Humanities Module 3 Essay - Braden Forbes

Braden Forbes
David Kauffman
February 6, 2022
Intro to Humanities
The Greek Siren Vase and the Roman Column of Trajan
Both the Greek and Roman eras offer a lot of different pieces of art that represent not only
their culture, but also their way of living and their morals. Both societies have a lot to offer and I
will only be talking about one specific piece from each society, even though there is much more
to learn about and even discover. From the Roman era I have chosen to talk about the Column of
Tajan and from the Greek era, I have chosen to talk about the Siren Vase. For these pieces of art I
will be talking about what features distinguish them from each other, what makes these pieces
part of their cultures, and describe what these artworks tell us about humanity's needs, desires,
concerns, and longings.
Let’s begin with the Greek Siren Vase. The Siren Vase was created somewhere between
480 B.C. and 470 B.C. The Siren Vase is related to the Greek ideal of Arete. The sirens are ideal
beings of Greek culture. These beings lure travelers by ship with their glorious sounds or
“sirens” that completely captivated these travelers, unbeknownst of their impending doom. The
sirens are more well known in the famous epic written by Homer called, Odyssey. In this play,
Odysseus longs to hear the call of the sirens, but is tied to the pole of the mast and has his ears
covered so that he can avoid death by the sirens, despite their beautiful sounds. Next is the
Roman Column of Trajan. This Column was constructed in 113 B.C. in honor of the current
leader Trajan and depicts his many victories in the Dacian War. This victory for the Romans after
the Dacian wars was a triumphant victory during the reign of Trajan, so this Column was
constructed in his honor during the time of celebration. What makes this a Roman piece of art is
the many sculpted scenes depicted on the Column of all the victorious of Trajan.
Furthermore, what makes the Siren Vase Greek part of its culture is how it depicts one of
the scenes from the Odyssey, which is a very very famous epic that many people read and study
to this day. This vase depicts one of these scenes and shows how Sirens were a part of Greek
mythology, which is what distinguishes them from other cultures. Even so, what makes this vase
different from other Greek art was that this piece was drawn on a vase, whereas many other
forms of art were sculpted from marble. When we look at the Column of Trajan, we can see that
the Romans were very celebratory over their victories and were great craftsmen when it came to
sculpting. The Roman victory monuments in general were very common among the Roman era
whenever the Romans had a major victory. Not only are these columns a sign of victory, but also
honor to the nation and to the leader at that time, and in this specific time for this column, it was
Trajan.
When we look and think more deeply and with more intent, we can then examine these
two pieces at a deeper level and relate them to one another and even possibly be able to apply
these works to modern life and society as well as modern ideals. Examining both of these pieces
of art, we can see how victory and honour was a very important moral to the Romans and how
Greek mythology and writings made the Greeks unique. We can see that the Greeks and their
writings were very much concerned with their religion and the gods they worshiped and honored
in their poems and epics. Their mythology is a key part to their culture and they honor their gods
and these mythological creatures a lot. For the Romans, they were very concerned with honor
and loyalty, especially during and post wartime. To American modern morals, although America
doesn't construct a monument for every major victory, a sense of honor for our military and
celebration is to be had when soldiers arrive home, knowing that their service benefits many
people in this nation. For the Greeks, poems and epics were written to represent their culture and
also to display a message. This vase that was created inspired by the epic of The Odyssey, shows
a level of how often some things in this world can be alluring and pleasant, but once swept in,
can cause destruction and even death in our lives.
In conclusion, both cultures and societies from long ago offer many many important
pieces of artworks that tell us a lot about their individual cultures and ideals during those times.
It is important that we appreciate and study these works to learn not only about their culture, but
about how humans have developed morally as a whole.

Citations
Becker, Jeffrey. Column of Trajan (article) | Early empire. Khan Academy,
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/roman/early-e
mpire/a/column-of-trajan. February 6, 2022
The top 10 ancient Greek artworks. The Guardian, August 14, 2014.
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2014/aug/14/top-10
-ancient-greek-artworks-jonathan-jones. February 6, 2022

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Braden Forbes

The Greek Siren Vase and the Roman Column of Trajan

concerns, and longings.

can cause destruction and even death in our lives.

about how humans have developed morally as a whole.

Becker, Jeffrey. Column of Trajan (article) | Early empire. Khan Academy,

mpire/a/column-of-trajan. February 6, 2022

-ancient-greek-artworks-jonathan-jones. February 6, 2022

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