A votive column (also votive pillar) is the combination of a column (pillar) and a votive image. The presence of columns supporting votive sculptures in

Ancient Greek temple Greek temples ( grc, ναός, naós, dwelling, semantically distinct from Latin , "temple") were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in ancient Greek religion. The temple interiors did not serve as meeting places, ...

s is well attested since at least the Archaic period. The oldest known example of a Corinthian column is in the Temple of

Apollo Epicurius Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

Bassae Bassae ( la, Bassae, grc, Βάσσαι - ''Bassai'', meaning "little vale in the rocks") is an archaeological site in Oichalia, a municipality in the northeastern part of Messenia, Greece. In classical antiquity, it was part of Arcadia. Bassae ...

in Arcadia, c. 450–420 BC. It is not part of the order of the temple itself, which has a Doric colonnade surrounding the temple and an Ionic order within the

cella A cella (from Latin for small chamber) or naos (from the Greek ναός, "temple") is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek or Roman temple in classical antiquity. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extended meanings, of a hermit's or ...

enclosure. A single Corinthian column stands free, centered within the cella. It is often interpreted as a votive column.The Frederick A. Cooper, ''Temple of Apollo Bassitas: The architecture'' (1992),
p. 305
In

Imperial Rome The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

, it was the practice to erect a statue of the Emperor atop a column. The last such a column was the

Column of Phocas The Column of Phocas ( it, Colonna di Foca) is a Roman monumental column in the Roman Forum of Rome, Italy, built when Rome was part of the Eastern Roman Empire after its reconquest from the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths. History Erected in front o ...

, erected in the Roman Forum and dedicated or rededicated in 608. The Christian adaptation is the

Marian column Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places * Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queenslan ...

, attested from at least the 10th century (in

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attract ...

in France). The image of Our Lady of the Pillar in

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

dates to the 15th century. Marian columns became popular especially in the Counter-Reformation, beginning with the column in Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The column itself was ancient, a leftover of the Basilica of Constantine, which had been destroyed by an earthquake in the 9th century. In

1614 Events January–June * February – King James I of England condemns duels, in his proclamation ''Against Private Challenges and Combats''. * April 5 – Pocahontas is forced into child marriage with English colonist John Rolfe in Ja ...

it was transported to Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore and crowned with a bronze statue of the Virgin and Child. Within decades it served as a model for many columns in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and other European countries, such as the ''

Mariensäule The Mariensäule (lit. 'Mary's Column') is a Marian column located on the Marienplatz in Munich, Germany. Mary is revered here as '' Patrona Bavariae'' (Latin: Protector of Bavaria). History It was erected in 1638 to celebrate the end of Swedis ...

'' in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

(1638).

References

Ancient Roman religion Ancient Greek religion Monumental columns Religious objects {{AncientGreek-reli-stub

See also

References