Statue of the tetrarchs of Venice

Although it now decorates a corner of Saint Mark’s Cathedral, the group of statues depicting the four tetrarcha (tetrarchs), i.e. co-rulers (tetra means four and the word arché means reign), may have originally stood on a stand fixed to a column at the race course of the imperial palace of Constantinople. It is made from Egyptian red porphyry, whose colour purple is one of the symbols of rule. The features of the four emperors clearly indicate that the style of portrait statues became rather abstract and geometric in the era of tetrarchia (tetrarchy). Since individual features are absent, it is impossible to be certain which statue depicts which emperor of the group representing Diocletian and his co-rulers. The similarity, which is also manifested in the clothing of the tetrarchs, conveyed a message to the viewer: it expressed the equality of the four co-emperors, who are depicted putting their arms round each other, indicating that they ruled in agreement over the unified Roman Empire.