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There are three main scholarly approaches to the mechanisms by which the military record of Roman Republican commanders was disseminated in Rome: the ceremony of the triumph, the erection of monuments with their inscriptions, and finally the minting of coins. Alongside this ceremonial and material publicity this thesis investigates how and why more ephemeral media, as well as autobiographical texts, were employed to disseminate, promote and at times denigrate the Roman military record during the period of 219-19 BC. It encompasses five core chapters: introduction; oratory as praise; oratory as criticism; letters; and autobiographical prose. Chapter two argues that military achievements were orally disseminated in various contexts in Rome: it was a fundamental facet of the triumphal process; a regular part of attaining and maintaining military commands; and the military record was frequently employed in forensic defence speeches, particularly in the late Republic with the growth of the law-courts. Chapter three focuses on how and why the military record was criticised back in Rome in a variety of contexts, arguing that it was a key means by which the Roman elite regulated excessive claims of gloria. Owing in part to the increasing concerns about self-serving Roman magistrates, focusing on behaviour beyond the battlefield was a common means of undermining commanders’ military reputations. Chapter four details the heavy and regular dependence on dispatches for short-term, yet proficient, martial self-promotion. It emphasises the key role of letters in the triumphal process, including the passing of legislation aimed in part at regulating their exploitation. It also argues that private correspondence played a valuable role, particularly in the targeting of senators and other influential sections of Roman society. Chapter five investigates the role of commentaries, memoirs and historical literature in the promotion of military res gestae and how criticism alongside concerns about posterity influenced their composition. It addresses the influence of Greek biography on their composition as well as the Roman aristocratic practice of preserving correspondence and other documentation.

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Prosopography seeks to learn about social patterns and establish relationships within a well-defined group of individuals, which is accomplished by studying their biographies and analyzing the data within defined parametres. The adlection of provincials into the equestrian and senatorial orders started during the late Republic and continued into the early Principate. It integrated provincials into Rome’s social and political systems and provides the opportunity to closely examine how their roles evolved as time passed during the early Roman Empire. This thesis will show that Nemausus, a provincial tribal settlement in Gallia Narbonensis, was one of the most important towns of the Roman Empire during the early Principate and achieved its prominence through sustained production of senators from Augustus to Marcus Aurelius and, in particular, through its prominent role during the dynasty of the Five Good Emperors. The role of its equestrians and their inability to attain the highest offices of their order will be discussed. Chapter Three will focus on Nemausus’ physical transformation as it was converted from a Celtic settlement into a Roman colony, and will lay the groundwork for its rise in the established social structures. Chapter Four will provide a detailed examination of Nemausian equestrians, evaluate their careers individually and illustrate how indispensable they were to Nemausus’ growth even if they did not attain the highest offices within their order. Chapter Five will focus on Nemausian senators much in the same manner as the previous chapter. Unlike their equestrian counterparts, Nemausian senators attained great heights in Rome, becoming generals, consuls, and advisors to the emperor. Eventually they became the Imperial family itself, placing the provincial town at the forefront of the Western Roman Empire. Chapter Five will also propose to narrow the scope of Syme’s Hispano-Narbonensian nexus to include only the towns of Italica and Nemausus due to their influence during the dynasty of the Five Good Emperors. A variety of evidence will be used throughout the discussion, in particular epigraphical and literary sources. By examining the careers of Nemausian elites, their impact on the Roman Empire and their native town’s increased status, will be discovered. / Thesis (Master, Classics) -- Queen's University, 2012-04-26 16:30:58.26

This thesis examines the eroticization of historical and political narratives from Ovid’s Fasti, particularly the capture of Gabii (2.687-710), the rape of Lucretia (2.721-852) and the Aristaeus narrative (1.363-390). I argue that Ovid’s eroticization of these narratives is a response to the political pressure to write poetry in support of Augustan ideology. These narratives about military conquests and moments of great political change are imbued with epic themes and Augustan ideology. Yet, Ovid transports these narratives into elegy, which is a genre that defines itself as distinct from imperial and public domain. Ovid’s asserts poetic autonomy by re-envisioning historical narratives and political ideology in a manner suitable to his elegiac concerns. His version of history does not reflect Augustan ideology and, at times, is starkly opposed to it. I argue that Ovid’s re-imagining of these narratives asserts the freedom of the poet as an autonomous storyteller. / Graduate

The role of Roman patrons and their relations with local communities is investigated. Northern Italy has been chosen as the region where this investigation will be carried out. It will be shown that the institution of patronage in northern Italy underwent a process of decline as the rest of the empire. This point will be displayed by taking into consideration the legal, literary, and epigraphic body of evidence related to the institution of patronage in northern Italy. A careful reading of the sources will show that the title of patronus was granted by local communities as a reward for the patronus’s generosity. Such title did not obligate these patroni to benefit their communities, although many did. This gradual process of decline ultimately reached its peak under the 2nd century AD when patronage transformed into a symbolic institution. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

In the introduction, I discuss the problems scholars experience in trying to define the concept of Roman friendship. I argue that amicitia cannot be equated with patronage, and present justification based on some primary literature. Brief words are then offered on the sociology of friendship, and an attempt is made to relate ideas from modern sociology to ancient friendship. The first chapter is based on the Letters of Pliny the Younger, and begins with an analysis of the vocabulary employed by Pliny in describing his friendships. This is considered in conjunction with prosopographical data in order to establish the connection between vocabulary and practice. The derived results are used to conclude that friendship in the Roman world was more involved than simply patronage, and that it was one of the driving forces behind Roman social behaviour as it helps to integrate different levels of society. Chapter two follows a similar methodology, with the correspondence of Fronto as its focus. The conclusions drawn in this chapter are used to reinforce the arguments presented in the first. Also included in chapter two is a brief discussion of the ancient philosophical approaches to friendship, and a solution is presented to resolve the differences between philosophical ideals and the reality of friendship. The third chapter begins with an examination of the secondary literature on the concept of friendship with the emperor. I maintain that scholarship is lacking in this field because it neglects the personal nuances such relationships could have. The chapter then turns to Pliny’s Panegyricus to determine his attitude regarding this issue, which is used as evidence against some modern interpretations of aristocratic perceptions of the emperor. Pliny’s exchanges with Trajan are subsequently analyzed, and it is argued that it was as subject/ruler that Pliny and Trajan defined their association. Chapter four discusses the relationship Fronto shared with the Antonine emperors. I contend that Fronto related differently with each and experienced different levels of intimacy, which points to the importance of personal connections, even with people as uniquely powerful as emperors. I also conclude from this that even emperors were not above the rules and practices of friendship. The concluding remarks draw attention to the advantages of exploring Roman social relationships through the prism of friendship, as opposed to the traditional perspective of patronage. Some future avenues of research are also suggested.

Only two ancient historians have written comprehensive histories of Rome that survive in more than fragments, Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, both working in the years after Augustus came to power. Of the original twenty books of Dionysius' Roman Antiquities, which covered the history of Rome from pre-history to the beginning of the First Punic War, we have the first ten, substantial parts of the eleventh and fragments of the rest. But although Dionysius has been well received for his works of literary criticism, his historical work has been comparatively neglected. There are two recent commentaries on selected portions of the Antiquities, but only one commentary for a complete book, an unpublished dissertation commentary for Book I. A French translation with notes exists for Books 1 and 2, but the notes, though useful, are intended for the general reader, not the scholarly community. Dionysius' history, which parallels the work of his greater contemporary Livy, deserves more attention, hence this dissertation, a scholarly commentary on Book II of the Roman Antiquities covering the reigns of Romulus and Numa, the first two kings of Rome. The purpose of this dissertation is, simply stated, to give a scholarly explanation of the text, to elucidate matters of interest to a careful reader. The method used (again, simply stated) was to carefully read the text and ask the basic question: what does this passage mean? Other questions followed. The result is primarily an explication of antiquarian, historical and historiographical matters; textual and linguistic matters were rarely considered. The antiquarian and historical explications are useful for promoting a further understanding of early Roman history. But the examination of Dionysius' historiography shows other points of interest which include the following: Dionysius is adept at thematic development, for example of realistic narrative detail in contrast to Livy's artistic idealization of the Roman experience; in important ways he exhibits a historiography that differs from Livy's, as when he portrays early Rome as cautious, moderate and somewhat defensive in contrast to Livy's confident and aggressive city on the way to fulfilling a pre-ordained glory. The book contains numerous evidences of Augustan influence, and includes Dionysius' thoughts on the use of myth in historical writing. The most significant discovery is that the entire book is the most comprehensive description we have in antiquity of an actual, not theoretical, constitution as Dionysius understood and presented it; that Dionysius thought of the Roman constitution as the creation of Rome's first two kings, who based it upon Socratic virtues; and that he describes a working constitution as no other writer of antiquity did, integrating the virtues into an enduring system of laws and customs that goes beyond a mere rehearsal of ordinances in place at any given time. It is hoped that this commentary will prompt further research and insight into the historical and literary world in which Dionysius worked.