On the ridge of the Velia hill, which forms a continuation of the
Palatine, and separates the hollow of the Forum from that of the
Colosseum, a triumphal arch was erected (though not till after his
death and deification) to Titus, the conqueror of Jerusalem. The
reliefs, still preserved within the arch, are among the most
remarkable of the kind existing in Rome as to the position they occupy
in the history of art and of the world. We find here not only the
emperor standing in the triumphal chariot in which he advanced to the
Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, but also the table of the shewbread,
and the seven-branched candlestick, borne in this triumphal procession
as the most precious spoils of the Jewish temple.
[Illustration: BAS-RELIEF ON THE ARCH OF TITUS.]
"There was a golden table, which weighed many talents; also a golden
candlestick, which was constructed upon a different principle from
anything in use amongst us now. In the middle was the main stem,
which rose out of the base; from this proceeded smaller branches, very
much resembling the form of a trident; and on the top of them was a
lamp, worked in brass. There were seven such in all, emblematic of the
seven days of the Jewish week. The Law of the Jews was the last of
those spoils in the procession" (Josephus, "Wars of the Jews," viii.
v. 5). "The legs of the table were perfectly finished in the lower
half, like those the Dorians put upon their couches, but the upper
half of them was worked square" (Josephus, "Antiquities of the Jews,"
iii. vi. 6).
Two censers were placed upon the table; in front of the table are two
trumpets crossed. (See Exodus xxv. 26).
These spoils were deposited by Vespasian in the Temple of Peace. After
the sack of Rome, A.D. 455, the Vandal king Genseric carried them to
Carthage. Belisarius recovered them, A.D. 535, and took them to
Constantinople; and they were transferred from there to the Christian
Church in Jerusalem (Procopius, "De Bell. Vand.," i. 5 and ii. 4).
Evagrius (iv. 17) relates that when Khosroes, king of Persia, took
Jerusalem in 614, they passed into his hands; and all trace of them
has been lost since then. It is altogether erroneous to suppose they
were thrown into the Tiber.
_On the opposite side_ is the Emperor Titus in a chariot drawn by four
horses, preceded by Romans wearing laurel wreaths and carrying the
fasces. Behind the chariot, Victory is in the act of placing a crown
on the emperor's head. The vault is ornamented with square coffers and
roses, and in the centre the apotheosis of Titus, in square relief.
At this point the Via Sacra was sometimes called the Clivus Palatinus,
as it led up to the Palatine, _on the right_.
"Clœlia had her statue in the Via Sacra, as you go up to the
Palatine" (Plutarch, in "Publicola").
_Passing through the Arch of Titus,_
_On our right_ are some remains of the Frangipani fortress, a tower of
the middle ages; a piece of the second wall of Rome; some
substructions and walls, as it were supporting the Palatine Hill; and
remains of the Baths and