The Antiquities in the Hippodrome of Constantinople

Author(s): Sarah Guberti Bassett

Source: Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 45 (1991), pp. 87-96
Published by: Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University
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 The Antiquities in the Hippodrome of Constantinople
SARAH GUBERTI BASSETT

its foundation in the fourth century Among the most splendid of the individual
From
throughout the Middle Ages, the city of Con- groupings formed during this undertaking was
stantinople boasted a collection of ancient statuary the gathering of antiquities in the Hippodrome.
that was unsurpassed in any of the great medieval Here monuments stood on bases and honorific col-
cities of the East or the West. The collection, which umns at the circus entrance, along the euripus, in
was amassed by Constantine and his successors the cavea, and above the carceres. In this setting,
through Justinian, must have numbered in the famous works such as a Herakles by Lysippos, the
hundreds. It included images of pagan gods, Roman wolf with Romulus and Remus, and the
mythical heroes, historical figures, and non- Serpent Column of the Plataean tripod stood side
representational monuments such as honorific col- by side with lesser-known representations of gods,
umns, tripods, and obelisks, most of which were emperors, and heroes. The Hippodrome was thus
works of pre-fourth-century manufacture. These a locus for all kinds of monuments, famous and
monuments were set up throughout the city: great obscure, whose form embodied ideas appropriate
public thoroughfares such as the Mese, the open to the circus as an institution and to Constanti-
spaces of the Augusteion and the Forum of Con- nople as a city.
stantine, public buildings such as the Baths of The Hippodrome of fourth-century Constanti-
Zeuxippos, and the private and semi-private nople was an inheritance from the Severan era of
spaces of palaces were all adorned with antiqui- the city's history. Although it may have been in use
ties.' from the late second century on, it was finished
only in the fourth.2 When Constantine chose the
'This article derives from my dissertation, Paene Omnium Ur-
bium Nuditate: The Reuse of Antiquities in Constantinople,Fourth
throughSixth Centuries(Bryn Mawr College, 1985). Several of the
ideas discussed here were first presented at the 1983 Byzantine Schriftquellenzur Geschichteder bildendenKunst bei den Griechen
Studies Conference, Durham, N.C. (Leipzig, 1868) and F. W.Unger, Quellen der byzantinischen
Prior studies of antiquities in Constantinople include C. Kunstgeschichte(Vienna, 1978).
Mango, "Antique Statuary and the Byzantine Beholder," DOP Archaeological evidence is less plentiful. For excavation re-
17 (1963), 55-75; R. M. Dawkins, "Antique Statuary in Medie- ports see S. Casson, PreliminaryReport upon the ExcavationsCar-
val Constantinople," Folklore 35 (1924), 209-48; G. C. Heyne, ried Out in and near the Hippodromeof Constantinoplein 1927 (Lon-
"Priscae Artis Operae quae Constantinopoli Exstitisse Memo- don, 1928); SecondReport upon the ExcavationsCarriedOut in and
rantur," CommentationesSocietatisRegiae ScientiarumGottingensis9 near the Hippodromeof Constantinoplein 1928 (London, 1929);
(1790-91), 3-38. and idem, "Les fouilles de l'Hippodrome de Constantinople,"
Material for retrieval of the collection is plentiful. The main GBA (April 1930), 213-42.
literary evidence for the Hippodrome may be found in the 8th- Graphic evidence is either late Byzantine or Turkish in date.
century Parastaseis Syntomoi Chronikai (=Par.) and its 10th- Among the most useful visual records are Onofrio Panvinio's
century derivative, the Patria KonstantinopoleosII (=Patria II). depiction of the circus in De ludis circensibus(Venice, 1600) and
See Th. Preger, ScriptoresOriginum Constantinopolitanum(Leip- sketches from the notebook of an anonymous 16th-century
zig, 1902-7), and Averil Cameron and J. Herrin, Constantinople traveler recording reliefs of the Hippodrome on the lost Col-
in theEarly Eighth Century:The ParastaseisSyntomoiChronikai(Lei- umn of Arcadius. See E. H. Freshfield, "Notes on a Vellum Al-
den, 1984). Also useful are epigrams from the GreekAnthology bum Containing Some Original Sketches of Public Buildings
(= GA) (London, 1916) and Nicetas Choniates' 13th-century and Monuments Drawn by a German Artist Who Visited Con-
text, De signis Constantinopolis( = De sig.), in Nicetae ChoniataeHis- stantinople in 1574," Archaeologia62 (1922), 81-104.
toriae, ed. J. L. van Dieten (Berlin, 1975), 647-55. Isolated ref- 2For a general outline of the circus' history, see W. Muller-
erences in works by historians and poets help to complete the Wiener, Bildlexikon zur TopographieIstanbuls (Tlbingen, 1977),
record. The most important of these references are Eusebius of 64-71. On the Severan and Constantinian circus, see R. Guil-
Caesarea, Vita Constantini (= VC), 111.54; Socrates Scholasticus, land, "Les Hippodromes de Byzance. L'Hippodrome de S6vere
Historia Ecclesiastica, 1.16; and Zosimus, Historia Nova (= HN), et l'Hippodrome de Constantin le Grand,"
BSl 31 (1970), 182-
11.31. Other texts are collected in J. Overbeck, Die antiken 88.

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88 SARAH GUBERTI BASSETT

site of Byzantium for his new capital, he enlarged army of the Fourth Crusade, that the Hippodrome
and completed the building by extending the cavea collection was destroyed.9
and adding the sphendone. Architecturally there The collection lost in 1204 is documented by ar-
was nothing exceptional about this course. The chaeological, literary, and graphic evidence.10 The
Hippodrome followed the standard circus form, location of the Hippodrome has never been lost,
which stemmed ultimately from that of the Circus and three of its fourth-century monuments, two of
Maximus in Rome. Characteristic features in- which are examples of re-use, remain in situ: the
cluded the U-shape with starting gates (carceres)at Serpent Column, the Theodosian Obelisk, and the
one end and a central barrier (euripus or spina)3 Built Obelisk. These three monuments represent
that bisected the track along its central axis. but a fraction of the circus' original wealth. While
In addition to completing the Hippodrome's excavation has uncovered little of the original dec-
structure, Constantine initiated the first systematic oration, the lost splendor of the site is attested by
ornamentation of the site.4 This project appears to literary and graphic evidence. Sources document
have been incomplete at his death, and the deco- at least twenty-five antiquities, most of which were
ration of the arena was carried on by subsequent figural sculpture. Apart from the two obelisks, the
emperors, among them Constantius, Theodosius Serpent Column, and a set of votive tripods, this
I, Arcadius, and Theodosius II.5 While other areas statuary depicted athletes, gods, and animals. The
of the city were dowered with antiquities as late as general arrangement and display of these monu-
the Justinianic period,6 there is no record of any ments is suggested by Onofrio Panvinio's 1600 en-
post-fifth-century donation in the Hippodrome. It graving of the ruined circus (Fig. 1), which shows
should be noted, however, that the collection of an- a wealth of empty statue bases running along the
tiquities was supplemented continuously by the central barrier. Sources indicate that there was also
addition of contemporary works representing statuary above the carceres,at the entrances, and in
members of the imperial household and circus the cavea." This disposition of monuments con-
competitors.7 formed to what was essentially the standard man-
The collection amassed by the Constantinian ner of display in Roman circuses.12
and Theodosian houses stood largely undisturbed The antiquities displayed in the Hippodrome
until the thirteenth century. Although fires and may be classed in four groups: apotropaia, victory
riots swept the Hippodrome on various occasions, monuments, public figures, and images of Rome.
damage to the monuments seems to have been There is also a cluster of monuments that resist
slight, as such catastrophes were generally con- identification and explanation. '
fined to the areas in which statuary was not dis- Of the various monuments, the apotropaia are
played.8 It was only in 1204, in the city's sack by the the easiest to interpret. Included in the ranks of
these statues were pagan deities such as Artemis'4
'Both terms are valid, although the Romans and the Byzan- and Zeus,15 wild animals such as lions and hyenas,
tines appear to have preferred euripus. See J. Humphrey, Roman
Circuses(Leiden, 1984), 175-76; M. Vickers, "The Hippodrome 9For an account of the destruction, see Nicetas, De sig., 647-
at Thessaloniki," JRS 62 (1972), 30; C. Mango, "L'Euripe de 55. See also A. Cutler, "The De Signis of Nicetas Choniates, a
l'Hippodrome de Constantinople," REB 7 (1949), 180-93. Reappraisal," AJA 72 (1968), 113-18.
4Eusebius, VC, III.54. 'oSee above, note 1.
5Theodosius is responsible for the dedication of the Egyptian "Par. 5 and 84.
obelisk and a quadriga group above the carceres.For the obelisk 2For comparative material on circuses, see Humphrey, Ro-
see Miller-Wiener, Bildlexikon, 65. The quadriga is mentioned man Circuses,40, 176-254, 372, and 474-75. The most plentiful
in Par. 84 (Patria II, 75). Arcadius is credited with the erection evidence for sculptural display comes from the Circus of Max-
of a statue in Par. 62. No text specifies the contributions of entius on the Via Appia. The euripuswas excavated in 1825 and
Theodosius II; however, Par. 64 describes a debate on the again in 1960. See A. Nibby, Del circo volgarmentedetto di Cara-
meaning of circus statuary donated by the emperor and his calla (Rome, 1825), and idem, Roma nell'anno MDCCCXXXVIII,
wife. See Cameron and Herrin, Constantinople, 144-47 and I, Roma antica (Rome, 1838), 632-44; and, more recently, G.
253-59. Pisani Sartorio and R. Calza, La Villa di Massenziasulla ViaAppia.
6Justinian's donation of two horses from the Ephesian sanc- II Palazzo. Le Opered'Arte(Rome, 1976).
tuary of Artemis at the Chalke Gate is the last recorded gift. See ' While most of the monuments in the circus do fall into these
Patria II, 75. categories, a few resist easy categorization or identification.
7For statues of emperors and competitors, see GA, XV.41-50 These works include a horse (Nicetas, De sig., 651; GA, 111.267
and XVI.335-87. The most famous of the Hippodrome chari- and IX.777); Helen of Troy (Nicetas, 652-53); and a curious
oteers was Porphyrius. See Alan Cameron, Porphyriusthe Chari- figure described elliptically as a woman, a horse, and a rider
oteer(Oxford, 1973). (Nicetas, 653).
8See A. M. Schneider, "Brande im Konstantinopel," BZ 41 '4See Par. 79 (Patria II, 74).
(1941), 382-403. '5See Par. 83.

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 THE ANTIQUITIES IN THE HIPPODROME OF CONSTANTINOPLE 89

and fantastic creatures such as dragons and a group of tripods.21 The quadrigae, which stood
sphinxes.16 These monuments functioned either as above the carceresand in the neolaion, were ancient
representations of patron gods or as talismans to symbols of victory. Typically, such monuments
ward off evil. Artemis and Zeus found their way were dedicated in sanctuaries or placed atop
into the circus because of their ancient association triumphal arches.22 While these dedications would
with horses and their breeders. As an extension of have had associations with specific people and
her dominion over agriculture, Artemis was events, the same probably was not true of the Hip-
known as a patroness of horses and their riders.17 podrome quadrigae. It is likely that these monu-
Similarly, Zeus was given the epithet "hippias."'18 ments' particular identity was lost when they were
While statues of gods and goddesses were removed to the circus. The transformation of at
understood as patrons of racers and the races, im- least one of the chariot groups from a specific to a
ages of wild animals such as the hyena and mythi- generic monument is suggested by its placement
cal creatures such as the sphinx were employed for over the carceres. In this position it would have
their more general apotropaic value. Such crea- stood high above the track without base or inscrip-
tures were believed to be evil in and of themselves. tion, a monument not to a particular person or
Captured and harnessed in a civilized setting such event, but rather to the horses and drivers ready
as the Hippodrome, their own nefarious powers to spring from the gates below in search of their
were turned loose against the very forces which own, fresh victory.
had spawned them.19 Thus the hyena, notorious as The second group of generic monuments was a
a trickster and killer of men, was actually turned collection of bronze tripods from the sanctuary of
into a force for good as its own dark powers were Apollo at Delphi. Traditionally, tripods were used
channeled into keeping other evil spirits at bay. In as awards and votive dedications in athletic and
this sense the apotropaia were the most useful and dramatic competitions.23 The common practice
practical objects to adorn the course, for by purg- was to dower the victor, whether athlete or poet,
ing the circus of evil they kept the track and its with a tripod which he, in turn, could offer to the
personnel in good running order. god. At their initial dedication, then, these monu-
Of the antiquities brought to the Hippodrome, ments had specific associations; however, on their
images of victory were by far the most common. removal to Constantinople these associations were
Within this general category, some monuments lost, and the tripods, like the quadrigae, were
may be viewed as generic victory dedications, oth- transformed into anonymous symbols that evoked
ers as commemorative of military triumphs, and the idea of victory through genre alone.
still others as exemplars for Hippodrome compet- In addition to these generic dedications, there
itors. were also monuments associated with specific mil-
Works classified as generic dedications are those itary conquests. Works understood in this manner
that embody the general concept of victory with- included a statue of an ass with its keeper24 and the
out referring to any particular person or event. Serpent Column of the Plataean Tripod.25
Monuments of this type included quadrigae20 and

16For lions see Robert de Clari, La conquite de Constantinople, Marco, Venice. While it is known that the Venetian group was
XC in Historiens et chroniquesdu Moyen Age, ed. A. Pauphilet brought from Constantinople in 1204, this association is hasty.
(Paris, 1952), 61-62. For the hyena see Par. 62 (Patria II, 79). No documentation indicates a Hippodrome provenance, and
Par. 62 also describes dragons, and Nicetas, De sig., 650 men- there were other quadrigae in the city. See L. Borelli Vlad and
tions sphinxes. A. Guidi Toniato, "The Origins and Documentary Sources of
'7RE, II.1, cols. 1344 and 1346. It may be that the horses and the Horses of San Marco," The Horses of San Marco (Venice,
the Helen of Troy (see above, note 13) functioned in conjunc- 1977/79), 127-36.
tion with the Artemis statue. Helen was allied with Artemis in 21Eusebius, Socrates, and Zosimus (above, note 1) and Patria
certain contexts. See RE, II.1, col. 1357. II, 79 all report tripods from the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi.
'8See RE, ser. 2, XIX, col. 317. Eusebius and Socrates refer to the dedications in the plural, but
19Numerous ancient sources attest the evil powers of the the total number is not known. The context of the Patria indi-
hyena, among them Aelian, De nat. an., VI.14 and VII.22. See cates that at least one stood on the euripus.
also O. Keller, Thiere des classischenAlterthums(Innsbruck, 1887)
22RE, ser. 2, XIII, cols. 474-76; H. Mattingly, Coins of the Ro-
156-57 and idem, Die Antike Tierwelt(Leipzig, 1909), II, 89-90. man Empirein the British Museum, II (London, 1930), pl. 81; and
20Par. 84 (Patria II, 75) and Nicetas Choniates (De Manuele A. Alf61ldi, "Die Ausgestaltung des monarchischen Zeremon-
Comneno, ed. van Dieten, III, 119) describe a bronze group iells," RM 49 (1934), 1-118.
above the carceres.Par. 5 and 38 (Patria II, 87 and 42) record 23RE, V.2, cols. 1669-96.
another group in the neolaion. Traditionally, the carceresgroup 24Nicetas, De sig., 650.
has been associated with the horses astride the portico of San 25Eusebius, VC, 111.54.

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90 SARAH GUBERTI BASSETT

In its original setting at Nikopolis in Epirus, the tures which served as exemplars for competitors in
Ass and Keeper commemorated Octavian's victory the circus races. Included under this rubric were
over Mark Antony at nearby Actium. The curious statues of the Dioscuri,29 Herakles,o30Scylla,31 and
subject matter is explained by Suetonius,26 who re- an eagle.32
ports that Octavian, having set out on the battle's By the fourth century, the Dioscuri, Castor and
eve to spy on the enemy, saw a man with a donkey Pollux, had long been associated with the circus
approaching him. When asked to identify himself and its games. Castor was known as a horse tamer,
and his business, the traveler introduced himself Pollux as a pugilist, and both were counted as char-
as Eutyches (Prosper) and his donkey as Nikon ioteers. In their capacity as athletes, the twins were
(Victory), and then explained that both were trav- considered overseers of the games. Pindar33 de-
eling to the victor's, that is, Octavian's, camp. Al- scribed how Herakles, having been assumed to
though Suetonius does not say as much, the en- Olympus, passed the mantle of the games along to
counter must have been interpreted as a favorable Castor and Pollux, while Horace34 notes that it was
omen, at least in retrospect. Accordingly, when the through justice and steadfastness of purpose that
battle was won, Octavian, then Augustus, immor- the twins attained such glory. The Dioscuri also
talized the travelers in a shrine at newly founded were viewed as exemplars for those aspiring to cir-
Nikopolis. Presumably the statue stood in situ until cus victories in that they provided a model of
its removal to Constantinople in the fourth cen- strength and virtuous behavior for those who
tury. would themselves be victorious in the races.
The second monument associated with military A similarly exemplary figure is that of Herakles.
triumph was the Serpent Column.27 This monu- At least two statues and probably three stood in the
ment is one of the few to survive in Istanbul. Its circus. One showed the hero struggling with the
shaft stands on its original location, while its only Nemean lion, the other portrayed him seated and
preserved head, originally one of three, is housed resting after the cleaning of the Augean stables.
in the nearby archaeological museum. Originally The former was a popular type of unknown au-
part of the support for a large tripod that stood in thorship from the series of the Labors, the latter,
the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, the Serpent Col- also from the Labors, a work by Lysippos of Sik-
umn was dedicated by the Greek allies to com- yon. Made by the Greek sculptor in the fourth cen-
memorate their victory over the Persians in the tury B.c., the statue, which was a colossal bronze,
479 B.c. battle of Plataea. As Pausanias28 reports, stood on the acropolis at Tarentum until 209 B.c.
the actual tripod, which was made of gold, was car- when the city fell to Rome and the Herakles was
ried off in 355 B.c. by a band of marauding Pho- taken off as a spoil. It was then dedicated on the
cians. This left the entwined bronze snakes as the Capitol, where it stood until its removal to Con-
commemorative monument, and it was this curi- stantinople in the early part of the fourth cen-
ous object that late antique viewers understood as tury.35
the emblem for the Plataean victory.
29Zosimus, HN, II.31.
The third group of victory monuments included
30Nicetas, De sig., 650, refers to a "man fighting with a lion."
images of demigods, heroes, and mythical crea- This is certainly a reference to Herakles and the Nemean lion.
Par. 37, Constantine Manasses, Ekphrasis 1.21-32, and Nicetas,
De sig., 649-50 and 519, refer to a second statue of Herakles.
26Augustus,96. This is the statue by Lysippos. Nicetas mistakenly refers to Lys-
27Forexcavation report see Casson, PreliminaryReport, 12-14. imachos.
Pertinent literary sources include Herodotus, IX.81, Pausanias, 31See GA, XI.270, 271 and IX.755; Patria II, 77; Nicetas, De
X. 13.9, and Russian travelers to Constantinople in G. Majeska, sig., 650-51. For graphic evidence see Freshfield, "Notes on a
Russian Travelersto Constantinoplein the Fourteenthand Fifteenth Vellum Album" (above, note 1).
Centuries(Washington, D.C., 1984), 144, 164, and 184. The col- 2Nicetas, De sig., 651.
umn is of bronze and stands to a height of 5.35 m. It is made 301lymp.111.36.
up of three snakes that twist around one another, separating 34Carm.III.iii.
into three outward spreading branches at the top. Originally, 35For the Herakles in Tarentum, see Strabo, Geog., VI.3. Plu-
each branch terminated in a serpent's head, but in 1700 all tarch, Fabius Maximus, XXII.6, describes the removal to Rome.
three were cut off. See V. J. Menage, "The Serpent Column in For Lysippos see F. R. Johnson, Lysippos(Durham, N.C., 1927).
Ottoman Sources," AnatSt 14 (1964), 169-73. One head survives According to Par. 37, a statue of Herakles was brought to
in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. See P. Devambez, Constantinople from Rome in the consulship of Julian. Six
Grandesbronzesdu Mus&ede Stamboul (Paris, 1937), 9-12. Euse- dates are possible. In 322 Amnius Anicius Julianus was consul
bius, op. cit., states that the monument was brought by Constan- in the West. Shortly after the foundation ceremonies, in 325,
tine, and the fact that the column stands on the foundation level Julius (Ionius) Julianus was consul for the East and West. Dur-
of the circus supports this statement. ing the 350s and 360s, Julian the Apostate held the consulship
28Pausanias, X. 13.9. on four separate occasions: as Caesar in 356, 357, and 360, and

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 THE ANTIQUITIES IN THE HIPPODROME OF CONSTANTINOPLE 91

The third Herakles statue is identifiable from a Understood in the popularity of Herakles as a
group described problematically as "Adam and monument for the circus was a moral strength
Eve, Eutheria and Limos."36 It is likely that these which complimented his physical prowess. To ac-
figures were antiquities whose original identity has complish his Labors, the hero not only required
been lost.37 Unfortunately the text offers no de- muscle power, but also fortitude and wits. In this
scription. It is possible, however, that the group respect he was the perfect exemplumvirtutis for the
originally was one of Herakles with the Hesper- Hippodrome competitor. For the contestant, the
ides. Roman sarcophagi with depictions of the La- race through the circus was analogous to the ac-
bors often show Herakles complete with ap- complishment of a Labor. It required the strength,
ple, tree, and serpent. Occasionally, one or more wits, and fortitude of a Herakles to defy the odds,
of the daughters are present. This composition sustain the effort, and gain victory.
served as a model for Adam and Eve on Christian A monument in a similar spirit was the statue of
sarcophagi, and it is possible that it was under- Scylla on the euripus. Scylla was often associated
stood similarly in the later Middle Ages when with struggle and combat. In her traditional set-
the author of the ParastaseisSyntomoiChronikaide- ting across the straits from Charybdis, she posed a
scribed it.38 The identification would certainly be constant menace to travelers, their lives, and their
consistent with the presence of other Labors in the fortunes. Those heroes such as Herakles, Odys-
circus. seus, and Aeneas who traversed the straits with
Even though these statues were originally placed their lives intact represented those who struggled
in different settings, their use in the Hippodrome against and conquered death and destruction.
was perfectly appropriate. Herakles was known They were victors over the ancient forces of dark-
for his successful completion of the twelve Labors. ness and evil, and as such they gained immortal
His accomplishment of these feats made him the fame. In the setting of the Hippodrome, these
model for male strength, and, not surprisingly, he iconographical associations were important for two
was frequently associated with physical culture. reasons. The presence of the Scylla first called to
Among the Greeks he was proclaimed patron of mind the heroes of the past, and their heroism and
athletic contests, and the same association was glory could be understood as somehow transfera-
maintained well into late Antiquity by the Romans, ble to the athletic heroes of the present. The race
who linked him even more specifically with the cir- through the circus was analogous to the passage
cus.39 through the straits.
A fourth statue was the image of an eagle strug-
gling with a snake. Throughout the Roman period
as Augustus in 363. See R. S. Bagnall and Alan Cameron, Con- the eagle functioned as an emblem of imperial
suls of the Later Roman Empire(Atlanta, Ga., 1987), 178, 246-49,
254-55, and 260-61. A conservative dating for the importation power, a symbol of apotheosis, and an image of vic-
is, therefore, 322-363; however, 325 seems most plausible. The tory.40 The particular image of the eagle battling
322 date may be rejected as it precedes the foundation of the with the snake was a common symbol of struggle
city by two years, and given the pagan stance of Julian, it is un- and triumph in which the eagle was associated with
likely that the statue would have been removed from Rome dur-
ing his consulship. good, the snake with evil.41 In the specific context
Nicetas, De sig., 649-50, reports that the statue was knocked of the circus, such an image would have com-
down, but apparently it remained in the circus as it was seen
there by Pierre Gilles. See De topographiaConstantinopoleoset de
mented on the valor and goodness of the trium-
illius antiquitatibus(Lyons, 1561), 89-91. It is not known when phant competitor. Because the Hippodrome was
the statue was destroyed. also a locus for imperial ceremony, this statue
36Par.5 (Patria II, 87). would also have referred to the emperor.
37Mango, "Antique Statuary," 63.
38See C. Robert, Die antiken Sarkophag-reliefs(Berlin, 1897), In addition to apotropaia and victory monu-
III, 1, pl. 30, no. 106, pl. 32, no. 116, pl. 33, no. 120. I am ments, the Hippodrome housed images of public
indebted to an anonymous reader of this article for this sugges-
tion. figures. These monuments included overtly impe-
39Pliny, NH, XXIV.57, reports that there was a temple of Her- rial images of the emperors Augustus42 and
akles by the Circus Maximus, and Ovid, Fasti, VI.209, notes that
Herakles was denoted magnus custos at the Circus Flaminius. Diocletian43 and a probable representation of the
This association between the hero and the circus was main-
tained into late Antiquity. Fifth-century contorniates from the 40 See J. Engemann, "Ein Missorium des Anastasius,"
Festschrift
reign of Anthemius Procopius show Herakles on the verso fiir Klaus Wessel,ed. M. Restle (Munich, 1988), 103-15.
framed by the legend "Herakles Hyppodromos." See A. Alf6ldi, 41For example, Ovid, Met., IV.712-52.
"Zu den r6mischen Reiterscheiben," Germania 30 (1952), 187- 42Par.60 (Patria II, 73).
90. 43Par.76 (Patria II, 73).

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92 SARAH GUBERTI BASSETT

dictator Julius Caesar.44As well, there was a statue nation was transported to the capital where it was
of the Mytilenean civic hero, Theophanes.45 presented to the public as part of a triumph. In the
Images of Julius Caesar, Augustus, and Diocle- earliest triumphs, booty consisted largely of arms,
tian represented men who had ruled Rome from armor, precious metals, livestock, and slaves. With
Republic to Empire and Tetrarchy, and their pres- time, the definition of plunder expanded to in-
ence may have been intended to achieve for the clude works of art, and it was often the case that
Hippodrome what the re-use of the Trajanic, Had- objects taken as booty were put on permanent pub-
rianic, and Antonine reliefs accomplished for the lic display.
Arch of Constantine. In the Roman arch a se- The intention behind the capture and display of
quence of images of sound rulers from the halcyon these goods, or spolia, was complex. At its most ba-
days of the empire's past evoked at once the mem- sic level, plunder, whether animal, vegetable, or
ory of a Golden Age and, by means of comparison, mineral in nature, was a matter of finance. Goods
the idea of its resurgence in the present under the taken in the wake of conquest had monetary value
enlightened rule of Constantine, who appears which enriched the state.
both as the inheritor of tradition and the catalyst As an adjunct to their financial value, however,
for renewal.46 In the Hippodrome this different spolia had the potential for enormous symbolic im-
but equally important group of Roman rulers port.48To begin with, spoils explained the riches of
would have functioned similarly by inviting com- a conquered nation better than any possible de-
parison between the great rulers of the past and scription, thereby offering proof that a campaign
their modern counterparts. had been worth the undertaking. Even more im-
A fourth public figure was that of Theophanes portant, however, was the very act of possession:
of Mytilene. Theophanes was a friend and advisor ownership demonstrated dominion. The control
of Pompey the Great. During his lifetime and of financial resources meant, of course, absolute
throughout the Roman period, he was lionized by regulatory power over public life. In the case of
the Mytileneans, to whom he was a symbol of their works of art, the more ephemeral issues of civic
reintegration into the Roman orbit in the after- pride and cultural identity were often at stake.
math of the Mithridatic wars. The statue was, This was the case, for example, with the Lysippan
therefore, a monument to civic identity. Once re- Herakles. From the moment of its creation, the co-
moved to Constantinople it retained that meaning, lossal bronze was synonymous with Tarentum, be-
commemorating by its presence the Roman em- coming both the focus and the emblem of the city's
brace of Greek Mytilene. pride. Its removal to Rome in the aftermath of the
To understand the statue's capacity to bear such city's conquest was, therefore, no idle act of plun-
meaning, it is necessary to consider the traditions der. Fabius Maximus, the general in charge of the
associated with sculptural displacement and re- campaign, must have been aware that the trans-
use. In the Roman world the general phenomenon port of the beloved Herakles to Rome would cap
of re-use had its origins in the traditions of military the city's sense of humiliation and degradation. It
conquest.47 Originally the wealth of a conquered was tantamount to dragging the city away in
chains. Conversely, at Rome, the display of the
44Patria II, 81. This text is very corrupt, but its description of Herakles would have proclaimed the reality of Ro-
Julius Caesar falls in the middle of a sequence of descriptions man expansion and the force of her dominion.
of circus statuary, thus leading me to conclude that it refers to a
statue. In the case of the Theophanes statue, the violent
45The statue is known from an inscribed base in the Istanbul overtones of conquest suggested by the removal of
Archaeological
" Museum. See L. Robert, "Theophane de Myti- the statue from Mytilene to Constantinople prob-
lIne Constantinople," CRAI (1969), 42-64. The base is circu-
lar and bears an inscription honoring Theophanes. The use of ably would have been muted. It is quite possible
Aeolic dialect makes it clear that the base and its statue would that the statue was donated by the Mytileneans
have been brought from Lesbos. Robert (p. 57) believes that the
statue was sent to Constantinople by the Mytileneans when themselves,49 in which case the figure would have
Constantine began collecting statuary for the capital. This given testimony not to the city's loss of liberty, but
theory is interesting because it suggests that cities were asked to
choose representative works.
46See P. Peirce, "The Arch of Constantine: Propaganda and dissertation (University of Hamburg, 1975). Also useful is H.
Ideology in Late-Roman Art," Art History 12.4 (1989), 387-418, Blank, Wiederverwendungalter Statuen als Ehrendenkmiiler(Rome,
and J. Ruysschaert, "Unit" e significate dell'Arco di Costantino," 1984).
Studi Romani 11.1 (Jan.-Feb. 1963), 1-12. 48See B. Brenk, "Spolia from Constantine to Charlemagne:
47For a discussion of these traditions, see M. Pape, Griechische Aesthetics versus Ideology," DOP 41 (1987), 103-9.
Kunstwerkeals Kriegsbeuteund ihre 6ffentlicheAufstellung in Rom, 49Robert, "Th6ophane," 57.

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 THE ANTIQUITIES IN THE HIPPODROME OF CONSTANTINOPLE 93

to its ongoing participation in the process of em- reference to the history and traditions of that city
pire. would have been all the more forceful.
A fourth group of monuments included images While the provenance of the wolf and the sow
of the city of Rome. Two groups, a statue of the can only be surmised, that of the Lysippan Her-
wolf with Romulus and Remus, and a figure of a akles is known to have been Rome. As noted, one
sow with piglets,50 called to mind the dual legends of the reasons for the statue's use in the Hippod-
of Rome's foundation. The statue of the wolf with rome was Herakles' association with the games.
the twins was, of course, a reference to the legend The fact that the statue was a spoil with a well-
of Romulus and Remus and their building of the known provenance and documented history gave
capital.51 The odd subject matter of the second a new dimension to the work. Like the wolf with
group derived from a prophecy, subsequently re- the twins or the sow with piglets, this statue,
alized, that was given to Aeneas during the course steeped as it was in the history and imagery of
of his wanderings. On two separate occasions the Rome, spoke of the absorption of the old city's tra-
hero is told that he will found a new city, race, and ditions into those of the new. In this case, however,
empire at the place where he sees a white sow with the traditions referred to were not ancient, quasi-
thirty suckling pigs.52 mythical events but documented historical pro-
The choice of the statue of the wolf with the ceedings that proclaimed the triumph of Roman
twins can be explained on one level by the fact that power. What was implied, then, in the presence of
the ancient festival of the Lupercalia was cele- the Herakles was not only the Constantinopolitan
brated in the Hippodrome.53 Thus, like the statues absorption of Roman tradition, but also the assim-
of the horses above the carceres,the wolf and the ilation of the old city's power, authority, and pres-
twins referred to events that took place in the cir- tige.
cus. At the same time, however, the statue does This idea of a Constantinopolitan succession to
more than refer to an isolated celebration. In the the traditions of Rome is borne out in the formal
reenactment of the Lupercalia, Rome's foundation aspects of the circus. The seventh-century Chroni-
festival, Constantinople appropriated the old cap- con Paschale notes that the Hippodrome was built
ital's history. The statue of the wolf with the twins in imitation of the Circus Maximus,55 and, indeed,
was a permanent acknowledgment of this act of as- one of the very basic aims in the requisitioning of
similation. The same is true for the sow with pig- statuary must have been to make the place look
lets. Like the wolf, this statue described the Con- like its Roman prototype. The re-use of antiquities
stantinopolitan absorption of Rome's own history. may be considered an aspect of imitation, for by
As a result, the city was seen to partake of the des- using ancient monuments as decoration, the Hip-
tiny of Rome foretold so long ago on Latium's podrome acquired a patina of age and respectabil-
shores. ity that an essentially fourth-century (i.e., modern)
The provenance of these two foundation images building would have lacked.
is not known, but it would not be unreasonable to More striking, however, were the number and
assume that, given the specific nature of their im- disposition of the monuments. In the case of the
agery, they came from Rome.54 In this case their Hippodrome, the evocation of Rome was made
uniquely explicit by the presence of not one, but
50Nicetas, De sig., 650, describes both groups. two obelisks. While other circuses may have had
51Livy, I.iv-vii. a single obelisk, only Rome was distinguished
52Virgil, Aen., 111.388-93, VIII.36-49, 81-92.
53For a full account of ceremony in the Hippodrome, see R.
by two: the Heliopolitan Obelisk donated by
Guilland, "IEtudessur l'Hippodrome de Byzance III & IV: R61e Augustus and the Theban Obelisk erected under
de l'empereur et des diverses fonctionnaires avant et pendant Constantius. The erection of two such monu-
les courses. Les courses de l'Hippodrome," BSI 26 (1965), 1-39.
ments in Constantinople, one authentic and one imi-
54Livy, 1.23.12 and Cicero, Cat. VIII.9, report statues of the
wolf with the twins at the Lupercale and on the Capitol. The tation, was doubtless intended to play off this prece-
wolf with the twins was one of the identifying images of Rome. dent.
It appeared on Roman coin issues and was sometimes used as
an emblematic identification of Rome in narrative imagery. This The authentic obelisk, the Theodosian Obelisk,
is the case, for example, in a floor mosaic from Gerona, Spain.
The mosaic shows the Circus Maximus and uses images of the
wolf with the twins and Mars and Rhea Silvia to identify the sow and piglets were also used in official imagery. See, for ex-
setting of the action as Rome. See A. Balil, "Mosaicos circenses ample, panels from the Ara Pacis Augustae: Erika Simon, Ara
de Barcelona y Gerona," Boletin de la Real Academiade la Hist6ria Pacis Augustae (Tiibingen, 1967).
151 (1962), 257-394 and Humphrey, Roman Circuses,240. The
5501. 277.1; cited in Unger, Quellen (above, note 1), 296.

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94 SARAH GUBERTI BASSETT

was erected in the Hippodrome in 390.56 It was rea, and Tyre. Three of these six obelisks were
originally one of a pair from the Temple of Amon fourth-century dedications.59 The popularity of
in Thebes. During the reign of Constantine, this obelisks during this period and their association
pair was removed from the temple and trans- with imperial rule make it possible that such mon-
ported to Alexandria. Eventually, one obelisk was uments were a normal feature of tetrarchic cir-
sent to Rome where it was erected on the central cuses intended to call to mind the image of Rome
barrier of the Circus Maximus in 357 by Constan- and through that image, the power. As in the te-
tius.57 The other was taken to Constantinople trarchic circuses that were its immediate predeces-
where it was raised in the Hippodrome by Theo- sors, the formal disposition of the Hippodrome
dosius I. Given the example of its Roman mate, it obelisks created a vision of Rome which was, essen-
is possible that the Theodosian monument was tially, an image of power.
meant to have been installed during the reign of The visual framework provided by the obelisks
Constantius or even as early as that of Constantine. would have lent added pungency to the Roman
The history of the second obelisk, the Built Obe- images. Those statues such as the wolf, the sow,
lisk, is more obscure.58 Unlike the Theodosian and the Herakles, which referred so eloquently to
monument, it is not a true monolith, but an imita- the Roman past, were suddenly seen to exist in a
tion obelisk built of ashlar. Presumably it would Rome-like ambience. What was implied in this vi-
have been installed after the erection of the second sual metaphor was the transferral of power from
obelisk in the Circus Maximus, without which the old city to the new. Constantinople was, in ef-
precedent a second monument, much less an imi- fect, describing itself as the New Rome.60
tation, would have made little sense in the Hippo- Non-Roman images in the circus supported this
drome. claim. A statue like the Theophanes of Mytilene
It is not only in number but also in placement made sense only in the context of an imperial city
that the Constantinopolitan obelisks recall the because it described a relationship between capital
precedent of Rome. In the Circus Maximus, the and province. Monuments such as the Serpent
Heliopolitan Obelisk rises on the center of the eu- Column and the Ass and Keeper could have been
ripus, while the Theban monolith stands toward seen in a similar light. Although both referred to
the barrier's southeast end. The Hippodrome re- victory and so were appropriate for the sporting
peats this arrangement. The Theodosian Obelisk ambience, the specific nature of their reference
occupies the central position of the Heliopolitan was, on another level, descriptive of the city.
monument, the Built Obelisk the southeast place- Although the Serpent Column commemorated
ment of the Constantian monolith. the victory of the Greeks over the Persians at Pla-
Since Augustus' erection of the Heliopolitan taea, it was more than a monument to the fortui-
Obelisk in the Circus Maximus in 10 B.C., obelisks tous outcome of a single battle. At Plataea, the
had become a characteristic feature of circus de- Greek allies repulsed the Persians for the last time,
cor. They were not a feature in every circus, be- thereby securing the safety of their homeland and
cause, unlike other prominent monuments, such way of life. For them, the monument celebrated
as the metae,or turning posts, they were not essen- nothing less than the triumph of civilization over
tial to the mechanics of the race. Their function barbarism. In the Hippodrome this memory lin-
was purely visual. Nonetheless, they were a popu- gers, for by its presence the Serpent Column de-
lar option, because they called to mind the image scribed Constantinople as the new protector of
of the prototypical and ideal racetrack, the Circus these ancient values.
Maximus. Circuses with obelisks included Caesa- The Ass and Keeper can also be understood as
rea and Tyre in the East, the Vatican and that of a reference to Constantinopolitan primacy. In its
Maxentius at Rome, and Arles and Vienne in the initial setting the monument glorified Augustus,
West. The obelisks from the Vatican and the Circus his victory, the consolidation of his power, and the
of Maxentius were imperial donations, and it is
59ForCaesarea and Tyre, see Humphrey, Roman Circuses,484;
possible that this was also the case at Arles, Caesa- for the Vatican, see E. Iversen, Obelisksin Exile, I (Copenhagen,
1968), 19-21; for the Circus of Maxentius, Arles, and Vienne,
56See Miiller-Wiener, Bildlexikon, 65 for history and bibliog- see Humphrey, ibid., 285, 397-98, and 406 respectively.
60T. D. Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius (Cambridge, Mass.,
raphy.
57Ammianus Marcellinus, XVI.10.17 and XVII.4. 1981), 378 note 20, cites the use of this title with respect to Con-
58See Muiller-Wiener, Bildlexikon, 65 and 71 for history and stantinople by Publilius Optatianus Porphyrius (Carm. IV.6) as
bibliography. early as 324/25.

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 THE ANTIQUITIES IN THE HIPPODROME OF CONSTANTINOPLE 95

initiation of the Principate. In the Hippodrome, monplace and unique. In the sense that it de-
the statue recalled these events and the ensuing scribed a civic identity and that all circuses seem to
evolution of Roman rule, claiming as it did so a have incorporated this type of imagery, the Hip-
place for Constantinople in the course of Roman podrome collection conformed to standard ideas
history. By reason of its provenance and the mo- about circus design and decoration. At Tyre, for
ment it commemorates, the statue may have gone example, statues of Herakles proliferated not only
one step further. It is possible that it suggested an as straightforward circus imagery, but also because
analogy between Augustus and Constantine, Ni- the hero was the city's patron god.64 What is star-
kopolis and Constantinople. Like Augustus, Con- tling, therefore, in the Constantinopolitan display
stantine consolidated his power by the defeat, in is not the existence of a civic imagery per se, but
324, of his last rival, Licinius, in a naval battle near the claims made by this particular group of statu-
Chrysopolis. Shortly thereafter, the emperor dug ary and the intensity with which they are pre-
his spade into the soil of Byzantium and traced the sented. No other circus in the Roman world in-
walls of his new capital on the Bosporus. Like Ni- corporated so many images of Rome with such
kopolis, Constantinople could be seen as a monu- consistency as to proclaim itself unequivocally
ment to victory and consolidation of one man's a New Rome. While obelisks and imperial stat-
rule.61 Moreover, like Augustus, Constantine was uary existed in other circuses, the presence of
repudiating a system of power-sharing: his defeat uniquely Roman monuments was unknown else-
of Licinius represented the final rejection of the where. The high concentration of such well-
tetrarchic system in favor of the more traditional known works as the Delphic tripods, the Ass and
apparatus of the Principate, which had been de- Keeper, and the Serpent Column was equally un-
fined by Augustus himself. precedented. It was the unique quality of this
The monuments displayed in Constantinople display which, in concert with the framework of
were designed to function on two levels. On the obelisks, gave Constantinople its identity as New
one hand, the circus decor reflected the athletic Rome.
events that took place there. Statues of demigods, What was implied in this identity was contradic-
heroes, and charioteers honored the competitors tory. On the one hand, the name evoked the au-
and their games. On the other hand, many of thority of the past. On the other hand, the very
these same images stood in conjunction with other fact that the city was described as new invited a
monuments as part of a propagandistic civic dis- distinction. Constantinople may have based its
play that expressed not only the grandeur but also claim to authority on the embrace of Rome's past,
the supremacy of the city intended to become the but it was, without doubt, a city built for present
premier city of the Roman Empire. and future needs.
This population of the Hippodrome with statues That the ornamentation of the Hippodrome was
whose imagery was pertinent to both athletic and accomplished with spolia was probably no accident.
political concerns was determined by the circus' Spoils are, by nature, Janus-like. Their value lies in
function. From the start, games were always more their capacity to envision the future through evo-
than isolated sporting events. Most were associated cation of the past. In the Hippodrome, in a clever
with the great religious and civil ceremonies that combination of imitation and physical presence,
shaped a city's annual calendar. Moreover, in late the neat armature of obelisks so lavishly hung with
Antiquity the hippodrome became increasingly antiquities captured what in the history and tradi-
important as a locus for imperial ceremony.62 Con- tion of Rome was pertinent to the Constantinopol-
stantinople was no exception. Practically all of the itan present. The imagery of victory and sport was
city's important ceremonies took place in the cir- complemented by that of history and tradition to
cus.63 It was therefore logical that the Hippodrome create an environment radiant with the idea of
be adorned for its role as the premier gathering power on the Roman model. At the same time, the
place of the empire's first city. construct of the Hippodrome was patently artifi-
In the context of Roman circuses, the kind of cial. It was Rome-like, but not Roman in the sense
imagery seen at the Hippodrome was at once com- that the particular combination of images was un-
known in the old capital. Thus, even as spolia re-
61A. H. M. Jones, The Later Roman Empire (Oxford, 1964), 84. ferred to the authority of the past, they created a
62
Humphrey,,Roman Circuses,55 and 581.
63Guilland, "Etudes III & IV." 64
Humphrey, Roman Circuses,475.

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96 SARAH GUBERTI BASSETT

new vision for the future. It was this distinction manifestations. With spolia the Hippodrome was
which gave the Hippodrome collection its vitality ornamented for its role as the didactic centerpiece
and force. The arrangement was no banal imita- of the new capital of an ancient empire.
tion, but a neatly crafted ensemble that described
a vision of power in its past, present, and future Ravenna

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