Vici.org

Surroundings:

Rempart gallo-romain de SaintesThermes SaintesSaintes amphitheatre romain et clocher Saint-EutropeMediolanum - circus ?Théâtre romain de Thénac

Location:

  • France, Saintes
  • geo:45.745918,-0.628972
  • Location ± 0-5 m.

Class:

  • Building (other)
  • visible

Identifiers:

Annotations

The Arch of Germanicus is an ancient Roman arch in Saintes, Charente-Maritime in France. It was built in 18 or 19 by a rich citizen of the town (then known as Mediolanum Santonum), C. Julius Rufus, and dedicated to the emperor Tiberius and his adoptive sons Drusus Caesar and Germanicus. It has two bays and was originally sited over the terminus of the Roman road from Lyon to Saintes. On the proposal of Prosper Mérimée in 1843 it was moved fifteen metres during works on quays along the river, and it was restored in 1851.

The dedicatory inscription on the attic (CIL XIII, 1036 = Inscriptions Latines des Trois Gaules, 148) is heavily worn in the area naming the emperor Tiberius and Drusus Caesar, his nephew and adoptive son. The dedication to his other nephew and adoptive son, Germanicus, is better conserved and not only allows the arch to be dated to 18 or 19 but also gives it its usual name:

GERMANICO [CAESA]R[I] TI(berii) AUG(usti) F(ilio)
DIVI AUG(usti) NEP(oti) DIVI IULI PRONEP(oti)
[AUGU]RI FLAM(ini) AUGUST(ali) CO(n)S(uli) II IMP(eratori) II 
"To Germanicus Caesar, son of Tiberius Augustus, grandson of the deified Augustus, great-grandson of the deified Julius, augur, flamen, augustales, consul for the second time, hailed imperator for the second time."
 
Below the dedication the inscription in the entablature gives the name of the arch's financer, C. Iulius Rufus and his ancestors. This is repeated on all 4 sides of the arch.
C(aius) IVLI[us] C(aii) IVLI(i) OTUANEUNI F(ilius) RVFVS C(aii) IVLI(i) GEDOMONIS NEPOS, EPOTSOVIRIDI PRON(epos)
[SACERDOS ROMAE ET AUG]USTI [AD A]RAM QU[A]E EST AD CONFLUENT[E]M, PRAEFECTUS [FAB]RUM, D(at). 
"Caius Julius Rufus, son of Caius Julius Otuaneunus, grandson of Caius Julius Gedemo, great-grandson of Epotsovirid(i)us, priest of Rome and of Augustus at the altar at Confluens, prefect of works, gave [this arch] "
 
The difficulties in establishing the text, which is heavily worn, have long meant that Catuaneunius has been read as the name of Rufus's father and Agedomopas as the name of Rufus's grandfather. Asserting this lineage witnesses to Rufus's aristocratic consciousness and his family's long-standing at the head of the city. Julius Gedemo was the first member of the family to receive Roman citizenship, probably from Julius Caesar (taking his name as his own) and possibly during the Gallic Wars or shortly afterwards. Rufus was the first member of the family to adopt a completely Roman name rather than retaining a third name that was Celtic in origin, showing the Romanisation chosen by Gallic noblemen. This notable Gaul, a third-generation Roman citizen, was also known as a priest of Rome and of Augustus through his dedicatory inscription found on the amphitheatre at Lugdunum (Lyon), known here as Confluens.1

References

  1. Wikipedia: Arch of Germanicus

De Boog van Germanicus is gebouwd in het jaar 18 of 19 door een rijke inwoner van de plaats Mediolanum Santonum, het hedendaagse Saintes. De boog is gewijd aan de keizer Tiberius en zijn adopotiefzoons Drusus Caesar en Germanicus. Oorspronkelijk stond de boog over de Romeinse weg van Lyon naar Saintes. In 1843 werd de boog 15 meter verplaatst.


Nearby

Roman Bridge

Roman Bridge

Musée Archéologique (Saintes)

Musée Archéologique (Saintes)

Reste der römischen Stadtmauer (Saintes)

Reste der römischen Stadtmauer (Saintes)


This object was added by René Voorburg on 2012-06-28. Last update by René Voorburg on 2018-02-21. Persistent URI: http://vici.org/vici/7908 . Download as RDF/XML, GeoJSON, KML.
Annotation available using the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license. Metadata available using the Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication, unless it is explicitly stated otherwise.

Vici.org partners:

Livius.org: articles on ancient history   Rijksmuseum van Oudheden