Victory_column

Victory column

Victory column

Monument in the form of a column


A victory column, or monumental column or triumphal column, is a monument in the form of a column, erected in memory of a victorious battle, war, or revolution. The column typically stands on a base and is crowned with a victory symbol, such as a statue. The statue may represent the goddess Victoria; in Germany, the female embodiment of the nation, Germania; in the United States either the female embodiment of the nation Liberty or Columbia; in the United Kingdom, the female embodiment Britannia, an eagle, or a war hero.

19th-century comparison between the Alexander Column, the Column of the Grande Armée, Trajan's Column, the Column of Marcus Aurelius, and "Pompey's Pillar"

Monumental columns

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List of Roman victory columns

Of the columns listed above, the following are the Roman columns. Roman triumphal columns were either monolithic pillars or composed of column drums; in the later case, these were often hollowed out to accommodate an ancient spiral staircase leading up to the platform on top.

The earliest triumphal column was Trajan's Column which, dedicated in 113 AD, defined its architectural form and established its symbolic value as a political monument alongside the older Roman triumphal arches, providing a lingering model for its successors to this day. The imperial capitals of Rome and Constantinople house the most ancient triumphal columns.

All dimensions are given here in metres, though it was the Roman foot by which ancient architects determined the harmonious proportions of the columns, and which is thus crucial for understanding their design.[6] The list is sorted by date of erection.

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See also


References

  1. Jones 2000, p. 220.
  2. Adam 1977, pp. 50f, refers to base, column shaft plus capital.
  3. Gehn, Ulrich (2012). "LSA-2458: Demolished spiral column once crowned by colossal statue of Theodosius I, emperor; later used for statue of Anastasius, emperor. Constantinople, Forum of Theodosius (Tauros). 386-394 and 506". Last Statues of Antiquity. Oxford University. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  4. Gehn, Ulrich (2012). "LSA-2459: Demolished spiral column once crowned by colossal statue of Arcadius, emperor. Constantinople, Forum of Arcadius. 401-21". Last Statues of Antiquity. Oxford University. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  5. San Marco, Byzantium and the Myths of Venice p.79 and note 10 on p.10
  6. Jones 1993, pp. 23–38.

Bibliography

Part of this page is based on the article Siegessäule in the German-language Wikipedia.

Further reading

  • Beckmann, Martin (2002), "The 'Columnae Coc(h)lides' of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius", Phoenix, 56 (3/4): 348–357, doi:10.2307/1192605, JSTOR 1192605

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