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Dionysius of Halicarnassus and the 'Founders' of Rome

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Dionysius of Halicarnassus and the 'Founders' of Rome Dionysius of Halicarnassus and the ‘Founders’ of Rome: Depicting Characters in the Roman Antiquities by Beatrice Poletti A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Classical Languages Department of History and Classics University of Alberta © Beatrice Poletti, 2018 ABSTRACT In my thesis, I analyze Dionysius’s presentation of some of the most celebrated characters of Rome’s early past: Aeneas, Romulus, Numa Pompilius, L. Junius Brutus, and M. Furius Camillus. The thesis is composed of Five Chapters, an introduction, and a conclusion. In Chapter 1, I describe the background to Dionysius’s arrival in Rome, focusing on the literary milieu of the capital. In Chapter 2, I discuss Dionysius’s work and the ideas underlying the conception of the Roman Antiquities. In Chapter 3, I examine Dionysius’s account of the Aeneas legend. I deal with the legends of Romulus and Numa, respectively, at Chapters 4.1.1 and 4.2, and 4.1.2 and 4.3. My analysis of the stories of L. Junius Brutus and M. Furius Camillus occupies Chapters 5.1 and 5.2. I have chosen these characters for my study because of their significance in the Romans’ conception of their early past and their association with key events and institutions of Roman history, as well as the political meaning which their figures eventually acquired. By Dionysius’s time, all these characters (with the exception of L. Brutus) had come to embody the qualities and political virtues of the princeps. Aeneas was the progenitor of the Roman race as well as Augustus’s personal ancestor through his adoption into the gens Julia. Romulus was the legendary founder of Rome, the ‘father of the country’, being responsible for its first civic institutions, and was also regarded as a model of martial prowess. King Numa was thought of as the creator of Rome’s religious institutions. Furthermore, his reign was remembered as the most peaceful period of all Roman history. L. Junius Brutus was celebrated in the Roman tradition for the overthrow of Tarquin the Proud’s tyranny and the institution of the Republic as well as for his devotion towards the country, manifest in his condemnation of his own sons, who were found guilty of treason. Like Romulus, Camillus was portrayed as one of the greatest Roman generals and the saviour of the ii country, in that he captured Veii and repelled the Gauls who had occupied the city, he and was also celebrated as an example of religious devotion. Besides the analysis of these characters’ personal qualities, which made them suitable precedents for the princeps and could thus reveal the influence of contemporary ideas on Dionysius’s writing, my study aims to show how Dionysius treated his source material—both earlier and contemporary accounts—and adapted it to his own purposes, namely, to demonstrate that the Romans had Greek origins and had shaped their identity through the assimilation of Greek ideas, values, and institutions. A major influence on Dionysius’s conceptions and aims came from the writings of Isocrates, and in particular the Isocratean notions of civil concord (ὁμόνοια) and civic and ancestral virtues. For all the characters under examination, Dionysius underlines their compliance with Isocratean ideals and, in the cases of Romulus, Numa, and Brutus, their role as lawgivers and their endeavours in maintaining civil concord. Throughout my thesis, I contend that Dionysius selected his source material and granted his preference to certain versions of the events he related in accordance with the aims outlined above, and that he included current themes when these supported his overall purposes—but not necessarily because he subscribed to imperial ideology. My analysis will fill a gap in the scholarship on Dionysius by placing the Roman Antiquities within the framework of his Greek historiographical and rhetorical background. It will also prove valuable for enhancing our knowledge of Dionysius’s historical methods. Lastly, it will supply us with useful indications about Dionysius’s audience and how Roman traditional and historical events were perceived outside Rome. Overall, this study will contribute to broadening our knowledge of Dionysius’s work as well as contemporary social and cultural issues, particularly those linked to the problematic relationships between Roman and Greek elites, whom Dionysius was addressing. iii To Wesley K. – passionate artist, philosopher, and avid reader – for helping me through a difficult time. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the Department of History and Classics of the University of Alberta for the generous financial support they offered me throughout the duration of my doctoral program. I also would like to thank everyone who inspired and supported me during this process: my supervisor, Christopher S. Mackay, who patiently read and commented on all the drafts of my thesis and, in general, provided me with invaluable mentorship; Frances Pownall and Adam Kemezis, who both read and commented on my thesis and gave me constant encouragement and precious guidance as well as opportunities of involvement in scholarly activities. All the errors that remain in the thesis are my own. I would like to thank all the faculty members of the department with whom I worked during my program, either as their student or their teaching/research assistant. I benefitted enormously from their teachings and advice. My sincerest thanks also go the staff members of the department for their kind help in solving various administrative and bureaucratic matters (not a small deal!). Finally, and most importantly, I wish to thank my family—my parents, my sisters, and my former partner—for believing in me and supporting me in every possible way. v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Illustrations viii List of Abbreviations ix Introduction 1 1. Dionysius of Halicarnassus in Augustan Rome 4 1.1 Greek Intellectuals in Rome 5 1.1.1 From the Mid-Second Century BC to the End of the Republic 5 1.1.2 The Augustan Age: Dionysius’s ‘Colleagues’ 7 1.2 Latin Historiography of the Augustan Age: Livy and Pompeius Trogus 15 1.3 Augustus and the Roman Ancestors 21 2. The Roman Antiquities of Dionysius of Halicarnassus 28 2.1 Dionysius of Halicarnassus and his World 28 2.1.1 Dionysius’s Life in Rome 28 2.1.2 Dionysius’s Classicist Conception of the Past: On the Ancient Orators 31 2.1.3 The Roman Antiquities 39 a) Purposes of Dionysius’s Work 39 b) Dionysius’s Historiographical Principles 43 c) Dionysius’s Readership 51 d) Dionysius’s Sources and Method 53 2.2 Dionysius and the ‘Forefathers’ of Rome: Previous Scholarly Interpretations and a Proposal for a New Reading 58 2.2.1 The Roman Antiquities in the Augustan Age: Previous Scholarly Positions 58 2.2.2 Scope of the Thesis 64 3. Aeneas and the Greco-Trojan Origins of Rome 68 3.1 The Origin of the Latin People 69 3.2 The Aeneas Legend from Homer to Augustus 73 3.2.1 Aeneas in the Greek Sources 73 3.2.2 Aeneas in the Roman Sources 76 3.2.3 The Political Elaboration of the Aeneas Legend from the Third Century BC to Caesar 80 3.2.4 Aeneas in the Augustan Age 84 3.3 Aeneas’s Story in Dion. Hal. RA 1.46-64 90 3.3.1 Aeneas’s Resistance against the Greeks and Escape from Troy (RA 1.46-48) 91 3.3.2 From Troy to Laurentum: Aeneas’s Sea Travels (RA 1.49-54) 101 3.3.3 Aeneas’s Deeds in Latium (RA 1.55-64) 105 vi a) The Arrival of Aeneas: Prophecies and Prodigies 105 b) Aeneas’s Encounter with Latinus: the Trojans as Greeks 110 Appendix: The Penates of Lavinium 118 Conclusions 120 Table to Chapter 3.3.2: Aeneas’s Sea Travels from Troy to Laurentum 123 4. Romulus and Numa Pompilius: The Ideological Foundations of the Roman Empire 127 4.1 The Figures of Romulus and Numa in the Roman Tradition 129 4.1.1 Romulus in Late Republican and Augustan Politics 129 4.1.2 Augustus and Numa Pompilius 136 4.2 Romulus, the Lawgiver and the General 140 4.2.1 Romulus’s Foundation of the City and the ‘Constitutional Debate’ 143 4.2.2 The Constitution of Romulus 150 a) Roman Antiquities 2.7-2.14 151 b) Roman Antiquities 2.15-2.17 158 c) Roman Antiquities 2.18-2.30 163 4.2.3 Romulus’s Wars (RA 2.30-55) 169 4.3 Numa, the Peaceful Leader 180 4.3.1 Numa’s Election and Introduction to Rome (RA 2.58-61) 181 4.3.2 Numa’s Civic and Religious Initiatives (RA 2.62-75) 188 4.4 Conclusions 196 5. L. Junius Brutus and M. Furius Camillus: Rome’s ‘Second Founders’ 200 5.1 L. Junius Brutus 202 5.1.1 Introducing a New Character: Brutus’s Background 202 5.1.2 The Founder of a New Order 206 5.1.3 Amor Patriae above All: The Fate of L. Brutus’s Children 221 5.1.4 The Figure of L. Junius Brutus in the Late Republican Struggle 226 5.2 M. Furius Camillus 232 5.2.1 Camillus in Late Republican and Early Imperial Political Discourse 232 5.2.2 Camillus’s Capture of Veii 236 a) The Veientine Embassy and Camillus’s Prayer 238 b) The Removal of the Statue of Juno Regina 242 c) The Faliscan Schoolmaster 243 5.2.3 Camillus’s Exile and the Invasion of the Gauls 245 5.4 Conclusions 253 Epilogue 257 Bibliography 261 vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Chapter 1 Figure 1: Ground plan of the Forum Augustum (after Zanker 1988: 194, fig.
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