The Nymphaeum at Alexandria Troas

Etat des ruines d'Alexandrie de Troade (Turquie) en avril 1726. Plan et description des vestiges grecs, romains et byzantins, d'après le "portefeuille" de dessins de Louis André Lamamie de Clairac, ingénieur militaire français. En complément, voir le catalogue de l'exposition d'Antibes : Le voyage à Constantinople du chevalier de Clairac. Archéologie et architecture en Méditerranée occidentale (1724-1727), éd. Snoeck, Musée d'Archéologie d'Antibes, 2009, 112 p., nombreuses illustrations.

In: P. Karanastasi - Th. Stefanidou-Tiveriou - D. Damaskos (eds.) Έργα Πλαστικής στη Ρωμαϊκή Ελλάδα: Καλλιτεχνικά Προϊόντα, Κοινωνικές Προβολές, Διεθνές Συνέδριο, Ρέθυμνο, 26-28 Σεπτεμβρίου 2014, 351-366. Thessaloniki, University Studio Press 2018., 2018

ABSTRACT The study of fountain sculptures, that is sculptures with a visible water outlet ascertaining a spouting function or sculptures that regardless their function derive from a nymphaeum or an elaborated fountain, have only the past few years attracted the scholars' attention. These sculptures adorned the monumental facades of roman nymphaea and deployed according to pre-scheduled iconographical programs, which differed among regions and among monuments. Different decorative programs reflected different purposes. Since monumental nymphaea were financed by emperors and wealthy patrons, financing the construction of a nymphaeum and (or) its decoration consists a politically motivated action. As an imperial benefaction, nymphaea proclaim the imperial power, virtue and culture. As objects of private patronage they signaled the donor’s wealth, power and connection to the imperial regime. This paper discusses the presence and function of sculptures within the fountain structures and their use by the patrons of the monuments in order to project specific messages. In order to do so, this paper will examine the sculptural assemblages of fountain structures in some of the major provincial cities of Greece (Argos, Athens, Nikopolis, Olympia, Corinth, Gortyn). It will discuss the identity of their donors and will attempt to reconstruct the social, political as well as cultural role that each statuary group held in its given context.

Asia Minor Studien 66.199-216, 2011

Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique135.1, 2011

This article studies the resemblance between the theatre façades and the façades of monumental nymphaea. The discussion concerns mainly the so called “façade nymphaea”, which are directly compared with the scaenae frons of a roman theatre. Research is based on four parameters: a. the form and the structure, as seen through the similarities between both kinds of monuments – e.g. the common use of specific architectural features. b. the function and the use of these public monuments within the city landscape – in conjunction with the social, political and cultural life of the citizens. c. the iconography, i.e. the study of the sculptural decoration which deploys on the monumental facades both of theatres and nymphaea. Both these monuments house similar sculptural display programs that follow certain display rules, intending to project certain messages. d. the sacral symbolism conferred to both theatres and nymphaea. A large number of theatres and nymphaea are built within or close to sanctuaries, while many theatres host nymphaea within their grounds.

The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is also available.

FACTA. A Journal of Roman Material Culture Studies 5, 65-100, 2011

Giovanni Fragalà * «Facta» is an International Peer-Reviewed Journal. The eContent is Archived with Clockss and Portico.

American Journal of Archaeology, 2004

Located at the foot of the Palatine Hill, the Septizodium, a monumental facade fountain, was built during the reign of the emperor L. Septimius Severus. The construction of the Septizodium was part of a larger plan of urban development aimed at creating a monumentalized district honoring the imperial family. This plan included the construction of new imperial baths, the refurbishment of aqueducts, and possibly the layout of a new road. With a three-story high columnar facade, the Septizodium once dominated a large plaza at the terminus of the Via Appia. The Septizodium has been the subject of modern scholarly debate for a little over a century. Widely ranging opinions on the monument’s appearance, function, and interpretation have appeared over the years. After a brief review of some earlier studies of the Septizodium’s architecture, I will attempt to reevaluate the monument within the context of Severan dynastic politics. Once the architectural form of the Septizodium is established, the discussion will move to its decoration. Comparison of the structure at Rome with other monuments, particularly those with similar facade arrangements and known sculpture programs, allows for speculation about the Septizodium’s decoration. Other factors for consideration in this proposal are the monument’s urban setting and its role in the dynastic politics of the emperor Severus. Understanding the architecture, urban context, and possible decoration of the Septizodium leads to the conclusion that the monument had great significance within the building program of the emperor L. Septimius Severus.