2006/06/01 by Elizabeth Marlowe · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Classical Antiquity Studies #Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History #Historical and Religious Studies of Rome #Emperor #Cityscape #Arch #Appropriation #Ancient Rome #Art #Colossus computer #Framing (construction) #Statue #Ancient history #Art history #Archaeology #History #Visual arts #Classics #Philosophy
paper · doi:10.1080/00043079.2006.10786288
openalex publication_date 2006/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Approaching the Arch of Constantine in fourth-century Rome, the northbound traveler beheld a spectacular tableau of monuments. The position of the arch negotiated the divergent orientations of the triumphal road and the monuments in the Colosseum Valley. It also framed the colossal Neronian statue of Sol through the arch's central passageway, in a highly scenographic display of the comity between the emperor and the sun god. This appropriation of the ancient colossus sheds light on the arch's overall program, on other acts of appropriation in Constantinian Rome, and on the emperor's religious tendencies.