I think every once in a while, I will write about some of the more interesting stories that come down to us from Antiquity. We owe a lot to the Classical world. Due largely to the success Western culture has had in disseminating itself, and the fact that the Western ethos is grounded in Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern antiquity, it would seem that learning about these cultures would then tell us about the mores and maybe the future course of our own respective cultures.
Following the disastrous rule of the Flavian Emperor Domitian (81-96), the Senate installed Nerva as Emperor in 96 AD. The old, feeble Nerva served only for some 2 years before his death, and designated as his successor Marcus Ulpius Traianus, or Trajan. Trajan had, aside from Augustus himself, perhaps the most successful rule of any imperator, with the empire reaching its largest extent under him. Numerous public welfare programs were initiated due to him, and subsequent generations would hope that their own emperors might be “melior Traiano“, or “better than Trajan”. Ruling from 96 to 117, Trajan was succeeded by Publius Aelius Hadrianus, or Hadrian.
The Forum Transitorium, located in what was an alleyway between the Forum of Augustus and the Templum Pacis (the Imperial forum of the Flavians), was started by Domitian and completed by Nerva ca. 96. Seen here are (usually for an Imperial forum) motifs depicting women in daily, domestic activities, images Domitian likely included due to his institution of domestic reforms aimed at increasing the efficiency of women in the household.
Hadrian was the second non-Italian emperor (after Trajan himself), born, like Trajan, in the province of Hispania, which encompasses the Iberian Peninsula. Although an early favorite of Trajan, and in fact a relative of his, Hadrian was never formally adopted as his successor. In Imperial Rome, political succession was determined through adoption, which entailed all hereditary rights. As a result, the announcement of Trajan’s death was delayed by several days, and in the meantime, Trajan’s wife (Plotina) and Hadrian concocted and promulgated the story that he had been formally adopted by Trajan on the latter’s deathbed.
Hadrian ruled from 117 to 138, after which he was succeeded by Antoninus Pius. Hadrian was a prolific builder (and an amateur architect whose own eccentric designs were derided by Vitruvius himself), and his monuments constitute some of the best preserved Roman ruins that we have. Most prominent of these are the Pantheon and Hadrian’s Mausoleum. The Mausoleum is situated on the east bank of the Tiber River, in an area known as Trastevere (beyond the Tiber in Italian) almost directly across from the Mausoleum of Augustus, a clearly symbolic gesture by which Hadrian sought to connect his legacy to that of the first Emperor.
The modern site of the Mausoleum of Augustus, located just off the west bank of the Tiber River. Built between 28BC-23BC, it is also in the Campus Martius
The form of Hadrian’s Mausoleum closely echoes that of Augustus’s, both being cylindrical in shape, and both being adorned with gardens above, this harkening back to the old Etruscan tumuli (this a move employed by Augustus to connect himself with the old Italic hero Aeneas).
The Mausoleum of Hadrian. Built around the time of Hadrian’s death, it was converted into a fortress towards the end of the Western Empire, around which time its contents (the ashes of numerous Emperors) were sacked by invading forces. It was, near the onset of the Renaissance, converted into an Papal fortress and was fitted with a secret passageway linking it to St. Peter’s. Today, it is known in Italian as Castel Sant’Angelo, or the Castle of Saint Angelo
Hadrian’s homage to Augustus is further reiterated in the Pantheon. The Pantheon, completeled around 125 AD is in fact the third temple to be built upon the site (the previous two having burnt down), which in Hadrian’s time was in the Campus Martius. In fact, the inscription upon the entablature of the current building reads “M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT”, or “Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, consul thrice, built it”, an homage to Augustus’s second-in-command, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, who built the original Pantheon.
The Pantheon, completed around 125 AD. Note the inscription on the frieze, suggesting that Agrippa was in fact the builder of the current structure. Immediately below it, on the architrave (and nearly invisible even to an observer in situ), an inscription indicates that Septimius Severus performed renovations to the structure around 200 AD. Clearly, he was less humble than Hadrian. In fact, Septimius Severus wasn’t humble at all, dedicating a temple to his family at his Imperial forum in Leptis Magna—his hometown in modern day Libya—while he was still alive. But that’s for another time.
Note: All photo credits are to myself
