Transformation of the caryatid motif from Forum Augusti in urban ensembles of Campania and Roman Spain. Semantics, stylistics and iconography

Abstract

The object of research in this article is the motif of caryatids in the decoration of the Forum of Augustus. Along with other elements, it is repeated in the ensembles of the cities of Roman Spain and region of Campania. It is believed that the August Forum in its decorative program broadcasts the most important ideological markers of the Early Empire era. In particular, the caryatids decorating the attic of the portico are reduced replicas of the famous figures of the Erechtheion. Such a reference is connected with the glorification of Rome's power over Greece in the reproduction of its figurative system. The subject of the study was the process of transformation that occurs with the motif of caryatids in non-classical ensembles. Following the iconographic, stylistic and semantic changes in the caryatid motif in the ensembles of the cities of August Emerita, Tarracon and Puteola, the author suggests possible causes and options for the transformation of these decorative elements. The article focuses on the possible causes of such a transformation, and also attempts to clarify the concept of the "Forum Augusti model", which is found in the research literature in various meanings and variants, through the analysis of a single element. The lack of a single definition of this phenomenon makes it possible to infinitely expand the range of monuments that could be created in imitation of the metropolitan prototype. The author of the article does not support this position, focusing on a few ensembles in which not only the same iconographic schemes occur, but also the logic of the decorative system is preserved. As a result of the research, it was possible to clarify the concept of the Forum Augusti model, which implies not so much the reproduction of the iconography and stylistics of the original.