http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGZHyYRP7_g (36 mins)

TRAJANS COLUMN

BACKGROUND Military architects drew detailed pictures of

Trajan's conquest of Dacia

Made of Carrara Marble

There are 2500 figures in the frieze

The armies are shown

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.

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 Romania). It stands in Trajan's Forum in Rome, just below Trajan's Markets, and near the old Roman Forum.

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.

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.

Function The Column must be seen initially as part

of a much greater whole – the Forum, 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

Here you can see the little windows in the column, to light up the spiral staircase that goes up the inside.

Here you can see a lot of Roman soldiers with their shields over their heads in the "testudo" formation (it means "turtle").

River god Danube

Light Well

SYMBOLISM 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 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.

Discuss 3 to 4 ideologies demonstrated in different Roman works.

You should be looking to draw comparisons between different works

Referring to primary sources as supporting evidence and seeking to assess the strength of this supporting evidence

Peer Assessment Read through the marking schedule

What is needed for A (understanding), M (in-depth) & E (perceptive)?

Primary evidence – required for A!

Insight shown through;• Reasons for similarities/differences• Themes patterns• Cultural expectations and codes of behaviour• Limitations of sources