Thread by @abby_fecit

#EpigraphyTuesday A hole new world. For many visitors, a trip to the Roman Forum often begins with a spectacular monument (15.4 X 13.5m): the Arch of Titus. It's beautifully inscribed: you can still see the holes where bronze letters were embedded to sparkle in the Sun.🧵1/7
📷Me

The marble text (CIL 6.945; EDR103961):
"The Senate & People of Rome (dedicated this) to Divine Titus Vespasianus Augustus, son of Divine Vespasianus"
Whether or not you could read, the lettering, spacing & centred margins are exquisitely executed, illustrating control &order.2/7

The experience of walking through the arch is a fascinating reversal of the transient triumphal procession. As you pass through, you are surrounded by triumphal images: Nike flies above, soldiers carry spoils towards an arch; the space shapes you.
📷Me; Carole Raddato. 3/7

Ascending a steep path in the blistering sun, experience Rome as a Roman would have; catch your breath in the soft shade of this imposing arch & its spectacular view. Seen from across the Forum (the tabularium @ the Capitoline) its inscribed facade is a wonder to behold. 4/7
📷Me

Titus did not finish his marvel, it was either Domitian (81-96) or Trajan (98-117) who completed it. Restored with travertine in 1821 under Pope Pius VII, shading contrast in early photos illustrate the extent of the repairs. 5/7
📷Wiki (free use)

The experience of this monument proved so inspirational that it has often been used as a model.
I was struck by the beautiful monument for American Revolutionary War soldiers in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (1893); the structure & decoration clearly reference Titus' arch. 6/7
📷Me

Want to know/see more:7/7
A web intro: unrv.com/military/arch-…
S. Rocca (2021) combines Josephus' account with the monument w/ further reading (esp. on Triumphs) by M. Beard et al.
academia.edu/49438092

@AncientRomeLive has a good video of the arch.