UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Staring into the Face of Roman Power: Resistance and Assimilation from behind the 'Mask of Infamia' Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5fg2805m Author Stevens, Jeffrey Publication Date 2014 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Staring into the Face of Roman Power: Resistance and Assimilation from behind the ‘Mask of Infamia’ A dissertation filed in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History by Jeffrey Allen Stevens 2014 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Staring into the Face of Roman Power: Resistance and Assimilation from behind the ‘Mask of Infamia’ by Jeffrey Allen Stevens Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Los Angeles, 2014 Professor Ronald Mellor, Chair The power to define and characterize various groups, as well as those individuals commonly associated with them, remains one of the most effective ways to reinforce social hierarchy in almost any society through a justification of status, influence, and privilege based on identity. This dissertation represents an exploration of the power of social identity utilizing the framework of infamia (dishonor, ill-repute, disgrace, social stigmatization, civic disability) within the world of ancient Roman spectacle and entertainment. Such an analysis will illustrate how the Roman elite used the concept of infamia as something to define themselves against in order to augment their perceived moral and political authority. In an era of social turmoil and transformation, the gradual increase in the legal restrictions placed upon public performers in the late stages of the Republic suggests infamia was used as a social and political tool to reinforce the integrity of the ii traditional orders of elite Roman society. How were these disreputable performers able to create a distinctive sub-culture of their own despite a popular perception, both ancient and modern, that they lived in a state of ‘social death’ resulting from the moral censure and civic disability associated with the stigma of infamia? How might socially marginalized people have envisioned their unique place within Roman society, and in what ways did those of degraded civic status preserve or construct a sense of identity, both individual and collective, in the face of overwhelming Roman power? The evidence suggests some of these people constructed their own form of community, in many ways modeled on traditional Roman society, with a complex network of social bonds based on family, occupation, dependency, and religion. The iconic gladiators and actors of ancient Rome conducted their daily lives in a public arena that provided an environment for them to challenge the limitations of the traditional ‘social death’ models that are so often associated with the subjugated elements of hierarchical societies. iii The dissertation of Jeffrey Allen Stevens is approved. David D. Phillips Robert Gurval Ronald Mellor, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2014 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS FIGURES vii ABBREVIATIONS viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix VITA x I: STARING INTO THE ‘MASK OF INFAMIA’ THROUGH THE MIRROR OF ROMAN SPECTACLE 1 The ‘Mask of Infamia’ at Rome and the Scholarship of Civic Disability ………..... 3 Infamia, Rome’s ‘Moralizing Gaze’ and the Social Mirror of Spectacle ………...... 10 Infames, Limiting ‘Social Death’ and the Resurrection of Social Identity…………. 20 II: PIERCING THE VEIL OF ARISTOCRATIC MORALITY AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ‘MASK OF INFAMIA’ IN REPUBLICAN ROME 26 Adorning the ‘Mask of Infamia’ with the Veil of Religion………………………… 27 Divine Right and the Majesty of Authority: Religion as the ‘Mask of Virtue’…….. 39 Moral Censure and Inceptive Infamia in the Early Roman Tradition……………… 45 The Two-Faced Aspect of Roman Morality and the ‘Mask of Infamia’…………… 60 III: CRACKS IN THE ‘MASK OF INFAMIA’: SOCIAL CONFLICT, EARLY SPECTACLE, AND THE MONSTROSITIES OF THE STAGE 63 The Deceptive ‘Mask of Early Spectacle’ and the Rationalization of Pietas………. 65 Anxiety in Early Theater and the ‘Mask of the Old Slave’ on Stage………………. 71 Bloody Spectacle, the Rise of the Gladiator, and the ‘Mask of Infamia’………….. 83 Cultural Misinterpretation in the Adoption of the ‘Mask of Infamia’……………... 94 IV: THE ‘MASK OF INFAMIA’ IN THE AGE OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND REVOLUTION 103 Foreign Expansion, Spectacle, and the Reforms of the Gracchi…………………… 106 Military Transformation and the Influence of the Gladiator……………………….. 115 The Shadow of Slave Rebellions on Infames and the Legacy of Spartacus……….. 119 V: FEAR OF INFAMES AND THE INCREASING CODIFICATION OF THE ‘MASK OF INFAMIA’ AT THE END OF THE REPUBLIC 128 Laws to Limit the Gaze of the ‘Mask of Infamia’…………………………………. 129 Rise of Cicero: Infamia and the ‘Conspiracy of Catiline’…………………………. 133 Political Violence and the Invective of the Infamis Gladiator……………………… 138 v Infamia Inscribed in Bronze in the Age of the Early Caesars………………………. 145 VI: THE FACE BEHIND THE ‘MASK OF THE ROMAN GLADIATOR’ 162 Revealing the Paradox of Infamia in Roman Spectacle…………………………….. 163 ‘To Die like a Gladiator’: Rome’s Elite and the Culture of Virtuous Death………. 170 Placing a Helmet upon the Monster………………………………………………… 173 ‘Reveling Excessively in Worthless Blood’ (vili sanguine nimis gaudens)………... 180 Objectification of the Gladiator: Sex and Violence in an Arena of Lust…………... 185 The Legacy of the Gladiators at Pompeii…………………………………………… 194 Exposing the Limits of ‘Social Death’………………………………………………. 205 VII: BREAKING THE CHAINS OF INFAMIA AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE MASK 208 Fighting Natal Alienation: Asserting Ethnic Pride in the Face of ‘Social Death’…… 210 Adopting the Familial ‘Mask of Infamia’: Wives and Children of the Arena……….. 220 Occupational Brotherhood of the Arena and the Fraternity of Infamia………………… 227 Infamia and the Bonds of Religion: Cultic Practice in the World of the Arena……... 232 CONCLUSION: DAILY LIFE IN AN ARENA OF SOCIAL DEATH 236 BIBLIOGRAPHY 239 vi FIGURES Fig. 1. Helmet and greaves imagery built into wall of church near ancient amphitheater. Duomo di Teramo, Italy. 1 Fig. 2. Three disc early Italic armor chest plate. Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Campli, Italy 212 Fig. 3. Three disc early Italic armor chest plate. Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Paestum, Italy. 212 Fig. 4. Funerary epitaph for the retiarius Generosus. Museo Lapidario Maffeiano, Verona, Italy. 218 vii ABBREVIATIONS AE = Année Epigraphique. AJP = American Journal of Philology. CAH = Cambridge Ancient History. CIG = Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum. CIL = Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. CQ = Classical Quarterly EAOR I = P. Sabbatini Tumolesi, Epigrafia anfiteatrale dell' Occidente Romano I. Roma. Rome, 1988. EAOR II = G. L. Gregori, Epigrafia anfiteatrale dell' Occidente Romano II. Regiones Italiae VI-XI. Rome, 1989. EAOR III = M. Buonocore, Epigrafia anfiteatrale dell' Occidente Romano III. Regiones Italiae II-V, Sicilia, Sardinia et Corsica. Rome, 1992. EAOR IV = M. Fora, Epigrafia anfiteatrale dell' Occidente Romano IV. Regio Italiae 1: Latium. Rome, 1996. ILS = Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae. JRA = Journal of Roman Archaeology JRS = Journal of Roman Studies. OCD3 = S. Hornblower and A. J. Spawforth (eds.) Oxford Classical Dictionary, rev. 3rd edition, (Oxford, 2002). OLD = Oxford Latin Dictionary PBSR = Papers of the British School at Rome Robert = Robert, L. Les gladiateurs dans l’Orient grec (Paris, 1940). TAPA = Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. ZSS = Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte, Romanistische Abteilung. viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The sincerest appreciation must go to my graduate supervisor Professor Ronald Mellor for his generous and unwavering support, in terms of time, books, and patience, during the completion of this project. I would also like to thank the other members of my committee, Professors David D. Phillips and Robert Gurval, for their valuable assistance in the completion of this process. Any errors that might remain are entirely my own. I would also like to acknowledge the critical financial support provided to me by the many fellowship donors at UCLA and the Department of History during my time in Los Angeles. None of this work would have been possible without the generous research funding advanced to me in pursuit of my academic endeavors. These essential funds have enabled me to embark on what I hope to be a long and productive academic career. I must also thank my parents Michael and Louaine Stevens for their support and assistance, as well as the understanding and patience shown to me by my daughter Madaline over the years for all of the hours that went into the completion of this work. ix VITA EDUCATION University of California – Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California C. Phil., Ancient History, Advancement to Doctoral Candidacy: March 18, 2011 University of California – Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California M.A., Ancient History: March 20, 2009 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon M. A., Ancient History: June 16, 2007 Master’s Thesis: “Reflecting Roman History through the Opulence of the Imperial Mirror: The Effects of Imperial Politics and Morality on the Histories of Livy, Velleius, and Tacitus” Committee: John Nicols, Professor of History and Classics (Emeritus), Univ. of Oregon Mary Jaeger, Professor of Classics, Univ. of Oregon Chair, Department of Classics, Univ. of Oregon James Mohr, Distinguished