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SOCIAL MEMORY IN FIFTH CENTURY ROME BY SARAH DAWSON B.A., UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN–MADISON, 2004 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE JOUKOWSKY INSTITUTE FOR ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE ANCIENT WORLD AT BROWN UNIVERSITY PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND MAY 2010 This dissertation by Sarah Dawson is accepted in its present form by the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World as satisfying the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Date_____________ _________________________________ Susan Alcock, Advisor Recommended to the Graduate Council Date_____________ _________________________________ Sebastian Heath, Advisor Date_____________ _________________________________ Joseph M. Pucci, Reader Date_____________ _________________________________ John P. Bodel, Reader Approved by the Graduate Council Date_____________ _________________________________ Sheila Bonde, Dean of the Graduate School ii CURRICULUM VITAE Ms. Dawson received a double B.A. in French and Classics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2003. She received the Open Scholarship from The American School of Classical Studies at Athens in 2006, and has given papers and posters on aspects of her doctoral research at the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference in England in 2007 and the Netherlands in 2008. In 2009, she completed her M.A. degree in Classics from Brown University, submitting a thesis entitled, ―Lucretian Elements in Ambrose‘s Hymns‖. She has taught Art History at the Community College of Rhode Island, and served as a teaching assistant for courses in Archaeology, Art History, and Urban Studies. Her fieldwork experience includes excavations at Tongobriga in Portugal, Silchester in England, and Kenchreai in Greece. iii PREFACE Propaganda was alive and well in Late Antique Rome. In a city struggling to maintain its significance, the use of small portable objects - coins, contorniates, diptychs, and calendars - was essential in the manipulation of social memory. In the fifth century, the Western Empire suffered several setbacks. It is in this period that the emperors refrained from campaigning, the city of Rome was sacked by the Visigoths and the Vandals, and the provinces of Britannia, Gallia, Hispania, and Africa were lost. From the emperor to the lowliest local official, messages of effective governing, military prowess, the changing religious climate, and classical Roman virtues were disseminated throughout the city. These messages, meant to convince the people at Rome of its stability, were unable, in the end, to prevent its demise. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Sebastian Heath, for his patience and support as I worked to make sense of such diverse and complex materials, often via conference call. His suggestion to include contorniates helped open up my research, broadening it to include a much more cogent series of questions, which I hope to have answered in part in this work. His enthusiasm, guidance, critiques, and encouragement were vital to bringing this project to light. I would also like to thank my co-advisor, Susan Alcock, for her suggestions and comments, particularly on the subject of social memory and propaganda. Our conversations about the intricacies of both were instrumental in rethinking how material culture could influence society. I would also like to thank my readers, Joseph Pucci and John Bodel. In the final stages of this work, their comments were integral in helping to fine-tune my conclusions, clarify my audience, and work through complications in the presentation. Finally, I would like to thank my mom, Rosalind Rafea Dawson, who has been the strongest support any graduate student could have. She continually encouraged me to keep writing. Without her, I would not have had the strength to persevere. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface iv Acknowledgements v List of Tables vii List of Abbreviations xii Introduction 1 Coins 21 The Calendar 35 Contorniates 57 Ivory Diptychs 79 Propaganda in the Fifth Century 100 Bibliography 117 Figures 130 Appendix: Catalog 143 Coins 144 Contorniates 179 Diptychs 210 vi TABLE 1: CROSS-MATERIAL THEMES Themes Catalog Entries GLORIA ROMANORVM 1, 2, 5, 7 Emperor Spearing Foe 1,2 VRBS ROMA [FELIX] 3, 9, 13, 14, 15, 22 Roma Seated on Shield 3 FELICITAS ROMANORVM 4 Roma and Constantinopolis 4, 108 Emperor Dragging Captive 5, 7 CONCORDIA AVG 6 Constantinopolis [Seated on Throne] Constantinopolis folio, 4, 6, 108 Victory advancing r. [wreath and gl. cr.] [trophy] 8, 10, 12, 27, 28, 61, 64 VICTORIA AVG 8, 10, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 29, 30, 37, 39, 59 Roma Standing Facing [spear and gl. Vict.] 9, 13, 14, 15, 22 SALVS REIPVBLICA / E 11, 27, 28, 40, 43, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56 Victory Dragging Captive l./r. 11 vii Emperor Spurning Captive [labarum and gl. Vict] 16, 17, 18, 19, 105 Victory Inscribing VOTA 20 VIRTVS EXERCITVS 21 Emperor Standing r. [spear and shield] 21, 69, 105 Roma Enthroned Facing Roma folio, 23, 24 INVICTA ROMA [AETERNA] 23, 24, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70 Victory advancing l. [wreath and palm] 25, 26 Emperor with Human-Headed Serpent 29, 30, 36, 37, 39 [long cross and gl. Vict.] Cross in Wreath/Chi-Rho In Wreath 31, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 54, 55, 56, 60 Camp Gate 32 Organ 99 Priest/Priestesses January folio, 102 Asclepius and Hygieia 103 Adlocutio 104 Writing 104 Sparsio July folio, Roma folio, Constantius II folio, 35(?), 107, 108 Figure in Long Garment 85, 86, 87, 88, 93, 94 viii VOTA PVB 32 Vota in Wreath 33 VOTA type (I) 34, 35, 36 Consul Seated Facing [mappa and scepter] 34, 80, 100, 107, 108 Emperor as Consul [kneeling woman] 35 Monogram 44, 57, 58, 63, 108 Two Figures Clasping Hands 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53 Victory with Long Cross 59 Victory Behind Altar 62 Eagle 65 Fig Tree and Eagles 66 Wolf 67, 68 DNATALARICVS 69 Title in Wreath 70 Driver in Quadriga 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 78, 81, 96 ARTEMI VINCAS INVNDATOR PENNA 73, 74, 75, 78 Athena-Sapientia 79 ix BONIFATIVS 81, 96, 97 Nude Athlete 82, 83, 84 NIKA/VINCAS 82, 88, 92, 94, 98 Chlamydatus 97, 98 Hercules 101 x TABLE 2: OBJECTS BY EMPEROR Pre-Division Calendar All Coins 1 - 7 Contorniates - Diptychs - Honorius Valentinian III Petronius Maximus Majorian Calendar - - - - Coins 8 - 26 27 - 36 37 38 Contorniates 71 - 79 80 - 99 80 100 Diptychs 102 - 105 106 - - Severus III Anthemius Julius Nepos Odovacar/Ostrogoths Calendar - - - - Coins 39 - 44 45 - 58 59 - 60 61 - 70 Contorniates - 101 - - Diptychs - - - 107 - 108 xi ABBREVIATIONS DOC = Grierson, P., and M. Mays. 1992. Catalogue of Late Roman Coins. Washington, D. C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. g. = gram gl. cr. = globus cruciger gl. Vict. = Victory on globe HCC = Robertson, A. S. 1982. Roman Imperial Coins in the Hunter Coin Cabinet. New York: Oxford University Press. l. = left LRBC = Carson, R. A. G., P. V. Hill, and J. P. Kent. 1965. Late Roman bronze coinage, A.D. 324-498. London: Spink. mm. = millimeter obv. = obverse PCR = Carson, R. A. G. 1978. The Dominate. Edited by R. A. G. Carson. 3 vols. Vol. 3, Principal Coins of the Romans. London: British Museum Publications. r. = right rev. = reverse xii INTRODUCTION A study of the way we remember, the way we present ourselves in memories, the way we define our personal and collective identities through memories, the way we order and structure our ideas in our memories, and the way we transmit those memories to others – is a study of the way we are.1 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW Social memory is the way in which a society collectively stores and purges events based on current politics and emotions. The Roman government, in light of its waning importance, sought to maintain core values of the Roman society that had been in place since the end of the Republic through memory control and propaganda.2 From 350 CE to 476 CE, the influx of varying barbarian peoples for varying reasons undermined these values to such a degree that the variety of visual imagery that had hitherto been used to express individualistic values were gradually replaced by generic motifs that spoke to the core values of the empire itself.3 Specifically motifs such as Gloria, Salus, and Victoria were exploited to assure the general population that while it may have appeared as if the empire was in great peril – from Christianity, marauders, and economic collapse – it was actually in the same position it had been for centuries. This propagandistic approach in dealing with the people in the West in general and in the city of Rome (―the City‖) in 1 Fentress and Wickham 1992: 7. 2 The designation of the Roman government is here meant as a general term. It is unclear who actually decided what iconography would be included on coinage, some diptychs, and contorniates. It may have been the comes sacrarum largitionum or the emperor himself. 3 All dates are CE unless otherwise specified. 1 2 particular, was a tactic that had been in use since the beginning of Roman time.4 In essence, fifth century Western Roman government used coins and other portable elite and non-elite objects to sustain and influence social memory. The application of social memory to several new small objects (diptychs and contorniates), in addition to coins and calendars, makes the fifth-century governmental concern with controlling memory fascinating. While it is inappropriate to talk about the decline of the Roman Empire as a whole, it is fitting to examine the gradual decline of the City.5 Beginning in the second century with Hadrian (2nd century), the City began its slide into political obscurity. With Hadrian‘s long military sojourns away from the capital and his lavish villa located at Tivoli, Roman citizens became accustomed to having their emperor away from home.
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