Imposing winged Victory statue of the 1st century AD, inspired by a Hellenistic original, which to citizens of Ostia Antica, ancient Rome’s seaport, represented Minerva, goddess of wisdom and commerce. The statue probably once adorned the Porta Romana, the port’s eastern gateway to Rome. Ostia, now in Lazio, Italy, was founded in the 7th century BC at the mouth of the River Tiber. It thrived for centuries as the Roman emperors built palaces, monuments and public buildings, but lost its prime role due to the harbour silting up. The city was finally abandoned in the 9th century AD.
Ostia Antica, Lazio, Italy: this imposing winged Victory statue of the 1st century AD, now in Piazzale della Vittoria, was inspired by a Hellenistic original. To Romans, it represented Minerva, goddess of wisdom, commerce and town freedom, and it probably once adorned the nearby Porta Romana, the single-arched gateway in the city walls over the Via Ostiensis, eastern highway to ancient Rome. Ostia (from Ostium, Latin for mouth) lies about 15 miles (24 km) southwest of the Italian capital. It was founded in the 7th century BC on the estuary or mouth of the Tiber as Rome’s seaport, but silting changed the river’s course and the site is now inland. The earliest remains are walls built around 325 BC, as Rome expanded its domain within Italy. In the Republican era, Ostia grew into a thriving port, sending ships to Spain to supply Roman troops fighting Carthage. Ostia also thrived in the Imperial era, with emperors building palaces, monuments and public buildings. Although the harbour began to silt up, with large vessels forced to moor at sea, Ostia continued to supply Rome with provisions and treasures shipped from around the Empire. It reached peak prosperity in the 2nd century AD, housing about 50,000 people. Ostia eventually lost its main commercial function to the new city of Portus, linked to the Tiber by canal, but retained offices, warehouses and temples. It grew in splendour under Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, but then fell into slow decline. That accelerated when the imperial capital moved to Constantinople in 330 and when Ravenna became Western Empire capital in 402. It was then sacked in turn by Visigoths and Vandals and the site was finally abandoned in the 9th century. However, the extensive remains have survived in good condition and the excavated site is now an archaeological park.
Size: 2731px × 4113px
Location: Ostia Antica, Lazio, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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