Visualizing Christian Marriage in the Roman World by Mark D. Ellison
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Visualizing Christian Marriage in the Roman World By Mark D. Ellison Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Religion May, 2017 Nashville, Tennessee Approved: Robin Margaret Jensen, Ph.D. David A. Michelson, Ph.D. David G. Hunter, Ph.D. Elizabeth J. Moodey, Ph.D. Betsey A. Robinson, Ph.D. Copyright © 2017 by Mark D. Ellison All Rights Reserved To Lauren Quale iugum fidelium duorum unius spei… In ecclesia Dei pariter utrique, pariter in conuiuio Dei, pariter in angustiis, … in refrigeriis. —Tertullian, Ad uxorem 2.8 And to our children, Kasey, David, Stephanie, Courtney, and Elisabeth μειζοτέραν τούτων οὐκ ἔχω χαράν, ἵνα ἀκούω τὰ ἐμὰ τέκνα ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ περιπατοῦντα. —3 John 4 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is indebted, first of all, to the early Christians whose portraits have captivated me since before I began doctoral studies. At that time my academic interests lay rather generally with intersections of early Christian literature, visual art, and practice, with no special interest in the topic of marriage in the early church. I came to this latter subject somewhat by accident. While I was in a university library one day perusing volumes on early Christian art, P. Gangolf Diener’s little booklet Credo der Urkirche fell open to a page with an imposing double-portrait of a married couple surrounded by Christian symbols. The man and woman depicted in that image seemed to stare back at me, and for some moments I was transfixed, struck with curiosity, not for the first time but with fresh intensity, about the identities, the lives, the convictions of the “ordinary” people who comprised most of the ancient Christian population. Later that same day, as I was studying the decorative programs on the sarcophagi in the Repertorium der christlich-antiken Sarkophage, my eye was drawn again and again to similar, prominent spousal portraits at the center of many figured panels. They were so large, so obviously important to the people who created them, yet in the catalog descriptions they were identified simply as portraits of “the deceased,” without elaboration. I wanted to know more. Who were these people? Why did they choose to be represented in pairs? Were their images making any religious or social claims, and if so, what were they, and how were they to be identified and understood? Such questions ultimately led me more deeply into studies of late antique visual art, iconography, portraiture, literature, and religious and social history, culminating now with this dissertation. If, in some measure, I have succeeded in giving voice to the views of those married, rank and file Christians of late antiquity whose portraits confront us on their monuments, it is largely because they started the process through the arresting images they left behind. In the course of my research and writing many individuals assisted me. Together with my wife, Lauren, friends Matt Grey, Tom Valletta, and Bryan Maughan got me over the initial hurdle of self-doubt, persuading me that I could and should take this academic journey. Funding making the journey possible iv came from the Vanderbilt University Graduate Department of Religion, Graduate School, and Divinity School, and from the Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship and the Department of Religious Education at Brigham Young University. Historians in diverse fields generously took time to dialogue with me and make recommendations that improved my thinking. These include David Hunter, Elizabeth Moodey, Jutta Dresken-Weiland, Dennis Trout, Genevra Kornbluth, Kathleen Flake, Lee Jefferson, Daniel Solomon, Max Goldman, Thomas McGinn, Betsey Robinson, Amy-Jill Levine, Catherine Taylor, and Ally Kateusz. I am also greatly indebted to other specialists whom I know primarily through their published scholarship, whose work proved indispensible to this project, among them Janet Huskinson, Peter Brown, Kate Cooper, Stine Birk, Michele Salzman, Susan Treggiari, and Karen Hersch. Additionally, colleagues at meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature, the North American Patristics Society, and the Regional Late Antiquity Consortium listened to me present aspects of my research, asked tough questions, and offered valuable feedback. Fellow students in one form or another shared the journey with me and taught me along the way: Jared Halverson, Julia Nations-Quiroz, Justin Arnwine, Sarah Porter, Brad Daugherty, Jennifer Awes- Freeman, Nick Schaser, and Daniel Becerra, along with many other bright compatriots in the Vanderbilt Graduate Department of Religion and Vanderbilt Divinity School. The staff at Vanderbilt Library’s Interlibrary Loan came to know me on a first-name basis and worked with speed and attentiveness to accommodate my research needs. Umberto Utro and Alessandro Vella at the Vatican Museums graciously arranged for me to have access to the holdings of the Museo Pio Cristiano, and Alain Charron at the Musée de l’Arles antique took time on a very busy day to make possible a visit to the reserves so I could examine sarcophagi that were not on display. In my final months of writing Mark Wright kindly reached out to help me work through mental obstacles and keep moving forward. My advisors, Prof. Robin M. Jensen and Dr. David A. Michelson, have my lasting praise and admiration. Both are brilliant scholars, gifted teachers, and wonderful human beings. I could not have had better mentors to help me hone my academic skills while also encouraging my progress through the v daunting course of doctoral training. Dr. Michelson guided me in studies of late antiquity, helping me appreciate the contours and complexities of both the period and the academic field. He has been a model of professionalism, pedagogy, and congeniality. Prof. Jensen’s writings have been a source of intellectual insight, discovery, and excitement to me since I first discovered them during my thesis research at the University of South Florida, and I have treasured the opportunity to study and work with her. She steered me towards the sources and teachers I needed, created opportunities to advance my professionalization, and challenged me to think more broadly, read more deeply, and look more attentively. Her one-of-a-kind expertise in intersections of early Christian history, theology, visual art, and liturgy is matched by her warmth and generosity. I will be forever thankful that she gave me this chance. This dissertation is the better for all these who assisted me. Whatever flaws remain are of my own making. Finally, I owe my greatest debt of gratitude to my family—to Lauren and our children, my companions in life, my fellow travelers to distant lands, my friends in the exploration of museums, churches, ruins, history, and understanding. They have been unflagging in their support through times of considerable personal sacrifice. This dissertation is dedicated to them. vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Interpretations of the Donna Velata fresco in the Priscilla catacomb ............................................... 93 2. Sub-clipeus motifs on Christian sarcophagi .................................................................................... 195 3. Adam and Eve images and marital contexts on Christian sarcophagi ............................................ 304 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus ......................................................................................................... 229 2. Sarcophagus with a Greek physician .............................................................................................. 229 3. Sarcophagus fragment with tondo portrait and carpenter’s workshop ............................................ 230 4. Gold glass medallion with Christ giving crowns to Peter and Paul, embedded in mortar from catacomb loculus ............................................................................................................................. 230 5. Marble funerary altar with couple in dextrarum iunctio ................................................................. 231 6. Cameo of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus ................................................................................ 231 7. Reverse of denarius with Antoninus and Faustina in dextrarum iunctio ........................................ 232 8. Reverse of sestersius with Antoninus (holding Concordia statuette) and Faustina, Marcus Aurelius and Faustina Minor, in dextrarum iunctio....................................................................................... 232 9. Reverse of gold aureus with Marcus Aurelius and Faustina Minor in dextrarum iunctio, with Concordia ........................................................................................................................................ 233 10. Lid of Portonaccio battle sarcophagus (detail), spouses in dextrarum iunctio, with Concordia, Hymenaeus, and attendants ............................................................................................................. 233 11. Annona sarcophagus (detail), wedding scene with spouses in dextrarum iunctio, Concordia, and altar ................................................................................................................................................. 234 12. Reverse of as of Aurelian with Severina and Aurelian in dextrarum iunctio, radiate bust of Sol between them .................................................................................................................................