A Jupiter Column (german: Jupitergigantensäule or ) is a monument belonging to a type widespread in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Germania.

Description

Jupiter Column pillars express the religious beliefs of their time. They were erected in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, mostly near Roman settlements or villas in the Germanic provinces. Some examples also occur in

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. The base of the monuments was normally formed by a ''Viergötterstein'' (four gods stone), in itself a common monument type, usually depicting

Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods *Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Ju ...

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Rom ...

, Mercury, and

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

. This would support a ''Wochengötterstein'' (a carving depicting the personifications of the seven days of the week), which, in turn, supported a column or pillar, normally decorated with a scale pattern. The column was crowned with a statue of

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...

, usually on horseback, trampling a

Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

(usually depicted as a snake). In some cases, such as at

Walheim Walheim is a town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany with a considerable viticulture. Besides the village Walheim there are no other places belonging to the municipal area of Walheim. Geography and climate Walheim is s ...

, the column capital is decorated with four heads, usually interpreted as depictions of the four times of day (morning, midday, evening, night). The total height of a Jupiter Column is normally around 4 meters, but some examples are taller, including a famous example at

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

with a height of more than 9 meters. The columns in

Upper Germany Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesontio ...

normally depict Jupiter defeating a Giant, as described above, and are thus known as ''Jupitergigantensäulen'' ("Jupiter-Giant-Columns"). In

Lower Germany Germania Inferior ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed Germania Secunda in the fourth century, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Agrippin ...

, Jupiter is normally depicted enthroned without the Giant; those monuments are commonly described simply as ''Jupitersäulen'' ("Jupiter Columns"). The pillars were often placed within a walled enclosure and accompanied by an

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

. No such monument has survived intact. They are known from excavated finds or from secondary use as

spolia ''Spolia'' (Latin: 'spoils') is repurposed building stone for new construction or decorative sculpture reused in new monuments. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice whereby stone that has been quarried, cut and used in a built ...

used in the construction of Christian churches. Recently, reconstructions of some Jupiter Columns have been erected at or near where they were found, such as at

Ladenburg Ladenburg is a town in northwestern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It lies on the right bank of the river Neckar, northwest of Heidelberg and east of Mannheim. The town's history goes back to the Celtic and Roman Ages, when it was called Lopo ...

Obernburg Obernburg am Main (officially ''Obernburg a.Main'', short version: ''Obernburg,'' ) is a town in the Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 8,500. ...

Benningen am Neckar Benningen am Neckar is a municipality in the district of Ludwigsburg in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. History By 85 AD, the Neckar-Odenwald line was the frontier of the Roman Empire. The Romans built the Limes Germanicus to secure this borde ...

Sinsheim Sinsheim (, South Franconian: ''Sinse'') is a town in south-western Germany, in the Rhine Neckar Area of the state Baden-Württemberg about south-east of Heidelberg and about north-west of Heilbronn in the district Rhein-Neckar. Geography ...

, Stuttgart,

, and near the

Saalburg The Saalburg is a Roman fort located on the main ridge of the Taunus, northwest of Bad Homburg, Hesse, Germany. It is a cohort fort, part of the Limes Germanicus, the Roman linear border fortification of the German provinces. The Saalburg, ...

. According to the historian

Greg Woolf Gregory Duncan Woolf, (born 3 December 1961) is a British ancient historian, archaeologist, and academic. He specialises in the late Iron Age and the Roman Empire. Since July 2021, he has been Ronald J. Mellor Chair of Ancient History at Unive ...

, the pillars depict the victory of

Jupiter Optimus Maximus The Capitoline Triad was a group of three deities who were worshipped in ancient Roman religion in an elaborate temple on Rome's Capitoline Hill (Latin ''Capitolium''). It comprised Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. The triad held a central place in th ...

over the forces of

Chaos Chaos or CHAOS may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional elements * Chaos (''Kinnikuman'') * Chaos (''Sailor Moon'') * Chaos (''Sesame Park'') * Chaos (''Warhammer'') * Chaos, in ''Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy'' * Cha ...

, the god himself being raised high above the other gods and humankind, but closely linked with them. Woolf sees most such monuments as dedications by individuals.Woolf, pp. 121-126.

References

Bibliography

* ''Die Iupitersäulen in den germanischen Provinzen''. Rheinland-Verlag, Köln 1981. (Bonner Jahrbücher, Beihefte 41) Includes: Gerhard Bauchhenß: ''Die Jupitergigantensäulen in der römischen Provinz Germania superior''; Peter Noelke: ''Die Jupitersäulen und -pfeiler in der römischen Provinz Germania inferior''. *Gerhard Bauchhenß: ''Jupitergigantensäulen''. Stuttgart 1976. (

Kleine Schriften ' is a German phrase ("short writings" or "minor works"; la, Opuscula) often used as a title for a collection of articles and essays written by a single scholar over the course of a career. "Collected Papers" is an English equivalent. These short ...

zur Kenntnis der römischen Besetzungsgeschichte Südwestdeutschlands, 14) *

:
Representation as Cult: the Case of the Jupiter Columns
'. In: Wolfgang Spickermann ''et al.'' (eds.): ''Religion in den germanischen Provinzen Roms''. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2001, S.117ff.,

External links

{{commons, Jupiter Giant Columns

Types of monuments and memorials Ancient Roman religion Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Germany 2nd-century Roman sculptures 3rd-century Roman sculptures Sculptures of Jupiter (mythology) 2nd-century establishments in the Roman Empire