The colossal statues of Imperial Rome

Imperial Rome was filled with Roman statuary. Many of them were truly colossal, that is, over life-sized. Let's look at a number of them that are preserved. Some have become part of collections outside of Rome (e.g., Naples, Parma), but we'll contextualize them all in the confines of imperial Rome! This is not an exhaustive list, but a good start!
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0:00 Introduction
1:21 Isis
2:15 Minerva
2:43 Veiovis
3:03 Mars
3:25 Marforio
3:52 River gods
4:15 Bacchus and Hercules
5:16 Fortuna of this day
5:41 Farnese collection from Baths of Caracalla
6:50 Barbarians, Agrippa
7:27 Roman Emperors
9:27 So many more colossal statues!

Пікірлер: 131

  • @Manu-ih7zf
    @Manu-ih7zf2 ай бұрын

    Thank you. Rome is an endless source of wonder !

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    I totally agree!

  • @PatSmith-wi1kz

    @PatSmith-wi1kz

    2 ай бұрын

    @@DariusArya then you got Etruria Florence Ravenna Vatican Venice Duomo Naples Pompei Herculaneum Caserta Paestum Greater Greece Sybaris Palermo Casignana Piazza Armerina Syracuse Riace Bronzes Uffici Galleries Rhegium Museum Huge Villas all over it never ends

  • @vito9674
    @vito96742 ай бұрын

    Omg..What a beautiful showcase of the Great namless Artists of the era that was and is today still Rome ! Thank-you for all that You do keeping our cultural heritage alive ! 👍✌️

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it. At least Glycon signed his Hercules statue!

  • @vito9674

    @vito9674

    2 ай бұрын

    👍♥️

  • @romulusbuta9318

    @romulusbuta9318

    2 ай бұрын

    Yeap !!! We MUST turn back to Clasic Culture.......☝️☝️☝️

  • @dalmaticus9610
    @dalmaticus96102 ай бұрын

    What a great tour of the colossal statues of Rome! Really peak my intrest.

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Thanks for watching. Lot more colossal statues to share in a follow up video!

  • @breannanance116
    @breannanance1162 ай бұрын

    So very interesting, such a wonderful discovery and collection! thank you Darius!

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it!

  • @andyroo9381

    @andyroo9381

    2 ай бұрын

    He always shows us new wonders that we are not aware of.

  • @Wyattinous
    @Wyattinous2 ай бұрын

    You’re living the dream with these videos. I would be transfixed at the sheer scale of time and change these real visual and religious statuary have survived through, the fact so many people marveled and looked at these works when they were new. The closest you could ever get to that past age.

  • @andyroo9381

    @andyroo9381

    2 ай бұрын

    I always wonder who was behind the beauty of the statue? How long did it take to create? What was his inspiration?

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Lot of fun exploring an ever more crowded Rome!

  • @Mithras444
    @Mithras4442 ай бұрын

    The bath house of Caracala never disappoints! As a Artist who paints I am in awe of sculptures!!!😮

  • @scummymummy2548
    @scummymummy25482 ай бұрын

    Here we go❤ i love history, thank you for your content ❤ with lots of love and respect from Orange County California 🇺🇸

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Thanks for watching!

  • @andyroo9381
    @andyroo93812 ай бұрын

    This was so incredible. I had never seen the large marble statue of a "tired" Hercules before. This is what I imagine Hercules to look like. Large. Muscular. Thick. Imposing. Still human enough, he would be weary from his tasks, but still Hercules to the end. I am impressed. The human skill to create such beauty always astounds me. If I could be half as talented. Thank you for all of this, Darius.

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Yes, the whole Farnese collection is so impressive!

  • @user-xp5md5he3q
    @user-xp5md5he3q2 ай бұрын

    6:33 I don’t think anyone will believe that a sculptor capable of creating such a masterpiece made such a poor signature

  • @33Donner77
    @33Donner772 ай бұрын

    Thanks. Statues "that were found" . . . Amazing that there can be such an utter collapse of society, and even more amazing that they are brought back today and identified.

  • @davetremaine9688
    @davetremaine9688Ай бұрын

    The detail in the muscles and veins blows my mind, that they could carve that in stone! I've watched this video at least 3 times haha

  • @melshorse
    @melshorse2 ай бұрын

    It is sad so many great works of art were destroyed in the past for no reason other than to destroy.

  • @FitzRabbits
    @FitzRabbits2 ай бұрын

    Awesome video Darius. Thank you.

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    My pleasure!

  • @aleksstosich
    @aleksstosich2 ай бұрын

    Darius, LOVED this video! Need to go back soon, and include more time in Naples for that museum in particular. It looks gorgeous!

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Please do! It is AMAZING!

  • @pauloem71
    @pauloem712 ай бұрын

    Darius, 15 days ago I went to see most of these statues on my last Italy´s trip. Thanks for making me revive all those wonderful moments! Cheers from a fan of yours from Brazil!

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!

  • @chiptenor
    @chiptenor2 ай бұрын

    Wow, Darius, I had no idea that there is so much 'larger-than-life' statuary from ancient Rome. I've been aware for years of the great Constantine fragments, the Farnese Hercules, and a few others, but not the over all quantity of so many 'grand' statues. The artistry of the ancient sculptors is really beyond words to describe. As always a great video presentation. Thank you for all yours and others' efforts in bringing the Roman experience to our times that we may grow from this knowledge.

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Thank you. Lot more to share on the colossal subject! Will delve later into technique and process...

  • @c.f.sedgwick1885
    @c.f.sedgwick18852 ай бұрын

    A wonderful learning channel. Thank you.

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    My pleasure- hopefully, we'll have some fun, too. Lot of travel on the way and local cultures- check out my Dubrovnik, Greek island, Knossos.

  • @anomander-rake
    @anomander-rake2 ай бұрын

    Real art

  • @marcusroele
    @marcusroeleАй бұрын

    It's amazing they accomplished so much when so many of them had no arms.

  • @cweefy
    @cweefy2 ай бұрын

    AMAZING 😮

  • @michaeldy3157
    @michaeldy31572 ай бұрын

    Great

  • @brucewatt1032
    @brucewatt10322 ай бұрын

    Breathtaking collection spread over a great distance. Once again, your excellent videos remind me that I’ve only experienced a tiny fraction of this tremendously iconic civilization. I guess its time to plan my next trip 😆

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Yes, a lot of great museums- include Parma!

  • @watermunteconomie3938
    @watermunteconomie39382 ай бұрын

    We just don't make them like they used to.. just magnificent works of art, keep wondering how people did it. They where masters of stone and today society is degrading just like Rome did. Darius again thank you for showing us the glory of the empire.

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    And I’ll be sure to share more on the colossal statuary - so amazing!

  • @moniumus6303

    @moniumus6303

    2 ай бұрын

    Really discrediting all the great work stonemasons and sculptors are creating right now and have been since rome. It has never ended / degraded in quality

  • @richardcoughlin8931
    @richardcoughlin89312 ай бұрын

    Romans certainly loved statues! It seems like they put them everywhere they could

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Imagine we are missing the best ones… the Michelangelo and Bernini…

  • @pigdroppings

    @pigdroppings

    2 ай бұрын

    Unfortunately hundreds and hundreds of perfect statues were thrown into kilns and reduced to powder in order to plaster the churches and homes of the rich in medieval times. They could have gone to the marble quarries and picked up masses of broken bits and pieces to make the marble powder. But, the plaster contractors were in Rome and the statues were in Rome....so, the beautiful marble statues were thrown into the ovens to be reduced to powder.

  • @davidfaulkner8201
    @davidfaulkner82012 ай бұрын

    Great video !

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it

  • @SammyxSweetheart.02
    @SammyxSweetheart.022 ай бұрын

    Colossal statues of Rome museum tour by Darius Arya Digs (archaeologist) (Apr 29, 2024) 6:02 8:06 8:57

  • @RiamCute
    @RiamCute2 ай бұрын

    This is why i ❤ playing CAESAR iII on computer 😊

  • @JimmyGuyer
    @JimmyGuyer2 ай бұрын

    What a great video Darius. I frequently tell people that the Archeological Museum of Naples is a must see. So many amazing (and huge) statues and other interesting artifacts from the Baths of Caracalla and Pompeii are there to behold. Highly recommended!

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Yes indeed- great museum to be matched with visits to the sites!

  • @frontenac5083
    @frontenac50832 ай бұрын

    *Here comes yet another member of the Pointless Arrow in the Thumbnail Brigade!* 🤪🤪🤪 🤦🤦‍♂🤦‍♀

  • @John-lp5xh

    @John-lp5xh

    2 ай бұрын

    Remember the open mouthed thumbnail 😯 brigade

  • @Mithras444
    @Mithras4442 ай бұрын

    Finally a person by a statue, a comparison! I had no idea these statues were this large! I am almost finished with my Medusa painting. I like to do a series of style and subject, it's Goddesses, I am doing Hathor next, I think!?

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    I had to run around and get those shots - otherwise you'd have to believe me on the dimensions!

  • @markbailey3635
    @markbailey36352 ай бұрын

    Thank you Darius! Another good one! Keep them rolling!

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Thanks, will do!

  • @stberchmans
    @stberchmans2 ай бұрын

    Thank you for completely enunciating the words you use when describing these pieces!

  • @vm.999
    @vm.9992 ай бұрын

    Very cool!

  • @kitharoidos1089
    @kitharoidos10892 ай бұрын

    I haven’t watched the video yet but I know this is gonna be good! 🤓

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Let me know. I love compiling this list.. I have enough for a second video, as well.

  • @michaelpruitt7610
    @michaelpruitt76102 ай бұрын

    Excellent video, thanks!

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Glad you liked it!

  • @grafneun
    @grafneun2 ай бұрын

    Great Video

  • @JW-sy2yt
    @JW-sy2yt2 ай бұрын

    they are remarkably well preserved. Moving these giant statues is an accomplishment in itself!

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    And the level of preservation is incredible

  • @user-uz2op6og3l
    @user-uz2op6og3l2 ай бұрын

    Lovely

  • @tunnus.123
    @tunnus.1232 ай бұрын

    Great.

  • @Incorruptus1
    @Incorruptus12 ай бұрын

    As a sculptor I dream of creating at least one colossal in my life time lol. Now to find a God ;) Thank you so much Sir. This is awesome!

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Nice! Good luck!

  • @pigdroppings

    @pigdroppings

    2 ай бұрын

    ELVIS

  • @Incorruptus1

    @Incorruptus1

    Ай бұрын

    @@pigdroppings Hehehe, for sure he was a grand King. Ok to some indeed a God. Thank you for your idea, and yes I think he is a sure candidate. Noted! Check! ;)

  • @jennifersiegrist8440
    @jennifersiegrist84402 ай бұрын

    Amazing , would some of the statues been painted? Thank you for sharing ❤❤❤❤

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Great question. Yes, for the white marble statues (hair, eyes, clothing, even skin tone)... but not the colored marbles, granite statuary!

  • @jennifersiegrist8440

    @jennifersiegrist8440

    2 ай бұрын

    Thank you, I also was wondering about the eyes. The amount of time it took to make these, they are incredible !

  • @Mithras444
    @Mithras4442 ай бұрын

    Can we talk about the mosaic floor!?😮

  • @carausiuscaesar5672
    @carausiuscaesar5672Ай бұрын

    Love how the ancient Romans are not afraid to display nakedness especially male nakedness.

  • @robertozeladarodriguez5321
    @robertozeladarodriguez53212 ай бұрын

    It would be great if they rebuilt the statue of the goddess Fortuna as they did with the statue of Constantine and placed in the ruins where it once stood. Do you know if there is any project to rebuild more statues?

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Haven't heard of any - but surely there will be others (like the Constantine)- but in neutral environment... don't' want a Disneyland effect..

  • @robertozeladarodriguez5321

    @robertozeladarodriguez5321

    2 ай бұрын

    @@DariusArya If you're right, excited to know what the next one would be. And thanks for the videos, always great quality.

  • @wizzardofpaws2420
    @wizzardofpaws24202 ай бұрын

    I think Dr. D looks like an ancient Roman centurian.

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Comes from living in Ancient Rome all these years

  • @DeuDeoEgo
    @DeuDeoEgo2 ай бұрын

    The Romans were so advance 2000 years before us.

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    With an army of artisans!

  • @giulianoradice4715
    @giulianoradice47152 ай бұрын

    Tutto questo mi ricorda il disegno di Fussli " La disperazione dell'artista moderno a contatto con l'antico" . (So che ho scritto male il nome dell'artista, ma non riesco a mettere i due puntini-).

  • @fanroche8573
    @fanroche85732 ай бұрын

    hi darius anything on myth /legendary areas and the real sites eg lapis niger, lacus curtius the three tress in the forum etc would love that thanks

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Lapis Niger was indeed tied to a special spot in the forum - but not even clear to the ancient Romans what it was all about- Romulus or another king... the spontaneous growth of vine, olive tree, and fig has the ring of truth-- and thereafter habitually replanted... The ones in the forum that you see today perpetuate that ancient reality.

  • @kenrowland7864
    @kenrowland78642 ай бұрын

    No possible way a person "created" these....Solidified Giants!!!!!

  • @rogeramezquita5685
    @rogeramezquita56852 ай бұрын

    I would expend hours and hours in that museum

  • @amgymrat4546
    @amgymrat45462 ай бұрын

    If you could sit down and interview any Roman emperor Darius, who would you pick?! 🎉

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Hmmm.... I guess it all depends on historic mood. I've been spending more time lately in the latter half of the empire- Septimius Severus? Of course I'd always love a chat with Augustus and Caesar...

  • @user-nm4dc4mq8h
    @user-nm4dc4mq8h2 ай бұрын

    How many of them are Roman copies of Greek originals? or Greek originals like the Laocoon Complex. Romans are known to have taken Greek statues to Rome by the THOUSANDS. The Laocoon complex is one example. And many others from the Greek colonies in Italy like gigantic Greek statues of Zeus and so on. Romans did not hesitate to even transfer colossal Greek statues to Rome, like the 12-metre high statue of Apollo from the city of Apollonia (modern day Varna, Bulgaria), and endless other examples throughout history.

  • @jperez7893
    @jperez78932 ай бұрын

    can you decipher the hieroglyphs at each face of each obelisk? the vatican is known to have no hieroglyphs but doesn't it have roman inscriptions from the ancient periods inscribed on each four sides?

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    They are well known and documented. The funny thing is some are Roman-era copies with copied hieroglyphs. A future topic!

  • @KadeejiaDenise
    @KadeejiaDenise2 ай бұрын

    What is the purpose of "modernizing"/fixing the faces?

  • @shostakovich99
    @shostakovich992 ай бұрын

    Do the Capitoline Museums not permit videos?

  • @Hborn
    @Hborn2 ай бұрын

    What happened to the rest of the statue

  • @FlexibleFlyer50
    @FlexibleFlyer502 ай бұрын

    The Romans often saw themselves as larger than life itself, so it's no wonder that large statues served a purpose in Rome. What better way to show your greatness than with a statue to let people know who and what they were dealing with on a daily basis.

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    For the emperors and empresses- think of how few people actually saw them... These mega statues spoke volumes about the royal family, many of whom were eventually worshiped as gods.

  • @kenrowland7864
    @kenrowland78642 ай бұрын

    I've got Questions....LOTS of QUESTIONS!!!!!! 🤔

  • @zoinomiko
    @zoinomikoАй бұрын

    @8:06 and the colossal statue of Antinous-as-Dionysus!! (or at least his perky backside...)

  • @tomb614
    @tomb6142 ай бұрын

    Let's make a colossal statue of deified Darius

  • @Buckshot9796
    @Buckshot97962 ай бұрын

    The amount of raw labor and materials needed to to hew rock in North Africa, transport it to Italy just using the wind and human/animal muscle power must of been stupendous! I guess that's were the armies of unpaid slaves come in.

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Most sculptors - signing in Greek vs. Latin- were in the imperial period Roman citizens - (as well as keeping Greek identity) ...

  • @C.Fel.
    @C.Fel.2 ай бұрын

    I have a question: Were colossal statues of emporors usually comissioned only after their deaths, as it wasn't recieved too well to give a living person godly attributs?

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    There are plenty of examples of large statues created before the death of a given emperor.

  • @C.Fel.

    @C.Fel.

    2 ай бұрын

    @@DariusArya thanks, keep up the good work!

  • @irmuggle
    @irmuggle2 ай бұрын

    Another amazing video.We appreciate the trip, but I'm no expert.I'm just a couch potato but a lot of the statues evidently have hamburgers

  • @garyi.1360
    @garyi.13602 ай бұрын

    This is a bit of a side bar, but what do you know about the holographic image ring found in the Flavian Trajanic tomb called the Hypogeum of the Garland? Was that a common thing? Is the image of herself, someone else, or a god? How was it made? I'm not sure where it resides now but have you been to see it?

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    should be in Palestrina museum- haven't seen it- but it's rock crystal- portrait of god/ deceased/ family member...

  • @VOLightPortal
    @VOLightPortal2 ай бұрын

    The statue of Isis.. so sad they completely thrashed her face... hauntingly reminiscient of acid attacks against women that happens today... so upsetting

  • @frontenac5083
    @frontenac50832 ай бұрын

    *Why the stupid arrow in the thumbnail? Is it something KZread forces you to do?* *(Channel blocked)*

  • @oltedders
    @oltedders2 ай бұрын

    Bigger IS better. Mars Ultor ... grant me perpetual victory.

  • @brober
    @brober2 ай бұрын

    My amico vecchio Marforio needs a bath.

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Was recently restored by Swarovski...

  • @nascarbryant
    @nascarbryant2 ай бұрын

    Some Statues are incredibly well preserved……of course i will have a chat with Isis….😅

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Yes!

  • @CarlClassenX
    @CarlClassenX2 ай бұрын

    Could you imagine if we still did naked statues of our leaders? "Mr. Clinton, can you please disrobe and stand over there? Oh, I see you are already ready for me..."

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Nudity remains a big issue in art - and in general- in our world today... In Roman times- it was normal- everyone exercising naked... and lack of stalls in bathrooms. Our concept of privacy and nudity would have seemed so alien to the Romans and Greeks.

  • @tomreed-oe7hi
    @tomreed-oe7hi2 ай бұрын

    Wait till they excavate All The Domus Aurea and all the buried statues come to the surface

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    So true!

  • @andreacosta74
    @andreacosta742 ай бұрын

    Dear Darius, the "Farnese Collection" which today, unfortunately, is in Naples was completely excavated between the 16th and 18th centuries in Rome, from the Baths of Diocletian, Caracalla, Domus Aurea, Piazza Campo de' Fiori and so on... .It was taken away by circumventing in a very dubious way the laws of protection of the State of the Church, amidst the opposition of cardinals, experts in canon law and the Pope himself, because Charles III of Bourbon, king of Naples and Farnese heir, also became (and above all) the very powerful King of Spain. Too powerful a character to fight. Controversy and protests also from intellectuals and artists, including Goethe, who in his "Journey to Italy" recalls and condemns the affair. In the history of Italian art, the "Farnese looting" is remembered by us as "the salutary robbery"... because, with hindsight, it would have saved these marbles from the Jacobin and then Napoleonic French robberies. What a miserable consolation! This is why, to date, the most important archaeological museum in Italy (unfortunately the Vatican museums have no longer been Italy since 1929) is not in Rome but in Naples. And we are talking about a museum, that of Naples, which certainly has no shortage of Roman, Greek and even Egyptian archaeology! It also holds a lot of material from Pompeii and Herculaneum that no one, here in Italy, for strange reasons, dreams of sending back to the Pompeii antiquarium. Therefore the modern principle of contextualization of works of art and the "as it was, where it was" for us Italians it only applies when we ask for the return of artefacts stolen or exported to America, abroad or "unjustly" detained in the Louvre in Paris. Curious fate for the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the worst enemy of the Unification of Italy and the Italian Risorgimento! Not even when the Piedmontese defeated the Bourbons and united Italy under the reign of the Savoy in 1861, no one thought of looting the Bourbon collections. Not even when Rome was finally conquered and annexed to Italy, becoming the capital, in 1870, was there anyone who thought of "compensating" Rome and punishing the Bourbons with the return of the Farnese Collection (including paintings, Renaissance masterpieces today in the Pinacoteca di Capodimonte , Naples).

  • @kenrowland7864
    @kenrowland78642 ай бұрын

    Why are they Colossal ?....bcoz they're actual frozen Giants😳🤔

  • @Dominic-tq6dw
    @Dominic-tq6dwАй бұрын

    Non Human made

  • @Pablo_Anunnaki
    @Pablo_AnunnakiАй бұрын

    Understanding earth is flat and the last global resets to get rid of giants, everything begins to make sense right???

  • @user-wy7wj9yp5b
    @user-wy7wj9yp5b2 ай бұрын

    Bravo fai vedere la maestosità della grande città di Roma

  • @DariusArya

    @DariusArya

    2 ай бұрын

    Sempre!