A Jupiter Column ( 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Germania Germania ( ; ), also more specifically called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superio ...

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 () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

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

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

, 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 Gr ...

. 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 List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

, usually on horseback, trampling a

Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...

(usually depicted as a snake). In some cases, such as at Walheim, 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 (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

with a height of more than 9 meters. The columns in Upper Germany 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 4th century AD, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Clau ...

, 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 religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

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

spolia ''Spolia'' (Latin for 'spoils'; : ''spolium'') are stones taken from an old structure and repurposed for new construction or decorative purposes. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice (spoliation) whereby stone that has been quar ...

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 L ...

Obernburg Obernburg am Main (, ; officially ''Obernburg a.Main''; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Omborsch''), commonly known as Obernburg, is a town in the Miltenberg (district), Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Francon ...

Benningen am Neckar Benningen am Neckar (Swabian German, Swabian: ''Bẽnnenge'') is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Ludwigsburg (district), Ludwigsburg in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. History By 85 AD, the Neckar-Odenwald line ...

Sinsheim Sinsheim (; ) is a town in southwestern Germany, in the Rhine Neckar Area of the state Baden-Württemberg about southeast of Heidelberg and about northwest of Heilbronn in the district Rhein-Neckar. Geography Overview Sinsheim consists o ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, and near the

Saalburg The Saalburg is a Roman fort located on the main ridge of the Taunus, northwest of Bad Homburg, Hessen, 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 Univ ...

, 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: Science, technology, and astronomy * '' Chaos: Making a New Science'', a 1987 book by James Gleick * Chaos (company), a Bulgarian rendering and simulation software company * ''Chaos'' (genus), a genus of amoebae * ...

, 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"; ) 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 shorter works we ...

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

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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