Contrairement au réseau d'alimentation romain, dont les structures tant monumentales que modestes ont fait l'objet de nombreux travaux, le réseau d'évacuation est souvent délaissé. Et lorsqu'elle est faite, son étude se cantonne en général à une description succincte de certaines des installations.De nombreuses questions demeuraient ainsi sans réponse : existe-t-il différents statuts entre les égouts, sont-ils présents dans la totalité des agglomérations romaines, comment s'organisent-ils, sont-ils efficaces, quelles formes peuvent-t-ils adopter et quels liens entretiennent-ils avec le reste des aménagements urbains romains ?...La présente étude s'est donnée pour ambition de répondre à la majorité de ces interrogations. Pour cela, l'analyse minutieuse du réseau d'évacuation d'une trentaine de quartiers antiques répartis dans six agglomérations de Gaule Narbonnaise (Fréjus, Glanum, Narbonne, Nîmes, Orange, Saint-Romain-en-Gal) a été réalisée. Afin de mieux comprendre certaines des installations mal conservées de Gaule Narbonnaise, nous les avons confrontées avec celles observées dans les villes d'Ostie et Pompéi en Italie, qui ont fait l'objet de fouilles complètes et dont les vestiges présentent un état de conservation remarquable.Les techniques utilisées dans la mise en place du réseau d'évacuation ont ainsi pu être mises au jour et leur efficacité commencée à être mesurée.Cependant, pour comprendre ce qui régissait l'installation, l'entretien et l'utilisation des structures évacuatrices, pour les replacer dans le quotidien des romains, y compris du point de vue purement subjectif de la vision que ces derniers en avaient, il a été nécessaire de confronter aux données archéologiques recueillies, les sources historiques qui abordent, d'une manière ou d'une autre, ces installations méconnues / While the Roman water supply network’s gigantic and modest structures have often been the focus of many studies, the sewer drainage system is often overlooked. Its study is usually limited to a brief description of certain parts of the system.Therefore many questions remained unanswered. What is the legal status governing the sewers? Are they widespread throughout Roman settlements? How are they organized? Are they efficient? How are they structured and how are they linked to other Roman urban infrastructures?This study aims to answer most of these questions. In order to achieve this, a detailed analysis of about thirty ancient neighborhoods in six settlements of Gaul of Narbonne (Fréjus, Glanum, Narbonne, Nîmes, Orange, Saint-Romain-en-Gal) was conducted. In order to better understand certain sewer systems that were badly preserved in the Gaul of Narbonne, we have compared them to the ones in Ostie and Pompeii in Italy which have been fully excavated and whose vestiges have been remarkably preserved.As a result, the techniques used in constructing the sewer systems have been brought to light and the effectiveness of the sewer system as a whole can start to be evaluated.It was necessary to compare the historical sources to the collected archaeological data addressing these rather unknown systems to better understand how the sewer system was run, the maintenance and usage of drainage infrastructures, the contextualization of the sewers in Roman daily life as envisioned by the Romans from their subjective point of view.

This thesis will discuss the organization of the letter collection of Ruricius, bishop of Limoges from ca. 485 to 506/7. Ruricius’ two-book collection (found in a unicum, the Codex Sangallensis 190) contains a variety of conventional letter types, set within the specific and complex socio-cultural setting of late 5th to early 6th century Gaul in transition. Ruricius’ collection complements the three other major extant Gallo-Roman letter collections of this period, those of Sidonius Apollinaris, Avitus of Vienne, and Ennodius of Pavia. Yet, as a result of Ruricius’ scanty references to contemporary historical circumstances, his letter collection has traditionally received less attention in studies of letter collections and late 5th century Gaul. However, the value of his letters as a late-antique letter collection for literary study is promising. The aim of this thesis is to engage with the letters of Ruricius and consider them from the perspective of a letter collection with potentially deliberate principles of organization. This is particularly pertinent for the 18-letter Book I, which shows clear signs of deliberate organization by Ruricius. Furthermore, there are compelling hints of deliberate organization in the 65 letters of Book II. This thesis will investigate both Books I and II. Through an analysis of the collection’s organizational principles, themes and imagery, and Ruricius’ self-presentation, we will investigate Ruricius’ presentation of his journey from secular aristocrat to bishop in Book I and his epistolary persona of bishop and guide in Book II.

In Rome, the activity of hunting was a pastime traditionally associated with the emperor and aristocracy. As such, hunting imagery in Roman art became symbolic of masculinity and power, expressions of which were important for the self-representation of status-conscious citizens. More specifically, virtus, often translated as “manliness” or “courage,” is the principal quality that is expressed through hunting scenes, although other ideas such as wealth and erudition were alluded to in these scenes as well. This thesis examines hunting scenes in the media of sarcophagi, mosaics, and silverware from the third to the sixth centuries AD. It focusses on the kinds of hunting imagery found on different media in order to discern the values that were important to patrons in the later Roman period, and the ways in which these values were expressed in the visual arts. In the funerary context, mythological hunting scenes on sarcophagi most often present the deceased as a man of virtus. However, owing to the Entmythologisierung of Roman sarcophagi during the third century, the ways in which virtus was expressed through these scenes underwent significant change during this period. On domestic floor mosaics, virtus was also a principal virtue that was expressed, but other ideas such as wealth and generosity were also displayed on hunting scenes in this medium, both mythological and non-mythological. Moreover, hunting scenes on silverware often highlight the wealth of the vessel’s owner. Additionally, allusions to a patron’s paideia, his formal educational background in Greek and Latin literature, as well as expressions of one’s Christian faith, also served as claims of membership in exclusive groups. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

This thesis examines the evidence surrounding the Roman emperor Justinian’s wars in western Europe (Italy and Spain) and North Africa. It argues that without Procopius’ narrative, we would be left with a very bland, cursory account and even find it difficult to get a full grip on what happened when, even though Jordanes in particular does give some sort of narrative. The thesis focuses on the narrative of Justinian’s western wars offered by sources like Jordanes’, Romana and Getica, Victor of Tonnuna’s Chronicle, Corippus’ epic poem and Marcellinus comes’ Chronicle and its addition. It also discusses when each of these sources was written and where, and the background of the author, so that the reader can identify what was important to the author and the potential biases in the presentation of the events in question. The thesis then compares the narrative of the above sources to the narrative of Procopius in order to determine what information historians and scholars would not have if they did not have Procopius’ work.

Religion in the Late Republic was fused to politics. This study considers the relationship between violence, religion, and politics in the Late Republic and Augustan Age. It contends that Roman religion could encourage or discourage violence based upon the circumstances. The strain of Roman expansion on its political and religious institutions contributed to the civil discord that characterized the Late Republic, which created circumstances that were flexible enough for perspectives on each side to see the violence as justified. The ambition of a tribune, a sacrosanct office, could lead to circumvention of the traditional practices of the Senate, causing a religious dilemma if violence was used as a response. Powerful politicians also used religion to legitimize their abuses or obstruct the political aims of their opponents, leading to a contentious atmosphere fraught with violence. The influence of Greek philosophy on religion and morality was of concern for many Romans themselves. These concerns were not laid to rest until the Augustan Age had reshaped Rome's political and religious institutions, which was accompanied by an outpouring of literature embedded with religious symbolism.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Sixteenth-century artists, patrons, and antiquarians sought to glorify Rome by reviving the ancient past. While much scholarly attention has focused on classical antiquity’s rebirth in the Renaissance, further study of the complex early modern “memory” of ancient Egypt both as Rome’s powerful ancient ancestor and as a foreign and pagan “other,” is warranted. This dissertation will illuminate how Egyptian imagery in Cinquecento portrayals of Roman space served to identify the city and symbolize Rome’s far-reaching authority. Reconstructions of Roman all’antica environments in the form of landscape paintings, city views, domestic decoration, garden design, and urban plans will be examined for the multi-temporal viewing experience they provided, and for their messages of identity, inheritance, virtue, and power. Artworks and designs by Raphael and his workshop artists as well as the Late Renaissance artist and antiquarian Pirro Ligorio will be analyzed for their symbolism, style, patronage, and iconography, as well as for their relationship to Renaissance concepts of memory, topographic symbolism, urbanism, and phenomenology. The examples discussed in this dissertation elucidate the various ways that the Renaissance memory of Egypt, manifested in different artistic styles and materials, was adapted to meet the needs of various artists, patrons, and audiences, all while evoking the physical space of Rome, its antiquity, and its eternal spiritual and political supremacy. / Art History

This dissertation explores in the ways in which decorum, or the appropriateness of form and behavior, served as an underlying principle in the patronage, design, and construction of monumental architecture, sculpture, and inscriptions by the aristocratic elite of late antique urban environments. Throughout the dissertation, I deliberately turn my attention away from imperial buildings like Emperor Justinian's (r. 527-565) Hagia Sophia and towards those projects financed by aristocrats and elites, with a focus placed upon those associated with the gens Anicii and their sphere. It is through the discussions of the built environments of Rome, Constantinople, and Ravenna in the fourth through sixth centuries CE, that my dissertation reveals the ways in which aristocrats and elites, like members of the gens Anicii and wealthy bankers like Julianus Argentarius, were able to concretize their power in periods of political change. Their employment of a decorum of architecture, based upon Vitruvian and Ciceronian ideals, demonstrates the central role these individuals played in the shaping of the visual culture of the late antique Mediterranean. It was through the patronage of statues and buildings that were thoughtfully dedicated, strategically located, and purposefully decorated that these wealthy patrons were able to galvanize their non-imperial authority. In historical moments wracked by war, plague, and political instability, the finance and construction of large-scale statuary on prominently inscribed plinths, as well as solid, immovable buildings afforded these elites with a sense of permanence and stability that, they hoped, would last in perpetuity. / Art History