Rome, Italy. Apollodorus of Damascus. Forum and markets: 106-112 C.E.; column completed 113 C.E. Brick and concrete (architecture); marble (column)
It is an amazing work of art for each detail of each scene to the very top of the Column is carefully carved. It is astounded by the artistic skill it displays.
Forum (fora: plural): open civil space in a Roman city Imperial Fora - Were a new series forums built by emperors o Forums were the civic, juridical, and social heart of the city of ancient Rome o Could be found in any Roman city o Always included a temple § Shows the connection between church and state that still exists - These were forums built by Roman emperors during the Roman imperial period o Mainly to showcase power - Represent the major architectural landscapes of the city of Rome o Shows the importance of civic architecture - Illustrate the strength, accomplishments, and stability of the Roman state - Fora is the plural form of forum - There were five but the only one that we need to pay attention to is the Forum of Trajan
Trajan Forum FORM - Apollodorus of Damascus was the engineer - Almost the size of all the other imperial forms put together o Very extravagant o Had a massive entrance way - The place where Trajan was to build was already covered with the forums from previous emperors o So he got Apollodorus of Damascus to move a good portion of the hill that was in his way of building - Ceremonial entrance way that leads into the forum o Below is a depiction of the entrance way to the forum o On the top is an image of Trajan being followed by the goddess of victory -  - - within the center of the forum was an equestrian sculpture o the equestrian sculpture of Marcus Aurelius provides insight into how that sculpture may have looked - - past the forum was the Basilica Ulpia o this was the largest Basicila in Rome o we can still see some of it today; there are columns standing - was filled with sculptures, carvings, free standing sculpture were found all around the forum - colored marbles were found on the paving stones and the structures themselves - beyond the basic Ulpia there was another entrance way o this lead to two libraries o in the middle of these two libraries was the column of Trajan
 CONTENT - Basicila Ulpia o The Basicila laid the foundation for the modern cruciform church o Called the Basilica Ulpia because that is Trajan's family name - The free standing and other art that would have been scattering the forum depict the power of the emperors, politicians and military leaders of ancient Rome o Throughout the forum, there were sculptures of captured Dacians § Represented them as noble to show they the Romans are all powerful and can defeat even noble men - Column of Trajan o The point was to see the stories of Trajan's military victories o Specifically, the column highlights the battle in which Trajan defeated the Dacians o Shows that he was proud of his military acts o 125 feet tall, marks the height of the hill that was removed - Libraries o One was full of Greek literature, and the other was filled with Roman literature o This shows how much the Romans were influenced and incorporated Greek life into their lives § This is shown through their copying of ancient Greek works as well § These libraries had porches, so one was able to study the column of Trajan from within the libraries - Major theme= power o This is represented by the free-standing sculptures of the defeated Dacians o Also, the massive structure alludes to the massive power of Trajan - Major theme = making nature subordinate to man's rule
CONTEXT  - Trajan expanded the Roman empire to its greatest boarders - - the column was made to depict two major defeats of the Dacians for the Romans - Trajan o One of the most highly regarded Roman Emperors o Best known for his public building program - He was able to build so many things because of the large sum of money he brought home from the war on the Dacians o Which is depicted all throughout the forum and is found in detail all around the Column of Trajan
FUNCTION - civic space - ceremonial space - to represent the power of Trajan - the detail of the art within it shows the importance the society placed on him and his accomplishments
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/trajan-column/article.html
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/imperialfora/trajan/forumtrajani.html
Markets of Trajan 110 CE
FORM - Engineered by Apollodorus of Damascus o Commissioned by Trajan - A market complex with more than 150 shops and offices - Multi-story - High wide space o Made with groin vault brick face concrete § A barrel vault that is intercepted with another barrel vault perpendicular to it § There is one main barrel vault lined with other intercepting ones - There are offices located on either side of the market - Huge windows that let a lot of light in o This is a big deal because it shows their sophistication with concrete
CONTENT - Lots of shops and offices - May have been used to re locate shops that were displaced by the building of the Trajan Forum - Ground floor offices = cashiers of the imperial treasury - Upper-level rooms = leased out or used by imperial officials
FUNCTION - Mercantile and offices
CONTEXT - Shows the power and focus of Trajan and his rule o Emphasis on the people - Important because more emphasis on people rather than the individual ruler - May have been built to relocate the offices that were moved by the building of the Trajan Forum
COLUMN OF TRAJAN
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