8/19/2020

Discovery: Column Bearing Roman God/desses in Germany

From the article:
"An ancient column that could date back as far as the 5th century has been unearthed in Germany. The column, bearing images of the Roman god Jupiter and three other deities, is believed to have been deposited in a well at the site of what is now a commercial lignite mine. Archaeologists recently made the discovery in the town of Kerpen, some 12 miles (20 kilometers) outside Cologne. The column dedicated to Jupiter was broken, with the experts saying it might have been damaged after being thrown down the well sometime between the 2nd and 5th centuries, possibly by Christians seeking to destroy remnants of the pagan gods.  The badly damaged image at the foot of the column, believed to have once been more than 16 feet (5 meters) tall, is believed to be a depiction of Jupiter himself. The three other images are better preserved and show three female goddesses: Juno, the wife of Jupiter; Minerva, the goddess of wisdom; and very likely Nemesis-Diana, the goddess of just vengeance, according to the archaeologists. 

"The three deities — Jupiter, Juno and Minerva — are the so-called Capitoline Triad, the main deities of the city Rome who are often depicted together. “The portrayal of Nemesis-Diana is more unusual,” Schubert said. 'There’s only one other piece of evidence [like it] in the Rhineland and only a few in the whole Roman Empire. The goddess of the lawful revenge Nemesis is depicted with signs of the goddess of the hunt Diana, which makes this portrayal even more special. We don’t know why she was chosen to be depicted with the three main deities of the Roman mythology.' A statement issued by the head of the preservation office Erich Classen also said the representation of Nemesis-Diana is unusual in the area. 'We have little evidence that she was worshiped in the Rhineland during Roman times,' Classen said. The statement also says that the goddess can be recognized by means of a wagon wheel behind her and the short robe she wears."

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(The montage shows all three Goddesses on the column relief: Juno/left, Nemesis-Diana/center, and Minerva/right. © M. Zanjani/LVR Office for Ground Monument Preservation in the Rhineland/Newsflash)