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Urban Planning and Sculptural Display in Severan Rome: Reconstructing the Septizodium

and Its Role in Dynastic Politics


Author(s): Susann S. Lusnia
Source: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 108, No. 4 (Oct., 2004), pp. 517-544
Published by: Archaeological Institute of America
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40025729
Accessed: 16-11-2017 18:07 UTC

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Urban Planning and Sculptural Display in Severan
Rome: Reconstructing the Septizodium and
Its Role in Dynastic Politics
SUSANN S. LUSNIA

Abstract Severus in the early third century A.D.1 F


Located at the foot of the Palatine Hill, the monumental inscription that announced
Septizodium, a monumental facade fountain, was built
self-acclaimed ancestry of the emperor Se
during the reign of the emperor L. Septimius Severus.
structure was a bold, colorful encomium for the
The construction of the Septizodium was part of a larger
plan of urban development aimed at creating a monu-
emperor and his dynasty. The writer of the Historia
Augusta believed that Severus built the Septizodi-
mentalized district honoring the imperial family. This
um to greet travelers arriving from Africa as they
plan included the construction of new imperial baths,
the refurbishment of aqueducts, and possibly the layout
entered Rome along the Via Appia and that he in-
of a new road. With a three-story high columnar facade,
tended the structure to function as a new entrance
the Septizodium once dominated a large plaza at the
terminus of the Via Appia.
to the imperial palace on the Palatine Hill. This
would
The Septizodium has been the subject of modern schol- have happened, contends the author of the
HA, "if the prefect of the city had not placed a stat-
arly debate for a little over a century. Widely ranging opin-
ions on the monument's appearance, function, and inter- ue of him [Severus] in the middle while he was
pretation have appeared over the years. After a brief re-
away" (HA Sev. 24 .4: nisi absente eo per praefectum urbis
view of some earlier studies of the Septizodium 's architec-
medium simulacrum eius esset locatum) . Given the lay-
ture, I will attempt to reevaluate the monument within
the context of Severan dynastic politics. Once the archi-of the Palatine Hill at the time, however, it is
out
unlikely that Severus ever planned to use this area
tectural form of the Septizodium is established, the discus-
sion will move to its decoration. Comparison of the struc-
as a formal entryway. Instead, the building served a
ture at Rome with other monuments, particularly those
twofold purpose. First, it masked the clutter of struc-
with similar facade arrangements and known sculpture tures that had accumulated on the Palatine Hill
programs, allows for speculation about the Septizodium's
decoration. Other factors for consideration in this pro- over the centuries, giving the southeastern slope a
posal are the monument's urban setting and its role inmorethe orderly and majestic appearance. Second, it
dynastic politics of the emperor Severus. Understanding was the anchor of a new urban space that formal-
the architecture, urban context, and possible decorationized and monumentalized the terminus of the Via
of the Septizodium leads to the conclusion that the monu-
Appia as it glorified the new Severan dynasty. While
ment had great significance within the building program
of the emperor L. Septimius Severus.* the author of the Historia Augusta may have been
misinformed about the use of the building, he nev-
ertheless noted the two most important features of
INTRODUCTION
this monument: its sculptural decoration and its
prominent
The Septizodium was constructed in Romeposition
dur-along a major thoroughfare in
Rome.
ing the reign of the emperor Lucius Septimius

* I am especially grateful to those colleagues and mentors Society, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at
who either read or heard earlier versions of this argument Yale- University, the Bibliotheque nationale de France, the
James C. Anderson, Jr., Helen Nagy, Brian Rose, and Katherine Deutsches Archaologisches Institut, Edizioni Quasar, and the
Welch - as well as to those who offered critical comments on Fototeca Unione for their kind assistance and permission to
this presentversion: Barbara Burrell, Dennis Kehoe, and Rabun use the illustrations reproduced herein. Finally, any errors are
Taylor. My thanks also go to the librarians and staff of the John my own. All references follow the AJA Instructions for Contribu-
Miller Burnam Classical Library at the University of Cincinnati tors, January 2000.
and the American Academy Library in Rome for their gener- 1 Several different forms of the monument's name (e.g.,
ous assistance. Research for this article was funded in part by aSeptizonium, Septisolium, Settesoli, and even Schola di Vir-
2003 grant from the Friedrich Stoll Endowed Scholars Fund at gilio) are seen in documents ranging from late antiquity to
Tulane Univerity. In addition, I would like to thank Michel the modern era: see LTUR 4:269-71. In this article I will use
Amandry, Renate Bol, Claudia Dorl-Klingenschmid, Fritz Pfeil, "Septizodium," since it is the form appearing on the Severan-
the American Academy in Rome, the American Numismaticera forma urbis marmorea.

517
American Journal of Archaeology 108 (2004) 517-44

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518 SUSANN S. LUSNIA [AJA108

Fig. 1. Outline of the foundation of the S

THE APPERANCE OF THE SEPTIZODIUM


The Septizodium has been the subject o
scholarly debate for None of the building's
a little over astructure above
century.
ing opinions on level survives
the today (fig. 1). After
monument's the Sept
appea
tion, and was built in have
interpretation the early appeared
third century A.D.,
ov it
and it the sorts
will be useful toofreview
adversities to which many monu
briefly s
studies Rome have been 's
of the Septizodium subjected. At some time
architectur
fourth century A.D. but
barking upon a reevaluation ofprior
theto the visit of t
monu
context of Severan ymous author of the
dynastic ninth century itinerary
politics, I wi
the Codex Einsidlensis,
lish what the consensus is regarding the middle section
the of
tizodium collapsed.2 Next,
al form of the Septizodium. According toI Krautheim
will
structure at Rome remaining
with north end was
other converted to a for
monument
as early
ly those with similar as A.D. 975.arrangemen
facade 3 Several columns we
sculpture programs,over and
or knocked down in offer
I will April A.D. 1084,
a pr w
the Septizodium 's Gregory VII took refuge Moreover
decoration. in the Septizodium
during Henry IV's urban
tend that the monument's assault on Rome.4 By the
setting
the southern
in the dynastic politics ofend theof the structure had ap
emperor S
been destroyed,
have had a perceivable effect and itonis possible
its that
deco du
gram. In my opinion,sack ofunderstanding
Rome in 1527, further damage theto t
decoration, and urban
ern end maycontext
have occurred.5 of
Thus, the
the mo
had been
will lead to a greater in ruins since the early
appreciation of Middle
its Agi
the building last extant
program of portion of the Septizodium
L. Septimius w
Se

2 Walser 1987, 88-9; see also Iacopi and the Tedone 1993, 2.
Liber pontificalis, which states that the attack "overturned
3 Krautheimer 2000, 322. This part of theseveral columns" (plurimas
Septizodium was columpnas subvertit) . See also Krau-
the property of a man called Stefano, son oftheimer 2000, 149.
the consul et dux
Hildebrand, who gave it to the abbot of San 5Chastel Gregorio (1983, 91-114) presents an overview of what is
Magno
on the Caelian Hill, "for the purpose of demolishing known about the anddestruction
lay- of artworks in 1527, both in
ing low however it would please you" ( ad destruendum churches and et in private
suptusresidences. There are no complete
deprimendum quantum vobis placuerit): see also accounts of the damage
Augenti 1996,to buildings during the lengthy peri-
62-3. od of ransacking and occupation; however, the destruction was
4Bartoli 1909, 255, provides a passage on this siege from widespread.

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2004] RECONSTRUCTING THE SEPTIZODIUM 519

down by the architect fluted) and the numerous


Domenico Fontanapolychrome onstones
the used
order of Pope Sixtus V.inDemolition
it. began in 1588,
The first modern
and by 1589 the visible structure was study of the Septizodium
gone. Materi-was
als salvaged from the demolition
undertaken by Hiilsenwere
in 1886. Inreused in
addition to com-
piling a number the
various papal projects throughout of manuscript
city.6 references to the
Despite this loss, the general
Septizodium, he appearance
studied the availableand
Renaissance
plan of the Septizodium drawings
can be of the building and its architectural
recovered through ele-
the assistance of the third-century
ments. Through a comparison A.D. Severan
of column base pro-
files and
Marble Plan, or forma urbis measurements given
marmorea (fig.by Serlio and other
2), con-
architects of the
temporary with the building, and 16ththe
century, Hiilsen established
later notes
and sketches produced by a meanseveral
proportion forRenaissance ar-
his own proposed reconstruc-
tion of the
chitects.7 Many of the artists andstructure. Using an axialin
architects spacing
Romeof 3.0
during this period were m for the colonnades, he concluded
enamored of the that the ruins
col- of
the Septizodium. Artists'umns ofrenderings, such
the lowest order, or first story, as an
had a base
diameter ofa0.90
example by Lafrery, reveal m.9 Hiilsen also made use ofbuilding
three-story the

with a columnar facade (fig.


fragments of 3). The
the forma urbisRenaissance
marmorea depicting a
architect Serlio believed the
part of thebuilding's
Septizodium next todesign fol-
the eastern curve
lowed the Vitruvian modelof the
for Circus
the Maximus
scaenae(fig. 2). This
fronsground of plan a
Roman theater.8 Nearly all showsthe two large exedrae, one with a rectilinear
Renaissance writers base
remarked on the various and exotic colored mar-
centrally addorsed to the semicircle, and a project-
bles used in the building. Some even believeding that
wing closing off the end of the structure near-
estspo-
the Septizodium itself had been constructed of to the Circus Maximus.

lia because of the tremendous variety of column On the basis of this, Hiilsen reconstructed the
types (vertically and spirally fluted, as well building
as un- with a facade consisting of three colon-

Fig. 2. Fragments of the Severan Marble Plan illustrating the Septizodium and Circus Maximus. (Neg. 5927 F,
used by permission of the Fototeca Unione, Rome)

6 Stevenson 1888, 275-90. Renaissance periods, until its destruction. For the publication
7Forni (1991, 44-5, and 94-6) gives a descriptive list of il- of the forma urbis marmorea, see Carettoni et al. 1960 and Ro-
lustrations of the Septizodium. Bartoli (1909, 254-8) includes driquez Almeida 1980.
a concise summary of the documentary sources for the history 8 Hiilsen 1886, 11-2.
of the monument through the Late Antique, Medieval, and 9 Hiilsen 1886, 15-9.

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520 SUSANN S. IJLJSNIA [AJA108

naded stories articulated by the thre


drae (fig. 4).10 Within the area embr
exedra, he located a circular, freesta
tain. Halmhuber's illustration for Hu
conceives of these fountains as resem
seen in modern piazzas in Rome, with je
water up into the air so that the water
back down over the rim of the labrum, into catch-
ment basins below.11 In the central exedra Hiilsen

included a large, rather high statue podium, to


correspond with what is represented on the forma
urbis marmorea. The presumption appears to be that
this was the location of the statue of Septimius
Severus allegedly placed there by the urban pre-
fect.12 Finally, because Scamozzi reported seeing
evidence of statues on the uppermost edge of the
building, Hiilsen located a series of figures atop
the attic corresponding to the placement of the
columns in the porticoes below, but he did not re-
store any statues within the colonnades.13 He pro-
posed that the exedrae might have had half-domes
over them, but neither sketches nor descriptions
of the remains offer any positive evidence for the
original appearance of the Septizodium's roof.14
Not long after Hulsen's monograph appeared,
Stevenson published a document concerning the
demolition of the Septizodium discovered in the
archives of Sixtus V. Domenico Fontana, the archi-
tect in charge of dismantling the building, pre- Fig. 3. Engraving of the Septizodium by A. Lafrery, 1546.
pared the document, his mesura et stima, in 1589. It (By permission of Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript
details the types and amounts of stone, including Library Yale University)
architectural elements, removed from the structure
and Fontana's charge for the work. Fontana's bill of forma urbis marmorea fragments, he argued that there
expenses for removing the material of the Septizo- was a large basin extending along the front of the
dium specifies columns made of red and gray gran- building to collect water from the various fountains
ites, porphyry, and an assortment of pavonazzetto, situated across the lower facade. Petersen, more-
gray, and white marbles. In the papal expense ac- over, using the measurements found in the sketch-
counts for other building activity in the city, there is es published by Stevenson, proposed that the build-
further evidence for both giallo antico and cipollino ing was 100 Roman feet (RF) tall.
marble columns taken from the Septizodium and In the following decade, Dombart attempted to
reused in those projects.15 put the Septizodium into a meaningful art histori-
Other proposals for reconstructing the Septizo- cal context by comparing its architectural style and
dium followed these initial studies. Petersen rec- elements with those of the Roman scaenae frons

ognized similarities between this building in and monumental facade fountains, just as Peters-
Rome
and the design of the scaenae frons in Roman en the-
had done.17 In Dombart's reconstruction, the
ater architecture as well as that used in some mon- building sits upon a high socle and has three col-
umental facade fountains.16 On the evidence of the onnaded stories above (fig. 5). The exedrae rise

10 Hiilsen 1886, 22 n. 19. Halmhuber's sketch does not include these.


11 Hiilsen 1886, Taf. 4. 15 Stevenson 1888, 288-9.
12HASev. 24. 16 Petersen 1910, 67. Petersen had made this comparison
13 Hiilsen 1886,25. previously in a discussion of the nymphaeum at Side: see Nie-
14 Hiilsen 1886, 24-5; see Hulsen's fig. 9 for Graef s eleva- mann and Petersen 1890-2, 144-5.
tion of the building with half-domes crowning each niche. 17 Dombart 1922, 1-10.

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2004] RECONSTRUCTING THE SEPTIZODIUM 521

and confirmed
only two stories in height with the notations and measurements roofing
half-domes
found is
them, while the third story in Fontana's
treated billing
as receipt.
an atticThe latest
with ar-
columnar screen, rather chaeological
than as study by Iacopi
the full and portico
Tedone shows that
that
Hiilsen envisioned. Between
the Septizodium
thewas two
between wings
93 and 95 m that
long,
oriented along
flanked the building, Dombart a roughly north-south
restored a water line.basin
Its
extending across the entire
depth from
facade,
front to rear,
with including
water
the water
spout
basin,
was 34.10 of
placed around the first level m, and theretwo
the was an unusually
flanking high podi-
exe
um, 5.72 m, upon
drae and a high statue podium which the
in the three upper
central stories
exedra
Excavations conducted in the 1980s have re-
rested - a feature that Dombart had anticipated in
vealed the foundation of the Septizodium hisinreconstruction.
pre- According to Iacopi and
cisely the location indicated on the Severan Mar-
Tedone, the podium's extra height probably result-
ble Plan. These investigations brought to ed
light
from ar-
the structure's design as a fountain, since
chitectural and sculptural fragments of the struc-
the added height allowed for the placement of wa-
ter jets, conduits, and reservoirs needed for this
ture, and the work has demonstrated conclusively
the Septizodium 's design as a monumental foun- The total height of the building appears
function.19
to validat-
tain.18 In addition, this work has essentially have been 29.87 m, which calculates to just a bit
ed both Hulsen's and Dombart's reconstructions over 100 RF.20

Fig. 4. Reconstruction, with elevation and ground plan, proposed by C. Hiilsen. (After Hiilsen 1886, pl. 4)

18 See the following reports: Chini and Mancioli 1986; Pisani 0.2957 m) is my own. All other measurements are taken from
Sartorio 1987; Iacopi and Tomei 1990; and Iacopi and Tedone Iacopi and Tedone 1993, 12. It is notable that Petersen (1910,
1993. 66-7) had already suggested restoring the height of the build-
19 Iacopi and Tedone 1993, 12. ing as 100 Roman feet.
20 The approximation in Roman feet (based upon 1 RF =

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522 SUSANN S. LUSNIA [AJA108

The excavations brought crocodile or sphinx seen


to withlight
the Nile.24 The Sep-
fragm
large porphyry basin tizodium'sapproximately
river god, based on the accompanying53 c
a 173 cm radius, similar to those used in monu- feline figure, may be the Tigris River, the animal
mental fountains and frequently seen in luxurious symbol being a visual pun on the river's name.
bath complexes.21 In addition, the investigators dis- The so-called Parthian Monument, or Antonine
covered a statue fragment that is now displayed in Altar, at Ephesus offers the only known extant exam-
the Palatine Museum in Rome (fig. 6)22 Although ple of this iconographic portrayal of the Tigris. Dat-
its head is missing, the semidraped male reclining ing to ca. A.D. 169, the altar commemorated the
against the figure of an animal has the typical ap- Parthian victory and apotheosis of Lucius Verus, core-
pearance of a river-god. The animal against which gent of Marcus Aurelius. In the reliefs that adorned
male figure reclines appears to be feline and seems this monument, the Tigris is portrayed as a long-
to have been fitted with a pipe that would have al-haired, bearded male half-figure accompanied by a
lowed water to issue from the creature's mouth, a tiger. The river-god is flanked by female personifica-
device found in a number of Roman fountains.23 In tions who represent the Parthian cities of Ctesiphon
Roman art reclining river gods frequently rest uponand Seleucia.25 The iconography of the Tigris is of-
or are surrounded by identifying attributes, such as
ten indistinguishable from that of the Euphrates and
the wolf and twins accompanying the Tiber or the somewhat generic in nature.26 The figure on the

Fig. 5. Dombart's reconstruction, with ground plan. (After Dombart 1922, frontispiece)

21 Iacopi and Tomei 1990, 153. ing to Vittozzi and Presicce ( 1991 , 93) , this figure was original-
22Iacopi and Tedone 1993, 5. ly the Tigris and was only transformed into the Tiber during
23Neuerburg 1965, 97-101. Michelangelo's reworking of the Piazza del Campidoglio for
24 See for example, Helbig4 1:440 for the colossal figure of SixtusV.
the Nile in the Vatican Museums, and 2:1 162 for the colossal 25 See Weiss 1988, 144, cat. 26.
figures of the Nile and the Tiber that flank the stairs to the 26 Baity 1997, 27-8.
Palazzo del Senatorio on the Piazza del Campidoglio. Accord-

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2004] RECONSTRUCTING THE SEPTIZODIUM 523

Fig. 6. Fragmentary statue of a reclining river god, ca. 120 x


1993, fig. 4)

Ephesus monument is an unusual


programs. The bestexample.
examples of the Yet,
type of if
orna-
mental architecture
the figure from the Septizodium in on which the
Rome Septizodium
could bewas
modeled it
identified as the Tigris, then are the monumental
would have nymphaea
referredwith elab
orate victories,
to the emperor's Parthian sculptural programs constructed in the
proclaimed inRo-
man East, particularly
A.D. 198 and officially celebrated in A.D.in Greece
202.and Asia Minor in
More-
over, it would have provided the second anda third
linkcenturiesbetween
A.D. Other monu- Septi-

mius Severus and the Antonine emperors, ments of interest to this discussion are the
a elabo-
topic to
be considered further below. rate city gates and the so-called Kaisersdle found in
Asia Minor. All of these structures employ the com-
THE SCULPTURAL PROGRAM
plicated column displays that MacDonald associ-
Having considered the architectural ates withform"empire and imagery" and clearly represent
the known elements of the Septizodium, the infusion of Roman
I wish now architecture with Hellenis-

to consider aspects of the possible tic elements.27pro-


sculptural The eclectic sculptural arrange-
gram of the monument. The obvious ments that adorned these
parallels tomonuments, on the oth-
both theatrical and decorative facade architecture er hand, may have drawn inspiration from earlier
argue for reconstructing the Septizodium adorned imperial monuments in Italy and Rome. In the sec-
with numerous sculptures and other ornaments. tions that follow, I will argue that the Septizodium
The porphyry basin and river god already discussed likely followed the examples of decorative facade
provide a starting point for conjecture, but it architecture
will seen in the eastern provinces but that
also be useful to examine similar monuments of elements of its sculptural program were tied to
the Roman Imperial period and their decorative political ideologies and traditions rooted in the

27 MacDonald 1986, 179-83.

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524 SUSANN S. LUSNIA [AJA108

imperial capital, a young male figure,


Rome. However,nude except for a to chlamys,
pur
of inquiry, it is similar to anecessary
first Sol-Helios type.32 Having to seven niches
unde
was meant by the term
for sculptures, septizodium
this particular septizodium may have a
might have related to
been a small the
facade fountain, Severan
although no definite m
signs of water pipes or fittings have been identi-
decorative program.
fied. The facade formed part of the decoration of
The Meaning of the theTerm
frigidarium within a bath complex. Other sep- "
"Septizodium
The name of the tizodia are known now, most
building, at North African sites,
Septizodium
zled many scholarsincluding and onehas
at Lambaesis
led (Algeria)
toand another
debate
er the term reflects at Henchir Bedd (Tunisia), both identified
something by
about th
function or its design. means of inscriptions
The found inliterature
association with the on
abundant. The earliest structures.33 studies focused o
lem of identifying The the septizodium
form at Lambaesis,and
destroyed functio
short-
tizodium at Rome.28 Once the identification of the ly after its excavation in the 19th century, is recon-
Septizodium as a fountain became widely accepted, structed as a single exedra flanked by two rectilin-
arguments shifted to defining a distinction betweenear wings with a large catch-basin in front of the
a nymphaeum and a septizodium.29 In general, mostentire structure. There were perhaps seven nich-
es for sculptures along this facade.34 This struc-
scholars acknowledge that the term "septizodium"
ture appears to have been built in A.D. 226, with a
probably has a connection to the seven planetary de-
ities: Sol-Helios-Apollo, Luna-Selene-Diana, Mars, restoration attested by a second inscription in A.D.
246/7. 35 While both the septizodia at Lambaesis
Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. The obvious
inference is that the term, when applied to a build-and Cincari may have had seven niches, their ar-
chitectural structures were nonetheless different.
ing, likely refers to its decorative theme, but a per-
plexing question remains: Was a septizodium alsoWe must, then, as Aupert has argued, consider
defined by a set of architectural characteristics? neither plan nor size to be the defining factor in
In examining the ruins of the Severan Septizodi- the identification of a septizodium.36 Of the septi-
um, some Renaissance writers believed the term zodia known at this time, there are no two with
referred to seven distinct architectural zones in the identical plan or magnitude. Indeed, the struc-
structure, although no one could ever define theseture at Rome was very likely the largest septizodi-
um in the Roman world and for that reason may
zones. Scamozzi was the first to discount the suppo-
sition that the name referred to a building con-
have influenced the naming of other, later struc-
structed of seven orders, or stories, on the groundstures that sought to imitate some of its decorative
that this was both architecturally and practically themes, if not its plan.
implausible.30 More recently, scholars have argued Unlike the septizodia at Lambaesis and Cincari,
that septizodia have no particular architectural form
the structure at Rome, as indicated on the forma urbis
marmorea, had three large hemicycles. The Renais-
or features but that the name refers only to the dec-
oration of a monument with images of the plane- sance sketches and the papal accounts, together with
tary gods.31 In fact, a septizodium discovered in the
the ground plan depicted on the forma urbis marmorea,
1950s at Cincari (Henchir Tounga, Tunisia) hadmake it clear that, as both Hiilsen and Dombart sug-
statuary fragments identifiable as Saturn, Mars, andgested, the architect of this structure mimicked the

28 The basic discussions are found in Hiilsen 1886, 32-6; 33 Aupert 1974, 95-8, on the septizodia at Henchir Bedd
Maass 1902, 20-36; and Dombart 1922, 125-30. and Lambaesis; and also Guey 1946, 147-9. For an inscription
29 E.g., Aupert 1974, esp. 79-126, Settis 1973, 722-30, and naming a septizodium atLilybaeum in Sicily, see Barbieri 1961 ,
Ginouves 1969, 152-5. 34-45. On a possible septizodium in Augst, see R. Laur-Belart
30 Hiilsen 1886, 13-5. 1960-1.

31 Ginouves (1969, 153) argues it is not architecture but the 34Janon 1973, 229-31, on Boissonnet's reconstruction and
connection with planetary gods and water divinities that con- the sculpture fragments found. The sculptures associated with
stitutes a septizodium. Aupert (1974, 119-22) adds that it is the niches may or may not have had a planetary theme: see
perhaps necessary to have either evidence of statues of the Janon 1973, 237. The identification of the figures is inconclu-
planetary gods or an inscription in order to identify a structure sive.

as a septizodium. 35Janon 1973, 239. CIL 8:2658 was previously dated to the
32Picard 1962, 85-9. Picard believes they all originated from reign of Septimius Severus but is now believed to belong in
the same African workshop and dates them to the time of the reign of Alexander Severus.
Caracalla.

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2004] RECONSTRUCTING THE SEPTIZODIUM 525

design of the Roman guise


stageof Sol, the building,
deified sun. If the emperorthe
were scaena
frons. Additionally, he depicted
wasas undoubtedly
the sun god, then Severus would influenced
have
by monumental nymphaea and
taken a leading other
place among types of fa
the cosmic deities.
cade architecture found in the cities of Asia Minor. At first glance, this suggestion appears attractive.
One needs only to compare the sketches and A coin issued for Caracalla by the mint at Rome in
ground plan of the Septizodium with the remains A.D. 201 displays on its reverse the jugate busts of
of the monumental fountains at Side and Miletus Severus, wearing a radiate crown, and his wife, Julia
Domna, wearing a lunate diadem (fig. 9).39 This
to see the striking similarity between these struc-
tures (figs. 7-8). Other types of facade architec-
imagery associating the emperor and his wife with
the gods Sol and Luna could have carried over into
ture that compare equally well are the scaenae frons
the sculptural program of the Septizodium, with
of the theater at Sabratha in Libya, which was refur-
representations of the imperial couple standing in
bished in the Severan period;37 the restored facade
of the Library of Celsus at Ephesus in Turkey; for or
the two celestial divinities. At Leptis Magna,
the Market Gate at Miletus, adjacent to the nym- Severus and his wife appear in a relief of the Seve-
phaeum. ran quadrifrons arch in the guise of divinities, por-
Because almost nothing of the original building trayed as enthroned figures with the attributes of
survives, in order to understand how the Septizodi- the gods Jupiter and Juno, respectively (fig. 10). If
um might have been decorated we must now look Severus and Julia did appear on the Septizodium
to other, architecturally similar monuments from as Sol and Luna, then their sons Caracalla and Geta
earlier and contemporary periods in the Roman might have been presented as Mars and Mercury,
world. These range from nymphaea to city gates to assuming that the theme of associations with plan-
Kaisersale and are located in Greece and Asia Mi- etary deities was maintained for the other mem-
nor, as well as Italy. The Septizodium, it will bers
be ar-
of the imperial family. Better evidence is found
gued, consisted of a blend of traditional Roman in contemporary Severan coinage, however, for por-
traying the imperial brothers as the Dioscuri, the
styles with elements of design seen more frequent-
ly in the provinces. This combination would celestial
havetwins Castor and Pollux, who were some-
times invoked in connection with the brothers in
reflected the increasingly cosmopolitan architec-
tural tastes developing at Rome since the Severan
early dynastic iconography.40 As attractive as it
empire. might be to reconstruct the Septizodium with stat-
ues of Severus and Julia in the guise of the deities
Programmatic Sculptural Displays and the Sol and Luna, perhaps accompanied by their sons
Septizodium portrayed as the Dioscuri, I am not convinced that
In the discussion of the term septizodium above, I the emperor would have presented himself in this
argued that it referred to a decorative scheme in- manner at Rome.

volving the planetary deities. If this assumption is A tradition for depicting the emperor in the com-
correct, it nevertheless remains difficult to say what pany of divinities did exist in Roman art, and there
form the representations of the deities took. The are parallels in other settings. At Rome one can see
ancient sources are not especially helpful on this the emperor Titus accompanied by Victory and
point; however, archaeological finds at Rome and Roma on the Flavian arch in the Forum, and in the
elsewhere may provide some clues. In the 1930s a Cancelleria reliefs Domitian appears in the com-
find of sculptural fragments, including an Apollo- pany of Roma, Minerva, and Mars.41 An attic panel
type figure, was reported near the foundations of on the Arch of Trajan at Beneventum illustrates the
the Septizodium.38 Some scholars have proposed emperor in the presence of the Capitoline Triad
that the statue of Septimius Severus, which the His- (Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva) and Roma.42 There-
toria Augusta claims stood at the center of the mon- fore, a more likely proposition for the sculptural
ument, might have portrayed the emperor in the depiction of the emperor on the Septizodium

36Aupert 1974, 118. sees dynastic imagery associating Caracalla and Geta with the
37Caputo (1959, 29-32) notes similarities between the de- Dioscuri. Previously, Augustan iconography had used the Dioscu-
sign of the scaenae frons in the theater at Sabratha and the ri for Gaius and Lucius, grandsons and erstwhile heirs of the
SeDtizodium at Rome. emperor: see Poulsen 1991, 122-9.
38Gatti 1934, 161, no. 4. 41 Kleiner 1992, 187-8 (Arch of Titus) and 192 (Cancelleria
39 BMCBE 5:204, no. 260, pl. 33.8. reliefs).
40£MCftE5:196, nos. 216-7, pl. 32.8. Nista (1991, 199-200)

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526 SUSANN S. LUSNIA [AJA108

Fig. 7. Plan of the nymphaeum at Side, Tur


publisher)

would be as a godlike but still human figure of ele- the planetary gods in the decoration of the Septizo-
vated status, perhaps adorned with divine attributes dium in Rome. Moreover, there were probably
or in the company of divinities. In other words, sculptures of the imperial family and certainly oth-
Severus may have appeared, along with the rest of er figures, such as the river god and the Apollo-
the imperial family, accompanied by the planetary type figure discovered in the area of the monu-
divinities, not as the divinities themselves. A Seve- ment's foundation. The original length and height
ran precedent exists for this concept of sculptural of the Septizodium 's facade would have provided a
association in the form of an eight-sided altar from tremendous amount of space for freestanding sculp-
Vienne in Roman Gaul (fig. II).43 On this altar, tures and other ornaments. In all likelihood, the
dated to the year A.D. 198 or later by the inscrip- full program of decoration for the monument con-
tion that names both Severus and Caracalla as Au-
sisted of sculptures, many colossal in scale, as well
gusti, a relief bust of Severus appears on oneasside,
polychrome marble elements (including the
while the remaining seven sides are adornedporphyry
with basin), columns (both smooth and fluted
the busts of the planetary divinities. varieties), and water displays.
Based on the evidence of the sculptures found
Decorative displays of sculpture were not uncom-
mon in the Roman world.44 Pliny comments, with a
with the septizodium at Cincari and the aforemen-
tioned examples of Severan art, it seems reason-
certain degree of disdain, on the extravagant deco-
able to presume that some reference was made tolavished on a temporary theater built at Rome
ration

42 Kleiner 1992, 227. program of the Baths of Caracalla, Bol 1984 on the reconstruc-
43Esperandieu 1907, 281-2, no. 412. tion of the sculptural decoration of the Nymphaeum of Herodes
44 Studies of such assemblages include Bejor 1979 on the- Atticus at Olympia, and Sturgeon 2000 on the use of sculptural
aters in Roman Africa, Manderscheid 1981 on sculptural pro- display for political purposes as it carries over from the Helle-
grams in baths, Yegiil 1982 on Kaisersdk, Marvin 1983 on the

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2004] RECONSTRUCTING THE SEPTIZODIUM 527

Fig. 8. Plan of the nymphaeum at Miletus, Turkey. (After Dorl-Klin


publisher)

by Marcus Scaurus during his aedileship in 58 B.C. at monuments from the eastern Roman provinc-
The scaenae frons of this theater apparently con- es, dating to the second century A.D. In these ex-
tained 360 columns of marble, glass (mosaic per- amples, portrait statues of the imperial family were
haps?), and gilded wood, with 3,000 bronze statues often commingled both with images of the gods
adorning the facade.45 Sculptural displays could and with those of the local donors responsible for
appear on the facades of numerous types of public the construction of the monuments. Next we will

buildings, not only theaters but also fountains and consider the sorts of imperial dynastic displays
gateways, which were almost always located in areas found at Rome and in central Italy during the
of high traffic, where masses of people would con- Julio-Claudian era that may have inspired provin-
gregate or pass on a regular basis. In both Rome cial displays. Not to be excluded from this discus-
and the provinces, sculptural displays were used to sion, however, are the elaborate marble halls of
honor the emperor and his family and to demon- Asia Minor, the Kaisersale, that were likely influ-
strate close ties between the emperor, the donor (s), enced by the designs of Roman theater facades.
and the local municipality.46 Concluding our comparative material will be ex-
In considering the possible components of the amples from the Severan period in both Italy and
decoration of the Septizodium, we will look first Asia Minor.

nistic to the Roman period in Asia Minor. 46 For the development of this practice in Hellenistic con-
45 Pliny, NH 36. 11 3-5. texts, see Rose 1997, 8-9; and for its continuation in the Ro-

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528 SUSANN S. LUSNIA TATA 108

The second century provides seve


statuary groups displayed on arc
where portraits of the individua
her family members were mixed
emperor and his family, the gods
tions. Two monuments of this per
ly well documented: the Nymph
Atticus and the city gate at Perge
cia Magna. The Nymphaeum of H
Olympia, dedicated sometime betw
153, is a fine example of a decor
tain (fig. 12).47Here the sculptura
statues of the donor's family, the i
divinities, all rendered at the same
size scale. The figures here wer
ranks divided between
Fig. 9. CONCORDIAE AETERNAEthe upper
reverse on a coin of
of the facade of a large exedra.
Caracalla, depicting Severus with radiate crown and Julia Be
lower left were the children T. Aelius Antoninus, with lunate diadem. A.D. 201. (After McCann 1968, pl. 1,
Annia Faustina, and Domitia Faustina, followed by fig. 1 , by permisson of the American Academy in Rome)
Lucius Verus, Faustina the Elder, and the emperor
Antoninus Pius standing to the left of the figure of statuary group, which like the lower, divided into
Zeus located in the middle. Continuing across the two parts to either side of a central figure of Zeus.48
lower rank to the right were the deified couple Hadri- All the figures stood on raised bases with inscrip-
an and Sabina, Marcus Aurelius, Faustina the Young- tions, located within the niches of the curving fa-
er, and the child Lucilla. The families of Herodes cade. Each niche was flanked by a pair of columns,
Atticus and his wife, Regilla, composed the upper forming an aedicule that framed each statue.

Fig. 10. Relief from the Severan arch at Leptis Magna showing Severus and Julia with attributes of Jupiter and Juno. Marble.
(After McCann 1968, pl. 20, fig. 1, by permission of the American Academy in Rome)

man period in Greece and Asia Minor, see Sturgeon 2000, 70. 48Bol 1984, 88-91. The figures and their placement are
47Bol 1984,86.

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2004] RECONSTRUCTING THE SEPTIZODIUM 529

Fig. 11. Octagonal altar from Vienne, France, depicting


a bust of the emperor Severus. Marble. A.D. 198 or l

At Perge, during the ties


reign of
and mortals, Hadrian,
the ties a local
between the Julio-Claudi-
ans andMagna
benefactor named Plancia their divine ancestress,
paidVenus for Genetrix,
the ren-
throughgates.
ovation of one of the city's her son Aeneas,
The were evident.
facade Early impe-
of this
gate was adorned with rial
statues of
displays of this theprepared
sort clearly Greek gods,
the way for
more elaborate
the city's mythical founders, dynastic monuments
Plancia Magna's seen infami-
later
decades.
ly, and both living and deified members of the im-
During and
perial households of Trajan the Julio-Claudian
Hadrian.49 period numerous
The
gods depicted include Hermes, Apollo, Aphrodite,
monuments of a dynastic nature were constructed
and the Dioscuri, while in Romeimperial
the and its surrounding regions. These
family mem- mon-
bers honored were Hadrian, Plotina, Sabina, and uments presented various groupings of portrait stat-
the deified emperors Nerva and Trajan, as well as ues of the Julio-Claudian emperors or their family
Hadrian's deified in-laws, Matidia and Marciana.50 members, at times including both living and de-
Rather than a straight facade, Plancia's gate had ceased, sometimes deified, individuals. Three no-
gently curving walls that embraced an elliptical table examples of such sculptural groups include
courtyard in front of the gate's entry. The sculp- the arch of Germanicus at Rome, the theater at
tures were arrayed in two rows of seven niches on Caere (modern Cerveteri), and a nymphaeum at
each of the two walls, for a total of 28 sculptures.51 Baiae. The Arch of Germanicus, known from its
Boatwright has suggested that these sorts of "eclec- description in the text of a senatus consultum issued
tic sculptural programs," seen at Olympia and in A.D. 19, commemorated the deceased nephew
Perge, might ultimately have been derived from of the emperor Tiberius.53 The decree states that
the programmatic displays of such monuments as the arch should be erected in the Circus Flaminius

the Forum of Augustus at Rome. The porticoes of and that 12 statues would adorn it. The inscription
the forum were embellished with the figures of names these figures as the deceased Germanicus,
Rome's mythical and historical past accompanied his parents, his wife, two of his siblings, and his six
by images of Augustus and his family.52 Although children.54 In addition to the imperial family por-
this arrangement did not directly juxtapose divini- traits, there were apparently personifications of

determined by inscriptions and sculptural remains. 52 Boatwright 1993, 198.


49 Boatwright 1993, 194-7. Many of the sculptures are iden- 53 Rose 1997, 108-11, Cat. 37: Rome, with bibliography.
tified by the inscriptions found on the statue bases. Boatwright54 Rose 1997, 108-9. Flory (1996, 302-3) discusses the place-
also points out that the Greek gods included in the facade were
ment and statuary program of this arch in relation to a lost stat-
those with established cults in Perge. uary group in the Circus Flaminius, arguing that the proximity
50Bol 1984,93. of the two family groups strengthened the dynastic message
51 Boatwright 1993, 192.

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530 SUSANN S. LUSNIA [AJA108

Fig. 12. The Nymphaeum of Herodes A


arrangement of statues. A.D. 149-153. (A
and Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co, Be

offers a(cum
conquered provinces further variation on the display of
signis imperial
devictar
on the arch, but as Rose
portrait notes,
statues by their
associating figures of imperial for
tion is uncertain.55 family members with statues of divinities and myth-
Another significant group of sculptures is the col- ical heroes.58 The nymphaeum at Baiae has affini-
lection of as many as 10 statues associated with the ties to the natural grotto/dining area at Tiberius's
theater at Caere and ranging in date from the reigns villa at Sperlonga, and it, too, was probably part of a
of Gaius through Nero.56 Both living and deified private seaside villa. At Baiae, however, the grot-
members of the imperial household appear to have tolike nymphaeum/banquet hall is a completely
been set up over a period of time at the theater in artificial construction. Along its side walls, stand-
Caere. Two figures of this group represent the em- ing in niches, were statues of the emperor Claudi-
perors Tiberius and Claudius as colossal, enthroned us's mother, Antonia, and his daughter Octavia. The
Jupiter types, while the deified Drusilla (sister of well-preserved figure of Antonia is portrayed as
Caligula) has the attributes of Venus Genetrix. It is Venus, with Cupid at her shoulder. In the arrange-
impossible to know the arrangement of the figures, ment of the nymphaeum, her image was once
but most likely the figures adorned the scaenae frons, flanked by two figures of the god Dionysus.59 A fifth
possibly placed between columns that formed aedic- sculpture fragment appears to have been a larger
ulae along the facade. The use of elaborate colum- than life-size seminude male figure, perhaps the
nar facades punctuated with sculptural decoration emperor Claudius. In the apse at the far end of the
is documented by both the literary and archaeologi- room was a statuary group portraying the blinding
cal evidence for Roman theaters.57 of Polyphemus. The Baiae nymphaeum, because
A nymphaeum of Claudian date, found sub- of its private setting, allowed for a bolder presen-
merged in the bay of Baiae near Punta Epitaffio, tation of the imperial family directly alongside di-

all the more. 57Bejor 1979, 37-8.


55 Rose 1997, 109-10. 58 See Andreae 1983, 49-66, and Rose 1997, 82-3, Cat. 4:
56 Rose 1997, 83-6, Cat. 5: Caere, with bibliography. Baiae, on which the descriptions of the sculptures are based.

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2004] RECONSTRUCTING THE SEPTIZODIUM 531

Fig. 13. Severan display fountain at Perge, Turkey, in a rec


permission of the DAI, Berlin)

vinities and even as divinities themselves. While of the so-called Kaisersale was modeled on the

such direct pairings of images would not scaenae likelyfrons of the Roman theater because of its
have been tolerated at Rome in the early empire, usefulness as a means of displaying political mes-
the association of the imperial family withsages.63 divine The figure of the emperor could be high-
figures or their attributes is apparent from the lighted
time by its placement in a central niche, some-
of Augustus onward.60 In the East, however, times ensem- beneath an arcuated lintel, a so-called "Syr-
bles of sculpture displayed in dramatic architec- ian pediment."64 For the viewer, this mode of pre-
tural settings were frequently a means of express- sentation for the emperor's image could have con-
ing devotion and gratitude to the emperor jured
andup associations with the imperial adventus
his household. or triumph ceremonies, and it is possible that the
The so-called Kaisersale in Asia Minor provide Septizodium at Rome might have presented a stat-
excellent examples of public sculptural displays ue of the emperor Severus in a similar manner
in magnificent settings. Yegiil has suggested withinthat
its central exedra.65
these marble-clad halls, often found within a bath- Turning our attention back now to buildings
gymnasium complex, were linked to the imperial contemporary with or immediately subsequent to
cult.61 Although the association of imperial cult the Septizodium at Rome, we will look first at the
with the so-called Kaisersale is strongly challenged monumental fountain at Perge, located near the
now in a forthcoming article by Burrell, neverthe- South Baths between the Hellenistic and Late An-

less, some of Yegiil's observations on the power of tique city gates. Dated to the reign of Septimius
imperial images in dramatic architectural settings Severus, the structure at Perge is somewhat asym-
are relevant.62 Yegiil suggests that the arrangement metrical in design (fig. 13). Its left side focuses on

59Andreae 1983, 60-3. nies pertaining to the agones held by many of the cities in Asia
Minor.
60 Rose 1997, 73-7, forJulio-Claudian attitudes toward di- My thanks to Barbara Burrell for making this article
vine attributes. available to me.
61Yeffiil 1982,8-10. 63Yefful 1982, 25-6.
62 Burrell (forthcoming) observes that concrete evidence 64 See Weber 1990, 15-6 and 78-80, on the baldachin and
of imperial cult practice in the Kaisersale is lacking. She con- naiskos as privileged settings for sculpture.
tends that the evidence instead supports identifying these 65 Yegiil (1982, 21-2) cites Late Antique examples here,
marble halls as spaces used by the gymnasiarchs for ceremo- especially the painting of the Tetrarchs in the Temple of

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532 SUSANN S. LUSNIA [AJA108

a grottolike area, while its arched open


flanked by two stories of column pairs
aediculae. Between the lower pairs of
either side of the grotto were coloss
Septimius Severus, left, and Julia Domn
the central pediment above the grot
were figures of Artemis Pergaia, the
Aphrodite at her bath. On the outer
half pediments to the sides were reli
Tritons, while on the inner faces were Helios on
the left and Selene on the right. In addition to these
figures, sculptures of other imperial family mem-
bers (Caracalla and an unidentified female)
adorned the facade wall behind the fountain basin

to the right of the grotto.66


Perhaps the closest comparison to the Septizodi-
um at Rome in terms of architectural plan and ele-
ments is the grand nymphaeum located nearFig.
the14. Reverse of a bronze medallion of Septimius Severus,
from Hadrianopolis (Thrace) , depicting a large nymphaeum
city gate at Side. The ground plan of this monument
decorated with sculpture. A.D. 193-21 1 . (By permission of
is a near replica of the Septizodium; however, this
the Departement des Monnaies, Medailles et Antiques,
fountain is about half the size of that at Rome Bibliotheque
(fig. nationale de France, Paris)
7) ,67 The columns of both nymphaea were fashioned
of colored marbles. The statuary associated withat the
its center and consists of three stories of colon-

Side nymphaeum includes a warrior, two draped nades


fe- resting upon a raised podium. Along the face
males (of the so-called Small and Large Herculane-
of the podium are seven circular objects, above which
is afor
um types) , a base for a statue of Caracalla, a base series of smaller dots. At the center of the first

an honorary statue of M. Valerius Titanianus,story


and of columns is a reclining figure who holds a
trident
leg and torso fragments for as many as five figures of and leans on a tipped jug from which water
appears to flow. This figure would seem to be a river
Nike.68 In addition, several relief plaques were found
that illustrate mythological themes (one with Ares, god. On the right and left ends of this same level are
Aphrodite, and Eros; another with Ixion). These equestrian groups similar to representations of the
marble plaques formed part of the decorative enclo- Dioscuri. When Donaldson first published this coin
sure for the catchment basin in front of the colum- in 1859, he identified it as a theater, but the consen-
sus now is that the image represents a facade nym-
nar facade that acted as backdrop for the fountain.69
phaeum. The seven large circles across the podium
It is likely that the nymphaeum at Side was a response
to the Septizodium at Rome, constructed during the may indicate water spouts, and the river god situated
reign of Caracalla.70 above these may also have been part of the water dis-
The last example dating from the Severan period play.72 A similar reclining figure is seen on coins de-
picting a later Severan fountain at Rome, the Nym-
appears on a bronze coin from the city of Hadrianop-
phaeum Alexandri, located on the Esquiline Hill
olis in Thrace (fig. 14) .71 On its reverse the coin illus-
trates a large, columned structure with statues placed (fig. 15) 73 Though abbreviated and inexact, the illus-
among its columns. The facade has a curved exedra
tration on the coin from Hadrianopolis may offer the

Ammon at Luxor in Egypt. 70 Dorl-Klingenschmid 2001, 244, based on the insc


66Mansel (1975, 368-9) lists sculptures as Septimius Severus, for the statue of Caracalla. In his earlier publication
Julia Domna, Caracalla, and an unidentified female figure; Dorl-(1963, 63-4) believed that the nymphaeum belonged
Klingenschmid (2001, 230) identifies the second female asAntonine period.
Julia Soemias. 71 Published in Donaldson 1965, 288-90, fig. 77, and Price
67 Dorl-Klingenschmid (2001, 242) gives its dimensions as: and Trell 1977, 44, fte. 69
width, 52 m; depth, 14.5 m ; and reconstructed height, ca. 20 72Pisani Sartorio 1987, 63.
68Dorl-Klingschmid 2001, 244. 73Tedeschi Grisanti (1977, 17-26) identifies the figure as
69Mansel 1963, 61-4, and Dorl-Klingenschmid 2001, 244.Oceanus, and thus she connects the nymphaeum with the
Mansel (1963, 55-61) discusses the sculpted coffers and pro- passage in HA AlexSev 25.3 discussing the Oceani solium, or "ba-
tomes that made up part of the architectural decor of thesin of Oceanus." She also identifies the figure on the coins
monument.

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2004] RECONSTRUCTING THE SEPTIZODIUM 533

If the decoration of the Septizodium at Rome


followed themes similar to those used in the mon-
uments discussed above, it would have had a some-
what eclectic program of statues that included im-
perial portraits, deities (especially the planetary
gods), as well as some mythical figures. Other or-
naments relating to imperial victory may have been
included. The river god, perhaps identifiable as
the Tigris, could reflect a part of this triumphal
imagery, also seen in other contemporary Severan
monuments at Rome. For example, Brilliant iden-
tifies the river gods on the spandrels of the Seve-
ran arch in the Roman Forum as symbols of the
old and new boundaries of the Roman empire,
the Tiber and the Tigris.76 In a continuation of
this Severan tradition, the Nymphaeum Alexan-
dri, ca. A.D. 226, had overt triumphal imagery: the
pair of colossal trophies now displayed at the top
Fig. 15. Reverse of an aureus of Alexander Severus, depicting
the Nymphaeum of Alexanderof the stairs leading to the Piazza del
at Rome. A.D.Campidoglio
226. (By
on the Capitoline.77
permission of the American Numismatic Society, New York)
In her discussion of theater decoration, Sturgeon
best clue to the Septizodium's
has observed that original
decorative programsappearance.
often had a
On the basis of this representation, it they
relationship to the city in which may now be
were displayed,
possible to propose a wayreflecting
in which both the city's
therole inplanetary
the empire and the gods
activities associatedIf
were placed on the Septizodium. with the
display's seven
location.78 In circles
this
regard, the Septizodium's
along the podium do indicate water position along the tri- then
spouts,
perhaps each spout was umphal
adorned with
route is noteworthy the
and must image
have had some of
effect
one of the seven planetary on the choices made concerning its sculp-
gods.74
Although a variety of monuments
tural hassurveyed,
program. Based on the monuments been
brought into evidence asit comparanda
is clear that an architectural structure
for such a as the
propos-
Septizodium would have
al on the Septizodium's decorative contained numerous
program, never-
sculptures. It is likely
theless, these share a common that some of
theme, antheseemphasis
figures
illustrated the planetary gods,through
on the imperial family. Furthermore, perhaps as either their
masks or imagines clipeatae
assemblages of imperial portrait statues, that doubled
theas fountain
monu-
fixtures along the
ments of the second century podium draw
A.D. of the monument. Por-
particular
trait statues of Septimius
attention to the line of imperial Severus, Julia Domna,
succession, that is,
from Nerva to Trajan to Caracalla,
Hadrian and Geta would
and make
so up forth.
another impor-These
displays were intended tant
togroup of figures. If
convey the extended imperial
political messag-
household,
es. In an article on the role of or domus divina, were included,
decorative then
displays in
Hellenistic and Roman monuments in Greece and we would expect statues of Commodus, Marcus
Aurelius, Antoninus Pius, Hadrian, Trajan, and
Asia Minor, Sturgeon emphasizes the didactic func-
Nerva
tion such decoration fulfilled, including laying out as well, and I will discuss the reason for this
below. By analogy to first and second century A.D.
the succession of rulers.75 The mingling of portraits
sculptural programs featuring imperial women, I
of the imperial household with images of divini-
would argue that statues of Plotina, Sabina, and the
ties, as seen in the examples at Olympia and Perge,
reinforced the notion that the emperor and histwo Faustinas might also have been part of the im-
fam-
ily succeeded under divine approval. perial grouping. Since the Septizodium stood along

from Hadrianopolis as Oceanus. 76 Brilliant 1967, 120 and 134.


74Spano (1952, 167) suggested that the circles seen on the 77Tedeschi Grisanti (1977, 42-3 and 56-66) dates the tro-
Hadrianopolis coin corresponded to masks of the seven plan- phies to the reign of Domitian, suggesting that they had once
ets, but Spano believed that the building was a theater facade, formed part of a victory monument that had been dismantled
not a fountain. following Domitian 's damnatio memoriae. See also her more
75 Sturgeon 2000, 71. recent comments in LTUR 3:351-2.

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534 SUSANN S. LUSNIA [AJA108

and completed his military


the triumphal procession route, campaigns against
asthe noted
Parthians in late A.D. 197. Although
gram may have incorporated figureshe declared all
Parthian victory of Severus
the formal and
victory over the Parthians his
in January A.D. son
conquered territories
198, the official(river
triumph celebration gods
was postponedor p
sonifications), victories, trophies,
until A.D. 202. 81 The postponement of the triumph and
meant
barbarians. Finally, that the triumphal
there are festivities
likelycoincided with to ha
ures or reliefs referring
the emperor's decennalia, or 10th to common
anniversary cele-
bration. In his discussion of theseconcord,
themes, such as prosperity, events, Dio men- an
total program would have
tions elaborate spectacles been
involving wild boars, ele-arran
phants, and other exotic
ing to some meaningful visual beasts. One particularly
hierarchy
derstand more fully the
notable performance heldpossible
at the Flavian Amphi- scul
gram of the Septizodium, it
theater featured a ship, filled withis necessary
400 animals, that
the issue of had been rigged
Severan to collapse and releasepolitics
dynastic the ani-
surrounding the mals into the arena for a massive
planning and hunt construct
(venatio).82
monument. Staged along with the anniversary and triumph fes-
tivals was the wedding of Caracalla to Plautilla,
THE SEPTIZODIUM AND SEVERAN DYNASTIC
daughter of the praetorian prefect C. Fulvius Plau-
POLITICS
tianus.83 The dynastic emphasis in all these cele-
This colossal nymphaeum was perhaps the
brations is most
reflected in the coinage of the period.
imposing monument to adorn the Thecity
themes of Rome
of felicitas temporum, victoria aeterna, and
since Hadrian's construction of the grandiose Tem-
concordia aeterna, that is, "the prosperity of the times,"
ple of Venus and Roma. Given the"perpetual
immense scale
victory," and "eternal harmony," were
of its construction and the likelihood of a lavish particularly stressed in the years A.D. 200 to 202.84
sculptural program, it is highly probable that Essential
the to both the presentation and commemo-
Septizodium was intended to make a visible andof these festive events were the public mon-
ration
forceful architectural statement about Septimius uments and their urban settings created as part of
Severus 's authority as a ruler. The role that the Severus
Sep- 's building program.
tizodium had in Severan dynastic politics would
surely have affected its sculptural program. TheThe
Urban Setting of the Septizodium
monument was conceived and built around the Work of all types, not only the building of com-
time of Severus 's 10th anniversary celebration, memorative amonuments but also construction

period when dynastic messages were prevalent aimed at practical


in needs, had been initiated
coinage and inscriptions. The need for throughout this em- the city shortly after Severus became
phasis was due in part to the way in which emperor.
Severus For example, he began construction of a
ascended to the throne. new barracks complex for the equites singulares, re-
Septimius Severus was hailed as emperor by hisof the Forum Romanum, and restoration of
paving
legions in the province of Pannonia in April the A.D.
banks of the Tiber.85 Although practical in them-
193, at a time of civil unrest following the deaths selves,
ofseemingly mundane projects also support-
both Commodus, the son of Marcus Aurelius, and ed and made possible other major constructions
Pertinax, his short-lived successor.80 His position as for the dynastic program. Improvements to the aq-
emperor, however, was not undisputed, and a peri- ueducts on the Caelian Hill, for instance, allowed
od of civil wars ensued. Severus had suppressed Severus to construct a bath in that area and may
his rivals, Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus, have supplied water for the fountains of the nearby

78Stumeon2000, 70. cides with the dies imperil of the emperor Trajan. Dio (76.1.3)
79 The arrangement of sculptures and reliefs can be observed indicates that the festivities in A.D. 202 were for the emper-
by their positioning within the three levels of the scaenaefrons or's return, his 10th anniversary, and his victories.
of the Roman theater at Corinth, which establishes relation- 82 Dio 76.1.3-5.
ships between members of the imperial family, both among 83PubliaFulviaPlautilla:P/i?F564,andC.FulviusPlautianus:
themselves and with Herakles: see Sturgeon 2000, 69. PII? F 554.

80 For the contemporary historical accounts of the death of 84 On the increasing frequency of these themes in Severan
Pertinax and its aftermath, see Dio 73.11-17 and Herodian propaganda from the years A.D. 201-202 onward, see BMCRE
2.6.1-14.4. 5:cxlviii-clxi, and Hannestad 1986, 256-9.
81 The official date of the triumph as 28 January A.D. 198 is85Josi 1934, 335-58 (barracks); Giuliani and Verduchi 1987,
found in Feriale duranum, col. 1, lines 14-16. This date coin-

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2004] RECONSTRUCTING THE SEPTIZODIUM 535

Septizodium. The coordination of of


Relying on the order the projects
the lists given in the Re-sug
gests that a master plangionary
of Catalogues
someas typea guide, scholars
hadhave been de-
veloped by Severus for searched
his for building
a suitable location for program.
the baths in Th
baths were part of an Regio
urban I. The tendency
development has been to situateplanthemin
south orof
volving the southeast slope southeast
theof the Baths of Caracalla
Palatine and the along
routes approaching it from
the Via Appia.90the south.
Recently, Along
Tortorici thi
has argued that
approach to the Palatine and
these baths werethelocated city's
just east ofcenter,
the present-
Severus was creating a daymonumental
Piazza di Porta Capena,zone that
that is, along the con
Via
sisted of a grand display
Appia and fountain
against the foot (the Septizodi
of the Caelian Hill (fig.
um), imperial baths (the16) .91Thermae
Here, between theSeverianae),
years 1670 and 1676, exca- an
perhaps a new road (the vationsVia in the Nova) leading
Orto del Carciofolo, tointhe
a garden the
plaza in front of the Septizodium.
monastery of San Lorenzo Caracalla woul
in Panisperna, brought
continue to develop thisto light area byofadding
the remains a large building his
withown
evi-
imperial baths, the Thermae
dence of waterAntoninianae,
conduits and forced-air heating along in
the same route, a bit toitsthe
rooms,southeast of of
characteristics typical the
Romanproba-
bath ar-
ble location of his father's baths. Much of the work
chitecture. In addition, several mosaic pavements
planned by Severus seems to have been undertak-
were recorded. One, a large black-and-white floor
en in anticipation of the major imperial celebra-
mosaic, depicts Tritons, Nereids, and other marine
tions planned for the year A.D. 202. motifs.92 Other black-and-white mosaics turned up
Commenting on the public buildings of the em-near the Porta Capena in 1790. One is almost iden-
tical to the mosaic from the structure in the Orto
peror, the author of the Historia Augusta writes: "His
del Carciofolo; the other has similar marine themes
chief public works surviving are the Septizonium [sic]
of Neptune in his chariot, Nereids, Tritons, scenes
and the Baths of Severus" (opera publica praecipua eius
of fish and fishing, and putti riding on dolphins.93
extant Septizonium et thermae Severianae) .86 Although the
Thermae Severianae were considered by several an- Tortorici notes the stylistic affinities of these mosa-
cient authors to be one of Severus 's important works, ics with the Severan black-and-white mosaics found

very little is known about them. The Regionary Cata- in contemporary baths at Ostia.94
logues list the Thermae Severianae under the head- Lanciani illustrated the remains of the complex
ing "Regio I: Porta Capena."87 Late Antique chronog- in the gardens of San Lorenzo, seen in figure 17.
raphers mention these baths in conjunction with baths He identified the structure as locus nymphaei and
built contemporaneously in Antioch, as well as with associated it with the Fons Camenarum. The rooms

the Septizodium.88 The Thermae Severianae should


shown in Lanciani 's plan exhibit the symmetrical
not, however, be confused with those baths situated
planning associated with the designs of Roman
behind the exedra of the hippodrome garden, adja- imperial bath complexes. The suggestive remains
cent to the Severan wing of the Palatine palace.89 of the structure in the Orto del Carciofolo and the

31-66 (paving); and CIL 6.31555 = /LS5934 (Tiber banks).


141-56.
mHASev. 19.5 89 For the Severan baths, see Iacopi and Tomei 1986, 486-
87 Valentini and Zucchetti 1940, 1:90 (Curiosum), 164 (Noti- 93, 1988, 69-76. The Baths of Maxentius, sometimes identi-
tia) , 208 (Pomponius Leto) . fied as the Severan baths, are located in yet another area of
88Hieron. ad a. Abr. 2216 (=A.D. 201) : Severo imperante the Palatine, overlooking the Circus Maximus: see Herrmann
thermae Severianae apud Antiocham et Romae factae et Sep- 1976, 403-24 , and Carettoni 1972, 96-104.
tizonium exstructum. Malalas (Dindorf, 294, 17-9) writes on 90Platner-Ashby, 532; Jordan and Hiilsen 1871-1907, 1:3,
the Severan baths at Antioch: eicnae 8e toic; cojtoTc; AvxiO)(8i3oi 217-9 and 2:512-3. Maps of Rome from the 16th century to
5r}uooiov Aouxpov ueya napa to opoq. 6 enexdAeoev eic; the present frequently locate the baths in this area: Frutaz
ovoua aikoC Ee^qpiavov. These were built up against the 1962, 2:pls. 35 (Panvinio), 44 (Du Perac), 56 (Brambilla-Van
foot of the mountain at Antioch in A.D. 201 . Antioch was pun- Aelst), 66 (Nodot), 84 (De Romans-Nibby) , 98 (Canina), 115
ished by Severus for taking sides with Pescennius Niger in the (Kiepert-Hiilsen) , and 122 (Lugli-Gismondi) . This location is
civil war, but late in A.D. 201 , Severus and Caracalla visited the still noted on Scagnetti's map of imperial Rome: see Scagnetti
city and celebrated Caracalla's acquisition of the togavirilis (HA 1979.
Sev. 16.8) and their joint consulship, which was to begin on 1 91 Tortorici 1993, 168-70.
January A.D. 202. The baths seem to have been constructed 92Colini 1944, 217-8, fie. 178; Tortorici 1993, 168.
for this visit and were probably dedicated by Severus upon that 93 Tortorici 1993, 170 and 172 n. 49.
occasion. Evagrius, Hist. eccl. 2.12, recorded that these baths 94 Tortorici 1993, 172 n. 49. These compare well with the
were among those damaged in the earthquake of A.D. 458. Baths of the Cisiarii and the Maritime Baths at Ostia. For Seve-
See Downey 1963, 108-9 and 222, as well as Downey 1937, ran black-and-white style in mosaics, see Clarke 1979, 41-53

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536 SUSANN S. LUSNIA [AJA108

Fig. 16. Map of the area of the Porta Capen


Tortorici 1993, fig. 14)

style the mosaics of found


often required increased flow,thereas was the case withmak
proposal, both was
that this the Baths of Caracalla
the and the Baths of Diocletian
location of t
Severianae, an attractive
later, when the lines of thepossibility.
Marcia were enlarged.95
would not have been as may
The Septizodium large have drawn as water forthe its foun-bat
tains from the Aqua
structed by Caracalla, but Claudia they
branch that suppliedwere
the Palatine.96
prominent position in the Remains of vicinity
this aqueduct are still visi-of t
as one approached the
ble along Palatine
the east slope where the arches crossand from t
the Caelian Hill to the Palatine. The Thermae Sever-
facade of the Septizodium.
ianae, located
Since the Thermae at the foot of the Caelian,and
Severianae could have th
um are associated in
drawnseveral ancient
water from the Claudia. sourc
Alternatively, the Aqua
considering Marcia, there
whether which was carried over the Porta
may haveCapena to-bee
nection between ward
these two
the Aventine building
Hill, was also well situated to sup- p
the baths and the monumental fountain would have ply the baths (and perhaps even the Septizodium).
The inscription CIL 6.1259 records the completion
required substantial amounts of water for their oper-
of a Severan restoration of the Neronian arches of
ation. The area of the Porta Capena and Caelian Hill
the Claudian aqueduct (the Arcus Caelimontani) in
was already well supplied with water from the Aqua
Marcia and Aqua Claudia, but new imperial baths
A.D. 201.97Lanciani argued that there were once as

and 87-101. aqueducts.


95 LTUR 1:67-9 (D. Cattalini); Volpe 1996, 81; and Ashby 97 On the amount of construction dated to the Severan
1935, 90-1. restoration, see Evans (1994, 122), who proposes that the work
96 According to Evans (1994, 89-90), the Palatine was sup- was undertaken in conjunction with the expansion of the
plied by the lines from the Marcia, Julia, Claudia, and Anio Novus

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20041 RECONSTRUCTING THE SEPTTZODIUM 537

Fig. 17. Area of the Orto del Carciofolo and the Fo


Quasar)

many as six copies of the inscription placed above tachment can still be seen." Severan repairs to the
the aqueduct arches that spanned major roadways Aqua Claudia are visible throughout the line, and
into the city.98 One stood over the road leading in examples of this work can be seen along the line
the direction of the Porta Maggiore, where the re- where it passes through Tor Fiscale, Fosso della Val-
cess for the marble slabs and the holes for their at- lana, and Roma Vecchia on its way into the city.100

imperial palace on the Palatine. that the third set had been located at the Navicella on the
98 Lanciani 1975, 364-7. Evans (1994, 89) notes Lanciani's
Caelian, although it may have been at the Arcus Dolabelli, cf.
suggestion that the repairs and enlargement may have beenCIL 6.29843.

connected with the Severan baths listed in Regio I. 100 Evans 1994, 89-90; Colini 1944, 97-106; Ashby 1935,
"Ashby 1935, 245-6. According to Ashby, Henzen suggest-244-9; and Van Deman 1934, 269-70. For the specific exam-
ples, see Ashby 1935, 136 (Tor Fiscale), 192 (Fosso della Valla-
ed placing a second copy on the Arcus Basilidis over the road
between the Lateran and the Colosseum, and Lanciani thought

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538 SUSANN S. LUSNIA [AJA108

In the
yearjoined
asup again
same
the near thework
Porta Capena, perhaps
on the
limontani, flowformingofpart ofthethe SeptemAqua
the Viae, a toponymMarcia
used
ently enlarged, and the for
in the Codex Einsidlensis water chann
the area of the Septizo-
paired. The repairs
dium in theare recorded in a
Middle Ages.103
tary inscription found
Clearly, this group near San
of building projects would Giov
erano, the date of which
have had a profound impactis on thealmost
urban setting ce
201. 101 Increasedof Romewater
and sent a powerful flow
dynastic messagewould
to
needed for connecting the
the public. The Septizodium was the new
crown jewel Seve
and/or a new Septizodium
of this new urban space created to fountain
glorify the em- t
duct. The coincidence
peror and his new of dynasty. the aqueduc
As such it would have
A.D. 201, the same date
epitomized given
the major themes to the
of Severan dynastic
Severianae, and its
ideology:close
first, that Severusassociation
and his heirs were the w
tizodium, suggest that
legitimate successors of these were
the Antonine emperors who al
organized plan for a specific
had preceded area
them, and second, that divine prov- of t
zone immediately idencesoutheast
had sanctioned this succession. of the P
Additionally, this urban plan may h
a new road throughThe Dynasticthe Messagearea, and seve
have proposed identifying
Severus, as mentioned above, a acquired
broad av
his posi-
on tion as emperor through
forma urbis marmorea force. In order to distance
fragment 42 =
himself from
Nova.102 Construction of the other
this usurpers who challenged
street is
signed to the reign him and counter
oftheCaracalla
attacks of those who consid- (HA C
Gorrie argues that ered hisgiven its apparent
own position illegitimate, Severus worked
with the Septizodium, it may
hard to represent himself have
as a ruler elevated to the b
by Severus. It undoubtedly throne by divine approbation. became
Contemporary histo- ass
Caracalla once the Thermae Antoninianae were rians, such as Dio, knew that the emperor had a
constructed along its route. The path ofstrong the Via
belief in astrology.104 Part of Severus 's politi-
Nova would have passed near to the location of
cal self-promotion hinged upon publicizing the
the bath ruins found in the Orto del Carciofolo, divine favor that he enjoyed and that he claimed
and it does not seem farfetched, therefore, to sup- had been revealed to him through a series of so-
pose that the Thermae Severianae fronted on this called omina imperil, signs that predicted his impe-
new avenue. Gorrie accepts Colini's earlier pro- rial destiny. Dio admits to publishing a pamphlet
posal that Via Nova ran closer to the Caelian, rath- detailing the signs of divine approval that appeared
er than just south of the Via Appia. The question to the emperor before his accession to the imperial
remains, however, whether the Via Nova actually throne.105 In his later history Dio briefly summariz-
replaced the Via Appia at this point. If not, as es these as a list of the seven omens favoring the
Gorrie argues, then the two roads must have emperor's rise to power (74.3.1-3):

na) , and 231 (Roma Vecchia) . et | Imp(erator) Caes(ar) L(uci) Septimii Seven Pii Pertinacis
101 CIL 6.1247: potllll [proco(n)s(ul)] | aquam m [arciam
Aug(usti) Arabic (i) Adiab (enici) | Parthic (i) Max(imi) fil(ius)
. . . ] | iniuriisd[eminutam?] | excisis [et perforatis montibus]
Divi M(arci) Antonini Pii Germ (anici) Sarm(atici) nep(os) Divi
|| amplia[to flumine?] integr[avit?]. Murphy (1945, 32-3) re-
Antonini Pii pronep (os) | Divi Hadriani abnep (os) Divi Traiani
Parthic (i) etDiviNervae adnep(os) || M (arcus) Aurelius An-
stored this inscription by comparing it to CIL 6.1259. Hiilsen
toninus Pius Felix Aug (ustus) trib(unicia)] pot(estate) IIII
believed that "pot(estate) IIII" referred to Severus's fourth
tribunician year, and thus assigned the inscription to 196, [proco(n)s(ul)
a ] | aquam m [arciam...] |iniuriisd[eminutam?]
date followed by many scholars (Platner-Ashby, 25; Ashby |1935,
excisis [et perforatis montibus] || amplia[to flumine?]
90; Van Deman 1934, 68; and recently, LTUR 1, "Aqua Mar- inteer[avit?].
cia," 67-9 (D. Cattalini) ) . Murphy, however, believed that the102 Gorrie 2001, 667-8, with previous bibWraDhv.
103 LTUR 4:271.
tribunician date referred to Caracalla, and that this repair must
have occurred in the same year as the other aqueduct repair, 104 Dio 76.11.1 mentions that Severus had his horoscope
A.D. 201. Murphy's full restoration of the inscription reads:
illustrated on the ceilings of some rooms in the imperial pal-
[Imp(erator) Caes(ar) DiviM(arci) AntoniniPiiGerm(anici) ace, and the HA Sev. 2.8-9 and 4.2-3 relate instances when he
Sarm(atici) filius | Divi Commodi frater, Divi Antonini Pii
consulted with astrologers.
nep(os) Divi Hadriani pronep(os) | Divi Traiani Parthic(i)
105 Dio 72.23.1: pigAiov ti nepi tcov oveipcacov kcu tcov
abnep(os) DiviNervaeadnep(os) |L(ucius) Septimius Severus
oqueioov 8i cov 6 Zeoufjpoc; xfjv auTOKpcruopa apx^v rjAmae,
ypdif/ac;
Pius Pertinax Aug (ustus) Arabic (us) Adiab (enicus) 1 1 Parthic (us) 88rjuoai£uaa-Kai cakoKcd exeTvoq n£U(J)08VTi nap'
Max(imus) Pont(ifex) Max(imus) trib(unicia) pot(estate) VTIII
euou evTux&v noAAd uoi mi KaAd dvreneoreiAe. Rubin (1980,
Imp(erator) XICo(n)s(ul) IlP(ater) P(atriae) proco(n)s(ul)
21-40) provides a good introduction to the basic issues of

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2004] RECONSTRUCTING THE SEPTIZODIUM 539

The signs which led him holding[Severus]


either a patera or a to
ewer, hope
from whichforwater the
imperial power were as flowed
follows.
into a basin (1)
below. When
Such an imagehe could was
have ad-
mitted to the senate, he dreamed that he was suckled
invoked not only the divine omen but also the em-
by a she-wolf just as Romulus had been. (2) When he
peror's pious attention to the
was about to marry Julia, Faustina, his duties as pontifex
wife of max-
Mar-
imus, or
cus, prepared their nuptial chief priest.
chamber in the temple of
Venus near the palace. (3) AlongOn another
with the emphasis on the occasion
omens, Severus wa-
ter gushed from his hand, as to
attempted from
create tiesabetween
spring, while
himself and the he
slept. (4) When he was governor of Lugdunum, the
preceding Antonine emperors. His most audacious
whole Roman dominion approached and saluted
him - in a dream, I mean. was
act (5)declaring himself the adopted
At another timeson ofheMar- was
taken up by someone to cus a
Aurelius.109This move, which took place in the
place commanding a wide
view, and as he gazed down first half from there
of the year A.D. upon
195, necessitated all the
"rehabil-
land and all the sea he laid his
itating" fingers
Commodus. onwhich
The senate, them as one
had con-
might on an instrument capable of playing all modes,
demned him following his assassination, now dei-
and they all sang together. (6) Again, he thought that
in the Roman Forum a horse threw Pertinax, who fied Severus 's adopted brother.110 Severus further
had mounted it, but readily took himself on its back. strengthened this illusory bond by renaming his
(7) These things he had learned from dreams; but elder son M. Aurelius Antoninus.111 Shortly after
also when awake he had, while yet a youth, seated this act, cumbersome genealogical inscriptions that
himself through ignorance upon the imperial throne.
trace the emperor's lineage back to Nerva started
These, then, were some of the signs that pointed in
his case to the supreme power.106 to appear throughout the empire, including on the
facade of the Septizodium.112
Herodian provides a more detailed account of The text of the ninth-century Codex Einsidlensis
the sixth omen, linking it to the equestrian statue 326 contains the first two dozen words of the in-
that Severus erected in the Forum but is now no scription on the Septizodium and shows that it pro-
longer extant.107 Herodian 's passage implies, in claimed
fact, the lengthy genealogy of Severus.113 Schol-
that there were several public dedications at Romears, moreover, have suggested that the inscription
tied to the imperial omens experienced by the included the emperor's Parthian victory titles along
emperor. Severus, it seems, was promoting these with the names of his sons: the elder, Caracalla,
whose official name was M. Aurelius Antoninus; and
omina in whatever way he could, both in written work
such as Dio's pamphlet and through public monu-
the younger, Geta.114The phrasing of the restored
ments. In such a political atmosphere it seems en-
inscription, while completely compatible with oth-
tirely possible that Severus would have used erthe
such Severan genealogical inscriptions, is not
Septizodium to commemorate another of hisgenerally
aus- seen on contemporary dedications of
picious dreams: the third, in which water gushed
public buildings at Rome. No other public monu-
from the emperor's hand. A monumental fountain
ment in Rome that was built or restored by Severus
would have been an appropriate place for creating and his sons uses this formula in its dedication.115

a visual commemoration of this sign of divine fa-dynastic formula does occur, however, in the
This
vor.108 A statue of Severus could have been fashioned two inscriptions commemorating aqueduct repairs

Severus 's propaganda tactics. See, for example, CIL 14.4003, from Ficuleia dated to A.D. 162.
106Cary 1927, 164-7. 1 have numbered the passages for ease113"Imp(erator) Caes(ar) Divi M(arci) Antonini Pii
Germ(anici) Sarm(atici) fil(ius) Divi Commodi Frater Divi
of reference. Millar (1964, 30) suggests that the original pam-
phlet on which this list is based appeared shortly after Antonini
the Pii nep(os) Divi Hadrian (i) pronep(os) Divi Traini
emperor arrived in Rome in Tune A.D. 193. Parth(ici) abnep(os) DiviNervae. . . ." See Walser 1987, 9, for
107 Herodian 2.9.5-6. the date of the Codex Einsidlensis, and 88-9, for a discussion of
108 This possibility is suggested in Desnier 1993, 605. Ithe
do this inscription. Walser follows the date given by the edi-
tors of the CIL.
not agree, however, with Desnier's (604) belief that the Sep-
tizodium consisted of seven juxtaposed exedra and was derived114Hulsen 1886, 25-9. Guey (1946, 157-66) proposes a
from Gallic prototypes. restoration of the text in which Caracalla also has a full lin-
109 Dio 75.7.4 and 76.9.4; HA Sev. 10.3-6. eage. Guey (160) also suggests an additional, shorter line of
110 HA Sev. 10.3-6; Dio 75.7.4 and 76.9.4. See also the con-
text, which he would place at the center of the monument
secration coinage for Commodus, BMCRE 5:42*, who was beneath re- the main text. However, if Alberti (Cod. A., fol. 35;
habilitated as the "brother" of the new emperor. see Forni 1991 , 44) indeed observed letters as tall as the height
of the frieze, this would seem unlikely.
111 Caracalla, of course, is the emperor's more commonly used
115 Pantheon, AD. 202, CIL 6.896; Porticus Octaviae, A.D.
nickname. His original name is somewhat disputed but may
have been L. Septimius Bassianus: see PIR 321. 203, CIL 6.1034; arch in the Forum Romanum, AD. 203, CIL
112 These inscriptions imitate those set up by Marcus Aure-
6.1033; and the arch in the Forum Boarium (Porta Argentar-
lius and Commodus which traced their lineage back to Nerva.

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540 SUSANN S. LUSNIA [AJA108
at Rome in A.D. 201, CIL 6.1259, associated with tain the possibility that the date of the Septizodi-
the Arcus Caelimontani repairs and CIL 6.1247 re- um's dedication may have been in the year A.D.
cording work on the Aqua Marcia.116 These projects, 202, not A.D. 203.
as I have already noted, were probably connected to The period A.D. 200 to 202 also coincides with
the construction of the Septizodium and the Ther- the most forceful emphasis of Severus's dynastic
mae Severianae. The greatest number of Severan message. This dynastic advertisement is most evi-
genealogical inscriptions that occur at Rome can be dent in the coinage issued from the mint of Rome
dated between A.D. 198 and 202; and in fact, only during those years. All members of the imperial
two are securely dated later than A.D. 202. 117 family - Severus, Julia, Geta, Caracalla, and after the
The traditional date of the Septizodium, derived wedding in A.D. 202, even Plautilla - had coins
from the building's fragmentary dedicatory inscrip- minted for them in the program of dynastic issues.120
tion {CIL 6.1032 = 31229) is A.D. 203. This inscrip- Coin legends hailed Caracalla as Augustus and Geta
tion has been restored based upon two fragments. as Caesar, princeps iuventutis, and pontifex.121 The im-
The initial part is derived from the Codex Einsidlen- ages associated with concordia aeterna and aeternit(as)
sis 326; the conclusion results from the collation of imperil, "eternal harmony" and "the perpetuity of
several Renaissance sources. In my opinion, this the empire," evoked the divine favor for both
restoration is problematic. The conclusion of the Severus's rule and its continued stability.122 One
inscription, which gives both consular and tribuni- coin issued for Severus had on its reverse the leg-
cian titles, exists in several variants. The significant end FELICITAS SAECVLI accompanying the fron-
variation found in the Renaissance copies of this tal bust of Julia Domna flanked by the profile busts
inscription is the reading of the tribunician year. of Caracalla and Geta, the message of which is en-
In some documents it is recorded as trib(unicia) tirely clear: the prosperity and benefaction of the
pot(estate) V; in others, it is trib(unicia) pot(estate) W.118 ages now lay in the hands of Severus and his de-
Among the texts that include a consular title, all scendants.123 Whether the Septizodium was formal-
indicate a singular consulship, co(n)sul. These ti- ly dedicated in A.D. 202 or 203, it is clear that this
tles are presumed to refer to Caracalla, who became building was part of the celebration of the Severan
coregent in A.D. 198, held his first consulship in dynasty.
A.D. 202, and held his second in A.D. 205.119 Cara- As noted above, Severus's new dynastic lineage
calla's fifth tribuncian year was 10 December A.D. adorned the first-story frieze of the Septizodium.
201 to 10 December A.D. 202, and his sixth was in The emperor, with his son and coemperor Caracal-
the following year, A.D. 202/3. Considering the la, claimed the deified emperors Commodus and
variations in the Renaissance texts, and with no orig- Marcus Aurelius, along with all those reaching back
inal, inscribed blocks from the Septizodium to ex- to Nerva, in their line of imperial descent. The
amine in comparison, it seems reasonable to enter- prominent placement and large lettering of this

iorum), A.D. 204, CIL 6.1035. 6.32326-35; Romanelli 1931, 313-45) set up in A.D. 204.
116 CIL 6.1259: Imperator) Caes(ar) Divi M(ard) Antonini 118 Trib(unicia)pot(estate) V. Smetius, Bib. Nap.VE4fo\. ("Far-
Pii Germ(anici) Sarm(atici) filius | Divi Commodi frater Divi nesianum") and Panvinio, Vat. Lot. 6035, fol. 57. Albertini,
Antonini Pii nep(os) Divi Hadriani pronep(os) | Divi Traiani Marliano, and Manutius give trib(unicia) pot(estate) VI. See the
Parthic(i) abnep(os) DiviNervaeadnep(os) | L(ucius) Septi- commentary accompanying CIL 6. 1032=31 229.
mius Severus Pius Pertinax Aug(ustus) Arabic (us) Adiab (enicus) 119 Murphy 1945, 104-5; Hill 1977, 6-7; and Birley 1988,
|| Parthic(us) Max(imus) Pont(ifex) Max(imus) trib(unicia) 139, 160.
pot(estate) Vllllimp(erator) XIco(n)s(ul) Ilp(ater) p(atriae) 120 See Lusnia 1995, 124-30, for these types in relation to
proco(n)s(ul) et| Imp(erator) Caes(ar) L(uci) Septimii Severi the image of Julia Domna.
Pii Pertinacis Aug(usti) Arabic (i) Adiab (enici) | Parthic(i) 121 For example, BMCRE 5:198-9, nos. 228-39, pls. 32.13-
Max(imi) filius Divi M(arci) Antonini Pii Germ(anici) 6; 242, no. 440, pl. 38.17; 244, no. 451, pl. 39.4; 336-8, nos.
Sarm (atici) nep (os) Divi Antonini Pii pronep (os) | Divi Hadri- 833 and 838, pls. 50.4 and 7.
ani abnep (os) Divi Traiani Parthic (i) et Divi Nervae adnep (os) 122 The concordia aeterna legend accompanied the jugate
| M (arcus) Aurelius Antoninus Pius Felix Aug(ustus) trib(unicia) busts of Severus and Julia discussed above; the aeternit(as) im-
pot(estate) IIIIproco(n)s(ul) || arcus caelemontanos plurifar- peril appeared with Julia Domna on the obverse and bust of
iam vetustate conlaspsos | et conruptos a solo sua pecunia res- Caracalla and Geta on the reverse: BMCRE 5:204, no. 260, pl.
tituerunt. 33.8 {Concordia), and 157-8, no. 16, pl. 27.13.
For CIL 6.1247, see n. 101 supra. 123 BMCRE 5:166-7, nos. 75-82, pl. 28.18. Augustus had is-
117Mastino 1981, 114-6. Neither of these occurs in a ded- sued a similar coin in 13 B.C. with a bust of his daughter, Julia,
icatory inscription for a public building, though the format is bust flanked by busts of Gaius and Lucius on the reverse {BM-
seen in the commentary for the Severan ludi saeculares { CIL CRE 1:21, no. 106, pl. 4.3).

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2004] RECONSTRUCTING THE SEPTIZODIUM 541

would
inscription would have also have followed
drawn this route in A.D. 202
viewers to to its tex
and it seems likely that other his
commemorate visual elements
Parthian triumph. If one can ac-woul
have been linked to this message,
cept, as perhaps
has been posited above, to illu
that the Septizodi-
trate it. Like the city gate
um was ata keyPerge or
element in the the campaign
publicity Nymphae to
um of Herodes Atticus, the
establish and sculptural
solidify the Severans' program
legitimacy as
the Septizodium could have
rulers, then oneincluded
must also considerstatues
the possibility no
that the monument
only of the current imperial family could have
butbeen also
planned of
and th
whole company of living
completed and deified imperial
for the triumph.
household members, the domus divina. Includin
CONCLUSION
statues of all the emperors since Nerva, perhap
Given themembers
along with the deified female current state of
of the evidence,
the im-
perial line, would have no restated visually
doubt that the Septizodiumthe me
at Rome w
rious,thus
sage of the inscription and grandiose
made nymphaeum.
an evenLike the
great
er impact on the ancientnymphaea
viewer.of the
Blending
Greek East or
thethe cur-
scaena
of Roman theaters,
rent and past imperial portraits with the Septizodium
divinities on's
the Septizodium would have
once put
populated it numerous
with squarely in
statues
ornaments.
well-established tradition thatExamination of the decorationsuch
included of com- sculp-
tural programs as those parable
of monuments,
the Forum especiallyof the facade foun-
Augustus
in Rome, the city gate tains
ofin Greece and Asia Minor,
Plancia Magna has shown at
that these
Perg
and the Nymphaeum ofprograms featured elaborate
Herodes Atticus statue groupings
at Olym of
pia. Because the monument's inscription
both past and contemporary imperial familyopenly
mem-
proclaims the emperor's dynastic
bers. Thus, intentions,
it is likely that not only the images of i
would be hard to imagine that
Severus further
and his family, visual
but also those rein-
of his Anto-
nine predecessors,
forcement of this message wouldappearedhave onbeen
the Septizodium.
neglect
ed. These images would have been accompanied by
It may be useful to attempt to visualize in the gods and goddesses, including the planetary di-
mind's eye the monuments and urban setting cre- vinities associated with the cosmological forces.
ated to honor Septimius Severus and his family. Presented alongside the rich sculptural display
Imagine the Thermae Severianae with a colonnad- was the monumental inscription with letters nearly
ed facade looking toward the Via Appia. On the one foot high running almost the length of the fa-
facade there was likely a large, clearly visible in- cade (approximately 93 m). It presented an un-
scription proclaiming the emperors Severus and usually grand and verbose text in comparison to
Caracalla as dedicators (perhaps including Geta, the dedicatory inscriptions on other Severan build-
at least for while). After passing this colonnaded ings at Rome. In affirming his legitimacy as emper-
facade, the traveler who approached up the Via or, Severus emphasized the divine approval of his
Appia (or Via Nova) into Rome would have entered reign as part of his dynastic self-representation. The
a piazzalike area in front of a massive, multistoried union of imperial portraits, divine celestial imag-
facade nymphaeum composed of polychrome ele- ery, and colorful marbles highlighted by water dis-
ments gleaming with its rich, vibrant colors plays with the lengthy and illustrious genealogy
drenched by the sprays of the fountain's water jets. would have resulted in a powerful message to the
The crown jewel of this new urban space was, of Roman public. The decoration of the Septizodium
course, the Septizodium, which epitomized the two was likely meant to emphasize the Antonine lin-
major themes of the Severan dynastic message: first, eage and divine approbation of Severus 's rule. The
that Severus and his heirs were the legitimate suc- proposed decorative program of the Septizodium,
cessors of the Antonine emperors who had preced- although reflective of the spirit of both contempo-
ed them, and second, that divine providence had raneous Severan monuments and coinage, is nev-
sanctioned the creation of a new dynasty. Such a ertheless conjectural. Whatever its precise nature
brash, hard-hitting message would seem to fit best and its arrangement, however, the Septizodium it-
in this period of intense dynastic focus during the self must have been a stunning sight to behold, a
years immediately surrounding the decennalia, tri- monument that forcefully and ostentatiously pro-
umph, and wedding celebrations in A.D. 202. The claimed the presence of the Severans in Rome.
Septizodium faced the traditional triumphal route The Septizodium formed a significant part of the
used by all imperatores on their procession to the Severan building program at Rome. As the primary
Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. Severus component and focal point of a new zone of Seve-

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542 SUSANN S. LUSNIA [AJA108

ran monuments at Nymphdums.


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544 S. S. LUSNIA, RECONSTRUCTION THE SEPTIZODIUM

Vittozzi, S., and C. Presicce. 1991. "II


derreimpiego
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