FROM IGNOBILE VULGUS TO RERUM DOMINOS: THE EMERGENCE OF THE ROMAN CROWD IN VERGIL’S AENEID by Erin Elizabeth O’Bryan Greek and Latin, B.A. The Catholic University of America, 2002 Classics, M.A. The University of Pittsburgh, 2006 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2011 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH School of Arts and Sciences This dissertation was presented by Erin Elizabeth O’Bryan It was defended on May 27, 2011 and approved by Dennis Looney, Associate Professor, Department of French and Italian Andrew Miller, Professor, Department of Classics Mark Possanza, Associate Professor of Classics Dissertation Director: Mae J. Smethurst, Professor, Department of Classics ii Copyright © by Erin Elizabeth O’Bryan 2011 iii Professor Mae J. Smethurst FROM IGNOBILE VULGUS TO RERUM DOMINOS: THE EMERGENCE OF THE ROMAN CROWD IN VERGIL’S AENEID Erin Elizabeth O’Bryan, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2011 Aeneid 1 presents the Romans as the “lords of the world,” and the heirs of a destined imperium sine fine (1.279-282). In a stunning deviation from the normal epic conventions, Anchises in his prophecy calls them out by name, “tu…Romane” (6.851), addressing everyone from Aeneas’ illustrious descendant Augustus down to the humblest member of the poem’s audience. In the Aeneid, “the people” cannot afford to serve – as they do in Homeric poetry – more or less solely as accessories to the sense of fame and honor (the kleos) of individual heroes. In an epic in which the man in the crowd of both past and present has a stake, the Trojan people, as the precursors of the Roman people, must serve as a character in their own right. To this end, an analysis of the attributes of the various crowds of the Aeneid reveals that they more closely resemble the dangerous and unruly crowds of Rome’s history than any of the fanciful crowds of the epic universe. This affinity is clear from the outset: the first simile of the poem compares the calming of the upstart winds by Neptune to the calming of an ignobile vulgus by a respected statesman (Aeneid 1.148-153). In his picture of the Trojans, the soon to be incorporated Italians, and other crowds, both human and divine, Vergil has painted a comprehensive picture of the quest “to found the Roman race” (Romanam condere gentem, 1.33) iv Professor Mae J. Smethurst by telling the story of the ancestors of that race, the sometimes ignobile vulgus who are destined to become the rerum dominos. In the realm of epic poetry, the crowds of Vergil are exceptional. With a better picture of this entity that plays so decisive a role in the history of the nation, the Aeneid can be viewed not merely as an Augustan epic, but a fully Roman one. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE..................................................................................................................................... xi INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 1 A. HOMERIC CROWDS................................................................................................. 3 B. THE ROMAN CROWD.............................................................................................. 6 C. REVIEW OF PREVIOUS SCHOLARSHIP............................................................... 8 D. PURPOSE AND OUTLINE OF STUDY.................................................................. 10 I. THE URBAN MOB: AD COEPTAM MAGNITUDINEM ROBORIS............................. 13 A. INCLUSIVENESS..................................................................................................... 15 B. POLITICAL VIRTUE................................................................................................ 21 C. PIETAS....................................................................................................................... 35 D. COMPETITIVENESS AND FONDNESS FOR SPECTACLE................................ 39 E. CAPACITY FOR HARD WORK AND ENDURANCE.......................................... 45 F. COLLECTIVITY....................................................................................................... 48 II. THE INDECISIVE ASSEMBLY.................................................................................... 51 A. ASSEMBLIES OF THE AENEID............................................................................ 52 B. THE TROJAN CROWD IN COUNCIL: PRELUDE TO DISASTER I................... 53 1. The Force of Fama................................................................................................ 55 2. Sententia................................................................................................................ 56 vi 3. Interruptions: Laocoön and Sinon......................................................................... 59 4. Sinon’s False Crowd............................................................................................. 62 5. Trojan Pity, Piety, (and Ambition)....................................................................... 64 C. THE LATIN CROWD IN COUNCIL: PRELUDE TO DISASTER II..................... 68 1. Aeneas and the Latin Ambassadors...................................................................... 69 2. Fragor and Sententiae: The Latin Council Begins............................................... 71 3. Seditione Potens: Drances Speaks........................................................................ 75 D. THE DIVINE COUNCIL AND ITS IMPLICATIONS............................................ 78 E. A NEW MODEL CONCILIUM?............................................................................... 81 III. THE CROWD IN TRANSIT........................................................................................... 84 A. SAILORS AND EXILES........................................................................................... 85 1. Collective Activity and Perspective...................................................................... 87 2. Collective Piety..................................................................................................... 88 3. Political Virtue at Sea: Obedience and Efficiency................................................ 90 4. Certamina.............................................................................................................. 93 5. Suffering of the Dardanidae Duri.......................................................................... 94 6. Trojans and Greeks: The Achaemenides Episode............................................... 100 7. Laetitia................................................................................................................. 103 B. THE RECOVERY OF CIVILIZATION.................................................................. 105 C. CARTHAGINIAN BEES AND TROJAN ANTS................................................... 107 D. THE TROJANS COME HOME: BOOK 7............................................................. 112 IV. THE WATCHING CROWD: SPECTATORS.............................................................. 114 A. BOOK 5 GAMES.................................................................................................... 115 vii 1. Nature of the Games........................................................................................... 116 2. Aeneas: Editor Ludorum.................................................................................... 117 3. The Circus........................................................................................................... 118 4. Who Watches the Games?.................................................................................. 119 5. The Role of Fama............................................................................................... 121 6. The Crowd Views the Competitions................................................................... 122 a. The Ship Race: The Crowd Competes...................................................... 122 b. The Footrace: The People’s Favorite, Euryalus...................................... 127 c. The Boxing Match: Unification through Division.................................... 128 d. The Archery Contest: The Crowd at Prayer........................................... 130 e. The Lusus Troiae......................................................................................... 131 B. TROJANS AND OTHERS AT WAR...................................................................... 133 1. Female Spectator Crowds................................................................................... 135 2. Watching Aeneas in Battle.................................................................................. 137 3. Aeneas Versus Mezentius................................................................................... 138 4. Aeneas Versus Turnus........................................................................................ 139 V. SEDITION AND DISORDER...................................................................................... 146 A. THE WINDS: THE STATESMAN SIMILE: 1.148-153........................................ 147 B. SEDITION OF THE TROADES.............................................................................. 152 C. SEDITION OF THE LATINS: BOOK 7................................................................. 158 1. The Women (Amata).........................................................................................