100_6555 copy
Base of the Column of Antoninus Pius, dating to 161 C.E. The co-emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, the successors of Emperor Antoninus Pius (138-61), set up a column to honor the deified Antoninus. The right side records the funerary decursio, a ceremony performed by the Roman cavalry. The left side shows the ascent of the emperor and his wife Faustina to Heaven (Apotheosis). The column itself has not been preserved. A winged genius (or sometimes identified as Aion, Eternity) carries the royal couple to Heaven. The Emperor holds a sceptre crowned with an eagle. Eagles also accompany their ascent. The personified figure (left) holding the obelisk represents the Campus Martius. Augustus had placed the obelisk there as a sun dial and it was the site of the ritual of the imperial deification. The personified female figure represents Rome. Roma's shield depicts the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus suckled by a wolf. She seems to salute the royal couple.
100_6555 copy
Base of the Column of Antoninus Pius, dating to 161 C.E. The co-emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, the successors of Emperor Antoninus Pius (138-61), set up a column to honor the deified Antoninus. The right side records the funerary decursio, a ceremony performed by the Roman cavalry. The left side shows the ascent of the emperor and his wife Faustina to Heaven (Apotheosis). The column itself has not been preserved. A winged genius (or sometimes identified as Aion, Eternity) carries the royal couple to Heaven. The Emperor holds a sceptre crowned with an eagle. Eagles also accompany their ascent. The personified figure (left) holding the obelisk represents the Campus Martius. Augustus had placed the obelisk there as a sun dial and it was the site of the ritual of the imperial deification. The personified female figure represents Rome. Roma's shield depicts the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus suckled by a wolf. She seems to salute the royal couple.