Depictions of Religious and Mythological Themes on the column capitals of the Baths of Caracalla in Rome

Amer, Haidy Mohammed Mohammed Amer

doi:10.21608/bcps.2024.347419

Depictions of Religious and Mythological Themes on the column capitals of the Baths of Caracalla in Rome

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Haidy Mohammed Mohammed Amer Amer

Faculty of Archaeology, Ain Shams university,, Cairo, Egypt.

10.21608/bcps.2024.347419

Abstract

The main aim of this research is to focus on the religious and mythological themes depicted on the capitals of the columns of the Baths of Caracalla in Rome during the Severian Period. The artistic themes varied between legendary heroes, at the top of which was the Hero Hercules, and Roman deities such as the goddess Venus and the god Bacchus with his followers that include the satyrs and the Maenades, the gods Mars and Eros, and the goddessesDeaVirtusand Fortuna on the one hand, and the Eastern ones such as the Alexandrian trinity consisting of Isis, Serapis, and Harpocrates on the other hand. The artistic themes also included the depiction of artistic scenes of birds, most notably the eagles, where it is depicted with its wings spread out as if it were flying in the sky, with the shapes of lightning bolts in the middle of the eagles. All of these capitals were made of Proconosus marble imported from Asia Minor.
The study achieves its objectives through the descriptive approach for architectural pieces decorated with various religious and mythological themes, some of which are preserved in the Museum of Antiquities at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, while others are preserved in the Church of Santa Maria in the Trastevere area of Rome, and the Church of Pisa in the city of Pisa, Italy. The study also employs the analytical approach to artistic themes of the archaeological and artistic analysis to interpret its meaning and show its connotations and symbolism.

Keywords

References

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