Humanities Essay: Analysis of the Arch of Titus and Ara Pacis

This essay provides an analysis of the Arch of Titus and the Ara Pacis Augustae, two significant monuments from ancient Rome. The Arch of Titus, built by Emperor Domitian to honor his brother Titus and celebrate the Jewish War victory, is examined for its depictions of the menorah and trumpets, symbols of the Jewish diaspora. The essay explores its historical context, including its later association with Pope Paul IV and its significance in Jewish history. The Ara Pacis, dedicated to Pax, the Roman goddess of Peace, is analyzed for its role in celebrating the return of Augustus and the establishment of the Pax Romana. The essay discusses the monument's purpose, its relatively modest design, and its use by Vestal Virgins and priests. The references provide further context and scholarly insights into the significance of these monuments.

Running head: Humanities
Humanities
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The Arch of Titus is a Arch situated in via scara, Jerusalem Rome. It is a triumphal
arch built by emperor Titus. In 79 AD Titus succeeded his father as sovereign of the Roman
Empire. He died only two years after in September 81 AD(Canciani et al. 2013). The well
known sovereign was soon idolized by the Roman Senate. Sovereign Domitian, Titus' sibling
and successor, authorized the development of the Arch of Titus that same year to respect his
late sibling and to honor the triumph in the Jewish War. The Arch was devoted in 85 AD with
vast celebrations.
The Ara Pacis Augustae (Latin, "Sacrificial stone of Augustan Peace"; generally
abbreviated to Ara Pacis) is a holy place in Rome devoted to Pax, the Roman goddess of
Peace. The landmark was appointed by the Roman Senate on July 4, 13 BC to respect the
arrival of Augustus to Rome following three years in Hispania and Gaul, and sanctified on
January 30, 9 BC (von Dippe 2013). Originally situated on the northern edges of Rome, a
Roman mile from the limit of the pomerium on the west side of the Via Flaminia, it remained
in the northeastern corner of the Campus Martius, the previous surge plain of the Tiber River
and step by step ended up plainly covered under 4 meters (13 ft) of sediment stores. It was
reassembled in its present area, now the Museum of the Ara Pacis, in 1938.
The Arch of Titus gives one of only a handful couple of contemporary delineations of
Temple period artifacts. The seven-spread menorah and trumpets are unmistakably portrayed.
It turned into an image of the Jewish diaspora (Brandfon 2015). In a later time, Pope Paul IV
made it the place of a yearly vow of accommodation. As per Morton Satin, until the point that
the cutting edge State of Israel was established in 1948, Jews declined to stroll under it
because of an antiquated boycott put on the landmark by Rome's Jewish specialists. The
boycott was formally lifted in 1997(Brandfon 2015). The Arch was never said in rabbinical
sources. The menorah delineated on the Arch filled in as the model for the menorah utilized
on the seal of the province of Israel.

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The purpose of the Ara Pacis Augustae was to celebrate the peace (Pax) that Augustus
had reclaim to the Roman kingdom. The apparent and widely accepted reason for the Ara
Pacis was to commend the arrival of Augustus and the happening to the Pax Augusta(Caneva,
Savo and Kumbaric 2014). Augustus may have intentionally made the landmark moderately
unobtrusive to console different justices that they would in any case have space in the new
principate to practice their own distinction and self-satisfaction. In the wake of being
devoted, the Ara Pacis was utilized by the Vestal Virgins, judges and holy men to make
forfeits for the sake of Peace. Augustus declined himself another triumph for the devotion of
the Ara Pacis. Augustus may have felt it important to develop a holy place committed to
peace to promise the general population that the peace won through common war was
certainly justified regardless of the carnage and hardship.

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References
Brandfon, F., 2015. The Arch of Titus in the Roman Forum: A Case Study of Vandalism and
History. Change Over Time, 5(1), pp.6-27.
Canciani, M., Falcolini, C., Buonfiglio, M., Pergola, S., Saccone, M., Mammì, B. and
Romito, G., 2013. A method for virtual anastylosis: The case of the Arch of Titus at the
Circus Maximus in Rome. ISPRS Annals of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial
Information Sciences II-5 W, 1, pp.61-66.
Caneva, G., Savo, V. and Kumbaric, A., 2014. Big messages in small details: nature in
Roman archaeology. Economic botany, 68(1), pp.109-115.
von Dippe, R., 2013. Ara Pacis Augustae. The Encyclopedia of Ancient History.