Above both scenes, among the coffers on the underside of the arch Titus is shown riding to heaven on the back of an eagle. On the north, meanwhile, Titus is shown on his chariot, crowned by Victory and accompanied by representations of the Genii of the Senate and People of Rome, Roma or perhaps Honos and Virtus. On the south, a detail of the triumphal procession is depicted: booty taken from Jerusalem is paraded on litters, among them the menorah from the sacked Great Temple. These depict two scenes from the triumph that Titus held with his father in Vespasian in AD 71, following his victories in Judaea.

The main decorative reliefs are on the walls of the archway itself. The arch is carved in Pentelic marble, the blocks of which are a wide range of sizes. Built into a castle in the Medieval period only the central portion of the arch is original, the rest having been restored in the nineteenth century. It is a single span arch and is now heavily restored. Yes, it's an important Roman artifact, it's an important Roman vowel relief but it continues to exist because Christians cared about it in the middle ages and it continues to be important because Jews and Christians continue to see in it a statement to a metaphor or an object that can help in their self understanding in the present.The Arch of Titus was dedicated in AD 81-2 in honour of the recently deceased Titus. And that's why it continues to be important.

The Arch of Titus, an artifact 2,000 years old, continues to spark emotions up to this day. Once an artifact becomes the symbol of a nation state however, the state of Israel beginning in 1949, it takes on a life of its own. And that they are among the earliest people in Europe, or alternately for Jews, fed up with Europe after a century of deep and difficult relations, culminating in the Holocaust, who are off to Palestine, who could say, all right we were brought here, and now, we're going home. The Arch of Titus as a place of horror, but also as a place in the modern world where Jews can claim that they came to Europe. Jews continue to look at the Arch of Titus as a continuing sore, and in the modern period the Arch became for Jews, particularly after World War II, the equivalent of the arches that were at the entrance to concentration camps. Not one stone of the Jerusalem Temple will remain upon the other, which of course, soon after Jesus's crucifixion actually happened, the temple destroyed in the year 70. And in the Arch of Titus they saw confirmation of the prophecy that appears in the gospels in the mouth of Jesus, that for lack of belief in the coming transformations. Christians relatively early looked to the Arch of Titus, which has images of the parade of the artifacts of the Temple of Jerusalem into Rome. The Arch of Titus matters because that Roman piece continues to matter to others. You will learn how color was used in Roman antiquity and apply that knowledge to complete your own 'color restoration' of the Arch of Titus menorah relief. Students will participate in the latest advancement in the study of the Arch - the restoration of its original colors. You will attend an academic colloquium and even 'participate' in office hours. Course members will accompany Professor Fine on virtual 'fieldtrips' to museums and historical sites in Los Angeles and New York where you will 'meet' curators, scholars and artists. Together with your guide, Professor Steven Fine, you will examine ancient texts and artifacts, gaining skills as a historian as you explore the continuing significance of the Arch of Titus from antiquity to the very present. The Arch of Titus commemorates the destruction of Jerusalem by the emperor Titus in 70 CE, an event of pivotal importance for the history of the Roman Empire, of Judaism, of Christianity and of modern nationalism. The Arch of Titus: Rome and the Menorah explores one of the most significant Roman monuments to survive from antiquity, from the perspectives of Roman, Jewish and later Christian history and art.

Arch of titus eagle