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Eunuchs in the East, Men in the West? 147
Eunuchs in the East, Men in the West? 147 Chapter 8 Eunuchs in the East, Men in the West? Dis/unity, Gender and Orientalism in the Fourth Century Shaun Tougher Introduction In the narrative of relations between East and West in the Roman Empire in the fourth century AD, the tensions between the eastern and western imperial courts at the end of the century loom large. The decision of Theodosius I to “split” the empire between his young sons Arcadius and Honorius (the teenage Arcadius in the east and the ten-year-old Honorius in the west) ushered in a period of intense hostility and competition between the courts, famously fo- cused on the figure of Stilicho.1 Stilicho, half-Vandal general and son-in-law of Theodosius I (Stilicho was married to Serena, Theodosius’ niece and adopted daughter), had been left as guardian of Honorius, but claimed guardianship of Arcadius too and concomitant authority over the east. In the political manoeu- vrings which followed the death of Theodosius I in 395, Stilicho was branded a public enemy by the eastern court. In the war of words between east and west a key figure was the (probably Alexandrian) poet Claudian, who acted as a ‘pro- pagandist’ (through panegyric and invective) for the western court, or rather Stilicho. Famously, Claudian wrote invectives on leading officials at the eastern court, namely Rufinus the praetorian prefect and Eutropius, the grand cham- berlain (praepositus sacri cubiculi), who was a eunuch. It is Claudian’s two at- tacks on Eutropius that are the inspiration and central focus of this paper which will examine the significance of the figure of the eunuch for the topic of the end of unity between east and west in the Roman Empire. -
Hadrian and the Greek East
HADRIAN AND THE GREEK EAST: IMPERIAL POLICY AND COMMUNICATION DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Demetrios Kritsotakis, B.A, M.A. * * * * * The Ohio State University 2008 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Fritz Graf, Adviser Professor Tom Hawkins ____________________________ Professor Anthony Kaldellis Adviser Greek and Latin Graduate Program Copyright by Demetrios Kritsotakis 2008 ABSTRACT The Roman Emperor Hadrian pursued a policy of unification of the vast Empire. After his accession, he abandoned the expansionist policy of his predecessor Trajan and focused on securing the frontiers of the empire and on maintaining its stability. Of the utmost importance was the further integration and participation in his program of the peoples of the Greek East, especially of the Greek mainland and Asia Minor. Hadrian now invited them to become active members of the empire. By his lengthy travels and benefactions to the people of the region and by the creation of the Panhellenion, Hadrian attempted to create a second center of the Empire. Rome, in the West, was the first center; now a second one, in the East, would draw together the Greek people on both sides of the Aegean Sea. Thus he could accelerate the unification of the empire by focusing on its two most important elements, Romans and Greeks. Hadrian channeled his intentions in a number of ways, including the use of specific iconographical types on the coinage of his reign and religious language and themes in his interactions with the Greeks. In both cases it becomes evident that the Greeks not only understood his messages, but they also reacted in a positive way. -
The Nature of Hellenistic Domestic Sculpture in Its Cultural and Spatial Contexts
THE NATURE OF HELLENISTIC DOMESTIC SCULPTURE IN ITS CULTURAL AND SPATIAL CONTEXTS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Craig I. Hardiman, B.Comm., B.A., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2005 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Dr. Mark D. Fullerton, Advisor Dr. Timothy J. McNiven _______________________________ Advisor Dr. Stephen V. Tracy Graduate Program in the History of Art Copyright by Craig I. Hardiman 2005 ABSTRACT This dissertation marks the first synthetic and contextual analysis of domestic sculpture for the whole of the Hellenistic period (323 BCE – 31 BCE). Prior to this study, Hellenistic domestic sculpture had been examined from a broadly literary perspective or had been the focus of smaller regional or site-specific studies. Rather than taking any one approach, this dissertation examines both the literary testimonia and the material record in order to develop as full a picture as possible for the location, function and meaning(s) of these pieces. The study begins with a reconsideration of the literary evidence. The testimonia deal chiefly with the residences of the Hellenistic kings and their conspicuous displays of wealth in the most public rooms in the home, namely courtyards and dining rooms. Following this, the material evidence from the Greek mainland and Asia Minor is considered. The general evidence supports the literary testimonia’s location for these sculptures. In addition, several individual examples offer insights into the sophistication of domestic decorative programs among the Greeks, something usually associated with the Romans. -
Domitian's Arae Incendii Neroniani in New Flavian Rome
Rising from the Ashes: Domitian’s Arae Incendii Neroniani in New Flavian Rome Lea K. Cline In the August 1888 edition of the Notizie degli Scavi, profes- on a base of two steps; it is a long, solid rectangle, 6.25 m sors Guliermo Gatti and Rodolfo Lanciani announced the deep, 3.25 m wide, and 1.26 m high (lacking its crown). rediscovery of a Domitianic altar on the Quirinal hill during These dimensions make it the second largest public altar to the construction of the Casa Reale (Figures 1 and 2).1 This survive in the ancient capital. Built of travertine and revet- altar, found in situ on the southeast side of the Alta Semita ted in marble, this altar lacks sculptural decoration. Only its (an important northern thoroughfare) adjacent to the church inscription identifies it as an Ara Incendii Neroniani, an altar of San Andrea al Quirinale, was not unknown to scholars.2 erected in fulfillment of a vow made after the great fire of The site was discovered, but not excavated, in 1644 when Nero (A.D. 64).7 Pope Urban VIII (Maffeo Barberini) and Gianlorenzo Bernini Archaeological evidence attests to two other altars, laid the foundations of San Andrea al Quirinale; at that time, bearing identical inscriptions, excavated in the sixteenth the inscription was removed to the Vatican, and then the and seventeenth centuries; the Ara Incendii Neroniani found altar was essentially forgotten.3 Lanciani’s notes from May on the Quirinal was the last of the three to be discovered.8 22, 1889, describe a fairly intact structure—a travertine block Little is known of the two other altars; one, presumably altar with remnants of a marble base molding on two sides.4 found on the Vatican plain, was reportedly used as building Although the altar’s inscription was not in situ, Lanciani refers material for the basilica of St. -
Ovid, Fasti 1.63-294 (Translated By, and Adapted Notes From, A
Ovid, Fasti 1.63-294 (translated by, and adapted notes from, A. S. Kline) [Latin text; 8 CE] Book I: January 1: Kalends See how Janus1 appears first in my song To announce a happy year for you, Germanicus.2 Two-headed Janus, source of the silently gliding year, The only god who is able to see behind him, Be favourable to the leaders, whose labours win Peace for the fertile earth, peace for the seas: Be favourable to the senate and Roman people, And with a nod unbar the shining temples. A prosperous day dawns: favour our thoughts and speech! Let auspicious words be said on this auspicious day. Let our ears be free of lawsuits then, and banish Mad disputes now: you, malicious tongues, cease wagging! See how the air shines with fragrant fire, And Cilician3 grains crackle on lit hearths! The flame beats brightly on the temple’s gold, And spreads a flickering light on the shrine’s roof. Spotless garments make their way to Tarpeian Heights,4 And the crowd wear the colours of the festival: Now the new rods and axes lead, new purple glows, And the distinctive ivory chair feels fresh weight. Heifers that grazed the grass on Faliscan plains,5 Unbroken to the yoke, bow their necks to the axe. When Jupiter watches the whole world from his hill, Everything that he sees belongs to Rome. Hail, day of joy, and return forever, happier still, Worthy to be cherished by a race that rules the world. But two-formed Janus what god shall I say you are, Since Greece has no divinity to compare with you? Tell me the reason, too, why you alone of all the gods Look both at what’s behind you and what’s in front. -
Women's Costume and Feminine Civic Morality in Augustan Rome
Gender & History ISSN 0953–5233 Judith Lynn Sebesta, ‘Women’s Costume and Feminine Civic Morality in Augustan Rome’ Gender & History, Vol.9 No.3 November 1997, pp. 529–541. Women’s Costume and Feminine Civic Morality in Augustan Rome JUDITH LYNN SEBESTA Augustus was eager to revive the traditional dress of the Romans. One day in the Forum he saw a group of citizens dressed in dark garments and exclaimed indignantly, ‘Behold the masters of the world, the toga-clad race!’ He thereupon instructed the aediles that no Roman citizen was to enter the Forum, or even be in its vicinity, unless he were properly clad in a toga.1 In the terms of Augustan ideology, the avoidance of Roman dress by Romans was another sign of their abandoning the traditional Roman way of life, character and values in preference for the high culture, pomp, and moral and philosophical relativism of the Hellenistic East. This accultura- tion of foreign ways was frequently claimed to have brought Republican Rome to the edge of destruction in both the public and private spheres.2 Roman authors of the late first century BCE depict women in particular as devoted to their own selfish pleasure, marrying and divorcing at will, and preferring childlessness and abortion to raising a family. Such women were regarded as having abandoned their traditional role of custos domi (‘pre- server of the house/hold’), a role that correlated a wife’s body and her husband’s household. A Roman wife was expected to maintain her body’s inviolability and to preserve her husband’s possessions, while increasing his family by bearing children and enriching his wealth through her labors.3 The mindful care of the ideal wife was epitomized in the legendary story of the chaste Lucretia, who became an important symbol of wifehood in Augustan literature. -
The Punishment of Tarpeia and Its Possible Iconographic Inspiration*
2017 ACTA UNIVERSITATIS CAROLINAE PAG. 43–55 PHILOLOGICA 2 / GRAECOLATINA PRAGENSIA THE PUNISHMENT OF TARPEIA AND ITS POSSIBLE ICONOGRAPHIC INSPIRATION* LENKA VACINOVÁ ABSTRACT The motif of the Punishment of Tarpeia is surprisingly rare in Roman visual arts. However, the surviving examples show iconographical unity and imply their common primary visual source of inspiration. The article is exploring the possible models considering the less obvious iconograph- ical similarities and resemblances in terms of content found in the Greek art. The cases of the infamous intriguer Dirce and traitor Dolon are dis- cussed, as well as the remarkable resemblances found on some images of the Death of Caeneus. While the latter indicates the inspiration based on free associations and the similar circumstances of death of the both protagonists, Dolon and Dirce seem to influence the creator of the icono- graphic scheme of the Punishment of Tarpeia in a more straight way. Keywords: iconography; Tarpeia; betrayal; punishment; exposure; nudity Roman art is abundant in the iconographic paradigms borrowed from Greek visual arts, as well as in scenes with no such close and apparent parallels. The story of Tarpeia ’ s treachery and her punishment seems to belong to the latter group. The tragic tale of a girl who, enchanted by the golden bracelets of the enemy, betrays Rome to the Sabine king Titus Tatius under the promise of “what the Sabines wear on their left hands” and who instead meets her fate under a pile of their shields (which the Sabines unfortunately also carry on their left arms), is dealt with both by Greek and Latin authors in a quite different versions.1 On the contrary, the scarcely preserved depictions of Tarpeia seem to share almost the same iconographic scheme. -
Map 44 Latium-Campania Compiled by N
Map 44 Latium-Campania Compiled by N. Purcell, 1997 Introduction The landscape of central Italy has not been intrinsically stable. The steep slopes of the mountains have been deforested–several times in many cases–with consequent erosion; frane or avalanches remove large tracts of regolith, and doubly obliterate the archaeological record. In the valley-bottoms active streams have deposited and eroded successive layers of fill, sealing and destroying the evidence of settlement in many relatively favored niches. The more extensive lowlands have also seen substantial depositions of alluvial and colluvial material; the coasts have been exposed to erosion, aggradation and occasional tectonic deformation, or–spectacularly in the Bay of Naples– alternating collapse and re-elevation (“bradyseism”) at a staggeringly rapid pace. Earthquakes everywhere have accelerated the rate of change; vulcanicity in Campania has several times transformed substantial tracts of landscape beyond recognition–and reconstruction (thus no attempt is made here to re-create the contours of any of the sometimes very different forerunners of today’s Mt. Vesuvius). To this instability must be added the effect of intensive and continuous intervention by humanity. Episodes of depopulation in the Italian peninsula have arguably been neither prolonged nor pronounced within the timespan of the map and beyond. Even so, over the centuries the settlement pattern has been more than usually mutable, which has tended to obscure or damage the archaeological record. More archaeological evidence has emerged as modern urbanization spreads; but even more has been destroyed. What is available to the historical cartographer varies in quality from area to area in surprising ways. -
Public Construction, Labor, and Society at Middle Republican Rome, 390-168 B.C
University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2012 Men at Work: Public Construction, Labor, and Society at Middle Republican Rome, 390-168 B.C. Seth G. Bernard University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, and the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Recommended Citation Bernard, Seth G., "Men at Work: Public Construction, Labor, and Society at Middle Republican Rome, 390-168 B.C." (2012). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 492. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/492 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/492 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Men at Work: Public Construction, Labor, and Society at Middle Republican Rome, 390-168 B.C. Abstract MEN AT WORK: PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION, LABOR, AND SOCIETY AT MID-REPUBLICAN ROME, 390-168 B.C. Seth G. Bernard C. Brian Rose, Supervisor of Dissertation This dissertation investigates how Rome organized and paid for the considerable amount of labor that went into the physical transformation of the Middle Republican city. In particular, it considers the role played by the cost of public construction in the socioeconomic history of the period, here defined as 390 to 168 B.C. During the Middle Republic period, Rome expanded its dominion first over Italy and then over the Mediterranean. As it developed into the political and economic capital of its world, the city itself went through transformative change, recognizable in a great deal of new public infrastructure. -
Constantine the Great and Christian Imperial Theocracy Charles Matson Odahl Boise State University
Boise State University ScholarWorks History Faculty Publications and Presentations Department of History 1-1-2007 Constantine the Great and Christian Imperial Theocracy Charles Matson Odahl Boise State University Publication Information Odahl, Charles Matson. (2007). "Constantine the Great and Christian Imperial Theocracy". Connections: European Studies Annual Review, 3, 89-113. This document was originally published in Connections: European Studies Annual Review by Rocky Mountain European Scholars Consortium. Copyright restrictions may apply. Coda: Recovering Constantine's European Legacy 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 Constantine the Great and Christian Imperial Theocracy Charles Matson Odahl, Boise State University1 rom his Christian conversion under the influence of cept of imperial theocracy was conveyed in contemporary art Frevelatory experiences outside Rome in A.D. 312 until (Illustration I). his burial as the thirteenth Apostle at Constantinople in Although Constantine had been raised as a tolerant 337, Constantine the Great, pagan polytheist and had the first Christian emperor propagated several Olympian of the Roman world, initiated divinities, particularly Jupiter, the role of and set the model Hercules, Mars, and Sol, as for Christian imperial theoc di vine patrons during the early racy. Through his relationship years of his reign as emperor -
Discovering a Roman Resort-Coat: the Litus Laurentinum and The
DISCOVERING A ROMAN RESORT-COAST: THE LITUS LAURENTINUM AND THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF 1 OTIUM* Nicholas Purcell St John's College, Oxford I. Introductory Otium - the concept of leisure, the elaborate social and cultural definer of the Roman elite away from its business of political and military power - is famous. We can see in Roman literary texts how the practice of otium patterned everyday experience, and how it was expressed in physical terms in the arrangement, on a large and on a small scale, of all aspects of Roman space. The texts likewise show that much of what we would regard as social life, and nearly all of what we think of as economic, belonged in the domain of otium. The complexities and ambiguities of this material have been much studied.2 Roman archaeology equally needs to be an archaeology of otium, but there has been little attempt to think systematically about what that might entail. Investigating the relationship between a social concept such as otium and the material culture that is the primary focus of archaeology must in the first place involve describing Roman culture in very broad terms. The density of explicit or implicit symbolic meaning, the organisation of space and time, degrees of hierarchy of value or prestige: it is at that level of generalisation that the archaeologist and the cultural historian will find the common denominators that enable them to share in the construction of explanations of Roman social phenomena. In this account, which is based on research into a particular locality, we shall have to limit ourselves to one of these possibilities. -
Angerona E Il Silenzio Del Confine. Tempi E Spazi Liminari Di Una Dea Romana Muta
Angerona e il silenzio del confine. Tempi e spazi liminari di una dea romana muta Ciro Parodo Angerona o Diva Angerona, a cui il 21 Dicembre era dedicata una festività denominata Angeronalia o Divalia1, si contraddistingue, al pari di Tacita Muta, per il suo mutismo. Come ricordato da Ovidio (fast. II, 583-616), chiamata in origine Lara, dal verbo λαλεῖν “chiacchierare”, la figlia del fiume Almone assunse il nome parlante di Tacita dopoché le fu strappata la lingua per ordine di Giove che intendeva così punirla per aver rivelato alla sorella Iuturna la passione amorosa nutrita dal padre degli dei nei suoi confronti e a Giunone il tentativo di seduzione del marito. Tacita fu quindi affidata a Mercurio affinché fosse condotta negli Inferi dove avrebbe presieduto alle acque del regno dei morti. Lungo la strada, tuttavia, il dio messaggero usò violenza nei confronti della ninfa che così partorì i Lares compitales preposti alla tutela dei crocicchi urbani e rurali. In Varrone la loro maternità è attribuita a Mania (ling. IX, 61; cfr. Lact. div. inst. I, 20, 35 che riporta anche la denominazione Larunda), ulteriore ipostasi divina – insieme a 1 Le fonti sono discordanti circa l’esatto nome della dea e della festività ad essa dedicata. Così in Varro ling. VI, 23; Solin. I, 6; Macr. Sat. III, 9, 4, è documentato il nome Angerona, mentre in Plin. nat. III, 65 e Macr. Sat. I, 10, 7 quello di Diva Angerona. Solo nel suddetto passo macrobiano è anche attestato il nome Angeronia. Parimenti, se nelle fonti letterarie (Varro ling. VI, 23; Fest.