Location on Forum Plan
Via Sacra
Lapis Niger
Curia (Senate House)
Basilica Aemilia
Templum Antonini et Faustinae
Basilica Constantini
Templum Veneris et Romae
Arcus Titi
Regia
Atrium Vestae
Templum Vestae
Templum Juli
Templum Castoris
Basilica Julia
Templum Saturni
Tabularium
Templum Divi Vespasiani
Templum Concordiae
Lacus Curtius
Rostra
Miliarium Aureum
Arcus Septimii Serveri
Carcer (Prison) |
 Arch of Titus
This arch, dramatically situated at the highest point of
the Via Sacra, is one of the most celebrated monuments in the Forum Romanum.
The oldest surviving arch in Rome, it is the simplest, has only one opening,
and is perhaps most well-proportioned of the arches still standing. It was
built to commemorate the immensely popular emperor Titus, who died suddenly
during a plague A.D. 81, after only a two year reign, and to celebrate his
victory in Jerusalem. Domitian, the younger, not-so-popular brother of Titus,
had the arch constructed to honor Titus' popularity, and possibly to take
advantage of it for himself; it was dedicated in A.D. 85 with great pomp.
There are several interesting relief sculptures on the arch, including depictions
of the apotheosis of Titus (which is why the arch inscription refers to
Divus Titus), and the spoils of the Jerusalem Temple carried
in triumphal procession. The menorah and the table of show bread carried
by Roman soldiers are thought to represent the procession at the dedication
of the arch. The original bronze quadriga is missing from the top,
but the attic inscriptions are vivid. It survived the Middle Ages because
it was built into the fortress of the Frangipani family; thus, however,
the outer sides had to be rebuilt (this was done in 1822-23 out of travertine
instead of the original marble so it could be distinguished.) Napoleon was
so moved by the view from the Arch of Septimius Severus - at the lower end
of the Forum - to the Arch of Titus, that he ordered his architects to reproduce
this in Paris; the result is the Arc du Triomphe de Carrousel (a life-size
imitation of the Arch of Septimius Severus) and the more famous Arc du Triomphe,
which maintains the exact proportions of the Arch of Titus, though several
times larger. |
