendid example is a lifesize
figure of Apollo. Dating from about 500 BCE and
originally part of a four-figure scene depicting one of
the labors of Hercules, the figure has survived from
the temple at Veii. This scene showed Apollo and
Hercules fighting for possession of a deer sacred to
Diana while she and Mercury looked on. Apollo is
shown in an active pose, looking as if he had just
stepped over the decorative scrolled element that
helps support the sculpture. This group of figures
must have lent great vitality to the otherwise static
appearance of the temple they graced” (Stokstad, Art
History 229).
2. “The well-developed body form and the Archaic smile of the Apollo
from Veii clearly demonstrate that Etruscan sculptors were familiar
with the Greek Archaic period kouroi. A comparison of the Apollo and
the nearly contemporary Greek Kroisos reveals differences as well as
obvious similarities. Unlike the Greek figure, the body of the Etruscan
Apollo is partially concealed by a robe with knife-edge pleats that
cascades to his knees. The forward-moving pose of the Etruscan statue
also has a vigor that is only implied in the balanced, tense stance of the
Greek figure. This quality of energy expressed in purposeful movement
is characteristic of Etruscan sculpture and, especially, tomb painting”
(229).
3. “Etruscan terracotta artists must have been well known, for some of
their names have come down to us, including that of a sculptor from
Veii called Vulca, in whose workshop this Apollo may have been
created” (229).
F Etruscan Tombs
1. “Etruscan beliefs about the afterlife may have been somewhat similar
to those of the Egyptians. Unlike the Egyptians, with their elaborate
embalming techniques, the Etruscans favored cremation, but they
nevertheless clearly thought of tombs as homes for the deceased. The
Etruscan cemetery of La Banditaccia at Cerveteri was laid out like a
small town, with ‘streets’ running between the grave mounds. The tomb
chambers were partially or entirely excavated below the ground, and
some were hewn out of bedrock. They were roofed over, sometimes
with corbelled vaulting, and covered with dirt and stones” (Stokstad, Art
History 229).
2. “Some tombs were carved out of the rock to resemble rooms in a
house. The Tomb of the Reliefs, for example, has a flat ceiling
supported by square, stone posts. Its walls were plastered and painted,
and it was provided with a full range of furnishings, some real, others
simulated in stucco, a slow-drying type of plaster that can be easily
modeled or molded. Pots, jugs, robes, axes, and other items were
carved into the posts to look like real objects hanging on hooks.
Rendered in low relief at the bottom of the center post is the family dog.
As these details suggest, the Etruscans made every effort to provide
earthly comforts for their dead, but tomb decorations also sometimes
included frightening creatures from Etruscan mythology. On the back
wall of the Tomb of the Reliefs is another kind of dog- a beast with
many heads- that probably represents Cerberus, the guardian of the
gates of the underworld, an appropriate funerary image” (229).
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(Cerveteri) c. 520 BCE, painted terracotta
Etruscan tombs/ Etruscan use of a banqueting
couch/ freedoms of Etruscan women/ animated
gestures
1. “Sarcophagi, or coffins, … sometimes provided a domestic
touch. In an example from Cerveteri of about 520 BCE,
made entirely of terracotta, a husband and wife are shown
reclining comfortably, as if they were on a couch. Rather
than a cold, somber memorial to the dead, we see two lively,
happy individuals rendered in sufficient detail to convey
current hair and clothing styles. These genial hosts, with
their smooth, conventionalized body forms and faces, their
uptilted, almond-shaped eyes, and their benign smiles,
make curious signs with their figures, as if to communicate
something important to the living viewer- perhaps an
invitation to dine with them for eternity. Portrait coffins like
this evolved from earlier terracotta cinerary jars with
sculpted heads of the dead person whose ashes they held”
(Stokstad, Art History 230).
2. “The feeling of
affection
is
well
expressed
by
their
close position and the
way in which the
husband
seems
to
envelop his wife. Note
the ‘archaic smile’ and
the patterned drapery,
both characteristic of
the later sixth century
BC”
(Ramage
and
Ramage 35).
3. “The wife and husband are given similar status, reflecting
the position of women in ancient Etruria” (Adams, Art
Across Time 197). “The independent spirit and relative
freedom women enjoyed in Etruscan society similarly
horrified (and threatened) other Greco-Roman male
authors” (Kleiner, Mamiya, and Tansey 236). “Etruscan
women did attend banquets and recline with their
husbands on a common couch. Aristotle also remarked on
this custom. It was so foreign to the Greeks that it both
shocked and frightened them. Only men, boys, slave girls,
and prostitutes attended Greek symposia.
The wives
remained at home, excluded from most aspects of public
life. In Etruscan Italy, in striking contrast to contemporary
Greece, women also regularly attended sporting events with
men” (236).
4. “The elegance of their curves and soft areas of their
bodies, their finely-pleated drapery, and almond-shaped
eyes indicate influences from Greek Ionia. In contrast to
Greek sculpture, however, these figures have no sense of
skeletal structure and ‘stop’ abruptly at the waist,
indicating the Etruscan preference for stylistic effects over
anatomical accuracy. The sharp bend at the waists and the
animated gestures create the illusion of lively, sociable
dinner companions, reclining in the style adopted for
banqueting from the Greeks. The couple seems very much
alive, as if to deny the fact of their deaths” (Adams, Art
Across Time 198).
Unit TWO: Etruscan Art
STUDY GUIDE
G Capitoline Wolf, c. 500-480 BCE, bronze
Tarquinius Superbus/ ferocity of the she-wolf/ Romulus and Remus/Aeneas and Rhea Silvia/ the Romans
and the Sabines/ mixture of stylization and naturalism
1. “Although this sculpture was almost certainly the work of an Etruscan artist, it has
long been associated with Rome. According to an ancient Roman legend, twin infants
named Romulus and Remus, who had been abandoned on the banks of the Tiber River
by a wicked uncle and left there to die, were suckled by a she-wolf that had come to the
river to drink. The twins were raised by a shepherd, and when they grew up, they decided
to build a city near the spot where they had been rescued by the wolf. They quarreled,
however, about its exact location. Romulus killed Remus and then established a small
settlement that would become the great city of Rome, an event that, according to tradition,
occurred in 753 BCE. Romulus ruled the city for forty years as its first king. Long after
the Roman Empire had fallen the people living in Rome, who remembered the legend,
installed the She-Wolf on the Capitoline Hill. During the Renaissance, castings of Romulus
and Remus as suckling infants were added to this original statue, which remains on the
Capitoline Hill to this day in a museum- a symbol of the city’s 2,000 year history.
Sometimes it is referred to as the Capitoline Wolf or the Wolf of Rome” (Stokstad, Art
History 232).
2. “This creature, with her open, snarling mouth, lean, tense body, thin flanks, protruding ribs, and heavy, milk-filled
teats- evidence that she has recently given birth- appears at the same time ferocious and an object of sympathy. The
naturalistic rendering of these details contrasts with the decorative, stylized rendering of the tightly curled ruff or fur
around the animal’s neck, which was incised with a sharp cutting tool. The eyes, made of glass paste, were inserted after
the figure was cast and incised” (231-232).
3. “The Etruscans are particularly well known for their bronze sculpture. They were astute observers of animals, whose
nature they were able to capture while, at the same time, emphasizing the kind of decorative details that appealed to their
sense of design” (Ramage and Ramage 33).
H Aeneas and the legends of Early Rome
1. “A hundred tales and a thousand poems told how Aeneas, offspring of Aphrodite-Venus, had fled from burning Troy,
and how, after suffering many lands and men, he had brought to Italy the gods or sacred effigies of Priam’s city. Aeneas
had married Lavinia, daughter of the king of Latium; and eight generations later their descendent Numitor, said the story,
held the throne of Alba Longa, Latium’s capital. A usurper, Amulius, expelled Numitor and, to end the line of Aeneas,
killed Numitor’s sons and forced his only daughter, Rhea Silvia, to become a priestess of Vesta, vowed to virginity. But
Rhea lay down by the banks of a stream and ‘opened her bosom to catch the breeze.’ Too trustful of gods and men, she fell
asleep; Mars, overcome with her beauty, left her rich with twins. Amulius ordered these to be drowned. They were placed
on a raft, which kind waves carried to the land; they were suckled by a she-wolf (lupa) or –said a skeptical variant- by a
shepherd’s wife, Acca Larentia, nicknamed Lupa because, life a wolf’s, her love-making knew no law. When Romulus and
Remus grew up they killed Amulius, restored Numitor, and went resolutely forth to build a kingdom for themselves on the
hills of Rome” (Durant, Caesar and Christ 12).
2. “The ancient story goes on to tell how Romulus, to secure wives for his settlers, arranged some public games and invited
the Sabines and other tribes to attend. During the races the Romans seized the Sabine women and drove off the Sabine
men. Titus Tatius, King of the Sabine Curites tribe, declared war and advanced upon Rome. Tarpeia, daughter of the
Roman who had charge of a fortress on the Capitoline, opened a gate to the invaders. They crushed her with their shields
in fair recompense; and later generations gave to her name to that ‘Tarpeian Rock’ from which condemned men were
hurled to death. As the troops of Tatius neared the Palatine, the Sabine women, not insensitive to the compliment of
capture, secured an armistice on the plea that hey would lose their husbands if the Curites won, and their brothers of
fathers if the Curites lost. Romulus persuaded Tatius to share the kingdom with him and join his tribe with the Latins in a
common citizenship; thereafter the freemen of Rome were called Curites and Quirites” (13).
3. We do not know if the statue of the Capitoline Wolf “was originally intended to represent this story or not, for the two suckling babies
seen here were added in the Renaissance. The story, and numerous variations of it, was so popular among the Romans that the she-wolf
with twins became the symbol of Rome. There was also a live wolf kept on display on the Capitoline Hill, and the great orator Cicero,
writing in the middle of the first century BC, reported in one of his speeches that the Romans had a statue of a wolf and twins that was
struck by lightning” (Ramage and Ramage 33).
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Unit TWO: Etruscan Art
STUDY GUIDE
I Chimera of Arezzo (Arezzo), early 4th century BCE, bronze
vitality of the chimera/ Bellerophon
1. “The combination of anatomical details with interest in pattern and design also characterizes an animal form the classical period; a
fourth-century bronze statue of the Chimaera, found in the more northerly town of Arezzo. This is a representation of a beast from Greek
mythology that had the head and body of a lion, a tail in the form of a snake, and a goat’s head protruding from its back. It was wounded,
as we see by the gash on the neck of the goat. The composite animal was traditionally female, and so ferocious that it breathed fire.
According to the story in Homer’s Greek epic, The Iliad, a hero from Corinth known as Bellerophon killed the beast. In versions later than
Homer, Bellerophon rode against the Chimaera on the winged horse Pegasus” (Ramage and Ramage 33-34).
2. “The fierce aggression of the animal, its growling head and tense body twisted in action, is perhaps
even more obvious here than in the she-wolf. Again the ribs show through the skin, and even veins
on the belly seem to pulsate on the sleek body. The artichoke-like mane, with each of its spikes
emphasized by deeply ridged lines, acts as a kind of prickly circle around the beast’s head; and again,
there is a ridge of hair emphasized down its back, but this time, in contrast to the she-wolf, the tufts
stand up like the teeth of a saw and project into space. This greater emphasis on depth is
characteristic of the classical period, as opposed to the archaic, when the wolf was made. The
inscription on the front right leg, written retrograde (right to left), says ‘tinscvil,’ meaning ‘devoted to
the gods’ or a ‘gift offering.’ Thus, the statue served as a votive offering to some Etruscan deity” (3435).
J Bellerophon and Pegasus
“1. The offspring of Poseidon and the
blood of Medusa, Pegasus was a winged
horse who roamed wild and free, owned
by no one. Bellerophon was a handsome
mortal who yearned to ride Pegasus. In
Athena’s temple, Bellerophon prayed that
he might own the wonderful horse, and
when he awoke from his night’s sleep, he
found a golden bridle in his hand. He
quickly went in search of Pegasus, who
accepted the bridle readily and was
quickly tamed by Bellerophon. Together,
the two experienced many adventures.
Their most famous exploit was the slaying
the Chimaera… Attacking the Chimaera
from the air on his winged horse,
Bellerophon was able to shoot his arrows
from many directions, and he quickly
killed the monster” (Britt 64).
2. “All his victories and the praise that
followed them gave Bellerophon so much
confidence that he decided to fly to Mt.
Olympus itself on the back of his glorious
steed. As they soared higher and higher,
the horse realized the folly of their
undertaking, and he threw his rider, who
plummeted to Earth. The fates of Pegasus
and Bellerophon were very different: the
horse was welcomed to Mt. Olympus and
given a permanent stable there. IT was he
who
was
allowed
to
fetch
the
thunderbolts when Zeus required them,
and he was the particular favorite of the
Nine Muses. By contrast, Bellerophon
was crippled by his fall from the sky.
Wretched and friendless, he wandered the
earth until at last the great adventurer
died alone, mourned by no one” (64).
K Mars of Todi, early fourth century BCE, bronze
Etruscan interpretation of the Polykleitan canon
1. “Closer to Greek Classical style is the bronze Mars of Todi, dating
from the early fourth century BC. Named for the site of its discovery at
Todi, north of Rome, it is the only nearly lifesize Etruscan bronze
known from before the second century BC. Although later than the
Greek Classical period, the Mars has certain affinities with the Spear
Bearer, especially its contrapposto pose. The figure represents a warrior
(hence the designation Mars, after the Roman god of war). He wears a
leather cuirass (breastplate) and a tunic, and he holds a libation bowl
in his right hand and the remnant of a lance, on which he probably
leaned, in his left. The rendering of the anatomy is organic, but the
pose seems self-consciously animated compared with the relaxed pose
of the Spear Bearer, and the anatomy is not unified as it is in Greek
Classical sculpture” (Adams, Art Across Time 192).
L Aule Metele (Arringatore, Orator) (Sanguineto), early 1st century
BCE
self-confidence of a Roman magistrate with an Etruscan name/
resemblance to contemporary Roman portraits
1. “The Orator is one of the best examples to show a mixture of
Etruscan and Roman influences. We know he thought of himself as an
Etruscan because the hem of his toga records his name, Aulus
Metellus, in the Etruscan script. On the other hand, the name itself is
Roman. The laced high boots, revealed by the short toga, are
characteristic of a Roman senator. And the impression of a worried
face, sagging skin, and realistic, short-cropped hair seems to show
influence from the Romans” (Ramage and Ramage 40).
2. “The statue of an orator, with (restored) right arm raised, addressing
a crowd on some public matter (using the pose of the adlocutio), could
be any modern politician, gesturing to emphasize an argument” (40).
“His eyes are hollow because originally he would have had shell and
stone, or glass paste, inserted in the holes to give an even more lively
facial expression. The statue was found in Lake Trasimeno… Since it
was made of bronze, it would almost certainly not have survived had it not been lost
under water in antiquity, for most bronze statues were melted down in medieval times for
reuse of material” (39).
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Unit TWO: Roman Art during the Republic
A The Roman Republic
1. “Early Rome was governed by a
series of kings and an advisory body of
leading citizens called the Senate. The
population was divided into two
classes, a wealthy and powerful upper
class, the patricians, and a lower
class, the plebeians. The last kings of
Rome were members of an Etruscan
family, the Tarquins. Legend has it
that the last ruler in this line,
Tarquinius Superbus, was a despot
whose behavior led to his overthrow in
509 BCE, marking the beginning of
what is known as the Republican
period” (Stokstad, Art History 234).
2. “During the fifth century BCE, by a
process of alliance and conquest, Rome
began to incorporate neighboring
territories in Italy. By 275 BCE Rome
controlled the entire Italian peninsula.
This expansion led to a confrontation
with the powerful empire of Carthage,
the Phoenician city on the north coast
of Africa, which controlled Spain,
Sicily, and the western North African
coast. In a series of conflicts known as
the Punic Wars (264-146 BCE), the
Romans
ultimately
subdued
the
Carthaginians, destroyed Carthage,
and gained control of the western
Mediterranean.
By the mid-second
century BCE they had subdued
Macedonia and Greece, and by 44 BCE
had conquered most of Gaul (modern
France)
and
the
eastern
Mediterranean” (234).
3. “During this period of overseas
expansion, Rome changed from an
essentially agricultural society to a
commercial and political power. The
warfare and expansion strained Rome’s
political
system,
weakening
the
authority of the Senate and leading
ultimately to a series of civil wars
among
powerful
generals
whose
authority derived from the support of
their troops. In 46 BCE Julius Caesar
emerged victorious over his rivals, had
himself declared dictator, assumed
autocratic powers, and ruled Rome
until his assassination in 44 BCE. The
renewed fighting that followed Caesar’s
death ended with the unquestioned
supremacy of his grandnephew and
heir, Octavian, over Rome and all its
possessions.
Although
Octavian
maintained the forms of Republican
government, he retained real authority
for himself, and his ascension marks
the end of the Republic” (234).
STUDY GUIDE
B Temple of “Fortuna Virilis” (Rome), c. 75 BCE
accessible by only the front/ use of stucco/ engaged columns/ Tiber
River
1. “More typical of Roman religious architecture than isolated,
wall sanctuaries like those favored by the Greeks were small
urban temples built, in the Etruscan manner, in the midst of
congested commercial centers. An early example in Rome,
nearly contemporary with the Sanctuary of Fortuna, is a small,
rectangular temple perhaps dedicated to Portunus, the god of
harbors and ports, that stands beside the Tiber River. With a
rectangular cella and a porch at one end reached by a single
flight of steps, this temple, built in the late second century BCE,
echoes the Greek prostyle plan. Almost like a piece of sculpture,
it stands on a raised platform, or podium. The Ionic columns
are freestanding on the porch and engaged around the cella. The entablature above the
columns on the porch continues around the cella as a decorative frieze. The plan of this
structure resembles that of a peripteral temple, but because the columns around the cella
are engaged even though they appear to be freestanding, it is called pseudoperipteral. This
design, with variations in the orders used with it, was to become standard for Roman
temples” (Stokstad, Art History 237-238).
2. “The structure is built of stone (local tufa and travertine), overlaid originally with stucco
in imitation of the gleaming white marble temples of the Greeks” (Kleiner, Mamiya, and
Tansey 247). “The general form of the Ionic columns is… borrowed from the Greeks, as is
the use of stone to construct most parts of the building; but the tall narrow proportions, and
the Etruscan features, make this a truly Italic building” (Ramage and Ramage 57).
C Head of a Roman Patrician (Otricoli), c. 75-50 BCE, marble
imagines/ patrician/ painstaking realism (veristic)
1. “The tradition of making portraits, already firmly established in Italy, continued among
Roman artists of the first century BC. Their patrons had a taste for realism, or ‘versim,’ as
it is called, where the artist depicted even the smallest details on the surface of the skin
with all its imperfections, including warts, wrinkles, and furrows. These details were
combined with an interest in bone structure and musculature. It may have been itinerant
Greek artists who first made marble heads like this for the Romans, particularly the
patricians, who were the chief patrons of this style. For it was the Greeks who had
developed a high level of skill in the carving of marble heads, whereas the Romans had been
used to working in terracotta. It was only under Augustus, when the Carrara marble
quarries were opened up on a large scale, that Roman sculptors began to acquire wide
experience in the new material” (Ramage and Ramage 68).
2. “On the other hand, verism grew out of an old Italic custom,
going back at least to the second century BC, of venerating
masks representing family ancestors. Although these masks, or
sometimes busts, were not particularly individualized, at least
they had established a principle of recalling a specific person.
People of the upper classes would parade with such masks at
the funeral of a relative, thus recalling not only the recently
deceased but also those who went before” (68). “Upon the death
of the male head of the family, a wax image was made of his
face, which was then preserved in a special shrine or family
altar… The desire to have these perishable wax likenesses
reproduced in marble may have come about because the
patricians, feeling that their traditional position of leadership
was threatened, wanted to make a greater public display of their
ancestors in order to stress their ancient lineage” (Janson 171).
3. The patricians “kept likenesses (imagines) of their ancestors in wooden cupboards in
their homes and paraded them at the funerals of prominent relatives…Slaves and former
slaves could not possess such portraits, because, under Roman law, their parents and
grandparents were not people but property” (Kleiner, Mamiya, and Tansey 250).
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Unit TWO: Roman Art during the Republic
STUDY GUIDE
D Ruins of Pompeii
forum/ basilica/ Mt. Vesuvius
1. “Pompeii was a thriving center of about 20,000 inhabitants on the day Mount Vesuvius erupted. An ancient village that had grown and
spread over many centuries, it lacked the gridlike regularity of newer Roman cities, but its layout was typical for its time. Temples and
government buildings surrounded a main square, or forum; paved streets were lined with shops and houses; and enclosing all was a
protective wall with fortified gates. The forum was the center of civic life in Roman towns and cities, as the agora was in Greek cities.
Business was conducted in its basilicas and pavilions, religious duties performed in its temples, and speeches presented in its open
square. For recreation, people went to the nearby baths or the events in the amphitheater” (Stokstad, Art History 238-239).
2. “The people of Pompeii lived in houses behind or above a row of shops, or in two- or three- story apartment buildings, or in gracious
private residences with one or more gardens. Even upper-class homes often had street-level shops. If there was no shop, the wall facing
the street was usually solid except for the door, an indication of the emphasis on the interior rather than exterior design. IN a sense, the
inner orientation of architecture reflects the central and sacred place of hearth and home in Roman religion” (239).
3. “A Roman house usually consisted of small rooms laid out on a straight, generally symmetrical plan… From the entrance, a corridor led
to the atrium, a large space with a shallow pool for catching rainwater through an opening in the roof. The organization of the front part
of the house- the centrally located atrium surrounded by small rooms- originated with the Etruscans” (239).
4. “To facilitate the development and administration of the empire, as well as to make city life comfortable and attractive to its citizens, the
Roman government undertook building programs of unprecedented scale and complexity, mandating the construction of central
administrative centers (basilicas), racetracks (circuses and stadiums), theaters, public baths, roads, bridges, aqueducts, middle-class
housing, and even whole new towns. To accomplish these tasks without sacrificing beauty, efficiency, and human well-being, Roman
builders and architects developed rational planning, durable methods, and highly sophisticated engineering methods” (235).
E Roman Wall Paintings
First Style (Masonry Style)/ Second Style/ Villa of the Mysteries/ a megalography with maenads/ Third Style/
Fourth Style/ marriage portraits/ exedra/ appearance of still life painting
1. “The interior walls of Roman houses were plain, smooth plaster surfaces without any architectural features. On these invitingly flat,
empty surfaces, artists painted decorations that varied greatly in appearance and subject matter. Their technique involved mixing pigment
in a solution of lime and soap and a little wax added, applying the images, polishing with a special metal, glass, or stone burnisher, then
buffing with a cloth. At Pompeii these decorations can be grouped into four types, or styles, that succeeded each other with some overlap.
The first two began during the Republican period, and the last two are associated with the Roman Empire” (Stokstad, Art History 249).
2. “In the First Style (c. 200-80 BCE), artists created the illusion that the walls were actually covered with thin slabs of colored marble set
off by real architectural details such as molded plaster columns” (249). “Because of the taste for architectural illusionism, this style is
sometimes called the Masonry style” (Adams, Art Across Time 243, 245). “In the Second Style (c. 80-15 BCE) they extended the space of
the room visually with painted scenes of figures on a shallow ‘stage’ or with a landscape or cityscape seen close up. Architectural details
such as columns were painted rather than molded plaster. In the Third Style (c. 15 BCE- 45 CE) they emphasized the wall surface again
by painting it a solid color, decorated with slender, whimsical architectural details, within which small, delicate vignettes appear. The
Fourth Style (beginning c. 45 CE) was a complex combination of the features found in the other three styles, bringing together the more
realistic architectural details of the First and Second styles with even greater fantasy than in the Third Style” (Stokstad, Art History 249).
3. “One of the most famous painted rooms in Roman art is the so-called Villa of the Mysteries at Pompeii. The room must have been a
shrine or meeting place for a religious cult, probably that of Bacchus, the god of vegetation, fertility, wine, and the arts, who was one of
the most important deities in Pompeii, along with Hercules and Venus. The Second Style murals depict what has been interpreted as the
initiation rites of a new member of the cult, which was for a long time limited exclusively to women. The artists first painted an
architectural setting consisting of a marble dado, a decoration on the lower part of a wall, and an elegant frieze supported by pilasters
around the top of the wall. The action takes place along the top of the dado in a raised, shallow stage space with a backdrop painted a
brilliant, deep red (now known as Pompeiian red) very popular with Roman painters. The stage runs around the entire room and the
scenes on it depict a succession of events that culminate in the acceptance of the initiate into the cult” (250).
4. “The visual space of the paintings includes the viewer, who feels like a participant in the action… A priestess prepares to reveal draped
cult objects, a winged figure whips a female initiate lying across the lap of another woman, and a devotee dances with cymbals, perhaps
the drown out the cries from the whipping. According to another interpretation, the dancing figure is the initiate herself, who has risen to
dance with joy at the conclusion of her trials. The whole may be showing a purification ritual meant to bring enlightenment and blissful
union with the god” (250-251).
5. “In the southwest corner, painted pilasters separate each section, or oecus,… Above the pilasters is a meander pattern surmounted by
a painted frieze populated with Cupids” (Adams, Art Across Time 246). “A woman holds a thyrsos, the phallic staff used in Bacchic rites,
usually with a pine cone or grape cluster at one end. In front of her is a twirling Maenad (a frenzied female follower of Bacchus), who plays
the cymbals and dances” (246). “We may have an example here of a Roman version of Greek megalography, or painting of large-scale
figures” (Ramage and Ramage 80).
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Unit TWO: Roman Art during the Republic
STUDY GUIDE
Roman Wall Paintings (CONTINUED)
6. “The Second Style decoration of the dining-room walls of the Villa of Livia at Primaporta exemplifies yet another approach to creating a
sense of slightly expanded space. Instead of rendering a stage set or a cityscape, the artist literally painted away the wall surfaces to
create the illusion of being on a porch or pavilion looking out over a low, paneled wall toward an orchard of heavily laden fruit trees. Thes
and the flowering shrubs are filled with a variety of wonderfully observed birds” (Stokstad, Art History 251-252).
7. “This painting, however, in which human figures are entirely absent, and nature, in and of itself, is the subject, has no Greek
prototype. It evokes the same appreciation of nature’s power to provide an escape from human cares that one finds in the poetry of
Horace and Virgil and was probably painted when the two poets were living” (Boardman 288). “To suggest recession, the painter mastered
another kind of perspective, atmospheric perspective, indicating depth by the increasingly blurred appearance of objects in the distance.
At Livia’s villa, the fence, trees, and birds in the foreground are precisely painted, while the details of the dense foliage in the background
are indistinct” (Kleiner, Mamiya, and Tansey 259).
8. Almost all of the painted portraits found on the walls of some Pomepian houses “were cut out of the walls on discovery and brought to
Naples… One must go to Naples to see the portrait of a husband and a wife…, but originally it formed part of a Fourth Style wall of an
exedra (recessed area) opening onto the atrium of a Pompeian house. The man holds a scroll and the woman a stylus and a wax writing
tablet, standard attributes in Roman marriage portraits. They suggest the fine education of those depicted- even if, as was sometimes
true, the individuals were uneducated or even illiterate… The heads are not standard types but sensitive studies of the man and woman’s
individual faces. This is another instance of a realistic portrait placed on a conventional figure type” (263).
9. In a still life from Herculaneum, “objects are set on steps or shelves, whose spatial projection is indicated by abrupt shifts from light to
dark. The spherical character of the peaches is indicated by their gradually shaded surfaces. Patches of white on the glass jar suggest
light bouncing off a shine, transparent surface. There is a further implication that the source of light is at the left, since the jar and
peaches cast shadows to the right. The highlights of light, together with the shading, create an illusion of three-dimensionality on the flat
surface of the wall. Such solid, volumetric effects are characteristic of the Fourth Style” (Adams, Art Across Time 249).
F Roman Domestic Architecture
atrium/ fauce/ compluvium/ impluvium/ insulae/ peristyle/ tabernae/ country villa vs. domus
1. “Roman domestic (from the Latin domus, meaning ‘house’) architecture was derived from both Etruscan and Greek antecedents, but
developed characteristics of its own. The main featureo f the Roman domus was the atrium, a large hall entered through a corridor from
the street. The atrium roof usually sloped inward, while a rectangular opening, the compluvium, allowed rainwater to collect in an
impluvium (a sunken basin in the floor), from which it was channeled into a separate cistern. The compluvium was also the primary
source of light in the domus. But, by the end of the first century BC, the peristyle, with its colonnade, had become the focal point of the
domus and the atrium was little more than a foyer, or entrance hall. Additional rooms surrounded the peristyle, and were used as slave
quarters, wine cellars, and storage space” (Adams, Art Across Time 214).
2. “These houses had plain exteriors without windows. Rooms fronting on the street functioned as shops, or tabernae (from which we get
the English word ‘tavern’). Behind the unassuming facades were interiors that were often quite luxurious- decorated with floor and wall
mosaics, paintings, and sculptures. The typical professional or upper-class Roman house also had running water and sewage pipes. For
the middle and lower classes, especially in cities, the Romans built concrete apartment blocks or tenements, called insulae (the Latin
word for ‘islands’)… According to Roman building codes, the insulae could be as high as five stories. On the ground floor, shops and other
commercial premises opened onto the street. The upper floors were occupied by families, who lived separately but shared certain facilities.
As early as the first century AD, most of Rome’s urban population lived in such insulae” (214-215).
3. “Their blocklike construction conformed to the typical town plan of the Empire. Such plans were organized like a military camp, or
castra, in which a square was divided into quarters by two streets intersecting in the middle at right angles. The cardo ran north to
south and the decumanus from east to west. Each quarter was then subdivided into square or rectangular blocks of buildings, such as
the domestic houses and the insulae” (215). “In addition to urban domestic architecture, the Romans invented the concept of the country
villa as an escape from the city. Villas varied according to the tastes and means of their owners, and naturally the most elaborate
belonged to the emperors” (216).
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Unit TWO: Roman Art during the Early Empire
A Roman Religion
1. “The Romans borrowed religious elements,
such as the rites of divination and the
religious calendar, from the Etruscans. At the
same time, the Romans cherished a powerful
and distinctive religion. Chief among the
Roman gods were Jupiter, Mars, and
Quirinus. Jupiter was worshiped as the god of
the sky, Mars as the god of war, and Quirinus
as the deified Romulus, the legendary first
king of Rome (753-716 BC). Each of these
gods was served by one of the three senior
Roman priests, or flamines maiores, who
wore a distinctive dress including a white
conical cap and who observed an elaborate
system of taboos in order to keep themselves
free from any defilement” (Wren 1: 113).
2. “Two other religious forces were Janus and
Vesta. Janus was the god of doorways and the
special god of all undertakings. His temple in
the Forum had two doors, which were kept
open in times of war and closed only in the
rare event of universal peace. The opened
doors indicated the sanctified route by which
the Roman army marched to battle” (113).
3. “Vesta was worshiped as the hearth
goddess. She presided over both the family
hearth or altar and the central altar of the
state. Her symbol was a sacred fire reputed by
legend to have been brought by Aeneas from
Troy and preserved in Rome in the sanctuary
of the goddess in the Forum. The fire was
watched by six virgins. The vestal virgins
were consecrated to the goddess as young
girls and remained in her service for thirty
years. They were treated with the highest
degree of reverence. Any offense against a
vestal virgin was punishable by death; any
violation of the vow of chastity by a vestal
virgin was punishable by being buried alive in
an underground vault” (113-114).
3. “The early traditions of Roman religion are
described by the Roman historian Livy (59
BC- AD 17) in his History of Rome from Its
Foundation. Born in Padua in northern Italy,
Livy spent most of his life in Rome, where he
wrote the comprehensive survey of early
Rome. His history covered the period from the
legendary founding of the city in 753 BC until
the death of Drusus, Augustus’ stepson, in 9
BC. As a historian, Livy was less concerned
with literal accuracy and less critical of his
sources than other ancient historians, such
as Thucydides. His object was to revive the
patriotism of his contemporaries by recalling
their great heritage. Livy attributed the origin
of Roman religion to Numa, who was the
legendary second king of Rome (715-673 BC).
According to Roman mythology, Egeria, one of
the nymphs of the springs as well as a birth
goddess and a prophetess, instructed Numa
on the religious rites which he should
establish in Rome” (114).
STUDY GUIDE
B Augustus (Primaporta), copy of a bronze original of c. 20 BCE,
marble
a barefoot pontifex maximus: Octavius/ Pax Romana/ production of
a god-like image that never ages/ Cupid and Ovid’s Art of Love/ use
of art as propaganda/ cuirass with allegorical figures
1. “The Roman empire was created by Augustus (63 BC- AD 14), who, after his
military success against Antony and Cleopatra, claimed that he wanted to establish
the best civilian government possible. The system of government which he devised
endured with no major changes for the next three centuries” (Wren 1: 122).
“Augustus was originally named Gaius Octavius, or Octavian. He was only seventeen
when Caesar, his great-uncle, was assassinated. By Caesar’s will, Octavian, whose
natural father had died when he was four years old, was named as Caesar’s heir and
son. Although he was opposed by much more powerful and influential men, Octavian
was determined to avenge Caesar and to claim his inheritance. He fought and
defeated Antony in Mutina in northern Italy in 43 BC. Shortly afterward he joined
forces with Antony and Antony’s ally, Lepidus, to form the Second Triumvirate. In 42
BC, Octavian and Antony won the battle of Philippi against Caesar’s assassins,
Brutus and Cassius. Antony took control of the eastern provinces of the Roman
state and Octavian of the western provinces. Octavian was then able to use Antony’s
entanglement with Cleopatra as a pretext for arousing public opinion and for
declaring war on his rival” (122).
2. “After the defeat of Antony in the naval battle of Actium, Octavian became the sole
ruler of the Roman world. In 27 BC, he assumed the title Augustus. During the next
forty-four years of his rule, Augustus exercises unprecedented powers, while
preserving, in form, the republican institutions of government. He died universally
respected and admired” (122). “In the Augustus of Prima Porta the emperor is
portrayed as both orator and general. Even thought the head is a likeness, it is
idealized. Augustus was seventy-six when he died after a long reign, but this statue
represents a self-confident, dominating, and above all youthful figure. A possible
source for this idealization is the Doryphoros of Polykleitos. The similar stance
suggests that the artist who made the Augustus was familiar with the Greek statue,
probably from Roman copies, if not the original” (Adams, Art Across Time 241).
3. “The iconography of this statue again emphasizes the power of
Rome embodied in Augustus as emperor. By his right leg, Cupid
(Venus’ son) rides a dolphin and serves as a reminder that
Augustus traced his lineage to Aeneas (also a son of Venus), and
was thus descended from the gods. Among the little reliefs carved
on Augustus’ armor is Mother Earth with a cornucopia, indicating
the emperor’s identification with the land as a source of plenty.
The association of Augustus with the earth also has an implied
reference to Roman territorial conquests. Another scene depicts a
Parthian returning a military standard looted from the Romans. A
canopy spread out by a sky god at the top of the breastplate
alludes to the scene of the surrender below” (241). “Apollo and
Diana at bottom left and right are paralleled by the son god Sol
and moon goddess Luna near the emperor’s shoulders. Thus, the
cosmic forces and passage of time are also included in this grand
vision of Augustan peace” (Ramage and Ramage 95). “The
composition is dominated by a personification of the sky, which
hovers over the chariot of the Sun god as he follows the figures of Aurora and
Phosphorus. Tellus, god of the Earth, accompanied by two putti and flanked by
Apollo riding a griffin and Diana on a hind, occupies the lower part of the cuirass”
(Duby and Daval 195). “The king of the Parthians, Phraates IV, is shown restoring the
standards lost by Crassus. He hands them to a Roman general, probably Tiberius,
who pacified Germany and Pannonia in the years 12-8 BC” (195). “The back is
unfinished, indicating that the statue was intended for a niche… The fact that he is
barefoot is probably a reference to his divinity and indicates that the statue would
have occupied a sacred space” (Adams, Art Across Time 240). “Although Augustus
wears a cuirass (torso armor) and holds a commander’s baton, his feet are bare,
suggesting to some scholars that the work was made after his death and
commemorates his apotheosis, or elevation to divine status… Since the decorations
on the cuirass allude to Augustus’s victory over the Parthians in 20 BCE, the original
statue may have commemorated that event” (Stokstad, Art History 248).
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Unit TWO: Roman Art during the Early Empire
STUDY GUIDE
C Ara Pacis Augustae (Rome) 13-9 BCE
tribute to peace/ two zones/ Tellus/ procession with children/ Livia, Julia, and Marcus Agrippa/ Aeneas
sacrificing a sow (an adult female swine)/ comparison to the Panathenaic procession of the Parthenon
1. “One of the greatest marble monuments of Augustus’ reign was the Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace), located on the Campus Martius (literally
‘the field dedicated to Mars,’ the god of war). Its purpose was to celebrate the pax Augusta, or ‘Peace of Augustus,’ after the emperor had
made peace with the Gauls and returned to Rome. The altar (visible here through the opening) stood on a podium and was enclosed on
the sides by a large rectangular marble frame. Visitors approached by a stairway located on the western side. Each year, magistrates,
priests, and Vestal Virgins (virgins consecrated to the service of Vesta, goddess of the hearth) made sacrifices on it. They ascended the
stairs, entered the sacred space, and performed the sacrifices while facing east, toward the sunrise” (Adams, Art Across Time 231).
2. “The exterior of the marble frame is decorated with reliefs. Elegant vinescroll traceries, indicating peace and fertility under Augustus,
are represented on the lower half of the frame, while the upper half illustrates the procession in honor of the founding of the altar. On the
north side, senators and other officials, some with wives and children, are shown proceeding to the entrance. The south side represents
members of the imperial family… The figure of Augustus has his head draped in the manner of the Pontifex Maximus, the title denoting his
role as the state’s religious leader… The presence of children is interpreted as referring to Augustus’ policy of encouraging large families
with tax relief” (231-232).
3. “There is good reason to believe that Roman artists used the Ionic frieze of the Parthenon as a source for the Ara Pacis. But the Greek
temple commemorated the supremacy of Athens in a way that combined history (victory in the Persian Wars) with mythology (the Doric
metopes and pediments) and ritual (the Panathenaic procession). The Ara Pacis, in contrast , commemorates a specific historical event.
Techniques of carving also differ, for the Ara Pacis is in higher relief than the Panathenaic procession, contributing to the characteristic
Roman taste for spatial illusionism. Higher relief is reserved for the more prominent foreground figures, while lower relief is used for
figures that appear to be in the background. The feet of the foreground figures, for example, project from the base of the relief. As in the
Parthenon frieze, there is some variety of pose among the figures so that the potential monotony of the procession is avoided. The Roman
figures also have a greater range of facial expression and age- portraits of children as well as old people are represented” (232). “Note the
artist’s careful observation of human nature in the child’s chubby rolls around his ankles and dimpled elbows and knees. He is tired of
walking and wants to be picked up and carried” (232).
4. “The inclusion of children had a significant role. This was partly because young people
like Augustus’ grandsons, Gaius and Lucius Caesar, were important members of the family,
representing for Augustus the embodiment of the future and all his dynastic hopes. They
are reported to have looked very much like him, and the resemblance is emphasized in the
heads of Augustus and Gaius on the two sides of a coin from Cyprus. The children were
reminders, too, of that part of the imperial social program that encouraged citizens to
produce as many children as they could. Augustus introduced a law that gave an
advantage to men standing for office who had already fathered a number of offspring; and
there were tax advantages for couples who had three or more children. Penalties were
imposed on men and women of marrying age who remained either single or childless. All of
these laws were intended to insure the growth of the citizen population, and Augustus’ ideas
are clearly reflected in the Ara Pacis, where fertility and children play an important role”
(Ramage and Ramage102).
5. “The interior re-creates in marble the temporary altar- surrounded by garlands of flowers suspended in swags, or loops, from bucrania
(ox skulls)- that would have been set up for the triumphal celebration. The ox skulls symbolize sacrificial offerings, and the garlands,
which include flowering plants from every season, signify continuous peace” (Stokstad, Art History 246). “To the east and west ends of the
enclosure walls, we find panels of a quite different character. The best-preserved of these is a balanced and composed scene, an allegorical
representation of the peace and prosperity that Augustus has presumably brought to the empire. Scholars disagree on the identity of the
figures. The woman in the center may be Tellus Mater, or Mother Earth, symbolically nurturing the Roman people, represented by two
chubby babies in her arms. She may also be a maternal form of Venus, or Ceres, the goddess of grain, or simply a personification (symbol
in human form) of peace. She is accompanied by two young women with billowing veils, one seated on the back of a flying swan, the other
reclining on a sea monster or dragon. They are personifications of the sea wind and the land wind. The sea wind, symbolized by the sea
dragon and waves, would have reminded Augustus’ cotemporaries of Rome’s dominion over the Mediterranean; the land wind, symbolized
by the swan, the jug of fresh water, and the wetlands of vegetation, would have suggested the fertility of Roman lands. The underlying
allegorical theme- the Abundant Earth- is reinforced by the flowers and foliage in the background and the domesticated animals in the
foreground” (247).
6. “Construction took place between 13 and 9 BC, when it was dedicated on Livia’s birthday. Today we see it as it was reconstructed
during Mussolini’s rule, with heavy restorations, at some distance from its original site” (Ramage and Ramage 99). “Another relief on the
outside walls of the Ara Pacis shows Aeneas sacrificing a sow to the penates- the household gods, and protectors of the homeland. He had
brought the images of these gods, which can be seen in the small, well-built shrine on the rocky hill at the upper left, all the way from
Troy. Aeneas, pious as always, stands before a roughly built altar, wearing the toga drawn over his head to indicate that he is acting as a
priest, while two wreathed youths assist him at the sacrifice. The sow plays an important part in one of the myths of the founding of
Rome, for it had been prophesied the Aeneas would know the right spot to found his city by finding a sow with 30 piglets under an oak
tree. There he founded Lavinium, named after his wife Lavinia. The relief, then, reminds the viewer of Aeneas’ piety, of his connections to
Troy through the penates, and of the foundation myth itself. All of these points were important to Augustus, pious descendent of Aeneas”
(101-102).
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Unit TWO: Roman Art during the Early Empire
STUDY GUIDE
D Ovid and the Art of Love
1. “Ovid (43 BC- AD 17) was the third great poet of the Augustan age. Born in Sulmo, a town ninety miles east of Rome, Ovid was the son
of a wealthy and respectable landowner. His father intended that he enter a career in government, but Ovid decided that public life did
not suit him and devoted himself instead to poetry. Written in three books, The Art of Love is a handbook on the art of seduction. The
first tow books offer instruction to men’ the third book gives advice to women. The frankly sensual view of life and love espoused by Ovid
in this work ran counter to Augustus’ sober moral principles. The previous year, Augustus had banished his only child, Julia, for sexual
profligacy, and he was attempting, though with little success, to raise the moral standards of upper-class Roman society. To Augustus,
Ovid’s poem was shocking and offensive” (Wren 1: 128).
2. “Ovid attempted to placate Augustus with another of his compositions, the Metamorphoses. A long poem written in fifteen books, the
Metamorphoses is a collection of mythological and legendary stories drawn from Greek, Latin, and Eastern sources. All stories share a
common element: a miraculous transformation. The stories are told in chronological order, beginning with the Creation, in which Chaos
is transformed into the ordered universe of earth, sea, and sky, and culminating with the assassination of Julius Caesar, in which Caesar
is transformed into a star. The final transformation of the poem was intended by Ovid to be a tribute to the divinity of Augustus. In AD 8,
just as he was finishing the Metamorphoses, Ovid was summoned to Rome for a personal interview with the emperor. Ovid was aghast to
learn that he was to be banished. One reason given by Augustus for his banishment was his poem The Art of Love. Ovid was ordered to
Tomis, a semi-Hellenized port on the Black Sea at the extreme edge of the Roman empire. Tomis, near the modern town of Constantsa,
Romania, was subject to periodic attacks by surrounding barbarian peoples. Ovid suffered from personal danger, from the severe climate,
and, most of all, from the intellectual isolation of the place. From Tomis, Ovid addressed repeated appeals for clemency, first to Augustus,
and later to his successor, Tiberius. Ovid died in exile in AD 17” (128-129).
E Pont-du-Gard (Nimes), c. 16 BCE
Roman aqueducts/ use of the arch/ voussoirs/keystone
1. “In many areas of Europe and the Mediterranean, impressive examples of Roman engineering still stand, powerful reminders of Rome’s
rapid spread and enduring impact. The Pont du Gard near Nîmes in southern France has a 900-foot span and rises 180 feet above the
Gard River. Still in use in the twentieth century as a bridge for pedestrians and carts, it was originally an aqueduct, part of a system that
brought water to Nîmes from the springs of Uzès 30 miles to the north. This feat of hydraulic engineering, impressive even by modern
standards, is thought to have been executed under the direction of Augustus’s son-in-law Agrippa about 20 BCE. At the time it was built,
the aqueduct could provide 100 gallons of water a day for every person in Nîmes” (Stokstad, Art History 241).
2. “The Pont du Gard was constructed of beautifully sized and precisely cut stones from a nearby quarry. It consists of three arcades
(walls with a series of regularly spaced arched openings) stacked one on the other and exemplifies the simplest use of the arch as a
structural element. The arches of the thick base arcade spring from huge stone piers (square or rectangular support posts) and support a
roadbed approximately 20 feet wide. The arches of the second arcade span the same distance as those of the base, but it is much
narrower than the first and set on one side of the roadbed. The third arcade, the narrowest and shortest of the three, supports the water
trough. It has three arches for every one of the second arcade. A purely utilitarian structure, the aqueduct was left undecorated, and the
projecting blocks inserted to support scaffolding during construction were left to provide easy access for repairs. It nevertheless conveys a
sense of balance, proportion, rhythmic harmony, and integration into its natural setting” (243).
3. “The round arch may be thought of as a curved lintel used to span an opening. A true arch is constructed of tapered (wedged-shaped)
bricks or stones, called voussoirs, with a keystone at the center. The point at which the arch begins to curve from its vertical support is
called the springing, because it seems to spring away from it. The arch creates an outward pressure, or thrust, which must be countered
by a supporting buttress of masonry” (Adams, Art Across Time 213).
4. “Rough stones were purposely left jutting out to facilitate repair work… But
aside from the many practical points that make this such a remarkable
accomplishment, there is also the aesthetic achievement. The rhythm set up by
the long rows of arches is satisfying and beautiful at the same time. The two sets
of larger arches are placed one above the other, whereas the small arches on the
top tier are matched so that three of them make up the space of one larger one
below. The central arch over the river is wider than the others, and hence required
the space of four of the small arches over it. The effect of the fine proportions here
is further enhanced by the reflections in the river” (Ramage and Ramage 94). “Built
of six-ton stones and assembled without mortar, the structure reflects the practical
function of arches at three levels, the bottom row supporting a bridge and the
second row undergirding the top channel through which water ran by gravity to its
destination” (Fiero, First Civilizations 146).
5. “Despite the difficulties presented by the task of governing such far-flung territories, the Romans proved to be efficient administrators.
They demanded from their foreign provinces taxes, soldiers to serve in the Roman army, tribute, and slaves. Roman governors, appointed
by the Senate from among the higher ranks of the military, ruled within the conquered provinces” (133). “The Romans introduced the
Latin language and Roman law in the provinces. They built paved roads, freshwater aqueducts, bridges, and eventually granted the
people of the their conquered territories Roman citizenship” (133).
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Unit TWO: Roman Art during the Early Empire
STUDY GUIDE
F The Julio-Claudians: Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero
1. “The emperors who followed Augustus, known as the Julio-Claudians, always had his reputation, his taste, and his plans as a legacy.
Each succeeding emperor set a new tone which gave a special character to the artistic output of his time, although the framework of
images and associations that Augustus had set up remained unaltered. The value of continuity for political purposes was put above
personal taste, because not all of the Julio-Claudians seem to have had the same regard for the cool classicism that Augustus had
cultivated so assiduously. Although Augustus had no sons, his daughter Julia produced two boys: Gaius and Lucius Caesar. Augustus
hoped that they would succeed him, and in order to expedite this, he had formally adopted his grandsons as his own children.
Unfortunately, both died early in manhood, leaving Augustus without a clear heir. Although he had never been very enthusiastic about
his stepson Tiberius (who ruled AD 14-37), son of Livia by her previous marriage to Tiberius Claudius Nero, this man seemed to be the
only suitable person to fill the need. Augustus adopted him as his son and successor” (Ramage and Ramage 114).
2. Tiberius “was tall, powerful, and well featured; but acne accentuated his shyness, his awkward manners, his moody diffidence, and his
love of seclusion” (Durant, Caesar and Christ 259). “He seems to have sincerely disliked monarchy and to have considered himself the
administrative head and arm of the Senate. He refused all titles that savored of royalty, contented himself with that of princeps senatus,
stopped all efforts to deify him or offer worship to his genius, and made evident his distaste for flattery. When the Senate wished to name
a month after him, as it had done for Caesar and Augustus, he turned the compliment aside with dry humor: ‘What will you do if there
should be thirteen Caesars?’…Though skilled in the art of war, he denied himself, as Prince, the glories of the battlefield; and after the
third year of his long reign he kept the Empire at peace” (260, 261).
3. Tiberius was “succeeded by his grand-nephew Caligula, who seemed as attractive as Tiberius had been morose. Unfortunately,
Caligula was also insane. His whimsical cruelty and his lack of military sense disgusted his army and led to a conspiracy in which
Caligula was put to death” (Stayer and Gatzke 84). “Caligula had left the Empire in a dangerous condition: the Treasury empty, the Senate
decimated, the people alienated, Mauretania in rebellion, Judea in arms at his insistence on placing his cult statue in the Temple of
Jerusalem. No one knew where to find a ruler fit to face these problems. The Praetorians, coming upon the apparently imbecile Claudius
hiding in a corner, proclaimed him imperator. The Senate, in terror of the army, and perhaps relieved by the prospect of dealing with a
harmless pedant instead of a reckless lunatic, confirmed the choice of the Guard; and Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus
hesitantly mounted the throne” (Durant, Caesar and Christ 268).
4. “Claudius turned out to be a more capable ruler than anyone had expected. He initiated the conquest of Britain and gained good will in
the provinces by generous grants of Roman citizenship. He started the reorganization of the imperial government by creating four
administrative bureaus, each headed by a freedman (usually a liberated Greek slave). Senators still commanded armies and governed
provinces and equestrians handled most of the financial affairs of the empire, but a new imperial bureaucracy was to grow out of
Claudius’ group of freedmen. Claudius married his niece Agrippina, an evil and ruthless woman who persuaded him to disinherit his son
by an earlier marriage and to give the succession to her own son, Nero” (Strayer and Gatzke 84).
5. Nero “disguised himself and visited brothels; he roamed the streets and frequented taverns at night with the comrades of his mood,
robbing shops, insulting women, ‘practicing lewdness on boys, stripping those whom they encountered, striking, wounding, murdering.’ A
senator who defended himself vigorously against the disguised Emperor was soon afterward forced to kill himself. Seneca sought to divert
the royal lust by condoning Nero’s relations with an ex-slave, Claudia Acte. But Acte was too faithful to him to keep his affections; he
soon exchanged her for a woman of superlative refinement in all the ways of love. Poppaea Sabina was of high family and great wealth;
‘she had everything,’ says Tacitus, ‘except an honest mind’; she was one of those women who spend all the day in adorning their persons,
and exist only when they are desired. Her husband, Salvius Otho, boasted of her beauty to Nero; the Emperor at once commissioned him
to govern Lusitania (Portugal), and laid siege to Poppaea. She refused to be his mistress, but agreed to be his wife if he would divorce
Octavia” (Durant, Caesar and Christ 276-277).
6. “Octavia had borne the transgressions of Nero silently, and had preserved her own modesty and chastity amid the stream of sexual
license in which she had been forced to live from her birth. It is to the honor of Agrippina that she lost her life in defending Octavia
against Poppaea. She used every plea against the proposed divorce, even, says Tacitus, to offering her own charms to her son. Poppaea
fought back with hers and won; youth was served. She taunted Nero with being afraid of his mother, and led him to believe that
Agrippina was plotting his fall. Finally, in the madness of his infatuation, he consented to kill the woman who had borne him and given
him half the world. He thought of poisoning her, but she had guarded against this by the habitual use of antidotes. He tried to have her
drowned, but she swam to safety from the shipwreck he had arranged. His men pursued her to her villa; when they seized her she bared
her body and said, ‘Plunge your sword into my womb.’ It took many blows to kill her. The Emperor, viewing the uncovered corpse,
remarked, ‘I did not know I had so beautiful a mother.’” (277).
7. “Believing that he was a great poet and musician, he traveled about the Empire performing his works. When a disastrous fire almost
destroyed Rome in 64, there were rumors, almost certainly not true, that Nero had set the blaze to provide a brilliant background for a
recitation of his poetry. Seeking a scapegoat, Nero blamed the fire on Rome’s small community of Christians and put many of them to
death. Naturally there were plots against such a man, and naturally Nero imagined plots where none existed. He condemned to death his
mother, his old friend Seneca, the poet Lucan, and the brilliant general Corbulo, who had defended the eastern frontier against the
Parthians. He executed many senators and confiscated their property. And while he was building up a mountain of resentment against
himself, he was paying no attention to the administration or to the army. This time the legions led the rebellion, not the palace guard…
Nero, easily overthrown, committed suicide; then three army commanders in succession marched on Rome.. claimed the imperial title,
and promptly lost it to the next aggressor” (Strayer and Gatzke 85).
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