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The Roman Rose. an Anthropological Approach

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The Roman Rose. an Anthropological Approach Iskolakultúra Iskolakultúra Online, 2, (2008) 1-66 Online The Roman rose. An anthropological approach ∗ János Géczi Pannon University, Veszprém, Hungary 1. Introduction Sources prove that the rose was unknown to the inhabitants of the Italian peninsula from the beginning of the first millennium BC all the way to the third century BC, and the Latin name of the plant itself derives from the Greek name. The plant and its everyday and symbolic use appeared as a result of cultural contact, a gift, as it were, of Greek civilization. It appears certain that the plant came to the peninsula not as a result of direct selection, but rather in the company of other cultural items, and in time it became increasingly valued both from a cultic/sacred point of view as well as in terms of hygiene, medicine and nutrition. Considerable material evidence indicates the decline of the old Central Italian heritage and the rise of the Hellenic influence. Contemporary Greek manners of expression, the use of garlands and floral strings as decoration, and the appearance of rosettes in floral motifs all entered layers of Roman society with more open attitudes. The Sarcophagus of Cornelius Scipio Barbatus (3rd century BC, Vatican Museum, Rome) is one of the earliest examples of this mixing of traditions. In contrast to the general custom of burial by cremation, the Scipios placed their deceased in coffins, as did the Etruscans, but in place of the Etruscan bed- or house-shaped sarcophagus they undertook an imitation of a Greek altar. Decorated with elements of Doric and Ionian architecture, the Sarcophagus of Cornelius Scipio Barbatus includes a row of rosettes with single and double layers of petals, some of which contain outward-stretching cupped leaves among the petals. These are customarily cited to explain the proximity and transitional forms of the rosettes and rose. As with the Greeks, the meaning of these decorations is double. The rose symbolizes the world of the gods, but it also has the hygienic function of removing odor. Thus, previously indirect Greek influence became direct in the 3rd century BC, when the Romans annexed the Southern Italian colonies of Tarentum and Rhegion. After the war Greek slaves taught the language and other subjects in schools, whereby new Greek words entered the Latin, and works of Greek literature, philosophy and science, and the processes and devices of Greek everyday life became recognized and used. Influenced by Greek New Comedy, Roman playwrights wrote works retaining the Greek environment and characters, but with a somewhat Romanized plot – the presentation of these signified entertainment and the introduction of Hellenic culture to the masses. References to the rose are also found in linguistic influences. But even more importantly, verbal and written effects transmitted the philosophical system where the rose was assigned a specific function in the cosmology based on the principle of the four elements. Which layer of Roman society was it that received this influence? And which cultural pattern was it that primarily transmitted rose symbols? The Roman elite were the most susceptible to Hellenic influences in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. Greek friendship also appeared at the state level. Some Greek cities entered accords with Rome to ensure their internal autonomy, while others were declared by Rome to be unilaterally free (196 BC). ∗ Email: [email protected] J. Géczi ¤ Iskolakultúra Online 2 (2008) 1-66.doc 2 In 167 BC Rome abolished the kingdom of Macedonia, and in 148 BC made it a Roman province. In 133 BC, with the extinction of the dynastic branch of the Kingdom of Pergamon, Asia Minor became a Roman province in accordance with the king’s last will. The Greeks themselves also gave numerous signs of Roman friendship; for example, both peoples took part in the honoring of the Delphic Apollo. Many Greek gods were identified with Roman deities with similar qualities; one of the most important was Venus qua Aphrodite, with a very close association with the rose. Oddly enough, Roman conquests contributed to the increased presence of Greek material culture in Italy: one of the forms of adoption of the magic/religious practices of conquered enemies was the relocation of the statues of their gods from occupied regions to Rome. With the accumulation in Italy of art objects and treasures from the intellectual centers of Magna Graecia, the independence of local decorative forms was replaced by a Mediterranean universality of shared taste. Objects on view in public squares, looted treasures displayed in triumphal parades, and figural depictions on statues and architecture all served to popularize and maintain the artistic vocabulary of the Empire, which was Latinized and incorporated into later Roman works. Architecture, painting, and sculpture (especially reliefs) offered an ornamental presence for rose depictions. The Roman state’s idea of service became more humane under Greek influence, at the same time that it offered models for Roman mythology, literature, philosophy and practice: although this also led to anti-Greek sentiment, society was unwilling to give up Greek achievements and knowledge, or their slaves. Some Roman authors wrote in Greek: Fabius Pictor and Cincius Alimentus in the 3rd to 2nd centuries BC, for example; the Emperor Marcus Aurelius also wrote Meditations in Greek in the 2nd century AD, as did fourth-century poet Claudius Claudianus with his work Gigantomachia. Nor did the earliest Latin Christian authors despise Greek, although they rejected elements of Greek – pagan – civilization less suited for the proper practice of their culture. Tertullianus, Lactantius, Hieronymus and Cassiodorus were all familiar with the ways of Greek science, while only a few – including Saint Gregory the Great – rejected the accumulated knowledge of the East. The attitude of the Church Fathers of Rome was similar to that of the population of the Empire: they preached simplicity in life- style and mentality, but they did not practice it – just as the patriarchs were unwilling to give up the joys offered by (Greek) knowledge, so were the citizens with life’s other, often extreme, forms of luxury. The spread of the rose as a plant and as a symbolic source in Roman culture and literature began with the integration of Greek mythological effects, and reached fullness with the annexation of Magna Graecia. The further spread and unification of universal and local Greek symbols was served by the fact that Latin was the language of the entire Roman Empire, and readers of literature had more access to the volumes and, beginning in the 3rd and 4th centuries, codexes (through copies of texts, and public and private libraries) than the elite of earlier culture had had. The use of the rose was promoted by the odd fact that, as Tamás Adamik expressed it, “the Romans generally made Stoic declarations, but lived in Epicurean fashion”; and this Epicureanism, rather unlike Hellenic philosophy, was also quite rich in hedonistic aspects. Plautus: Appearance of rose symbols linked to Venus Umbria, the birthplace of Titus Maccius Plautus (ca. 255/250 BC - 184 BC), was taken over by the Romans a few years before the comedy writer’s birth. Plautus went from here to Rome, but virtually nothing else of his personal life is known. Of his prolific works, 21 fabula palliata have survived through selection by Varro; all are in Greek, by an author highly influential in the evolution of New Comedy, with Greek locations, characters and plots. Even the characters’ customs, beliefs and clothes are largely Greek. The Latinization of the comedies derives from the insertion of topical elements and rustic slapstick, and from linguistic innovations – but none of this concealed the origin of the works. In comedies of romantic complications, the Greek origin is evident in the customs of Aphrodite worship, the conduct of the lovers, the feasts, the wedding celebrations, the fertility rituals, and the environment of the courtesans acting as servants of the goddess of love, despite the fact that the mythological figures have Latin names (Venus, Bacchus, etc.). Although in Hellenic culture this medium is abundant in rose references, in Plautus it is rather sparse. The rose appears on but two occasions as a qualifiable symbol. In Asinaria (The Donkey Market) and Bacchides (The Two Bacchises) – J. Géczi ¤ Iskolakultúra Online 2 (2008) 1-66.doc 3 adaptations of Demophilos’ Donkey Driver and Menandros’ The Double Seducer – flower references involving the word ‘rose’ are uttered by courtesans. “My light, my rose, give me, my splendor, my soul, / Leonida, the silver, do not separate two lovers”1 – pleads the prostitute Philaenium to Leonida, the servant. The price for the desired woman must be paid a year in advance by the procuress’ mother, the amount having been generated by the enamored youth from the sale of donkeys in Asinaria. In Bacchides the constantly confused twins are both Athenian courtesans. Bacchis I addresses her suitor as follows: “Beside me, my soul: beauty beside beauty. / Your place, however unexpectedly you may come, is free with us. / And if you wish entertainment, my rose, say to me: / ‘Give me what is good’ – and I will give you a nice little place.’”2 In Plautus’ works the word ‘rose’ is used to address male clients, in keeping with the usage of Greek courtesans. In its primary meaning the man addressed possesses the value of the flower which the woman will receive: as the woman is a prostitute and servant of Venus, the person received as a gift appears as a rose, a gift of Venus. The link to Venus is understood by both lovers through the rose reference. This tie is the desire of both parties, and thus properly describes the intent. The rose is a unit of measure of the outcome, a kind of possession by one party – as well as a promise of ownership.
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