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. For detailed images and explanation of the scenes of the column check out this site created by Roger Ulrich at the University of Dartmouth.

Listening for Leadership, Part One

Listening for Leadership, Part Two