Trajan's Column and Mars Ultor

Abstract

This paper makes two arguments. The first is that Trajan deliberately orchestrated the dedication of his Column on 12 May, the anniversary of the dedication of the Temple of Mars Ultor, to coincide with the beginning of a new war against Parthia ina.d. 113. The second is that although most modern commentators focus on the function of Mars Ultor as avenger of Caesar, the evidence of his actual invocation from the late first centuryb.c. through the third centurya.d. more strongly supports another interpretation: as agent of vengeance against foreign enemies, and against Parthia/Persia in particular.

Divine Representation in Documentary Style: Gods on the Columns of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius

“… 1 Some important and recent studies: on the Column of Trajan: Cichorius 1896–1900; Jones 1910; Lehmann-Hartleben 1926; von Blanckenhagen 1957; Gauer 1977; Hölscher 1980: 291–7; Settis 1985; Bode 1992; Coarelli 2000; Faust 2012: 35–91; Claridge 2013; Beckmann 2016: 124–8; Mitthof and Schörner 2017; Fox 2018; Hölscher 2019: 293–310. On the Column of Marcus Aurelius: Petersen et al 1896; Hamberg 1945: 149–58; Becatti 1957; Bergmann 1991; Pirson 1996; Scheid and Huet 2000; Coarelli 2008; Ferris 2009; Beckmann 2011; Faust 2012: 92–120; Griebel 2013; Barrett 2017; Wolfram Thill 2018; Hölscher 2019: 310–20.…”

“… 5 Dedication: Zanker 1970: 504; Beckmann 2016: 124–6; Weber 2017. Trajan's Forum: Zanker 1970; Strobel 2017a.…”

Dispatches from the Home Front: The Anaglypha Panels in Rome

“… 1 The commemoration of Augustan involvement in Parthia is an exception that proves the rule: a diplomatic victory was presented to the public in expressly military terms (Popkin 2018), often in specific association with Mars (Rich 1998; Beckmann 2016). …”