M.A. (Latin) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This thesis examines the establishment and development of the worship of the emperor and his family members in the Latin West, tracing specifically the cult of those who were officially deified at Rome and received the title of divus or diva. It seeks to answer three questions: 1. Does uniformity of cult practices and priestly titles increase or decrease over time 2. What prompted change in cult practice (reflected in priestly titles) and how was this change managed? 3. What factors influenced the choices made by communities throughout the Latin West concerning these cults? It addresses these questions through a number of specific case studies. It begins with a study of how the practice of deification (consecratio) was established and how it developed within the city of Rome. It then examines priestly titles associated with the cult of the divi/divae in three groups of provinces: the Gauls, the Spains, and the provinces of North Africa. Finally, it discusses the spread of the worship of the divi/divae throughout the empire by examining the Augustales (and other variations on this title) and the priests responsible for overseeing cult to individual divi/divae. The evidence discussed is primarily epigraphical but is supplemented with numismatic, archaeological and literary evidence where it is available. This thesis addresses a number of hypotheses concerning Rome’s role in the development of cult in the Latin West, principally, that cult was imposed on communities in the provinces by the centre, that the establishment of cult was based on a series of models and adopted in similar ways throughout the provinces, and that the coloniae were responsible for bringing Roman culture and religion to the peregrine communities. It argues that even though some provincial cults were established through direct intervention from members of the imperial family, it was still up to the communities themselves to oversee cult practice and finance the cult. In the case of civic cult, there is little to no evidence of involvement from the centre. Civic cult was established by local initiative and did not originate in the coloniae and spread to other communities. Instead, it tended to arise in peregrine communities (and municipia) from the earliest development of this cult (as well as some coloniae) as individual communities sought to forge a connection with the imperial family and find their place within, and in connection to, the Roman Empire.

The Roman Emperor Trajan, who ruled the Roman Empire from 98 CE – 117 CE has always been remembered as one of the good Emperors. The few ancient sources that mention Trajan, namely Pliny the Younger and Cassius Dio, compose a glowing portrait of the Emperor when describing his deeds and abilities. Part of the explanation for such a positive portrayal can surely be accounted for by the comparison of Trajan to one of his predecessors Domitian (who ruled from 51 CE – 96 CE). Domitian came to be memorialized as one of the most hated Emperor of the Principate, especially because of his scornful and suspicious attitude towards the Senate and his pillaging of the Roman provinces for the purpose of his own profit. In a time when the empire was expanding and expert diplomatic and strategic capability was necessary for an Emperor to possess, Domitian’s shortcomings were particularly harmful to Rome and her subjects. Thus when Trajan took control, many Romans must have looked to him to continue the improvements initiated by Domitian’s brief successor Nerva and repair the damage done to the empire. Pliny the younger, an influential and wealthy senatorial aristocrat, was one such Roman who looked to the new Emperor with hope and ambition for better times. During Pliny’s tenure as governor of the province of Bithynia and Pontus from roughly 110-112/3 CE, he exchanged many letters with Trajan which were subsequently collected and published as the tenth book of Pliny’s Letters. These letters generally take the form of advice sought by Pliny about the governance of the province, followed by a concise reply from the Emperor directing Pliny’s actions (or, at times, suggesting that Pliny himself choose the best way to proceed). Previous scholarship has primarily addressed the letters as a “self-fashioning text” (cf. Carlos Noreña and Philip Stadter, among others), but generally ignores the very active role Pliny plays in carefully constructing a particular representation of Trajan. Using this correspondence as a platform on which to create an image of the Princeps, Pliny expertly invents a particular portrait of Trajan that portrays the Emperor as a master at senatorial relations and management of the provinces. By allowing Trajan to perform this role, as is evidenced in the letters of Book 10, Pliny creates our most complete and compelling portrayal of this Emperor which serves both Pliny and Trajan’s interests for posterity. / text

This thesis explores the life and reign of Julian the Apostate the man who ruled over the Roman Empire from A.D. 361-363. The study of Julian the Apostate’s reign has historically been eclipsed due to his clash with Christianity. After the murder of his family in 337 by his Christian cousin Constantius, Julian was sent into exile. These emotional experiences would impact his view of the Christian religion for the remainder of his life. Julian did have conflict with the Christians but his main goal in the end was the revival of ancient paganism and the restoration of the Empire back to her glory. The purpose of this study is to trace the education and experiences that Julian had undergone and the effects they it had on his reign. Julian was able to have both a Christian and pagan education that would have a lifelong influence on his reign. Julian’s career was a short but significant one. Julian restored the cities of the empire and made beneficial reforms to the legal, educational, political and religious institutions throughout the Empire. The pagan historians praised him for his public services to the empire while the Christians have focused on his apostasy and “persecution” of their faith. With his untimely death in Persia, Julian’s successor Jovian, reversed most of his previous reforms and as such left Julian as the last pagan emperor of the Roman Empire.

Seneca's Apocolocyntosis is a sat.ire on the deceased emperor Claudius. probably written in the early months after his death in AD54. Although the authorship and title of the work have been called into question. scholars have now reached a consensus that the sat.ire was written by Seneca and is titled "Apocolocyntosis." Its purpose, characteristic of the Menippean genre, was didactic.

This study traces the genesis and development of the History of Constantine tapestries designed by Pietro da Cortona and woven on the looms established by Francesco Barberini shortly after his return from France in December 1625. The circumstances surrounding the creation of the series provide a foundation and a framework for exploring its meaning and purpose. Though inspired by an earlier Constantine suite of tapestries designed by Rubens, the "Cortona" panels should be read as an independent entity, the significance of which can only be fully appreciated within the context of the gran salone of the Palazzo Barberini, which I propose was their intended destination. This conclusion is supported by the many links between the tapestries and Barberini ideology, papal politics, the palace and the ceiling fresco in the Salone. Like the Divine Providence fresco, the "Cortona" series is a summa of the virtues and religious, political, intellectual and social initiatives of the family. The series emerges finally as a promotionally Italian endeavour, a showcase of Italian art and culture.

Teilw. zugl.: Berlin, Freie Univ., Habil.-Schr., 2005

By combining literary criticism, philology, and contemporary psychoanalysis, this dissertation offers an innovative interpretation of Neronian court literature (Seneca, Lucan, and Petronius). I argue that the works of these three authors thematize and embody a problematic relation between the human subject and language. Language is not conceived or represented as an inert tool that can be easily appropriated by the speaking subject, but rather as a powerful entity that may, and often does, take control of the human subject, directing it from without. Besides analyzing how Seneca, Lucan, and Petronius portray the relation between the human subject and language in the internal plots and characters of their works, I also explore the relation between these three authors themselves and language. My conclusion is that this relation is defined by unresolved ambiguities and neurotic tensions, and I suggest that this might be a consequence of the traumatizing circumstances that the three examined authors endured at Nero’s court.

No description available.

Vergil’s Georgics was published in 29 BCE, at a critical point in the political life of Octavian-Augustus. Although his position at the head of state had been confirmed by victory at Actium in 31, his longevity was threatened by his reputation for causing bloodshed during the civil wars. This thesis argues that Vergil, in the Georgics, presents a defence of Octavian against criticism of his past, in order to safeguard his future, and the future of Rome. Through a complex of metaphor and allusion, Vergil engages with the weaknesses in Octavian’s public image in order to diminish their damaging impact. Chapter One examines the way in which the poet invokes and complements the literary tradition of portraying young men as destructive, amorous creatures, through his depiction of iuvenes in the Georgics, in order to emphasise the inevitability of youthful misbehaviour. Since Octavian is still explicitly a iuvenis, he cannot be held accountable for his actions up to this point, including his role in the civil wars. The focus of Chapters Two and Three of this thesis is Vergil’s presentation of the spring season in the Georgics. Vergil’s preoccupation with spring is unorthodox in the context of agricultural didactic; under the influence of the Lucretian figure of Venus, Vergil moulds spring into a symbol of universal creation in nature, a metaphor for a projected revival of Roman affairs under Octavian’s leadership which would subsequently dominate the visual art of the Augustan period. Vergil’s spring is as concerned with the past as it is the future. Vergil stresses the fact that destructive activity can take place in spring, in the form of storms and animal violence; the farmer’s spring labor is characterised as a war against nature, which culminates in the horrific slaughter of oxen demanded by bugonia. In each case destruction is revealed as a necessary prerequisite for some form of creation: animal reproduction, increased crop yield, a renewed population of bees. Thus, the spring creation of a new Rome under Octavian will come as a direct result of the bloodshed of the civil wars, a cataclysm whose horrors are not denied, but whose outcome will ultimately be positive. Octavian is assimilated to Jupiter in his Stoic guise: a providential figure who sends fire and flood to Earth in order to improve mankind.