The "Columnae Coc(h)lides" of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius

Author(s): Martin Beckmann

Source: Phoenix, Vol. 56, No. 3/4 (Autumn - Winter, 2002), pp. 348-357
Published by: Classical Association of Canada
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1192605
Accessed: 13-08-2015 19:59 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Classical Association of Canada is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Phoenix.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 83.137.211.198 on Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:59:13 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

THE COLUMNAECOC(H)LIDES
OF TRAJAN AND MARCUS AURELIUS
MARTIN BECKMANN

T HE CURIOSUMURBISROMAE AND THE NOTITIA URBISROMAE ARE TWO LISTS

of buildings and monuments in the imperialcapital,compiled region by region,
and dating to the late third and early fourth centuries respectively.1In them,
the columns of Trajan and of Marcus Aurelius are called columnaecoc(h)lides.2
Coc(h)lis,a very rareword, is defined in the TLL (s.v.) as an adjectivalusage of
the noun of the same form, derived from the Greek word KoXXL;,
which itself
is a diminutive form of KO6xXO(LSJ s.v. KOXtiS), meaning a snail-shell. The
implicationis that the columns are snail-shell-like.Two featuresof the columns
could conceivablyhave warrantedsuch a description:the externalsculptedfrieze,
which runs up the column in a spiraling manner from bottom to top, or the
internalspiralstaircase,which runs the height of the column and providesaccess
to a viewing platformon top of the wide capital.
There is a trend in recent scholarshipto interpretthis adjectiveas referring
to both the frieze and the stairs.3 This is contraryto the interpretationof the
word currentbefore the twentieth century and, I argue here, mistaken, for an
examinationof the sourcesindicatesthat coc(h)lisrefersto the stairwayalone. This
raises the question of why the stairwaywas singled out for such attention. The
explanation,I suggest, has to do with a numberof factors,including admiration
of the technical achievementof the columns and the rarityof spiralstaircasesin
Rome in the second centuryA.D.
I wish to thank Professor Peter Kingston for his particularinterest in this topic, for much helpful
discussion, and for taking the time to read and comment on drafts. I am also gratefulto Professors
Katherine Dunbabin, Chris Simpson, Paul Murgartoyd,and Robert Nau for their comments, to
ProfessorWilliam Slater for advice on technical terminology,to ProfessorsJames Russell, Christer
Bruun, and a numberof others who providedhelpful and encouragingfeedbackon a version of this
paperpresented at the CAC Annual Conference (Waterloo, May 2001), and to ProfessorJonathan
Edmondson and the anonymousPhoenixreferees,whose suggestionsled to manyimprovements.Any
errorsremainingare mine.
1Curiosumurbis Romae and the Notitia urbis Romae: see
Jordan 1871-1907: 2.2.539-574.
Richardson (1992: xx) follows Nordh 1949 in dating the Curiosumto the time of Diocetian, the
Notitia to the reign of Constantine.
2For example, from the Curiosum:REGIO VIII FORVM ROMANVMMAGNVM continet/
rostrasIII/ Geniump. R. / senatum/ atriumMinervae/forum Caesaris/Augusti / Nervae / Traiani/
/altam pedesCXXVIIs./gradosintushabet/ CLXXX/fenestras
templum/ Traiani/et columnamcoclidem
/
XLV, and REGIO IX CIRCVSFLAMINEVScontinet[ ...]templumAntonini/et columnamcoclidem
altampedesCLXXVs./gradus intushabetCCIII/fenestrasL VI.The Notitia uses the spellingcochlidem.
3Platner and Ashby 1929: 132; Valentini and Zucchetti 1940: 115, n. 2; Colini 1955; Maffei
1993: 303; Martines2000: 39. Exceptionsto this trend are Richardson(1992: 95), who takes coc(h)lis
as referringto the frieze alone, and Lepperand Frere(1988: 13), who take it as referringto the stairs.
348
VOL.56 (2002)3-4.
PHOENIX,

This content downloaded from 83.137.211.198 on Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:59:13 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

COLUMNAE
COC(H)LIDES
I

349

THE MEANING OF COC(H)LIS

Recent interpretationsof the word coc(h)lishave been based on two main

ancient sources, each of which employs the word coc(h)lea,related to coc(h)lis,
in different contexts. That it denotes a spiral stairwayis usually supportedby
reference4to a passage of Isidore of Seville, dating to the earlyseventh century:
cocleaesuntaltaeet rotundaeturreset dictaecocleaequasicycleae,quodin eis tamquam
conscendatur
arehigh, roundtowers
per circulumorbemque
(Orig. 15.2.38): "cocleae
and they are called cocleaelike cycleae,because in them one ascends just as
through a circle and a coil." Isidore'sconcept of a cochleais clear: a tall round
tower with a spiral staircaseinside, called a cochleaspecificallybecause of these
stairs.
The alternativeinterpretationof coc(h)lis,that it refersto the externalfrieze,
rests on a passageof Celsus,5who in describingthe processof setting a particular
type of fracturewrote: fere verofasceissex opusest. prima brevissimaadhibenda,
quae circafracturamter voluta, sursumversumferatur et quasi in cocleamserpat
(Med. 8.10.1.E): "Usually,indeed, six bandagesareneeded.The firstand shortest
bandage to be applied, which makes three turns aroundthe fracture,ought to
be wrappedup and down and ought to wind as if to form a coclea."The image
also appearsto be clear in this case: a flat bandageis being wrappedaround a
cylindricalobject (a limb), and this seems strongly reminiscentof the band of
continuoussculpturethat winds up both columns.
These two passages seem to provide strong evidence for one or the other
of the interpretationsof the word coc(h)lis,but it is misleading to consider
them in isolation. The uses of coc(h)lea(and its Greek cognate KoX.tia;) to
refer to a spiral staircase are not confined to Isidore. In the Vulgate (A.D.
400), Kings 6.8 describes access to various levels in Solomon's new temple
using the words: per cocleamascendebantin mediumcenaculumet a medio in
tertium;Placidus (CGL 5.351.43) in the fifth or sixth centuryA.D. providedthe
gloss: cocleaascensusqui circiit: "a cocleais an ascent which circles." Procopius
providesa paralleldefinitionin Greek. During the Nika revoltin Constantinople
in A.D. 532 the loyal general Mundus made a sortie from the palace via a
gate called 6 KoXXia;; Procopius adds the explanation 6 KoXkICa; ano6 Til
KactO6ou KUKXOTEpoU;oiojcar c0vo6Pantat (Pers. 1.24.43): "the KoXXiaX is so

called because of its circling descent." This referenceis of particularinterest,

since it gives an example, much in the same way as Isidore's reference, of a
larger structurebeing called a KoX;iaq on the basis of its containing a spiral
passage. Finally, but less certainly, Strabo (17.1.10) may provide an earlier
example of this use of KoX0iaS, when he describesthe Paneion at Alexandria
as a man-made hill looking like a rocky mound with the shape of a pine4Cited by Platnerand Ashby, Valentiniand Zucchetti, Colini, and Maffei (above,n. 3).
5Cited also all of the above
(n. 3).
by

This content downloaded from 83.137.211.198 on Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:59:13 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

PHOENIX

350

cone, 8&a KOX?diouziv avd3aaCtv EXov: "having an ascent by means of a

KoXias."6

Other uses of both coc(h)leaand KoXktiaarealso attested(that is, outsidetheir

more standard reference to a snail or snail-shell).7 One of the earliest alternate
uses (and for our purposes the most important) is the application of the word
KoXXiaS to the water-raising screw invented by Archimedes.8 Vitruvius (De arch.
10.6) provides a detailed description of the construction of such a water-screw.
First, strips of wood are fixed in a spiral around a central pole so that "they make
channels and a true and natural imitation of a cochlea."9Then, these channels
are covered over to seal them into a tube. From this it is clear that the aspect
of the cochlea being imitated is the internal passage that forms the home for
the animal. In appearance, this device would be very similar to the columns:
tall and round on the outside, with spiralling channels on the inside. Other
references to coc(Jleae use the term to describe the grooves in the upright beam
of a screw-press,10 and curving shelter-holes at the bottom of a fishpond.ll None,
besides the Celsus reference already cited, refer to any form of spiral band winding
around the outside of a cylinder (or any other object).12 From these examples,

it appearsthat when the Romans thought of a coc(h)lea,they thought first and

6Strabo may refer to a spiral stairway(or similar passage) within the mound itself (LSJ, s.v.
Orlandosand Travlos 1986: 160), but the &avaaotv has also been interpretedas an external
KOXXtIC;,
road winding up the mound (as by Jones [1923]). The former interpretationmay be given more
weight if it is consideredthat Straboelsewhere(17.1.30; 16.1.5) uses the word KoXXiasto describe
the water-raisingscrewof Archimedes, a device quite similarin shape to a spiralstairor passageway;
as a spiralstair,but Strabo
Orlandosand Travlos(1986: 160) cite the latterreferencedefiningKcoXciaS
seems ratherto be referringto water-raisingscrewslocatedbeside ordinarystairways.
7TLL III.1396.30-86; LSJ s.v. KcoXkLat.Orlandos and Travlos (1986: 160) offer three
screwpress,water-screw,and spiralstaircase;these arediscussed
architecturaldefinitionsfor KoXXiaS:
below.
8Diod. Sic. 5.37.3, 1.34.2; Strabo17.1.30; Athenaeus (5.208) reportsits use as a bilge-pumpon
the great ship Syracusia. Its use by Frontinus in Aqueducts129.11 is also likely: see Rogers 1983:
136, proposingon groundsof logic that cocleabe read for calice.My thanksto one of the anonymous
Phoenixrefereesfor havingbroughtthis to my attention.
9 ...
imitationem(De arch.10.6.2). The resultingspiral
.faciunt canaleset iustamcocleaenaturalemque
is much less tight (one complete turn in a distanceof eight times the diameterof the centralcylinder)
than that of the columns' stairs (one turn in a distanceabout three times the diameterof the central
support). Diodorus (1.34.2) says much the same: that such a screwis called a KcoXXitbecauseof its
Modern Germancarrieson this traditionby calling
KoXXIaqS).
shape (ovoad&eTat&ao6to6oaXflato
Archimedes'screw a Wasserschnecke.
1
Pliny describes the grooves as per cocleamambulantibus(NH 18.74.317); Vitruvius(De arch.
6.6.3) calls the grooves themselvescocleae.
11Columella(Rust.8.12.2) recommendsthe constructionof specus... in cochleam
retortos,necnimis
spatiosos,in quibusmuraenaedelitescant.
12Where objects similar to the columns are mentioned (a very rare event), the terms coc(h)lea,
KOXAia;,or any of their variantsare not used: the famous Spartancode-staff, the aKurTarl,has its
messagestrip-wrappedroundin a KUKX3O;(Plut. Lys. 19.5); QuintiusCurtiusRufus(8.9.26) describes
the vine-wrappedcolumns in the palace of an Indian king, saying regiaauratascolumnashabet:totas
eas vitis aurocaelatapercurrit.For a surveyof known examplesof such columns, see Chapot 1907:

This content downloaded from 83.137.211.198 on Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:59:13 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

COLUMNAE
COC(H)LIDES

351

foremost of an internal spiral passagewayor cavity, not of any sort of external

banding.
What then of Celsus?It is importantto note that Celsus does not actuallycall
his bandage a coc(h)lea,but ratheronly implies that it climbs in the manner of
as a technical
one. While the Notitia and Curiosumemploy columnamcoc(h)lidem
term to refer to a specific type of column, Celsus is employing nothing more
complicated than a simile, based on the idea of winding conveyedby the word
cocleam.It is this vivid image, Celsus'fasciaexecutinga spiralmovement around
a cylindricalobject,which appearsto have captivatedthe minds of some scholars
and caused an instant connection to be made with the spirallingfrieze of the
columns.13The internalpassagewayof a snail shell climbs as surelyas the spiral
pattern on its exterior,and in cocleammay be translated"into a coclea"as well as
"in the mannerof a coclea."The imagerywould then be of the bandagewinding
its way into the empty internalspace of the snail-shell. It is also perhapsworthy
of note that the fascia of Celsus will eventuallyend up inside a mass of other
bandages,and thus become an internalfeature.14
II

ANCIENT REFERENCES TO THE COLUMNS

Ancient referencesto the columnsof Trajanand MarcusAureliusarerelatively

scarce, but nonetheless help to put the use of the word coc(h)lisinto a firmer
context. The earliest referenceis in two inscriptions,which date to 193 and
record the privileges and responsibilitiesgiven by imperialconsent to a certain
Adrastus,procuratorof the column of Marcus Aurelius.15In these inscriptions
the column is referred to as columnadivi Marci or columnacentenaria,or a
combination of both. The latter reference, centenaria,is to the height of the
column shaft itself: one hundredRoman feet (= 29.62m). This interestin height
is also reflectedin the Notitia, the Curiosum,and in the referencesof Cassiodorus
74-79. Cochlisappearsused as an architecturalterm in two Latin inscriptions,one of which refers
to a piscinamnovamnominecocleamat ThuburboMaius, Tunisia (Merlin 1917: 75; AE 1917/18, 98
= ILAfr 285, translatedin Fagan 1999: 280-281), another to a vague opuscochli[s]in Turkey (AE
1903, 256); neitherof these sheds light on the precisemeaningof the term in an architecturalcontext.
While Merlin (1917: 74) speculatedthat the piscinamnovamnominecochleam
in ThuburboMaius may
indicate a characteristicof the architectureor decorationof the pool, he was unableto find evidence
through excavationto resolvethe question.
13Platner and Ashby (1929: 132) may be the original source of the common modern dual
interpretation,as they appearto be the firstto cite Celsus in supportof the frieze argument.
14My thanks to C. Simpson for this suggestion.
15CIL VI.1585a and b = ILS 5920. For a recent
examination,with a focus on the administrative
aspectsof the inscription,see Daguet-Gagey 1998. The veryearliestreferenceof any sort is, of course,
the depictions of the column of Trajanon that emperor'scoinage (e.g., Mattingly 1936: 3.449, pl.
14.19; 972, pl. 38.3). Although in this paperI arguefor the prominenceof the stairwayin the minds
of the Romans, I am not inclined to acceptClaridge's(1993) argumentthat it is the stairwaywhich is
representedby the spiraldecorationof the column on these coins.

This content downloaded from 83.137.211.198 on Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:59:13 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

352

PHOENIX

and Eutropius.16A passage in Ammianus Marcellinusunderscoresthis. As he

describesthe structureswhich caught Constantius'attention during his visit to
Rome in A.D. 357, Ammianus remarkson the elatosqueverticesscansilisuggestu
"andthe exaltedheights with
concharum,
priorumprincipumimitamentaportantes:
of
conch-like
of previousemperors.'l7
likenesses
rising platforms
qualitybearing
Such "heights,"bearing statues of emperorsand gracedwith viewing platforms,
cannot be paralleledby any known monumentsexceptthe columnsof Trajanand
MarcusAurelius.18
In the city of Constantinoplethere existedtwo monumentsverysimilarto the
columnsin Rome:the columnsofTheodosius andofArcadius,both of whichwere
decoratedwith a spiralfrieze on the exteriorand providedwith a spiralstaircase
on the interior. The Notitia urbis Constantinopolitanae
(late-fourth- to earlyuses
the
monuments:
terms
to
describe
these
columnam
fifth-century)
following
... intrinsecususquead summitatemgradibusperviam, "a column accessible by
stairs inside up to the summit,"and columnam... intra se gradibusperviam, "a
column accessibleby means of stairs inside it."19These same columns are also
referredto using the terms cochlisand KQXXiaSin sourcesof the sixth and seventh
centuries.20
Finally, there is one further ancient source which refers specificallyto the
columns neither of Rome nor of Constantinople, but which nonetheless has
a bearing on both. The author of the Life of Elagabalusincluded in the
HistoriaAugusta(24.7) recounts Elagabalus'supposeddesireto erect a columnar
monument to himself: constitueratet columnamunam dare ingentem,ad quam
ascenderetur
intrinsecus,ita ut in summoHeliogabalumdeumcollocaret.Although
16Cassiodoruswritesof
Trajan,cuiuscolumnaealtitudoin CXLpedeserigitur(Chron.2 p. 141, 766);
Eutropius, also referringto Trajan, says ossaeius, collocatain urnaaureainforo, quodaedificavit,sub
columnasita sunt:cuiusaltitudoCXLIVpedeshabet(Breviarium8.5).
17Amm.Marc. 16.10.14, Teubneredition ofW. Seyfarth.I take concharum
as a genitiveof quality;
Seyfarth(1968: 179) translatesthis passage:"die hochrangendenSaulen mit ihren im Innern nach
oben fiihrendenWendeltreppen."The text is disputed;K. Erfurdt's1808 edition has elatosquevertices
qui scansilisuggestuconsurgunt.... The word concharum,
though awkwardin this context, is strongly
reminiscentof cochlis(again, shell imagery)and may refer to the form of the passageprovidingthe
ascent to the platform.
18One other use of the word coc(h)lisis found in Polemius Silvius (writingin southernFrancein
the fifth century),who includes columnaecochlidesin his list of buildings at Rome; unfortunatelyhe
offers no further commentaryon the columns. Richardson(1992: xx) notes that Silvius may have
drawnon sourcessuch as the Curiosum,and thus this wordingmaybe moreimitativethan descriptive.
19Not. Urb. Const.8.13-14; 13.10-11 (in Seeck 1876).
20MarcellinusComes (sixth century) in his Chronicon(2.480.92.8) relates how in the year 480
statuaTheodosiiMagni inforo Taurisupercochlidem
columnam
positacorruit.Writing later,the authorof
the seventh-centuryChroniconPaschaledescribesthe dedicationin 421 of a statueof Arcadius?CaTto
in his forum (Dindorf 1832: 579). The syntaxis unusual:it may be
ndavtvooO KoXXouroo KicovoS
read"standingon top of the KoXXtiac
of the column,"or "standingon top of the KoXIaS;,that is to say,
the column."That is, the word may referto the featureof the column called a KoXkCtia
(presumably,
following the argumenthere, the stair),or to the column as a whole.

This content downloaded from 83.137.211.198 on Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:59:13 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

COLUMNAECOC(H)LIDES

353

this anecdote is fictional,21the appealingfeaturesof the monument are clear: a

tall column, a stairwayinside, and a statueon top.
In sum, of all ancientreferencesto the columnsof TrajanandMarcusAurelius
(and to their counterpartsin Constantinople),none makereferenceto the sculpted
frieze. To the ancient authors,the noteworthyaspects of these monuments are
their height, the statues atop them, and their internal stairways,by means of
which one could ascendto their capitals.This ancientunderstandingof columnam
is reflectedin the work of medievaland Renaissancetopographers.The
cochlidem
term appearsin the medievalMirabilia,travellers'guides to the city which were
themselves in part derived from the Curiosumand the Notitia.22 The dearest
evidence that the ancient understandingof cochlispersistedis providedby Pierre
Gilles, a sixteenth-centurytravellerto Constantinople. Gilles was quite aware
that it is not externalsculpturethat makes a column a columnamcochlidem,
as he
shows by his descriptionof the porphyryPillar of Constantine: "haeccolumna
porphyreticanon gradibus pervia est, sed solida. itaque falso tradit Fulvius
antiquariuscoclide esse."23"This porphyrycolumn not does have stairsin it, but
is solid. Thus Fulviusthe antiquarian24
wronglycalled it coclide."
III

SPIRAL STAIRS

None of our sourcestell us why exactlythe stairsin the columnswereconsidered

worthy of special attention, but at least three explanationscan be suggestedwith
some confidence. The first is that the stairway,cut inside the otherwise solid
shaft of a column, representeda remarkabletechnicalachievement.Such a project
had never before been attempted. The stairwayrequiredvery carefulplanning,
especiallybecausea remarkablyinconvenientratioof fourteensteps-per-turnwas
chosen over one of twelve or sixteen steps, which would have been much simpler
to execute.25The importanceof the stairwayto the overalldesign of the columna
21Fowden (1991) has argued that this passage was a carefullyconstructed insult directed at
Constantine'sown porphyrypillarin Constantinople,which was not gracedwith such a stairway.
22For example, from a twelfth-centuryversion of the Mirabilia (Urlichs 1871: 98): "columpna
Antonini coclidis habet in altum pedes CLXXV, gradus numero CCIII fenestrasXLV. columpna
Traianicoclidis habet in altum pedes CXXXVIII, gradusnumeroCLXXXV, fenestrasXLV."
23De topographiaConstantinopoleos
3.3. Gilles's description (1561) of the column of Arcadius
offers a rare if not unique example of the noun coclea(but not of the adjectivecochlis)being used
in reference to an external feature of the columns: "torosuperestapoghygis, deinde incipit scapus
columnae scalptuspugnis variis, scalpturaproceditin modum columnae, quae Romae Traiano sacra
est inter elices binas cochleae more surgentes"(ibid. 4.7). Gilles's descriptionof the two helixes (the
bordersof the frieze) rising "cochleaemore"-"in the mannerof a cochlea"-iscomparableto Celsus'
use of the word (a simile, distinct from the technical use of the adjectivecochlisin describingthe
column itself).
24 One of the anonymousPhoenixrefereeshas kindly suggestedto me that this Fulviusis Andrea
Fulvio (ca 1470-1527), on whom see Weiss 1959.
25Wilson Jones 1993: 30-31. Twelve or sixteen steps can be easily plannedby furtherdividing a
quarteredcircle;fourteensteps cannot.

This content downloaded from 83.137.211.198 on Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:59:13 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

354

PHOENIX

coc(h)lisis underlinedby the way in which the designersof the column of Marcus
Aurelius copied the dimensions of the stairwayin Trajan'scolumn with great
fidelity,while at the same time takinglibertieswith other aspectsof the design.26
Even the construction of the columns would have been a substantialtechnical
challenge, as blocks weighing as much as 77 tons had to be raisedto heights of
over 100 Roman feet and at the same time positionedwith precision.27
A second factor may well have been the rarityof spiralstaircasesin Rome.
Besides the columns, two such stairwaysare found in the Baths of Caracalla
(A.D. 212-216), four in the Baths of Diocletian (298-305), and one in the
Mausoleum of Constantia (ca 350).28 The towers of the Aurelianic walls of
Rome (built 271-279), which might be potential candidatesfor Isidore'saltaeet
rotundaeturres,contain no spiral staircasesat all (nor are any of them entirely
round). Instead, the standardtower is solid to the level of the rampart,then
contains a chamberwith straight flights of stairs to the upper levels; access to
the towers could only be gained from the ramparts,themselves accessibleonly
at the gates.29 This is in keeping with the traditionof Roman stone and brick
fortificationin general, where there.seems to have been no use made of spiral
stairsin towers round or otherwise.30In other buildingsoutside of Rome, spiral
staircasesaresimilarlyuncommon:there is, for example,one spiralstaircasein the
third-centuryA.D.Round Temple at Ostia,31two in the Mausoleumof Galerius
at Thessalonike (earlyfourth century),and eight in the ImperialBaths at Trier
(also of the early fourth century).32It appearsthat spiral staircaseswere used
by the Romans mainly in massive brick buildings, only from the third century
onwards,and neverin towers.33The two columnstaircasesin Romewere, in their
time, almost unique.
The absenceof spiralstaircasesin the city of Rome priorto this date raisesthe
questionof possibleprecedentsfor the columnstaircases.Veryfew spiralstaircases
areknown which date beforethe second centuryA.D. The earliestarelikelythose
in Temple A at Selinus, which dates to the 480s B.C.34 While staircasesin the
26The stairway,writes Wilson Jones (1993: 38), "wasthe partcopied most faithfully."
27For the
possible constructiontechniquesof Trajan'scolumn, see Lancaster1999.
28See relevantentries in the Lexicon
urbisRomae.The spiralstaircasesin the Baths
topographicum

of Caracallaareboth locatedin the north(external)

wall of the caldarium;
thosein the Bathsof
Diocletianarein variouslocations.
29Todd1978:32-34;seefigs.12, 15, 16, and19 forillustrations
of Aurelianic
towers.
30Noneareillustrated
in Lander's(1984)surveyof Romanstonefortifications,
norinJohnson's
of late-Romanfortifications.
Fora discussionof circular
towersin general,see
(1983)examination
Lander1984:228-244;forselectedillustrations,
seeJohnson1983:figs.4, 5, 8-14, 18-22.
31See
Briggs1930:pls.53 and57.4.Meiggs(1973:81) proposesthedateof SeptimiusSeverusto
GordianIII (a statueof whosewifewasfoundtherein).
32Ward-Perkins
1981:figs.306 (Mausoleum)
and302 (Baths).
of the Trophyof Augustusat Turbieincludesfive spiral
33Formige's(1949) reconstruction
is not madedear. Thereis a singlefragmentof
staircases,but the basisfor this reconstruction
travertine
carvedwith threestepsof a spiralstaircaselyingnearthe Archof Titusin the Roman
areunknown.
Forum,butdateandprovenance
34Forillustrations,
seeMertens1984:fig.37;Ginouves1998:pl. 86.3.

This content downloaded from 83.137.211.198 on Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:59:13 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

COLUMNAE
COC(H)LIDES

355

cellaeof Greek temples are not uncommon, the spiral examples at Selinus are
unique among them. Moreover, their unusualform, with curvingedges on each
step, is not reflected in any later staircases. One furtherearly example occurs
in the temple of Bel at Palmyra,which is commonly dated to the first century
A.D. (although a date in the second to third centuryhas been suggestedfor parts
of it).35 While it is possible that the designer of Trajan'scolumn was awareof
these (and perhapsother) spiralstaircases,it is not necessaryto supposethis. The
primaryreason for choosing a spiral staircasewas that this is the only stairway
possible in such a restrictedspace. On the other hand, one wonderswhether the
column staircasesmight have influencedlater architects,since it seems that it is
only after the constructionof the columns that spiralstaircasesappearin other
buildingsin Rome.36
Finally,the staircasesmay have been singled out for attentionbecauseof their
function in getting visitors up to the viewing platformatop the columns. The
exact meaning to the ancient Romans of this function of the columns is unclear.
From the top of the column of Trajan,a personwould have been able to inspect
from an unparalleledvantagepoint the entire layout of Trajan'svast new forum,
and thus appreciatefully his incredible accomplishment.37In the case of the
column of Marcus Aurelius, the effect would have been similar, but this time
the view would have encompassed the Antonine funerarymonuments of the
Campus Martius: for example, the column of Antoninus Pius and at least three
major funeraryaltars. It has recently been suggested that the upper exit from
the stairwayin this column was purposefullydesigned so that the visitor would
come out on the platform directly facing the funeraryaltar of that emperor.38
How often the stairwayswere actuallyused, however, and who was allowed to
ascendthem, is not known. The steps inside Trajan'scolumn areonly moderately
worn, suggestinglimited access-which is perhapsnot surprising,consideringthe
role of the column as a resting place for Trajan'sashes, contained in a separate
chamberin the base.39 Still, even if not many Romans had the opportunityof
35For illustrationssee Ginouves 1998:
pl. 20.1; Lyttelton 1974: fig. 22. The temple is datedby an
inscriptionto the year A.D.32 (Lyttelton 1974: 93), but Murray(1917: 24) arguesthat the thalamoi
(which the temple staircasesflank) ought to be dated to the second or third centurybased on their
architecturaldecoration.Lyttelton (1974: 93-96, 193-195) arguesthat the thalamoi,if later,are only
somewhatso and still date to the first centuryA.D.
36The influencecould not havebeen instant:the Baths of Trajanand the Pantheonof Hadrianall
employ flights of stairswith landings, even in restricted,oddly shapedareaslike angles and corners,
where in later structuresspiralstairswere sometimesused.
37The inscriptionon the base of the column suggeststhat this was one of the column'spurposes:
ad declarandum
quantaealtitudinis/ monset locustan[tis oper]ibussit egestus(CIL VI.960 = ILS 294):
"to declareof what height was the mountain and location removedby such greatwork." The exact
meaning of this phraseis unclear,but the viewing platformwould have helped a visitor to appreciate
the scope of the work on the forum.
38See Davies 2000: 167-169. The alignmentof the door appearsnot to be a coincidence,but there
is no firm evidence for the identificationof the altarswhich the sightline intersects.
39See photo of lower flights in Coarelli2000:
fig. 17. I am not awareof the condition of wear of
the steps in the column of MarcusAurelius.

This content downloaded from 83.137.211.198 on Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:59:13 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

PHOENIX

356

climbing the stairs,this does not mean that the stairsdid not have a specificand
importantfunction, or that contemporarieswere unawareof that function.40
CONCLUSION

When the column of Trajan was built it was remarkablefor three major
reasons:its size, the fact that Trajan'sremainswere interredin its base, and the
fact that it contained a spiralstaircase.Marcus'column dispensedwith the tomb
(the emperor'sasheswere laid to rest in the Mausoleumof Hadrian),but retained
the spiral staircaseand increasedthe overallheight (by stretchingthe base; the
height of the column itself, 100 feet, remainedthe same).These two features,the
size of the columns and their spiralstairs,were noted by the writersof the Notitia
and Curiosum,the formerby the provisionof measurementsand the latterby the
use of the term columnaecochlides.The reason that the stairwaysattractedsuch
attentionlikely had to do not only with their novelty,but alsowith theirfunction,
and with a general admirationfor the technical achievementsthat the columns
represented.
DEPARTMENT OF CLASSICS

MCMASTERUNIVERSITY
HAMILTON, ONTARIO

L8S 4M2

mbeckmann71@hotmail.com
BIBLIOGRAPHY

andthe Column,"
in ScheidandHuet2000:265-279.
Beard,M. 2000.'The Spectator
Briggs, C. C. 1930. 'The Pantheon of Ostia,"MemoirsoftheAmerican
Academyin Rome8:

161-169.

Chapot, V. 1907. La colonnetorse.Paris.

Columnof Trajan"JRA
6: 5-22.
Claridge,A. 1993."Hadrian's
Coarelli,F. 2000. The Columnof Trajan.Rome.

ai nostrigiorni,"in La Colonna
Colini,A. M. 1955."VicendedellaColonna,dall'antichita
di MarcoAurelio.Rome: 29-42

A. 1998."Adrastus
et la ColonneAntonine.L'administration
destravaux
Daguet-Gagey,
publicsa Romeen 193 ap.j.-c.,"MEFRA110:893-915.
Davies, P. J. E. 2000. Death and theEmperor:RomanImperialFuneraryMonuments
from
Augustusto MarcusAurelius.Cambridge.

Paschale.
HistoriaeByzantinae
16.
Dindorf,L. A. ed. 1832.Chronicon
CorpusScriptorum
Bonn.
40In the Middle Ages, at least for the column of MarcusAurelius,the functionof the stairsmay
have been one of fund-raising. An inscriptionof the year A.D. 1119 in the church of S. Silvestro
gives evidence that the column was leased and that revenuewas derivedfrom it for the lease holders.
Lanciani (1897: 507) suggestedthat this revenuemay have come from pilgrimsand touristswanting
to ascend the monument. For the inscription, see Petersen 1896: 4, n. 1 and, for a translation,
Gregorovius1903: 686-687, n. 1.

This content downloaded from 83.137.211.198 on Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:59:13 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

COLUMNAECOC(H)LIDES

357

Fagan, G. 1999. Bathingin Publicin theRomanWorld.Ann Arbor.

Formige,J. 1949. Le TropheedesAlpes:La Turbie.Paris.
Fowden, G. 1991. "Constantine'sPorphyryColumn:The EarliestLiteraryAllusion,"JRS
81: 119-131.
Gilles, P. = P. Gyllius. 1561. De topographiaConstantinopoleos.
Lyon (reprintBibliotheke
IstorikonMeleton, Athens 1967).
de 'architecturegrecque
et romaine.3. Rome.
Ginouves, R. 1998. Dictionnairemethodique
Gregorovius,F. 1903. Historyof the CityofRomein theMiddleAges.Tr. G. W. Hamilton.
London.
London.
Johnson, S. 1983. Late RomanFortifications.
Jones, H. L. tr. 1923. Strabo:Geography.Cambridge,MA.
derStadtRomimAltertum.Berlin.
Jordan,H. 1871-1907. Topographie
Lancaster,L. 1999. "BuildingTrajan'sColumn,"AJA 103: 419-439.
Lanciani, R. 1897. TheRuinsandExcavationsofAncientRome.Boston.
Lander,J. 1984. RomanStoneFortifications.Variationand Changefrom the First Century
A.D.to theFourth.Oxford.
Lepper, F. and S. Frere. 1988. Trajan'sColumn.Gloucester.
in ClassicalAntiquity.
New York.
Lyttelton, M. 1974. BaroqueArchitecture
Maffei, S. 1993. "Columna Marci Aurelii Antonini," in M. Steinby (ed.), Lexicon
urbisRomae1. Rome: 302-303.
topographicum
in Scheid and Huet 2000: 19-88.
Martines, G. 2000. "L'architettura,"
Mattingly, H. 1936. Coinsof theRomanEmpirein theBritishMuseum3. London.
Meiggs, R. 1973. RomanOstia.Oxford.
Merlin, M. A. 1917. "Fouillesa ThuburboMajus en 1916," CRAI:66-77.
desgriechischen
Mertens, D. 1984. Der Tempelvon Segestaunddie dorischeTempelbaukunst
Westensin klassischer
Zeit. Mainz.
in Syria.Princeton.
Murray,S. B. 1917. HellenisticArchitecture
Nordh, A. 1949. Libellusde regionibusurbisRomae;Notitia urbisRomaeregionumXIV.
Skrifterutgivnaav Svenskainstitut i Rom 8. Lund.
Orlandos,A. K. and I. N. Travlos. 1986. LexikonArchaionArchitektonikon
Horon.Athens.
Petersen, E., A. von Domaszewski, and G. Calderini. 1896. Die Marcus-SauleaufPiazza
Colonnain Rom.Munich.
Platner, S. and T. Ashby. 1929. A TopographicalDictionary
ofAncientRome.London.
Richardson,L. jr. 1992. A New Topographical
DictionaryofAncientRome.Baltimore.
Rodgers,R. H. 1983. "Frontinuson Aqueducts:TextualTemptations,"BICS30: 131-136.
Turnhout.
Scheid,J. and V. Huet (eds.). 2000. Autourde la ColonneAurelienne.
Berlin.
Seyfarth,W. 1968. AmmianusMarcellinus:RomischeGeschichte.
Seeck, 0. 1876. Notitia dignitatum.Frankfurt(repr.1962).
Todd, M. 1978. The WallsofRome.London.
Urlichs, C. L. 1871. CodexurbisRomaetopographicus.
Wurzburg.
dellacittadi Roma.Rome.
Valentini, R. and G. Zucchetti. 1940. Codicetopografico
Middlesex.
Ward-Perkins,J. B. 1981. RomanImperialArchitecture.
Weiss, R. 1959. "AndreaFulvio AntiquarioRomano (c. 1470-1527),"ASNP 28: 1-44.
Wilson Jones, M. 1993. "OneHundredFeet and a SpiralStair:The Problemof Designing
Trajan'sColumn,"JRA6: 23-38.

This content downloaded from 83.137.211.198 on Thu, 13 Aug 2015 19:59:13 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions