DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.26205#0045
43
Certainly some statue existing in Alexandria served as the prototype
of the Vatican Nile, but the Roman artist (or Greek active in Rome), suited
to the demands of art of the Flavii period, has added many attributes and
has created a work suited to the artistic trends of the epoch. This question
is very disputable of course and it must be investigated more closely (the
author wishes to undertake this task), but there are many pieces of data
are necessary to establish that the statue of the Nile is a Flavian original work,
as is the statue of the Tiber which beyond any doubt belongs to this period.
The period of the Flavii marks the epoch of personifications’ development
(both of political and cult character), employed considerably more frequently
than under Augustus and the Julio-Claudian dynasty. This pertains also to
the personifications of rivers, which is supported by ancient sources as well.
Among others, Pliny (N. H. 36, 7, 58) writes that Vespasian dedicated in
Templurn Pacis a statue of the Nile executed in black basalt which, according
to Pausanias (8, 24, 12) symbolized the “Ethiopian” origin of the river.
In 88 A. D. Domitian struck dupondii and denarii, on the reverse of which
there is a scene of the emperor making an offering, accompanied by the figure
of the reclining Nile, holding a cornucopia * 81. On a frieze adorning Forum
Transitorium, which was started by Domitian and completed by Nerva,
in the scenes associated with the cult of Minerva, Patroness of Handicrafts
there is also the image of the Tiber lying amidst the reeds, with Dea Fons
seated on a rock next to him 82.
The other personifications of the Tiber, connected with cult, appear under
Hadrian. On the altar of Mars found in 1881 in Ostia and dated to 124 A. D. 83,
among numerous mythological scenes adorning its four sides, there is also
visible (on the rear wall) the personification of the Palatine, beside which is
perched an eagle, the attribute and symbol of Jupiter, and the shepherds are
standing. Below, the Tiber is situated in a half-recumbent attitude, near
whom there is a She-Wolf with the Twins. Considering that this typically
mythodological and at the same time propaganda scene is located on the
altar, this personification has been viewed as belonging to a cult group.
Also in the times of Hadrian a statue of the Tiber was executed, found
in Ostia in the precints of the Sarapis temple 84. This is a stereotyped represen-
tation of a reclining bearded male, holding a reed and cornucopia. Presumably,
and 497, thinks, that it was made on the Rhodus. Such opinion is also proposed by M. L. Bernhard,
Sztuka hellenistyczna, Warszawa 1980, p. 350.
81 Imhoof-Blumer, No. 546, PI. 17, 6; RIC, II, p. 202, No. 383, PI. 6, 103; Toynbee, p. 115,
PI. 16, 9; Le Gall, p. 28, PI. 11.
82 Reinach, RepRel., I, PI. 371—372; P. H. Blanckenhagen, Flavische Architektur und ihre
Dekoration untersucht am Nervaforum, Berlin 1940, p. 121, If.; Le Gall, p. 125; Andreae, Fig. 390.
88 Rome, Museo Nazionale delle Terme, inv. 324. Cf. Toynbee, p. 231, PI. 57; Le Gall,
pp. 25—26, PI. 8; Helbig4, No. 2306.
84 R. Calza, M. F. Squarciapino, Museo Ostiense, Roma 1962, p. 59, No. 20; Helbig4,
No. 3089.
Certainly some statue existing in Alexandria served as the prototype
of the Vatican Nile, but the Roman artist (or Greek active in Rome), suited
to the demands of art of the Flavii period, has added many attributes and
has created a work suited to the artistic trends of the epoch. This question
is very disputable of course and it must be investigated more closely (the
author wishes to undertake this task), but there are many pieces of data
are necessary to establish that the statue of the Nile is a Flavian original work,
as is the statue of the Tiber which beyond any doubt belongs to this period.
The period of the Flavii marks the epoch of personifications’ development
(both of political and cult character), employed considerably more frequently
than under Augustus and the Julio-Claudian dynasty. This pertains also to
the personifications of rivers, which is supported by ancient sources as well.
Among others, Pliny (N. H. 36, 7, 58) writes that Vespasian dedicated in
Templurn Pacis a statue of the Nile executed in black basalt which, according
to Pausanias (8, 24, 12) symbolized the “Ethiopian” origin of the river.
In 88 A. D. Domitian struck dupondii and denarii, on the reverse of which
there is a scene of the emperor making an offering, accompanied by the figure
of the reclining Nile, holding a cornucopia * 81. On a frieze adorning Forum
Transitorium, which was started by Domitian and completed by Nerva,
in the scenes associated with the cult of Minerva, Patroness of Handicrafts
there is also the image of the Tiber lying amidst the reeds, with Dea Fons
seated on a rock next to him 82.
The other personifications of the Tiber, connected with cult, appear under
Hadrian. On the altar of Mars found in 1881 in Ostia and dated to 124 A. D. 83,
among numerous mythological scenes adorning its four sides, there is also
visible (on the rear wall) the personification of the Palatine, beside which is
perched an eagle, the attribute and symbol of Jupiter, and the shepherds are
standing. Below, the Tiber is situated in a half-recumbent attitude, near
whom there is a She-Wolf with the Twins. Considering that this typically
mythodological and at the same time propaganda scene is located on the
altar, this personification has been viewed as belonging to a cult group.
Also in the times of Hadrian a statue of the Tiber was executed, found
in Ostia in the precints of the Sarapis temple 84. This is a stereotyped represen-
tation of a reclining bearded male, holding a reed and cornucopia. Presumably,
and 497, thinks, that it was made on the Rhodus. Such opinion is also proposed by M. L. Bernhard,
Sztuka hellenistyczna, Warszawa 1980, p. 350.
81 Imhoof-Blumer, No. 546, PI. 17, 6; RIC, II, p. 202, No. 383, PI. 6, 103; Toynbee, p. 115,
PI. 16, 9; Le Gall, p. 28, PI. 11.
82 Reinach, RepRel., I, PI. 371—372; P. H. Blanckenhagen, Flavische Architektur und ihre
Dekoration untersucht am Nervaforum, Berlin 1940, p. 121, If.; Le Gall, p. 125; Andreae, Fig. 390.
88 Rome, Museo Nazionale delle Terme, inv. 324. Cf. Toynbee, p. 231, PI. 57; Le Gall,
pp. 25—26, PI. 8; Helbig4, No. 2306.
84 R. Calza, M. F. Squarciapino, Museo Ostiense, Roma 1962, p. 59, No. 20; Helbig4,
No. 3089.