Die Jupitersäulen und die übrigen Gattungen der Votivplastik in der Civitas Ulpia Sueborum Nicrensium und ihr Kontext in der provincia Germania superior

Abstract

Jupiter columns belong to a genre of votive offerings that are prominent in areas of the Germanic and Gallic provinces from the second half of the 1^st to the middle of the 3^rd century AD. Since the late-19^th century, they have been discussed numerous times in literature, especially regarding their religious significance. Nevertheless, the history of research on them is only dealt with cursorily here. The Jupiter columns will first
be analysed in the overall context of votive sculpture, that is dedicatory altars, reliefs, and sculptures, whereby the monuments of the so-called Oriental cults will not be considered.
The starting point are the numerous votives in the civitas Ulpia Sueborum Nicrensium with its main town, Lopodunum–Ladenburg (cat. 1.1–1.41; 2.1–2.76). This study also includes Jupiter columns from Germania inferior, Gaul, in particular Gallia Belgica, and the more peripheral areas Raetia and Britannia (Appendix 3). The study of the distribution of the columns takes into account that their survival is distorted by reuse and their being “sunk” in Roman wells and pits. The various theses on their interpretation will be discussed, and a case will be made for explaining the majority of the cases as destruction resulting from iconoclasm during the course of the Alamannic and Frankish invasions of the 3^rd and 4^th centuries and subsequent backfilling for the purpose of debris removal from the areas of settlements.
Besides Mogontiacum–Mainz, the caput provinciae, in Germania superior the civitas capitals turn out to be the centres of distribution of Jupiter columns, followed by other vici in the civitates. Nida–(Frankfurt-)Heddernheim and Lopodunum–Ladenburg have by far the most examples. Unlike in Germania inferior, villae rusticae, play a much less prominent evenly distributed across the province; in southern Upper Germany it is hardly present,
and its occurrence thins out in the north.
For the chronology of the Jupiter columns and the other votives, the monuments dated by their dedicatory inscriptions have to serve as cornerstones. Only in isolated cases do archaeological findings provide reliable data. Therefore, any study requires an analysis of the stylistic development, which must be based primarily on the reliefs of the main pedestals of the columns, the so-called three- and four-god stones. The earliest known Jupiter column is the monument in Mainz, which was dedicated around AD 65 to the salvation of Nero; the statue type crowning it, the impressive standing god, can be traced in isolated cases into the 3rd century AD. The emergence of the Jupiter-riding-down-the-giant type can probably be dated to the Flavian period. On the other hand, the few groups of statues of Jupiter in a biga fighting a giant, which also crown Jupiter columns, cannot be dated earlier than the 3rd century. The crowning groups of the enthroned pair Jupiter-Juno also belong to this period. The statues of the single enthroned Iuppiter Capitolinus, which dominated the genre in Lower Germany from the 2nd century and also occur in Gallia Belgica, remain rare in Upper Germany and do not appear until the end of the 2^nd century. Although the continuous tradition of Jupiter columns started in Upper Germany in the Flavian period and they developed further in the 2^nd century, the majority of the anathemata were in fact not commissioned until the 3^rd century, the period to which, with one exception, those monuments that can be dated by consulship belong. Significantly, there are fewer votives from the second quarter of the 3^rd century. A decline in the number and sculptural quality of the monumental columns in the middle of the century cannot be overlooked. This also affects the other genres of votive sculpture in Upper Germany, the development of which is roughly synchronous with that of the votive columns. The methodological difficulties that still exist with the identification of sculptors‘ workshops are addressed. However, the decentralised structure of sculptural activity in Germania superior, which research has already recognised, can be confirmed. Officinae are attested in the civitas capitals as well as the vici there, but sculptural businesses have also been found even in smaller settlements.
The typology of the Jupiter columns, for which the designations columna cum signo and columna cum statua are recorded on several inscriptions on their pedestals and altars set up by their donors, is treated in detail. Contrary to the prevailing usage in literature, the term „Jupiter giant column“ is used here only for those monuments which demonstrably bore a statue of Jupiter as the victor over the giants. The more generic term used is “Jupiter column”.
The groups of the Jupiter-riding-down-the-giant type, which as a crowning element dominate the anathemata in Upper Germany and Gaul, but are very much in the minority in Lower Germany, are examined in detail. Their assessment is, of course, complicated by the poor preservation of the some 120 surviving groups from Upper Germany (recent finds in Upper Germany, Appendix 1). The head of Jupiter is preserved on only c. 20 votives. The depiction of the battle of the giants shows a wide range of approaches to the motif of this group, which would have been difficult for the sculptors in the provinces to create and raises the question of their models. The preferred hypothesis is that they were statues of rulers celebrating triumphs over barbarians, rather than the well-known equestrian gravestones of the Germanic provinces.
Relatively favourable preservation conditions exist for the block-like pedestals of the monumental columns, whereby a distinction must be made between the ‚main pedestals‘ and the so-called intermediate pedestals which were frequently added. The main pedestals are commonly known as “four-god stones”, but a distinction must be made between blocks with reliefs of gods on all four sides and those with the dedication on the front and representations of gods on the other three sides, the “three-god stones” About half of the known main pedestals have the constellation of the gods Juno, Mercury, Hercules and Minerva (or Juno, Minerva, Hercules and Mercury reading right to left), which has led to the erroneous designation „Normalreihe” (normal series) in German-language literature. The considerable number of pedestals from Upper Germany with the representation of Victoria of the Brescia type (Appendix 2), often combined with a relief of Mars on the other side of the block, deserve special attention. Together with the votive statues of this type from Upper Germany, it is suggested that the votives reflect a state monument or cult image erected in Mainz on the occasion of Domitian‘s Germanic victory.
The Jupiter columns in Germania superior are mostly – in contrast to Germania inferior – furnished with a so-called intermediate pedestal, in the tradition of the Mainz monument pro salute Neronis. On the front they mainly bear the dedicatory inscription, while the seven gods of the days of the week are the dominant figural decoration and are depicted on polygonal or cylindrical pedestals as full figures or, less frequently, as protomes. A few votives, among them already the Mainz monument, have the common dedication of columna and ara. Some archaeological findings confirm the common occurrence of votive columns and altars donated to I.O.M. without any mention of a columna dedication. However, it is problematic to connect the erection of Jupiter columns in Germania superior generally with the erection of such ‚donatory altars‘. Their relatively small number suggests otherwise.
The supports for the statues of Jupiter of all types in the entire area of distribution of the genus are mostly, but not exclusively, columns that are incorrectly knowns as scaled columns. Their shafts are in fact covered with leaves, probably of the laurel tree, which give them a sacred character. Another type of column with vegetal decoration, also known from the entire area of distribution, has shafts with tendril decoration, in particular of vines.
Some anathemata, on the other hand, have shafts that are not decorated at all. As far as the capitals of the votive columns are concerned, Corinthian figural capitals
with protomes, mostly personifications of the four seasons, are the preferred, but not the only type. Capitals of the Corinthian order are distinctly less prominent; Tuscan capitals – unlike in the architecture of the province – hardly occur.
In addition to the Jupiter columns, votive practices in the north-western provinces include dedicatory altars, sometimes called ara, and dedicatory reliefs and statues, which are in some cases referred to as signum, simulacrum, or statua. Altars with a relief of the deity worshipped are relatively rare in Upper Germany, in contrast to the lower province. That there must have been an image of the deity is indicated by numerous dedicatory reliefs. Among them are the so-called three-figure reliefs peculiar to Germania superior, which place a deity, be it Minerva, Fortuna, Mercury, or Vulcan, in the centre and related ones to either side.
One of the aims of the study is to compare the world of the deities of the Jupiter columns with that of the other votives in Upper Germany. They correspond both nominally and ichnographically to a considerable extent, but a close analysis reveals that the votives for Mercury, Apollo, Mars, and Diana are in part for indigenous cults. However, there are also deities that are not found on the votive columns. Apart from the so-called oriental deities, they include mother and fertility goddesses, that is seated figures with a child or fruit basket on their lap. The same applies to Epona, who enjoyed considerable popularity in the province. In contrast to Germania inferior, dedications to the matronae, as well as reliefs with the well-known type of the trinity of enthroned goddesses, are relatively rare in the upper province, while Epona is virtually absent in the neighbouring province.
All in all, it should be noted that most votives, be they columns, altars, reliefs, or statues, were dedicated to I.O.M., followed by a considerable margin by Mercury.
The dimensions of the Jupiter columns vary considerably. Some donations were content with a total height of about 10 feet, but some 11 feet is more common, while others could be as tall as 20 feet, and monumental examples could be as high as 50 feet (the Jupiter giant column from Merten, Moselle, Gallia Belgica). The donors were obviously particularly keen to gain the god’s favour and increase their social prestige. Indications of the high esteem in which the genus was held are also the attested by the frequent restoration work done after the columns had been damaged (renovavit, restituit). As dedicants, military figures clearly take a back seat to members of civil society. In the other genres of votive sculpture in Upper Germany, soldiers and officers are more strongly represented. Women as sole dedicants are attested only on four votives in the province, among them one Jupiter column. Despite the considerable material expenditure for the erection of the larger columns, they are only rarely dedications with personal associations. While the high degree of conformity of the columns should not be overlooked, particular and rare constellations of gods were sometimes also commissioned for the pedestals, suggesting individual religious beliefs on the part of the donors. No selections of gods related to occupations are to be observed, as hardly any occupations are indicated in the dedications.
The frequent depiction of Victoria and Mars is striking, suggesting their donors perhaps had military status, but this is only true in individual cases. The appeal by donors to the Dii militares is therefore likely to have been based on more general motives, such as the desire for protection and security in the frontier province.
Juno and Minerva are most frequently depicted on the columns, and together with the crowning statue of Jupiter form the Capitoline Triad: as pedestal reliefs of the so-called normal series (Normalreihe), as well as ‘scaled columns’ with reliefs of the deities set one above the other. Similarly, the gods Hercules and Mercury, who are also depicted, wereworshipped in the capitolium of Rome. Capitolia are attested in Germania inferior (CCAA; CVT) and Pannonia superior (Savaria–Szombathely and Scarbantia–Sopron). Dedications or pictorial evidence comes from almost all the north-western provinces (Britannia, both Germanies, Raetia, Pannonia, Dacia, Moesia inferior, as well as Gallia Belgica and Gallia
Lugdunensis).
If this confirms the spread of the cult of the Capitoline Triad among members of the military and civil society in the frontier provinces, then it is likely that there is a connection between the worship of the triad of Jupiter, Juno, Minerva and the programs of the corresponding Jupiter columns, and that the donors wanted to express their connection with the main deities of the empire and to guarantee their support. It should be emphasised, however, that the dedications are always addressed to I.O.M. or to I.O.M. et Iuno Regina. With the motif of Jupiter riding down the giant that was created in the East Gaul-Upper German region, a type of statue was available that visualised the Celtic-influenced ideas of the god of the sky and weather and which gained extraordinary acceptance.
(Translation Molly Tate / David  Wigg-Wolf)