Portraits of Poets and the Lecture Halls in the Forum of Trajan : Masking Cultural Tensions in Late Antique Rome

Abstract

The Forum of Trajan featured late antique statues of the poets Claudian, Flavius Merobaudes, Sidonius Apollinaris, and probably others in an outdoor exhibition honoring those authors whose works eased harsh political rivalries. This essay considers the statues as displayed in close proximity to the sculptural reliefs on the Column of Trajan. Its visual narratives depicting military campaigns in Dacia corresponded to Claudian’s descriptions of battles, Merobaudes’s narratives of war, and Sidonius’s tales of military prowess. The chapter also analyzes the performance venues in Trajan’s Forum, built during the reign of Hadrian, where poets performed before elite audiences. The portraits communicated messages in keeping with the poets’ verses, which upheld the long-lasting image of Rome’s resilience.