Honorary arch
The relief depicts the adventus of Hadrian, the ceremonial entry of the emperor in Rome. Hadrian is greeted at the gates of Rome by the goddess Roma, the Genius of the senate and that of the Roman people. The relief presents two interposed registers. While the frontal register is worked using a high relief technique, the register set in the background is worked using a low relief technique. The scene depicted in the frontal register focuses on the figures of the emperor, depicted on the right, and of the goddess Roma, depicted on the left. Hadrian wears a tunic, and he is draped in a toga. The emperor is portrayed as receiving a small globe – a symbol of universal domination – from Roma. Thus, his right hand is stretched towards the goddess. The goddess Roma, dressed in a short tunic, or chitōn, is draped in a short cloak dropped on her back, and her head is covered by a helmet. She wears the calcei, or laced shoes, which were used by the members of the senatorial order.
The background register, on the other hand, focuses on the two figures of the Genius of the senate and the Genius of the Roman people, depicted between the goddess and the emperor. While the Genius of the senate is portrayed as a bearded figure, dressed in a tunic and draped in a toga, the Genius of the Roman people is portrayed as a young man. The other figures depicted are often identified with soldiers, possibly the personal guards of the emperor. This identification is strengthened by the fact that a vexillum, or standard, is depicted on the right side of the gate (Kleiner, Roman Sculpture, p. 255). The only architectural element is the gate depicted on the far left of the background register. Yet, it is an important element, as it serves to conceptually emphasize the adventus, the entering of the emperor into Rome.