THE POMPA CIRCENSIS AND THE DOMUS AUGUSTA (1ST–2ND CENTURY A.D.) Patrizia Arena The ancient pompa circensis has been at the focus of several studies from the beginning of the twentieth century onwards. In these, particular attention has been paid to its structure and development (especially during the Republican age), to the feasts during which the pompa paraded through Roman streets, to the pompa‟s connection to Greek models, and, finally, to the relationships between the pompa circensis and the other main Roman processions, such as pompa triumphalis and pompa funebris.1 Nevertheless, up to now only minor attention has been given to the development of the pompa circensis during the first two centuries of the Empire, notwithstanding its importance during this period and the lasting changes that happened in this era. From literary sources only little information can be gained about the pompa circensis of the imperial age. It seems, therefore, only possible to reconstruct the structure and evolution of the circus procession in general lines. Nevertheless, the epigraphic, numismatic, and archaeological sources reveal a lot of useful information, allowing us to overcome to an extent the deficiencies of our literary documentation, and to identify the modifications made to the pompa circensis during the first two centuries of the Empire. A careful analysis of this has to be based upon the Tabula Siarensis and Tabula Hebana, that is, on the prescriptions of the lex Valeria-Aurelia (19 A.D.), on the Acta fratrum Arvalium, and on the archaeological documentation for new temples built for Divi. In particular, a close examination of the Tabula Siarensis and Tabula Hebana might help to understand how the development of procession followed the “ritual syntax” peculiar 1 J.-R. Jannot, „Le danseurs de la pompe du cirque. Témoignages textuels et iconographiques‟, Revue des Études Latines 70 (1992), 56-68; H.S. Versnel, Triumphus: an Inquiry into the Origin, Development and Meaning of the Roman Triumph (Leiden 1970), 96 ff.; F. Bömer, in: RE 21.2 (1952), 2548 f., s.v. „pompa‟; A. Piganiol, Recherches sur les jeux romains. Notes d’archèologie et d’histoire religieuse (Paris 1923), 15 ff., 158 ff. Patrizia Arena - 9789047428275 Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 05:15:43AM via free access 78 PATRIZIA ARENA to all the Roman pompae, the strategies and planning in the emperor‟s religious, cultural and architectural policy.2 For these reasons this paper concentrates on some basic points: firstly, the addition of the statues of dead emperors and of dead members of the domus Augusta to the procession‟s traditional components; secondly, the different arrangement of single elements within the processions; thirdly, the extension of the processional route by inclusion of new temples constructed for Divi, and other urban areas, such as the imperial Fora and Campus Martius. It will be argued that only through the examination of all these points it is possible to understand the different meaning acquired by the pompa circensis during the imperial age, and its peculiar function for both imperial cult and imperial policy. As it is well known, the first significant change in the structure of the pompa circensis took place during Caesar‟s dictatorship, when the image of Caesar and his chariot were introduced into the procession. This inclusion can, in fact, be marked as the beginning of changes within the ritual.3 In the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius further changes emerged within the structure of the pompa circensis: the images and sellae of, at least, Marcellus, Germanicus and Drusus, who were predestined for the throne but died prematurely, were carried in the parade. This follows from a passage of Cassius Dio 2 For a specific discussion about the processions and their essential criteria – stereotypicality, formality, symbolism – with a complete bibliography, see K.-J. Hölkeskamp, „Rituali e cerimonie „alla romana‟. Nuove prospettive sulla cultura politica dell‟età repubblicana‟, Studi Storici 47.2 (2006), 335 ff. See also F. Fless, „Römische Prozessionen‟, in: Thesaurus Cultus et Rituum Antiquorum I (Los Angeles 2004), 33 ff.; A. Löther, Prozessionen in spätmittelalterlichen Städten. Politische Partizipation, obrigkeitliche Inszenierung, städtische Einheit (Köln – Weimar – Wien 1999), 1 ff. Cf. S. Benoist, La fête à Rome au premier siècle de l’Empire. Recherches sur l’univers festif sous les régnes d’Auguste et des Julio- Claudiens (Bruxelles 1999), 316 ff.; id., „L‟espace urbain de Rome, comme lieu d‟encadrement de la foule au premier siècle de l‟Empire‟, in: A. Leménorel (ed.), La rue, lieu de sociabilité? (Rouen 1997), 215 ff. 3 Cicero, Ad Atticum 12.45.2; 13.28.3; 13.44.1; 14.14.1; 14.19.3. Cassius Dio, 45.6.4. Plinius, Naturalis Historia 2.93. Cicero, Philippicae 1.13; 2.110-111. I. Gradel, Emperor Worship and Roman Religion (Oxford 2002), 54 ff. and 69 ff.; S. Benoist, „La „consécration dynastique‟. César divinisé au forum‟, in: É. Deniaux (ed.), Rome antique. Pouvoir des images. Images du pouvoir. Actes du Colloque Caen 1996 (Caen 2000), 125 f.; D. Fishwick, The Imperial Cult in the Latin West: Studies in the Ruler Cult of the Western Provinces of the Roman Empire II 1 (Leiden – New York 1991), 57 ff.; S. Weinstock, Divus Julius (Oxford 1971), 110 f., 184 ff., 270 ff. Patrizia Arena - 9789047428275 Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 05:15:43AM via free access POMPA CIRCENSIS AND DOMUS AUGUSTA 79 about the posthumous honours decreed to Marcellus in relation with some lines of the text of the Tabula Hebana and Siarensis, both dealing with the posthumous honours granted to Germanicus.4 The Senate decreed that a golden image, a chair, and a golden crown of Marcellus were to be carried into the theatron on the occasion of the Ludi Romani and were to be placed among the seats reserved to the aediles, who organized the games.5 Although the word theatron has been generally translated as “theater” by scholars, a careful analysis of this passage by Cassius Dio shows that he was referring to the Circus Maximus instead: firstly, the ludi Romani were celebrated with equestrian races in the Circus Maximus from the 4th to the 19th of September, which is recorded in the calendars and also follows from Caesar‟s honours;6 secondly, in my opinion, the words of Cassius Dio implicitly refer to the pompa circensis. The golden image and the sella of Marcellus were to be carried in the circus procession and were to be placed in the box at the entrance of the Circus, in the same way in which the statues of gods were carried in the procession. They entered the circus and made one turn around the lane, then, at the end, they were placed in the pulvinar with their own attributes. At the death of Marcellus an important change in the ritual 4 G. Rowe, Princes and Political Cultures. The New Tiberian Senatorial Decrees (Ann Arbor 2002); F. Millar, „Imperial Ideology in the Tabula Siarensis‟, in: id., The Roman Republic and the Augustan Revolution (Chapel Hill – London 2002), 350-359; B. Severy, „Family and State in the Early Imperial Monarchy: the Senatus Consultum de Pisone patre, Tabula Siarensis and Tabula Hebana‟, Classical Philology 95 (2000), 321-337; A. Fraschetti, Roma e il principe (Roma – Bari 1990), 75 ff.; id., „Morte dei principi ed eroi della famiglia di Augusto‟, Annali dell’Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli, Sezione filologico-letteraria 6 (1984), 151-189. 5 Cassius Dio, 53.30.6. 6 The Fasti Maffeiani, Fasti Vallenses, Fasti Amiternini record Ludi Romani in Circo from 15th to 19th September; the Fasti Antiates Ministrorum Domus Augustae from 15th to 17th September: InscrIt. XIII.2, 66 ff. Regarding the ludi Romani, see M. Clavel-Lévêque, „L‟espace des jeux dans le monde romaine: hégémonie, symbolique et pratique sociale‟, in: Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt 16.3 (Berlin – New York 1986), 2413; Versnel 1970, op.cit. (n. 1), 94-131; W.-K. Quinn-Schofield, „Ludi Romani magnique varie appellati‟, Latomus 26 (1967), 96- 103; Piganiol 1923, op.cit. (n. 1), 25 ff. For the parade of sellae in the pompa circensis and their successive exposition inside the circus, and for the use of the substantive theatron in the sources to mean the circus, see P. Arena, „Il Circo Massimo come microcosmo dell‟impero attraverso la ripartizione dei posti‟, in: E. Lo Cascio – G.D. Merola (eds.), Forme di aggregazione nel mondo romano (Bari 2007), 39 ff. Patrizia Arena - 9789047428275 Downloaded from Brill.com09/26/2021 05:15:43AM via free access 80 PATRIZIA ARENA seems to have taken place: his image and sella were included in the pompa circensis of the ludi Romani, copying the honour decreed to Caesar. Once again, the ludi Romani were chosen to celebrate a deceased member of the domus Augusta.7 There is little evidence on this point in our sources for Gaius and Lucius. But the decrees from Pisa, the analogy between the honours granted to Marcellus, to Augustus himself and those decreed to Germanicus make it plausible that they too received similar honours. For one, it is well known that the posthumous honours established for Germanicus were inspired by those decreed to Gaius and Lucius, and that these were an extension of the honours previously granted to Marcellus. At the same time, the Tabula Hebana specifies that the honours decreed to Germanicus were the same as those granted to Gaius and Lucius: His name was included in the carmen Saliare and was given to five centuries.8 The images and sellae of Gaius and Lucius are not mentioned in the surviving fragments, but it seems likely that the reconstruction of this part of the Tabula Siarensis by Lebek is correct.