Marcus Aurelius Relief Panels (North Side) Self-researched

Location: Arch of Constantine, Rome
Medium: Marble relief panels
Date: c. AD 176–180 (reign of Marcus Aurelius); reused AD 315

Four rectangular panels flanking the inscription on the north (city-facing) side of the attic, taken from a lost triumphal monument commemorating Marcus Aurelius' wars against the Marcomanni and Sarmatians (AD 169–175). From left to right they depict: the emperor's adventus (return to Rome), his departure saluted by a personification of the Via Flaminia, a largitio (distribution of money to the people), and the interrogation of a German prisoner. The emperor's head was recarved to resemble Constantine; on the largitio panel, the figure of Commodus was erased following his damnatio memoriae.