Maximian Herculius (?) signalling the opening of the games
- Date de création
- End of the 3rd century
- Material
- Saint-Béat marble (Haute-Garonne)
- Dimensions
- H. 30 (head) - 51 (arm) - 35 (left hand) x l. 22.5 (head) – 23.5 (arm) - 19 (left hand) x P. 16.5 (head) – 17.5 (arm) – 14.5 (left hand) (cm)
- Inventory number
- Ra 50 bis, Ra 97 and Ra 98
Thanks to two statues kept in the Capitoline Museums in Rome, we have been able to recreate this character’s attitude and clothing: he wears a long-sleeved tunic that reaches down to his ankles, covered by a second, slightly shorter, sleeveless tunic, and a purple toga (toga picta). In his right hand, he holds a mappa. This white cloth was thrown by the editor (the magistrate who was responsible for ordering the games in the arena or circus) to signal the beginning of a fight, or the start of a chariot race. Immediately, a tuba (a long bronze horn) was heard and the competition could begin. The left hand holds a sceptre (scipio), the emblem of power. The same individual undeniably served as the model for a monumental portrait, also made from marble mined in Saint-Béat that was unearthed in the villa grounds. It is believed to be that of Emperor Maximian Herculius.
In the years 293/296, invasions by migrants from North Africa, and raids by Frankish pirates on the Spanish coast forced Maximian to travel to these provinces. The palace of Cercadilla near Córdoba was built during this period. The central Pyrenees then served as a passage for legions from Germania and Gaul. It is from this period of the Tetrarchy (rule of four of the Empire) at the end of the 3rd century, that villa Chiragan enjoyed a period of bustling activity and important architectural transformations. The extraordinary decor created during those years was no doubt intended to celebrate the Emperor’s battles, which were compared to those fought by Hercules, Maximian’s divine patron saint.
According to J.-C. Balty, Les portraits romains, La Tétrarchie, 1.5 (Sculptures antiques de Chiragan (Martres-Tolosane), Toulouse, 2008, p. 54-74.
Bibliography
- Balty, Cazes 2008 J.-C. Balty, D. Cazes, Les portraits romains, 1 : La Tétrarchie, 1.5 (Sculptures antiques de Chiragan (Martres-Tolosane), Toulouse. p. 24-25-26, fig. 22-23, p. 54, 56, 58-61, 71
- Beckmann 2020 S.E. Beckmann, « The Idiom of Urban Display: Architectural Relief Sculpture in the Late Roman Villa of Chiragan (Haute-Garonne), » American Journal of Archaeology, 124, 1, pp. 133–160. p. 149-154, fig. 14
- Bergmann 1999 M. Bergmann, Chiragan, Aphrodisias, Konstantinopel : zur mythologischen Skulptur der Spätantike (Palilia), Wiesbaden. p. 34, no 9, pl. 13.1-3
- Espérandieu 1908 É. Espérandieu, Recueil général des bas-reliefs de la Gaule romaine, 2. Aquitaine, Paris. no 895.2
- Joulin 1901 L. Joulin, Les établissements gallo-romains de la plaine de Martres-Tolosane, Paris. no 114 B, p. 92 (308), p. 108, fig. 220 B, pl. XIV, no 201 B
- Rachou 1912 H. Rachou, Catalogue des collections de sculpture et d’épigraphie du musée de Toulouse, Toulouse. no 50 bis, no 97-98
To cite this notice
Capus P., "Maximian Herculius (?) signalling the opening of the games", in The sculptures of the roman villa of Chiragan, Toulouse, 2019, online <https://villachiragan.saintraymond.toulouse.fr/en/ark:/87276/a_ra_50_bis_ra_97_ra_98>.