The Effeminate East
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i The Effeminate East: Orientalism in Roman Military Contexts (c. 200 BCE to c. 200 CE). Ioan M. McAvoy Cardiff University 22/02/2017 Presented for the award of Doctor of Philosophy in Ancient History ii DECLARATION This work has not been submitted in substance for any other degree or award at this or any other university or place of learning, nor is being submitted concurrently in candidature for any degree or other award. Signed ……………………………………………………… Date ………………….…………….……… STATEMENT 1 This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of PhD Signed ………………………………………….…………… Date …………………………….…………… STATEMENT 2 This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated, and the thesis has not been edited by a third party beyond what is permitted by Cardiff University’s Policy on the Use of Third Party Editors by Research Degree Students. Other sources are acknowledged by explicit references. The views expressed are my own. Signed ……………………………………….……….…… Date …………………….………………… STATEMENT 3 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available online in the University’s Open Access repository and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed ……………………………………………..…..….. Date ………………………………………… STATEMENT 4: PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BAR ON ACCESS I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available online in the University’s Open Access repository and for inter-library loans after expiry of a bar on access previously approved by the Academic Standards & Quality Committee. Signed ……………………………………………..……… Date ………………………………….……… iii Summary The purpose of my research is to illuminate the gendered and ethnic stereotyping of Easterners in Roman literature of the central period (c. 200 BCE to 200 CE), particularly in texts concerned with masculinity and warfare. Military situations were often constructed as the ultimate ‘tests’ of masculinity and Romanness, and they are, therefore, uniquely revealing for the constructions of these ideas. The idea of gendered lifestyles was central to these constructions. Roman authors distinguished between easy, pleasurable, feminine lifestyles and hard, austere, masculine ones. Masculinity and virtue were intertwined, and these precepts informed the ways in which Roman authors constructed their own worth, and the worth of other peoples. Easterners were presented as living luxurious, pleasurable lives, which were contrasted with a stereotypical Roman life of martial toil. However, when Easterners were depicted in martial contexts, this resulted in the caricature of their inabilities in this area. The accusation that Easterners allowed pleasure into martial contexts underpins these caricatures, and this was particularly challenging for Roman authors. Athletic training, for example, was constructed as pseudo-martial but inadequately so, as it was enjoyable. This was contrasted with difficult, ‘true’ military training, which helped build a man’s endurance, and proved his masculinity. The relationship of Easterners to arma (arms) was also deemed troubled, and Easterners were often constructed as having poor ability with arms, or an interest in adorned arms for their aesthetic value rather than their rugged purpose. Similarly, in the naval sphere, Roman authors were prone to depict Hellenistic rulers with luxurious and ornamented flagships, oversized and unsuitable for real warfare. In essence, these constructions were used to affirm Roman superiority – both moral and military – and also to serve as a warning as to what could happen should Romans allow themselves to succumb to easy, ‘effeminate’ lifestyles. Fundamentally, I argue that gendered constructions of ethnic ‘warlikeness’ were the principal force behind the disparagement of Greeks and other Easterners in Roman literature. iv Acknowledgements I would like, firstly, to thank the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and the School of History, Archaeology and Religion at Cardiff, for believing in the value of my work and supporting its production. It would not have been possible without them. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Laurence Totelin, for her tireless, unwavering support, and her dedication to my wellbeing throughout my studies. I never received a single piece of bad advice, and left every meeting feeling better than when I began it. Thanks, also, to my second supervisor Dr Guy Bradley, for his insightful advice and reading suggestions, and for his faith in my arguments. Additional thanks to Dr Ruth Westgate, who provided me with ample and cogent feedback for my internal reviews. Thanks to my grandparents, classicists both, to my sisters, and to my parents. I was raised in a feminist household where big ideas were encouraged, and both my research and I are a product of their guidance and faith. Together they have formed a bedrock of unquestioning emotional and material support. Finally, I thank my wife Maddy, whom I married in the course of this PhD. For her, words are not enough, and writing so many would not have been possible without her help and distraction. For everything she has done for me, I dedicate this thesis to her. v Abbreviations I have used the abbreviations that can be found at the beginning of the Oxford Classical Dictionary. However, additional abbreviations are listed below: 1QpHab The Habakkuk Commentary, one of the original seven ‘Dead Sea Scrolls’. [Caes.] B. Hisp. De Bello Hispaniensi, falsely attributed to Julius Caesar, but otherwise of unknown authorship. Cic. Opt. Gen. Cicero, De Optimo Genere Oratorum. Fronto, Ep. ad Verum Fronto, Ad Verum Imperatorem Aurelium Caesarem. Fronto, Princip. Hist. Fronto, Principia Historiae. Plaut. Aul. Plautus, Aulularia. Plaut. Truc. Plautus, Truculentus. Plaut. Vidul. Plautus, Vidularia. Sen. Con. Polyb. The Younger Seneca, De Consolatione ad Polybium. Sen. Brev. Vit. The Younger Seneca, De Brevitate Vitae. V. Fl. Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica. Translations I use the latest Loeb Classical Library edition, accessed through the Loeb Digital Library, in every case except where noted. Where they have required adaptation, I have noted my intervention. Non-Loeb translations are summarised below. Verg. Aen. Trans. Fagles. Virgil. (2008). The Aeneid. Translated by Robert Fagles. London: Penguin. vi Contents Summary ................................................................................................................................ iii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. iv Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................... v Translations .............................................................................................................................. v Contents .................................................................................................................................. vi Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 Project Scope ........................................................................................................................ 8 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 10 Terms & Thematic Background ...................................................................................... 12 Sources ................................................................................................................................ 21 Critical Historiography .................................................................................................... 24 Conclusions & Road-map ................................................................................................ 42 Training Orientalism I: The superficial correspondence of military training and athletics ................................................................................................................................... 45 Roman Criticism of Athletics .......................................................................................... 47 Roman Military Training: Practicalities ......................................................................... 50 Roman Military Training: Ethos ..................................................................................... 56 Greek Training ................................................................................................................... 62 Athletics and Luxury ........................................................................................................ 68 Athletics and Epic ............................................................................................................. 73 ‘Men who think it glorious and worthy of a Roman to endure even the worst’: The Desirability of Patientia ..................................................................................................... 80 The Lacklustre Endurance of Athletes ........................................................................... 87 Climatic Endurance .......................................................................................................... 91 vii Conclusions .....................................................................................................................