Open AccessChristian Emperors and Legacy of Imperial Art
Author(s) -
Hans-Rudolf Meier
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
acta ad archaeologiam et artium historiam pertinentia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.101
H-Index - 3
eISSN - 2611-3686
pISSN - 0065-0900
DOI - 10.5617/acta.5698
Subject(s) - paganism , emperor , empire , context (archaeology) , ancient history , roman empire , history , art , classics , christianity , archaeology
In the context of Imperial Art as Christian Art, a question of special interest is how Christian emperors handled the imperial legacy of their pagan predecessors. That the tradition of the saecula aurea was important at least for the first Christian emperor is shown by the Arch of Constantine. The extensive use of spolia became one of the characteristics of the architecture of Constantine and his followers. But this handling of the past is also a sign of its fragmentation and selection, and mirrors in some way the emperor’s policy: on the one hand they tried to protect the main temples and their statues as works of art and bearers of the glorious tradition of the empire, on the other hand, they took assertive actions against paganism. A critical comparison between imperial decrees, other texts of Late Antiquity and the archeological evidence shows the different genres of the artistic legacy between destruction as relics of paganism and integration into the Christian empire.