Latest / The Story of Italy: Rome, Renaissance, and the Birth of Modern Europe — Fexingo History
The Column of Phocas: Rome's Last Imperial Monument
In 608 AD, a gilded statue of Emperor Phocas was raised atop a towering Corinthian column in the Roman Forum — the last imperial monument ever built there. But Phocas was a bloody usurper who had seized power after a mutiny, and within two years he would be overthrown and executed. This episode unpacks the strange story of that column: who paid for it, why it was erected, and what its lonely survival tells us about the end of the ancient city. We explore the political chaos of early 7th-century Byzantium, the role of Pope Boniface IV (who dedicated the column), the symbolic power of public…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.