As I mentioned before, one set of questions I'm taking with me as I experience Roman Judea is how first-century (BCE and CE) Judean architecture may have signaled Roman patronage. Herod the Great had an interesting relationship to Roman power, as I'm learning in Martin Goodman's Rome and Jerusalem (2008). Although this book is over 600 pages, pointing to Goodman's detail, it really is interesting. In fact, I'm finding it very hard to put down. Goodman's style is clear and interesting as he explores the political realities of Rome and Jerusalem and their complex inter-relations in the first centuries BCE and CE. His driving question is what led to the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70. You can find a review of the book here. But back to Herod, he was a supporter of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, yet after Actium he was able to develop a relationship with Octavian. Octavian even expanded the territory under Herod's control and Herod honored him by dedicating the new port Caesarea to the Emperor--a prime example of the patron-client relationship if ever there was one. Of course, the relationship between Rome and Jerusalem didn't end with Herod (d. 4BCE) . . .
Given this, I'm interested in looking for decorative patterns that might signal this patronage. In particular, I'm going to be keeping my eyes open for the acanthus plant and the meander pattern, two motifs that have a prominent place on the Ara Pacis, which was dedicated in 9BCE in Rome. These decorative patterns suggest the abundance and life that comes along with the peace of the Empire, as our Italy study abroad students know oh so well. (My co-teacher and I have students sit and "read" the Ara Pacis, encouraging them to attend as closely to the lower panels as the figurative panels of the upper half of the monument.)
That these patterns signaled patronage is evident in Pompeii, where the Fuller's Building, which sits right on the Forum, is decorated with a boarder of acanthus and little animals (e.g. frogs, birds) like the Ara Pacis. Unfortunately, I don't think I have a picture of this . . . clearly, I need to go back to Italy to take one!
More about the meander pattern later . . . perhaps.
