Gürkan Ergin | Istanbul University (original) (raw)
Papers by Gürkan Ergin
Acta Classica Mediterranea, 2024
Although, at first sight, “phallic” does not seem like a novel term to define Trajan’s Column, t... more Although, at first sight, “phallic” does not seem like a novel term to define Trajan’s Column, this paper argues that it can be associated with a number of overlooked architectural, linguistic and narrative aspects of the monument that reinforce the column’s overall message. In modern literature only one article uses the term “phallic” (and only once), and another one compares the plan of Trajan’s Forum to a phallus, curiously excluding the column itself from the discussion. “Phallic verticality”, however, is an architectural phenomenon that is observed in many ancient and modern cultures. The relationship between Augustus’ horologium (Montecitorio obelisk) and Ara Pacis, for instance, has been recently interpreted in this context. In modern times the skyscrapers too have been understood as phallic buildings by architects, feminist, and social theorists such as Henri Lefebvre. Architecturally, columnar form in general might have been inspired by animal biology (i.e. penis) and ancient writers are explicit in pointing out nature as the source of the inspiration for other architectural forms such as beehive tombs. The column is, in fact, seen as a symbol of procreation and masculine identity in the ancient sources. Complementing the columnar form are the depictions on the spiral frieze of the Trajan’s Column, where the actions of the Roman army on the Dacian landscape such as felling, harvesting, extracting turf from the earth etc. reflect the “rape of a female landscape.” Latin writers used female physicality and behaviour to depict the features of a landscape, which is also obvious in the writings of European explorers and geographers to this day. Thus, apart from how women are depicted, this is a theme linked to the phallic verticality of the column.
Adalya, 2022
It has been claimed that with Augustus, the Roman Empire and its capital underwent a tr... more It has been claimed that with Augustus, the Roman Empire and its capital underwent a transformation that divided them into well- defined and controllable spaces based on a rational use of information. Emperors like Domitian established a sort of symbolic and physical domination over their subjects by cre- ating a medium of surveillance which is ob- servable in architecture and sculpture as well as in literature. Yet the functions of early impe- rial public gardens and urban landscapes like the Campus Martius and the plot on which the Domus Aurea rose have not been fully ex- plored in this respect. This article aims to dem- onstrate how viewing, gazing and surveilling operated symbolically in these spaces through architecture and sculpture by using Foucaultian concepts such as “heterotopia” and “surveil- lance” as well as “imperial gaze.” The gaze of the emperor was directed to the heterotopic microcosms created in public gardens and ur- ban landscapes, and also to individuals - elite and commoners alike - within them. This is an “imperial gaze,” a subjective, epistemological, juridical mode of viewing that tends to cat- egorize the landscape, its constituents and its activities within from an elevated point.
In 2014, in honour of the 2000th death anniversary of Augustus, a team of scientists and scholar... more In 2014, in honour of the 2000th death anniversary of Augustus, a team of scientists and scholars led a project to restore original colours to Ara Pacis. As is the case with other Roman monuments, its colours were lost in course of time, leaving only minute traces of gilding and paint behind. The team turned to other monuments, tombs, literary sources and wall paintings for a plausible reconstruction. Although there are numerous studies on colour and colour symbol- ism in Greco-Roman world, they overwhelmingly focus on its role in classical literature; how the colour was used on public monuments as a medium of communication did not attract
much attention probably due to the scarcity of scientific evidence. Yet, given the nature and function of Roman public monuments, colour preferences and symbolism must have played an important role in overall design and purpose of the scenes. Thus, although scientific proof
is scanty, discussing the possible colour symbolism on Ara Pacis based on the reconstruction might at least provide us with an insight into the relationship between the colours used and the messages given by the scenes themselves. A brief look offered here shows that beyond aesthetic
concerns, colours of the monument may be regarded as complementary elements that enhance the messages conveyed by the scenes and serve as status and moral markers to the figures. The link between the reliefs and the colours becomes more pronounced when we couple them with the use of colour symbolism in the contemporary Latin literature and rhetoric manuals. The colours of Ara Pacis would appeal to the readers of Vergil, Horace, and of writers of rhetoric such as Quintilian and Seneca; in other words, to the educated Romans.
For a few centuries in Classical Greece, Michel Foucault claimed, people were able to shape their... more For a few centuries in Classical Greece, Michel Foucault claimed, people were able to shape their lives
according to the principles of beauty, and to “constitute” themselves instead of “discovering” themselves.
They achieved this through specific practices conducted by the self on the self to attain a state of happiness,
wisdom and moderation. The thinker largely ignores, however, the close relationship between this care of
the self and the Athenian democratic mechanism, focusing instead only the process itself. He also argues
that these practices were only confined to the future potential leaders of Athens and that they were in essence
an aristocratic occupation. This paper aims to prove the opposite, that these “technologies of the self” were encouraged by speeches and several democratic developments in order to make them more accessible
to the general population, and to highlight their organic connection with the Athenian democratic practices, which Foucault barely discusses.
For Michel Foucault, governing of people is only possible through the “manifestation of truth” of... more For Michel Foucault, governing of people is only possible through the “manifestation of truth” of rulers, an act or a ritual, whose nature and ways change according to time and society. His series of lectures, titled “On the Government of the Living”, begin with an example from the Roman Empire, namely Septimius Severus’ horoscope, which he got painted on the ceiling of his palace. In most cases concerning the Roman emperors, the manifestation of truth, i.e. the manifestation of the truth of one’s existence, of the truth of the things that one realises through his body and behaviours as a prerequisite of political power, is possible through astrological knowledge, whereas in Classical Greek tragedy and politics, this is a result of secular research and investigation. Although Foucault devotes a considerable space for the latter, he does not discuss why the Greek and Roman practices differ or why, contrary to the Roman imperial period, horoscopes were not used as a way of manifestation of truth in the Roman Republic. He does, however, claim that the truth to be manifested in pagan antiquity, which was “outside” the individual, transformed into a concept of truth that resided “in” the individual, which must be revealed through baptism and confession, and that this new idea formed the basis of modern governmentality we experience today. This article is an attempt to explain and complement Foucault’s ideas on the manifestation of truth in antiquity.
Turkish:
Michel Foucault’ya göre insanlar üzerinde iktidar kullanımın gerçekleşebilmesi, bireylerin ya da yöneticilerin hakikatlerinin farklı toplum ve dönemlerde çeşitli yollarla tezahürüne bağlıdır. Bu olmadan iktidarın işlemesi nerdeyse imkânsız gibidir. Foucault, Roma imparatoru Septimius Severus’un sarayının tavanına çizdirdiği horoskopunu buna bir örnek olarak seçmiştir. Hakikatin, daha doğrusu kişinin varlığının, bedeniyle yaptığı şeylerin veya davranış biçimlerinin hakikatinin tezahürü, birçok Roma imparatoru için astrolojik bilgi üzerinden gerçekleşirken, Klasik Yunan tragedyalarında ve siyasetinde bu süreç tek başına tanrısal ya da göksel bir yolla değil, fakat insanların belirli seküler araştırma ve soruşturma süreçleriyle ortaya çıkar. Klasik Yunan’da iktidarın kullanımının ön şartı olan kanıt ve şahitliğin yerini Roma İmparatorluğu’nda kehanet alır. Foucault ne bu değişimin nasıl gerçekleştiği ne de neden Roma Cumhuriyeti’nde horoskopların benzer bir işleve sahip olmadığını açıklar. Ona göre, Hıristiyanlığa kadar insanların dışında bulunan ve ifşa edilmesi gereken hakikat, yeni dinle birlikte insanların içinde yer alan ve dışarı çıkarılması gereken bir şey hâline gelmiş ve bu da modern yönetimselliğin temelini oluşturmuştur. Bu makale düşünürün Antik Çağ’da hakikatin tezahürüyle ilgili fikirlerini açıklamayı ve gerekli yerlerde tamamlamayı amaçlamaktadır.
Acta Classica Mediterranea, 2024
Although, at first sight, “phallic” does not seem like a novel term to define Trajan’s Column, t... more Although, at first sight, “phallic” does not seem like a novel term to define Trajan’s Column, this paper argues that it can be associated with a number of overlooked architectural, linguistic and narrative aspects of the monument that reinforce the column’s overall message. In modern literature only one article uses the term “phallic” (and only once), and another one compares the plan of Trajan’s Forum to a phallus, curiously excluding the column itself from the discussion. “Phallic verticality”, however, is an architectural phenomenon that is observed in many ancient and modern cultures. The relationship between Augustus’ horologium (Montecitorio obelisk) and Ara Pacis, for instance, has been recently interpreted in this context. In modern times the skyscrapers too have been understood as phallic buildings by architects, feminist, and social theorists such as Henri Lefebvre. Architecturally, columnar form in general might have been inspired by animal biology (i.e. penis) and ancient writers are explicit in pointing out nature as the source of the inspiration for other architectural forms such as beehive tombs. The column is, in fact, seen as a symbol of procreation and masculine identity in the ancient sources. Complementing the columnar form are the depictions on the spiral frieze of the Trajan’s Column, where the actions of the Roman army on the Dacian landscape such as felling, harvesting, extracting turf from the earth etc. reflect the “rape of a female landscape.” Latin writers used female physicality and behaviour to depict the features of a landscape, which is also obvious in the writings of European explorers and geographers to this day. Thus, apart from how women are depicted, this is a theme linked to the phallic verticality of the column.
Adalya, 2022
It has been claimed that with Augustus, the Roman Empire and its capital underwent a tr... more It has been claimed that with Augustus, the Roman Empire and its capital underwent a transformation that divided them into well- defined and controllable spaces based on a rational use of information. Emperors like Domitian established a sort of symbolic and physical domination over their subjects by cre- ating a medium of surveillance which is ob- servable in architecture and sculpture as well as in literature. Yet the functions of early impe- rial public gardens and urban landscapes like the Campus Martius and the plot on which the Domus Aurea rose have not been fully ex- plored in this respect. This article aims to dem- onstrate how viewing, gazing and surveilling operated symbolically in these spaces through architecture and sculpture by using Foucaultian concepts such as “heterotopia” and “surveil- lance” as well as “imperial gaze.” The gaze of the emperor was directed to the heterotopic microcosms created in public gardens and ur- ban landscapes, and also to individuals - elite and commoners alike - within them. This is an “imperial gaze,” a subjective, epistemological, juridical mode of viewing that tends to cat- egorize the landscape, its constituents and its activities within from an elevated point.
In 2014, in honour of the 2000th death anniversary of Augustus, a team of scientists and scholar... more In 2014, in honour of the 2000th death anniversary of Augustus, a team of scientists and scholars led a project to restore original colours to Ara Pacis. As is the case with other Roman monuments, its colours were lost in course of time, leaving only minute traces of gilding and paint behind. The team turned to other monuments, tombs, literary sources and wall paintings for a plausible reconstruction. Although there are numerous studies on colour and colour symbol- ism in Greco-Roman world, they overwhelmingly focus on its role in classical literature; how the colour was used on public monuments as a medium of communication did not attract
much attention probably due to the scarcity of scientific evidence. Yet, given the nature and function of Roman public monuments, colour preferences and symbolism must have played an important role in overall design and purpose of the scenes. Thus, although scientific proof
is scanty, discussing the possible colour symbolism on Ara Pacis based on the reconstruction might at least provide us with an insight into the relationship between the colours used and the messages given by the scenes themselves. A brief look offered here shows that beyond aesthetic
concerns, colours of the monument may be regarded as complementary elements that enhance the messages conveyed by the scenes and serve as status and moral markers to the figures. The link between the reliefs and the colours becomes more pronounced when we couple them with the use of colour symbolism in the contemporary Latin literature and rhetoric manuals. The colours of Ara Pacis would appeal to the readers of Vergil, Horace, and of writers of rhetoric such as Quintilian and Seneca; in other words, to the educated Romans.
For a few centuries in Classical Greece, Michel Foucault claimed, people were able to shape their... more For a few centuries in Classical Greece, Michel Foucault claimed, people were able to shape their lives
according to the principles of beauty, and to “constitute” themselves instead of “discovering” themselves.
They achieved this through specific practices conducted by the self on the self to attain a state of happiness,
wisdom and moderation. The thinker largely ignores, however, the close relationship between this care of
the self and the Athenian democratic mechanism, focusing instead only the process itself. He also argues
that these practices were only confined to the future potential leaders of Athens and that they were in essence
an aristocratic occupation. This paper aims to prove the opposite, that these “technologies of the self” were encouraged by speeches and several democratic developments in order to make them more accessible
to the general population, and to highlight their organic connection with the Athenian democratic practices, which Foucault barely discusses.
For Michel Foucault, governing of people is only possible through the “manifestation of truth” of... more For Michel Foucault, governing of people is only possible through the “manifestation of truth” of rulers, an act or a ritual, whose nature and ways change according to time and society. His series of lectures, titled “On the Government of the Living”, begin with an example from the Roman Empire, namely Septimius Severus’ horoscope, which he got painted on the ceiling of his palace. In most cases concerning the Roman emperors, the manifestation of truth, i.e. the manifestation of the truth of one’s existence, of the truth of the things that one realises through his body and behaviours as a prerequisite of political power, is possible through astrological knowledge, whereas in Classical Greek tragedy and politics, this is a result of secular research and investigation. Although Foucault devotes a considerable space for the latter, he does not discuss why the Greek and Roman practices differ or why, contrary to the Roman imperial period, horoscopes were not used as a way of manifestation of truth in the Roman Republic. He does, however, claim that the truth to be manifested in pagan antiquity, which was “outside” the individual, transformed into a concept of truth that resided “in” the individual, which must be revealed through baptism and confession, and that this new idea formed the basis of modern governmentality we experience today. This article is an attempt to explain and complement Foucault’s ideas on the manifestation of truth in antiquity.
Turkish:
Michel Foucault’ya göre insanlar üzerinde iktidar kullanımın gerçekleşebilmesi, bireylerin ya da yöneticilerin hakikatlerinin farklı toplum ve dönemlerde çeşitli yollarla tezahürüne bağlıdır. Bu olmadan iktidarın işlemesi nerdeyse imkânsız gibidir. Foucault, Roma imparatoru Septimius Severus’un sarayının tavanına çizdirdiği horoskopunu buna bir örnek olarak seçmiştir. Hakikatin, daha doğrusu kişinin varlığının, bedeniyle yaptığı şeylerin veya davranış biçimlerinin hakikatinin tezahürü, birçok Roma imparatoru için astrolojik bilgi üzerinden gerçekleşirken, Klasik Yunan tragedyalarında ve siyasetinde bu süreç tek başına tanrısal ya da göksel bir yolla değil, fakat insanların belirli seküler araştırma ve soruşturma süreçleriyle ortaya çıkar. Klasik Yunan’da iktidarın kullanımının ön şartı olan kanıt ve şahitliğin yerini Roma İmparatorluğu’nda kehanet alır. Foucault ne bu değişimin nasıl gerçekleştiği ne de neden Roma Cumhuriyeti’nde horoskopların benzer bir işleve sahip olmadığını açıklar. Ona göre, Hıristiyanlığa kadar insanların dışında bulunan ve ifşa edilmesi gereken hakikat, yeni dinle birlikte insanların içinde yer alan ve dışarı çıkarılması gereken bir şey hâline gelmiş ve bu da modern yönetimselliğin temelini oluşturmuştur. Bu makale düşünürün Antik Çağ’da hakikatin tezahürüyle ilgili fikirlerini açıklamayı ve gerekli yerlerde tamamlamayı amaçlamaktadır.