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Competing Consolatory Practices in the Roman Empire Katherine Josephine Ziegler Bates College, [email protected]

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Competing Consolatory Practices in the Roman Empire Katherine Josephine Ziegler Bates College, Kziegler@Bates.Edu Bates College SCARAB Honors Theses Capstone Projects 5-2019 Dueling Lyres: Competing Consolatory Practices in the Roman Empire Katherine Josephine Ziegler Bates College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scarab.bates.edu/honorstheses Recommended Citation Ziegler, Katherine Josephine, "Dueling Lyres: Competing Consolatory Practices in the Roman Empire" (2019). Honors Theses. 270. https://scarab.bates.edu/honorstheses/270 This Restricted: Embargoed [Open Access After Expiration] is brought to you for free and open access by the Capstone Projects at SCARAB. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of SCARAB. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Dueling Lyres: Competing Consolatory Practices in the Roman Empire A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Classical and Medieval Studies Bates College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts By Katherine Josephine Ziegler Lewiston, Maine March 20, 2019 Acknowledgements I would first and foremost like to express my gratitude to my thesis advisor, Professor Hamish Cameron, for his guidance and patience throughout the thesis writing process. Without his support, I wouldn’t have even known how to begin writing this thesis. I would also like to extend my thanks to the faculty of the Classical and Medieval Studies department. Taking their classes has been one of my favorite parts of Bates and has made my life infinitely richer. Of course, thank you to my family for their constant support, during thesis and always. Finally, thank you to Abby Westberry, Cameron Huftalen, Zofia Ahmad, and Quang Nguyen. Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... ii Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Roman Funeral “Traditions” ................................................................................................... 3 The Consolation Tradition and Selected Authors .................................................................. 7 Statius: Biography and Works ............................................................................................... 13 Chapter One .................................................................................................................... 15 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 15 Consolation and Public Display .............................................................................................. 16 Use of Gender in Letters Addressed to Men ......................................................................... 25 Use of Gender in Letters Addressed to Women .................................................................... 31 Exemplary Grief ..................................................................................................................... 32 Seneca’s “Consolation to Marcia” ......................................................................................... 34 Seneca’s “Consolation to his Mother Helvia” ....................................................................... 40 Plutarch “Consolation to his own Wife” ................................................................................ 46 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 49 Chapter Two .................................................................................................................... 50 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 50 Part One: The Silvae ................................................................................................................ 50 Similarities to Consolation Letters ......................................................................................... 50 Differences from Consolation Letters .................................................................................... 53 Part Two: The Thebaid ........................................................................................................... 65 Literature Discussion ............................................................................................................. 66 Political Dissent and the Rejection of Martial Values ........................................................... 69 Effects of Lament on Narrative .............................................................................................. 75 Considerations of “Public and Private” in the Thebaid ......................................................... 79 Chapter 3 ......................................................................................................................... 82 Statius’ Poetry and First Century Verse Inscription ............................................................ 82 Epigraphic Cliches and Statius’ Poetry ................................................................................. 83 Individual Inscriptions ............................................................................................................ 84 General Similarities ................................................................................................................. 89 Lamentation.............................................................................................................................. 91 CIL III 686 ................................................................................................................................ 97 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 102 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 104 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 104 Implications ............................................................................................................................ 107 Limitations and Questions for Further Inquiry .................................................................. 108 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 110 iii Introduction Our forefathers have enacted that, in the case of women, a year should be the limit for mourning; not that they needed to mourn for so long, but that they should mourn no longer. In the case of men, no rules are laid down, because to mourn at all is not regarded as honourable.1 Seneca, c.65 CE Perhaps I am called extravagant and avid of grief, weeping beyond the bounds of decency. But who are you that blame my groans and lamentations? Ah, too fortunate is he, too cruel and ignorant, Fortune, of your dominion, who dares to lay down rules for tears and decree limits to grieving.2 Statius, c.93 CE Two authors, both writing in Latin, both in Rome, less than fifty years apart, present entirely contradictory attitudes towards grief. The contrast raises many questions. Is the poet Statius presenting a radical new approach to bereavement? Or is Seneca a reactionary old philosopher, desperately trying to enforce tradition? What could have happened within twenty- eight years to change Roman funerals? The relationship between Seneca and Statius, however, may not be as simple as any of those questions suggest. Both authors are working within the tradition of consolation writing, a loosely-defined genre of letters, poems, and philosophical tracts designed to comfort the bereaved. They are joined by many others, including Cicero, Plutarch, and Pliny the Younger. These consolation writers present a picture of the Roman cultural landscape that is more 1 Seneca Epistlae Morales 63.13 Annum feminis ad Iugendum constituere maiores, non ut tam diu lugerent, sed ne diutius; viris nullum legitimum tempus est, quia nullum honestum. Translated by D.R Shackleton Bailey. 2 Statius Silvae 5.5.56-61 nimius fortasse avidusque doloris/ dicor et in lacrimis iustum excessisse pudorem./ quisnam autem gemitus lamentaque nostra rep<r>endis?/ o nimium felix, nimium crudelis et expers/ imperii, Fortuna, tui qui dicere legem/ fletibus aut fines audet censere dolendi! Translated by Richard M. Gummere 1 contentious and varied than homogenous, especially when it comes to questions of death, grief, and mourning practices. This thesis explores what I have categorized as two strands of thought in the consolation works of the Roman Empire. The first strand consists of consolation letters, a group of published letters written by Cicero, Seneca, and Plutarch. The categorization of these texts is based not only on the similarity of their form, but also, as the following chapters will show, on their shared Stoic-inspired philosophical approach to mourning. The second group consists of the consolation poems of Statius and a selection of sepulchral verse inscriptions from the first century. As is the case with the previous category, the grouping of these two genres is based on their shared form (verse) and content. My goal is to discuss the differences between these two approaches to consolation, and
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