ARTH 110 Written lang Anc Rome

Summary

This educational video explores the evolution of alphabets and their impact on written language, with a focus on Ancient Rome. It discusses how inscriptions on city monuments served political purposes, reinforcing the emperor's power. The video also delves into unofficial written text, such as graffiti, showcasing the contrast between official and personal written communication. It highlights the significance of public spaces and monuments like the Coliseum and Circus Maximus, and the use of inscriptions to honor emperors and convey power dynamics. The discussion includes the physical aspects of inscriptions, the use of chisels, and the emergence of Trajan font, which influenced modern typography. The video concludes with a look at literacy rates and the unofficial voice of the people through graffiti, providing a comprehensive view of written language in ancient Rome.

Takeaways

• 📜 The alphabet's roots can be traced back to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, with the Phoenicians playing a key role in its spread via the Mediterranean trade routes.
• 🏛 In Ancient Rome, written inscriptions on city monuments served a significant political function, reinforcing the power of the emperor and the continuity of imperial authority.
• 🗿 The obelisk in Rome, brought from Egypt, exemplifies how inscriptions were used to commemorate Augustus's power and divinity, marking the beginning of Rome's first emperor.
• 🏟️ The Circus Maximus and other public spaces were as important as the monuments themselves, symbolizing the connection between official public space and the emperor's power.
• 📝 The Trajan's Column, with its narrative scenes, chronicles the emperor's military victories and sits on a base inscribed with details about its construction and purpose.
• 🔠 Roman inscriptions were always in capital letters, a style known as 'majuscule,' which was carved using various chisels to create a permanent and official impression on stone.
• 📰 The presence and pattern of inscriptions were more about asserting power than legibility, as they were a constant visual reminder of the emperor's authority in public spaces.
• 🖋️ The style of lettering used in Roman inscriptions has influenced modern typography, such as the 'Trajan' font, which is characterized by its serifs and all-caps design.
• 📝 Despite the use of inscriptions, literacy rates in ancient Rome were likely low, with public education nonexistent and a significant portion of the population being slaves.
• 🏷️ Graffiti in ancient Rome, like the 'Alexamenos graffito,' served as an unofficial and personal form of communication, allowing ordinary people to express their opinions and challenge authority.

Q & A

What is the significance of alphabets in ancient Rome and how did they impact written language?

In ancient Rome, alphabets played a crucial role in written language, particularly in the form of inscriptions on city monuments. These inscriptions served as a political tool to reinforce the power of the emperor and were part of the official public space. They also facilitated the spread of ideas and the alphabet itself through trade routes.

How did the Mediterranean Sea contribute to the spread of alphabets?

The Mediterranean Sea acted as a 'super highway' for the spread of ideas, people, and alphabets. It facilitated the exchange of cultural elements, including the concept of alphabets, from one region to another, particularly from the Phoenicians to other parts of the Mediterranean.

What is the role of the Coliseum in ancient Rome and how does it relate to written inscriptions?

The Coliseum was a large arena in ancient Rome where gladiatorial contests took place. It was one of the city's most recognizable monuments. While the script does not detail specific inscriptions on the Coliseum, it emphasizes the importance of monuments and their surrounding spaces in reinforcing the emperor's power, suggesting that inscriptions would have been present to serve this purpose.

What is the significance of the obelisk in the city of Rome and its inscription?

The obelisk in Rome, originally from Egypt, was a symbol of Augustus's power and his divine status. The inscription on its base in Latin detailed Augustus's conquests and his divine nature, reinforcing the idea of the emperor's authority and the continuity of power from one emperor to the next.

How did the inscriptions on Roman monuments function as a political tool?

Roman monument inscriptions functioned as a political tool by commemorating the achievements of emperors and reinforcing the idea of a continuous line of power. They were a public display of the emperor's authority and often included phrases like 'senatus populusque Romanus' (the Senate and people of Rome), indicating that the monument was erected in honor of a past emperor by a current one.

What is the term for the style of lettering used in Roman inscriptions and why was it used?

The term for the style of lettering used in Roman inscriptions is 'majuscule'. It was used because it was an official and formal way of communication. The letters were always in capital letters, which was a way to make the inscriptions more permanent and visible, even if they were not always easily legible due to the lack of spaces between words.

How did the physical aspects of Roman inscriptions contribute to their impact?

The physical aspects of Roman inscriptions, such as being carved in stone with chisels, contributed to their permanence and visibility. The use of all capital letters and serifs at the end of the letters was a result of the tools used, which also gave the inscriptions a formal and official appearance.

What is the connection between Roman inscriptions and modern typography?

The connection between Roman inscriptions and modern typography is seen in fonts like Trajan and Times New Roman, which are inspired by the formal and official lettering styles of Roman inscriptions. These fonts maintain the all-caps style and serifs, reflecting the association with authority and formality.

What was the literacy rate in ancient Rome and how did it affect the use of inscriptions?

The exact literacy rate in ancient Rome is uncertain, with estimates ranging from 15 to 20 percent. Despite this, inscriptions were used by those in power to remind people of the emperor's authority, not necessarily because the entire population could read them word for word, but to reinforce the power structure through their presence.

How did unofficial written text, such as graffiti, emerge in ancient Rome and what was its purpose?

Unofficial written text, or graffiti, emerged in ancient Rome as a form of personal expression and a way to speak truth to power. It was a means for regular people to communicate, often in a critical or mocking tone, and was distinct from the official inscriptions that were part of the city's monuments and public spaces.

Outlines

00:00

📜 The Emergence of Alphabets and Their Political Impact in Ancient Rome

The paragraph discusses the origins of the alphabet and its spread through trade routes in the Mediterranean. It emphasizes the political role of written language in Ancient Rome, particularly through inscriptions on city monuments that reinforced the emperor's power. The script also mentions unofficial written text in the form of graffiti that emerged in the city. The Coliseum and Circus Maximus are highlighted as examples of monuments where such inscriptions were significant. The script explains that the alphabet we use today can be traced back to the Phoenicians and that the Mediterranean was a 'superhighway' for the spread of ideas, including alphabets.

05:02

🏛️ Monumental Inscriptions and the Continuity of Power in Roman Empire

This paragraph focuses on the inscriptions found on Roman monuments, such as the obelisk in the Circus Maximus, which was brought from Egypt and inscribed to commemorate Augustus, Rome's first emperor. The inscriptions served to reinforce the idea of divine emperorship and the continuity of power from one emperor to the next. The physical aspects of the inscriptions, such as being in all capital letters known as 'majuscule', are discussed, along with the tools used to create them. The paragraph also touches on the Trajans Column, which narrates a military victory and its inscription that follows a similar pattern to other Roman monuments, emphasizing the Senate and people of Rome's role in erecting the monument.

10:02

📝 Typography and the Evolution of Official Communication in Rome

The paragraph delves into the physical characteristics of Roman inscriptions, such as the use of capital letters and the presence of 'serifs', which were a result of the chiseling process. It discusses how these inscriptions served as a form of official communication, reminding people of the emperor's power without necessarily requiring them to read the text word for word. The paragraph also connects ancient Roman lettering to modern typography, specifically mentioning 'Times New Roman' as an example of a font that references Roman forms. It contrasts the official use of inscriptions with the more personal and unofficial nature of graffiti, which allowed regular people to communicate in a way that was not controlled by the power structure.

15:03

🗝️ The Role of Literacy and Graffiti in Ancient Rome

The final paragraph provides an overview of the role of literacy in ancient Rome, suggesting that while there was a level of literacy among the population, it was not high due to the lack of public education and the presence of slaves. It highlights examples of unofficial writing, such as graffiti, which served as a way for individuals to express personal opinions or to speak 'truth to power'. The paragraph contrasts the formal, official inscriptions with the more personal and unofficial nature of graffiti, which allowed for a different form of written communication that was accessible to the general public.

Keywords

💡Alphabets

Alphabets refer to a set of letters used to represent the phonemes of a spoken language. In the context of the video, the development of alphabets is discussed in relation to their emergence from earlier sign systems in ancient civilizations such as Egypt and Mesopotamia. The video emphasizes the Phoenicians' role in the spread of alphabets through trade routes, which became a significant factor in the Mediterranean region's cultural and linguistic exchange.

💡Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome is a key historical setting in the video, focusing on how written language, particularly inscriptions on city monuments, played a crucial political role. The city's monuments and public spaces are highlighted as venues where inscriptions were used to reinforce the power of the emperor and to communicate official narratives to the public.

💡Written Language

Written language is the primary medium discussed in the video for conveying messages, ideas, and power structures in ancient societies. It is explored in terms of its impact on society, particularly in Ancient Rome, where inscriptions on monuments served political functions and graffiti represented unofficial, personal expressions.

💡Inscriptions

Inscriptions are a significant focus of the video, illustrating how they were used in Ancient Rome to commemorate emperors and military victories. They were an official form of communication, often inscribed in all capital letters, and served to reinforce the power and legacy of the Roman emperors, as exemplified by the obelisk and the column of Trajan.

💡Graffiti

Graffiti represents the unofficial, personal, and sometimes rebellious side of written communication in the video. It is contrasted with official inscriptions, showing how regular people used the walls of buildings and monuments to express their opinions, often in a humorous or critical manner, thus providing a glimpse into the everyday life and attitudes of ancient Romans.

💡Mediterranean

The Mediterranean is described in the video as a 'super highway' that facilitated the spread of ideas, people, and alphabets. It played a pivotal role in the dissemination of written language and cultural exchange among the ancient civilizations bordering its shores.

💡Phoenicians

The Phoenicians are credited in the video with attributing to the development and spread of the alphabet. They are highlighted as a crucial link in the transmission of alphabetic systems from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia to other parts of the Mediterranean world.

💡Public Space

Public space in Ancient Rome is discussed as an integral part of the city's fabric, closely tied to the display of power and authority through official inscriptions. Monuments and their surrounding spaces were used to reinforce the emperor's power and to communicate with the public.

💡Emperor Augustus

Emperor Augustus is mentioned as a key figure in the video, particularly in relation to the obelisk in Rome. His inscriptions and the narrative around him serve to illustrate how emperors used written language to legitimize their rule and to establish a divine connection, thus reinforcing their power.

💡Trajan

Emperor Trajan is another significant figure in the video, known for his military victories and the column erected in his honor. The column and its inscriptions are used to demonstrate how public monuments and their inscriptions were tools for commemorating the emperor's achievements and perpetuating his memory.

💡Typography

Typography is briefly introduced in the video as the art of arranging type in a way that makes the language clear and visually appealing. It is connected to the discussion of inscriptions and the development of lettering styles, such as the Trajan font, which reflects the official and formal communication of the Roman Empire.

Highlights

Alphabets can be traced back to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, and their use in Ancient Rome had significant political implications.

The Mediterranean Sea served as a 'superhighway' for the spread of ideas, people, and alphabets.

The Phoenicians are credited with the development of the alphabet that we use today.

Ancient Rome's public spaces and monuments were designed to reinforce the emperor's power.

The Coliseum and Circus Maximus were not only monuments but also spaces that played a role in Rome's political narrative.

Obelisks, like the one in Rome, were covered in hieroglyphics and used to tell the story of Augustus's conquests.

Inscriptions on monuments often started with 'Senatus Populusque Romanus' to signify the Senate and people of Rome.

Emperors used inscriptions to honor their predecessors, reinforcing the continuity of imperial power.

The physical aspects of inscriptions, such as the use of all capital letters known as 'majuscule', had a significant impact on typography.

The Trajan font, still in use today, is inspired by Roman inscriptions and signifies official or formal communication.

Despite the presence of inscriptions, literacy rates in Ancient Rome were not high due to the lack of public education.

Graffiti in Ancient Rome served as an unofficial form of communication, allowing personal expression and criticism.

An example of Roman graffiti includes a depiction of a gladiator with disparaging comments, showing a personal and unofficial use of writing.

Another example of graffiti is the 'Alexamenos graffito', which mocks the belief in Jesus by depicting a figure with a donkey's head on a cross.

Graffiti has historically been a way for regular people to speak truth to power and express personal opinions.

The development of the alphabet and its use in Ancient Rome had both official and unofficial impacts on society and communication.

Transcripts

okay class so following up from that

last video that kind of laid out for us

the ultimate emergence of alphabets from

previous earlier sign systems in ancient

Egypt and in Mesopotamia now we're going

to talk about alphabets and the impact

of written language and we're going to

focus our attention on Ancient Rome

and specifically how these written

inscriptions on City monuments played a

very important political role in the

city

and

also unofficial examples of written text

in the form of graffiti also

have emerged in the kind of remains of

the ancient city of Rome okay so just

again to bring up that the alphabet that

we have today is we can sort of

attribute to the Phoenicians and that

the Mediterranean was a way for

alphabets and the idea of alphabets to

spread through trade routes the

Mediterranean Sea from really very

earliest eras was kind of like a super

highway big old interstate and along

this body of water traveled ideas people

and yes alphabets as well

okay in ancient Rome boom I give you a

model a fabulous model of the city of

Rome during the Empire and you might

immediately recognize here the Coliseum

which was that large Arena where there

would be uh

fights between you know gladiatorial

contests between men and animals and men

and men and various temples and over

here the circus maximus in the lower

corner lower right corner another very

noticeable Monument but

in addition to the monuments were spaces

around these monuments a model like this

is incredibly useful because Rome has

been continuously lived in

for centuries and centuries and so going

to Rome you would not necessarily see

much of this anymore except you know

this right here in kind of ruins and

little bits and pieces of this but

obviously continuous habitation meant

much of this got either

taken down disassembled or just built on

top of but what we know from

contemporary writings of the time and

and that's where we get this model

structures temples Arenas athletic

spaces

were as important as the spaces around

them and in them that all of the fabric

of ancient the city of ancient Rome was

tightly connected to the idea of

official public space as a way of

reinforcing the power of the emperor so

circus Maximus the thing in the lower

right corner I was just showing you here

is a kind of reconstruction kind of

adorable what with this little horse

race going on I want to draw your

attention to this thing though this big

thing right here is an obelisk and it

was an obelisk actually taken right out

of Egypt because that's where one would

find obelisks and obelisks were covered

in hieroglyphics so we just heard about

that in that last video here it is today

in the city of Rome it sits on a base

the base is detailed here on the right

the base on the right tells Us in Latin

the language of ancient Rome hey

Augustus the first emperor Rome took

this thing right out of Egypt when he

went down there to conquer

Mark Anthony and basically gained power

and and laid the foundation of being

Rome's first emperor and it is very much

about

not really so much Egypt or

hieroglyphics but rather Augustus and so

this inscription here basically talks

about Augustus is both an emperor Kaiser

you might be able to see that right

there and devia that means divine

because Augustus introduced the idea

that when Emperor her Emperors die they

became Gods how convenient and it goes

on to down here to just talk about you

know what an awesome Emperor he was okay

so the other monument that we're going

to focus on where the inscription is a

little clear is again erected uh

sometime later by another Emperor this

one trajan who is known for his victory

over various

uh peoples as you know the Roman Empire

was growing and this particular column

here again in a public space in Rome

these are later the Dome structures are

later but this column dates from the

Roman Empire and it Chronicles a

particular military Victor on the part

of trajan one over the dacians so this

column has this kind of spiral of

narrative scenes and here is trajan and

he he kind of reappears in various

places usually he's kind of standing in

taller than people nearby and so in

addition to this this kind of endless

Narrative of trajan's Victory yes you

guessed it the carved column sits on a

base here it is and here is a kind of

drawing of the base and here is the

inscription a little cropped of what

when this column was kind of unveiled in

114 there was accompanying it this

inscription and it follows the model of

most inscriptions

after a certain point sort of after

Augustus and in most inscriptions on

Roman buildings on Roman monuments on

various memorials it's cenatus populous

cue Romanus

that is again in Latin that the Senate

and the people of Rome and then the idea

is have erected this monument in honor

of and so you'll see trajan's name here

and this inscription basically talks

about how this thing was built this

column was carved and the base is kind

of giving you that background

and it was unveiled under

the

emperorship of nerva in honor of trajan

so why am I bringing this up because

that is often how these inscriptions in

the city of Rome worked which is an

emperor would erect or inscribe on an

existing building or monument hey this

is in honor of the Emperor who came

before me so why is that important well

it you know it's like a nice thing to do

right but it also reinforces the idea of

a kind of line of power of command over

the Roman Empire that connects one

emperor of one generation to the next to

the next to the next to the next

generally they came more than one a

generation but you get the idea so okay

so that's the function of this thing but

let's talk about the physical aspects of

this thing first of all as you see here

everything's in a capital letter and we

have a term for that magiscule and sure

enough inscriptions on Roman monuments

buildings Etc

were uh were I believe always in all

capitals and and you might notice too we

don't have a lot of space here so the

fact that there was a kind of pattern to

the inscription as I said that always

starts sinatus populist cue romanum

Romanus means that you know that

typically was on everything so you

didn't you weren't necessarily reading

reading it right

so we get here because originally we

would just paint letters on a stone wall

of a monument and then we were like hey

why don't we make it more permanent and

so we started using chisels and here are

some actual chisels from the ancient

Roman period to give us a sense and

notice like some have little pointy ends

and some have more blunt ends and some

are like wedge shaped and using tools

like this

these inscriptions would in fact be made

permanent on these stone walls it also

was a very official way of kind of

communicating to the Roman public hey

everybody the emperor is in control let

me go back here for just a second all

the way back here so yeah so they were

always in all caps we weren't so

concerned with legibility in other words

there were not really exactly a lot of

uh spaces between words because in a

sense their very presence was enough you

saw them all the time like in your

day-to-day life and you're like oh yeah

yeah there's a monument oh it's

referencing the past Emperor it's

referencing the current Emperor yeah

yeah yeah Emperor's power yeah I get it

and so in any case

that same approach to lettering comes

down to us in something called a trajan

font so

you will notice here that we see it in

uh all caps what we would call all caps

now and you notice that the letters

themselves have these little bits we are

going to call them serifs at their end

and if you think about it makes sense if

you're starting a letter by

creating a kind of line with one of

these chisels that is how we get these

little tiny lines at the top of for

example the J or the top of the end

so we're going to talk more about

typography and type forms but just keep

in mind that the association

with this kind of lettering and kind of

official or formal

uh communication

is still ongoing if you've ever looked

at your fonts in your computer and you

see Times New Roman that is both the

font of the New York Times but it's

referencing Roman forms such as these

and just quickly to compare to our

hieroglyphics which we learned in that

video hieroglyphics were really for only

the Priestly class you know the the

highest levels of Egyptian power

understood and could read these that

lettering and the commonality of a given

alphabet used here I don't want to

suggest that oh this means that there

were high literacy rates in Rome because

there weren't not really because there

was no public education and there were

slaves that said there was a recognition

a level of literacy where obviously

those in power used inscriptions like

this to remind people not necessarily

because people are going to read it word

for word but to remind people of the

power of the emperor so yeah the

literacy question is a good one nobody

can absolutely ascertain a level of

literacy because that just wasn't a data

point in ancient Rome though some have

said anywhere from 15 to 20 percent what

is interesting is there is this sign

this was a shop-side little relief and

it's a butcher look at him he's going to

town doing his job and here's a lady

over here and she is actually holding

um what appears to be some kind of

equipment for writing and we do know we

do know that Romans used papyrus Scrolls

here on the right and they used wax

tablets this is a kind of reconstruction

of what we know the wax tablet as you

can imagine there were these panels of

wax that you could inscribe with a sharp

instrument like a stylus but this was

kind of like a little talk well we don't

even have chalkboards anymore but like

little white boards like it was always

meant to be a contemporary writing

surface because you could wipe it and

reuse it

finally within the fabric of the city of

ancient Rome and I would extend this to

cities all over the Roman Empire there

was The Unofficial writing on the walls

of buildings monuments what we call

graffiti so graffiti

means scratched or scratched that's the

19th century Italian word but the base

of that word is from the Latin to write

that is what that word means and here

example here is an example of Roman

graffiti so I set it up in contrast to

you know the Chisel and the official

written out this was erected in honor of

trade and blah blah blah blah on the

right compared to this here where this

is

um there's a picture of a gladiator and

the phrases that have been translated

around this basically are talking smack

about him and saying he was really

crappy so there's there's that element

of graffiti that is always unofficial

and kind of personal like ah get get a

load of him he thinks he's all that

there is another example known as the

Alexa Manos graffito meaning a single

example of graffiti in which somebody is

basically despairing uh being excuse me

disparaging of their friend who follows

Jesus of Nazareth and in order to kind

of mock that belief has created a figure

on a cross but rather than it be Jesus

it's sort of a human form with a

donkey's head on it so

then as now graffiti was considered

a way of kind of speaking truth to power

or a way of calling out somebody that

you don't like personally and it was

always then as now a way of allowing the

the power of written communication to be

in the hands of regular people not just

the power structure okay so this was a

brief kind of overview of the role of

you know the development of alphabet in

written form in ancient Rome stay tuned

we're going to talk about the Middle

Ages bye