According to the ancient historian Tonio Hölscher, Roman art represented a “language in pictures” (Bildsprache) that could be analyzed much like texts could because the contained a “semantic system” (Hölscher, Römische Bildsprache als semantisches System, 1987).

Trajan’s column can therefore be “read”, in theory, like a scroll, and the events are depicted in chronological order. We are lucky that this is so: Trajan’s column is an example of where the art must tell the story of Trajan’s Dacian Wars, because we have very few written sources about these wars. National Geographic has a great web site explaining the columns here.

Listening for Leadership, Part One

Listening for Leadership, Part Two