Achilles and the Roman Aristocrat: the Ambrosian Iliad As a Social Statement in the Late Antique Period Ceil Parks Bare
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2009 Achilles and the Roman Aristocrat: The Ambrosian Iliad as a Social Statement in the Late Antique Period Ceil Parks Bare Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF VISUAL ARTS, THEATRE AND DANCE ACHILLES AND THE ROMAN ARISTOCRAT: THE AMBROSIAN ILIAD AS A SOCIAL STATEMENT IN THE LATE ANTIQUE PERIOD By CEIL PARKS BARE A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Art History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2009 The members of the Committee approve the Dissertation of Ceil Parks Bare defended on March 2, 2009. __________________________ Paula Gerson Professor Directing Dissertation __________________________ Francis Cairns Outside Committee Member __________________________ Nancy T. de Grummond Committee Member __________________________ Rick Emmerson Committee Member Approved: __________________________________________________________________________ Rick Emmerson, Chair, Department of Art History __________________________________________________________________________ Sally McRorie, Dean, College of Visual Arts, Theatre and Dance The Graduate School has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii For my husband. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people have supported and encouraged me during the past six years of this project. Florida State University’s Department of Art History and its faculty have provided consistent and invaluable training and guidance since my earliest days as an Undergraduate. In particular, I would like to thank Jack Frieberg and Patricia Rose for their faith in me through all these years. I would also like to thank the Department of Art History for research and writing grants including the Penelope Mason Graduate Fellowship for Research, the Penelope Mason Graduate Fellowship for Travel and various Graduate Assistantships. I am also appreciative of the opportunity to teach in London in the Spring of 2005 through Florida State University’s International Programs. This appointment enabled me to conduct invaluable research at the British Library. Each member of my dissertation committee has provided many hours of feedback and support. My first directing professor, Cynthia Hahn, provided encouragement and assistance during my Ph.D. coursework and the initial phases of my dissertation research. It is because of her that I made the difficult leap from student to scholar. As my second directing professor, Paula Gerson has provided the focused and insightful feedback throughout this process that has been an important factor in the successful completion of this dissertation. Rounding out my committee, Richard Emmerson and Francis Cairns have given me sound advice and information from their own unique scholarly backgrounds, for which I am truly grateful. Finally, to Nancy de Grummond, my sincere and heartfelt gratitude for her guidance, mentorship, and friendship. Words cannot describe what she has meant to me during this adventure. Many other people have helped me by looking at my manuscript and providing invaluable feedback and support. In particular, I would like to thank Tanja Jones and Kyle Parks for providing much appreciated initial editing advice. Also, I would like to acknowledge Lisa Carlisle for her amazing editing service on the final draft of my dissertation. My thanks to Ken Andino who spent many unselfish hours working on the Latin and Greek translations. I have learned so much from all of you and I am sincerely grateful. Lastly, I would like to thank my friends and family who have been there during the tears and triumphs. For being there, in some cases just to listen, my gratitude to Elizabeth Heuer, Tanja Jones, Lana Burgess, Teri Yoo, Nancy Gadberry, Storie Gadberry, Jean Hudson, Kathy iv Braun, and Joan Cassels. During the final stages of this project, the support and understanding of my colleagues at Florida State University’s International Programs was greatly appreciated. Thank you to my mother and father who raised me to believe that I could do anything. And, finally to my dear husband, Thomas Bare, who has not minded (too much) sharing his life with me and a man named Achilles. v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ....................................................................................................................... viii Abstract .................................................................................................................................xi INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................. 1 Issues of Methodology .............................................................................................. 2 A New Way of Looking at the Ambrosian Iliad ....................................................... 5 Overview of Chapters................................................................................................ 7 1. THE AMBROSIAN ILIAD (ILIAS AMBROSIANA, CODEX 1019) ................................ 10 Description of the Ambrosian Iliad........................................................................... 12 The Rediscovery of Late Roman Art ........................................................................ 15 Historiography of the Ambrosian Iliad ..................................................................... 18 Conclusion................................................................................................................. 35 2. THE ARISTOCRAT IN LATE ANTIQUITY................................................................. 37 Nobilitas, the Roman Aristocrats .............................................................................. 37 Mos Maiorum ............................................................................................................ 40 Virtus......................................................................................................................... 42 Paideia ...................................................................................................................... 48 Conclusion................................................................................................................. 55 3. THE AMBROSIAN ILIAD AND ANTIQUARIAN ARISTOCRATIC IDENTITY..... 57 The Ambrosian Iliad and the Antiquarian Movement .............................................. 58 The Roman Villa, Books, and Paideia...................................................................... 66 The Ambrosian Iliad, Mos Maiorum, and Antiquarian Interest................................ 70 Antiquarian Military Iconography in the Ambrosian Iliad ........................... 72 Pagan Sacrifice and Antiquarinism............................................................... 77 Conclusion................................................................................................................. 87 4. THE AMBROSIAN ILIAD AND ARISTOCRATIC IDENTITY – CONFIRMING THE PRESENT ..................................................................................... 90 The Ambrosian Iliad’s Iconography – Defining the Present..................................... 91 The Circus ..................................................................................................... 92 The Banquet .................................................................................................. 97 The Book....................................................................................................... 103 The Aristocrat and the Emperor................................................................................ 107 An Imperial Environment.............................................................................. 108 The Cult of Achilles ...................................................................................... 111 Imperial Iconography in the Ambrosian Iliad............................................... 118 Conclusion................................................................................................................. 121 vi 5. THE AMBROSIAN ILIAD AND ARISTOCRATIC IDENTITY - ACHILLES9 FUTURE..................................................................................................... 12C Christi n Iconogr phy in the Ambrosian Iliad.......................................................... 12D Achilles in the Fifth Century E Prototype for the Christi n HeroG ........................... 133 Conclusion................................................................................................................. 1CD CONCLUSION .....................................................................................................................1CA APPENDIH A E FIGURES .................................................................................................. 15D APPENDIH B E COMPLETE LIST OF THE MINIATURES IN THE AMBROSIAN ILIAD......................................................................................................................... 113 APPENDIH C E COPYRIGHT PERMISSION LETTERS.................................................. 11D REFERENCES...................................................................................................................... 201 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ................................................................................................ 227