The presentation of the body in early imperial Rome can be viewed as the manipulation of a semiotic language of dress, in which various hierarchies that both defined and limited human experience were entrenched. The study of Roman self-presentation illuminates the intersections of categories of identity, as well as the individual's desire and ability to resist essentializing views of Romanness (Romanitas), and to transform destiny through transforming identity. These categories of identity include gender; sexuality or sexual behavior; social status; economic status; ethnicity or place of origin; religion; and age. Applying the model of a matrix of identity deepens our appreciation for the work of self-presentation and its ultimate purposes. In this paper the practices and products used by Romans are described as vital indicators of self-identification, and as segues into Roman social semiotics, providing a more complete view of the possibilities for life in early imperial Rome. In the introduction, the use of queer theory and the function of the matrix model are outlined. Haircare, the maintenance of facial and bodily hair, the use of cosmetics, perfumes, skincare products, and beauty tools, the accessorizing of the body with jewelry, color, and pattern, and the display of these behaviors are examined in the main body chapters. The conclusion discusses the relevance of the matrix model to self-presentation studies in general and possible future uses.

How and why was imperial power made visually and physically manifest in two similar, contemporaneous megastates - the Roman Principate and Qin-Han China? Framing the Chinese and Roman material within such a question breaks it free from the web of expectations and assumptions in which conventional scholarship almost always situates it. It also builds upon the limited but promising work recently undertaken to study these two empires together in a comparative context. The purpose of this thesis is not to discover similarities and differences for their own sake; but, by discovering similarities and differences, to learn about the nature of imperial authority and prestige in each state. The comparative method compels us to appreciate the contingent - and sometimes frankly curious - nature of visual and artefactual phenomena that have traditionally been taken for granted; and both challenges and empowers us to access higher tier explanations and narratives. Roman expressions of power in visual terms are more public, more historical- biographical, and more political, while Qin-Han images and objects related to imperial authority are generally more private, generic and ritual in their nature. The Roman material emphasizes the notional complicity of large groups of people - the imperial subjects who viewed, crafted and often commissioned these works - in maintaining and defining the emperor's power. If the Han emperor's power was the product of complicity, it was the complicity of a small group of family members and courtiers - and of Heaven. These contrasting sets of power relationships connect to a concerted thematic focus, in the case of Rome, on the individual of the princeps; that is, the individual personage and particular achievements - especially military achievements - of the emperor. This focus is almost always taken for granted in Roman studies, but contrasts profoundly with the thematic disposition of Han artefacts of power: these reflect a concentrated disinterest in imperial personality altogether, emphasizing instead the imperial position; that is, both the office of emperor and a cosmic centrality. While this thesis reveals some arresting contrasts, it also harnesses the dichotomous orientations of Roman and Chinese archaeology to reveal that the conventional understanding of much of this material can be misleading or problematic. Many of the differences in the ways such images are usually interpreted have as much to do with the idiosyncrasies and path dependency of two fields - in short as much to do with the modern viewer - as they do with the images themselves and the traditions that produced them.

This dissertation aims to focus on the way in which Marc Antony has been portrayed in Antiquity by a careful and critical study of what the ancient (mainly literary) sources have to reveal about this historical personage. A number of primary sources present a very negative view of Antony under the influence of various political persuasions, and this will be compared and contrasted with later ancient views. The study will pursue this under key themes such as the personality of Antony, his military and political career as well as the role that he played in the East. Modern scholarly interpretations of Antony’s character and actions will also be brought into the discussion, so that an objective evaluation of the contribution which Antony has made to the history of the Roman Republic, insofar as objectivity is possible, may be arrived at. / Language Services / M.A. (with specialisation in Ancient Languages and Cultures)

This dissertation aims to focus on the way in which Marc Antony has been portrayed in Antiquity by a careful and critical study of what the ancient (mainly literary) sources have to reveal about this historical personage. A number of primary sources present a very negative view of Antony under the influence of various political persuasions, and this will be compared and contrasted with later ancient views. The study will pursue this under key themes such as the personality of Antony, his military and political career as well as the role that he played in the East. Modern scholarly interpretations of Antony’s character and actions will also be brought into the discussion, so that an objective evaluation of the contribution which Antony has made to the history of the Roman Republic, insofar as objectivity is possible, may be arrived at. / Language Services / M.A. (with specialisation in Ancient Languages and Cultures)

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

In this thesis I have endeavoured to throw light on both the private and public aspect of the lives of women living in the Roman African provinces from the first century BC to the seventh century AD. Funerary inscriptions reveal that the role of women in private life was projected in a manner which reflected the ideals for Roman womanhood (pudicitia, castilas,fides and fecunditas), even when they clearly came of Afro~Punic stock. In terms of the quality of their lives Roman African women of the propertied status groups (about whom we know the most) had a good standard of living compared to other parts of the Roman Empire, and for example were well~educated in the urbanized areas compared to provinces such as Gaul. Roman African women of the elite also enjoyed a degree of autonomy enhanced by the increased financial independence granted to them in terms of Roman law, which enabled them to function as benefactors in their communities in the same way as their male counterparts, donating money for temples, baths and markets. In return for this they were duly recognized in honorary inscriptions by their communities. Although this public role may appear to be in conflict with the 'ideal' domestic or private role of the Roman matron, this activity was sanctioned by the fact that they were acting in the interests of male family members who were engaged in municipal careers. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries there are a few signs that women were beginning to act more in their own interests, but much of their public role faded with the increasing dominance of the Christian Church which prescribed a more limited role for women. The only exceptions occurred in the times of persecution through the temporary prominence gained by women as martyrs and confessors, although this prominence cannot be said to have advantaged women in general. During the Vandal and Byzantine period we know of only a few women, primarily those with connections to the elite at Rome and Constantinople, who acted with the independence and authority of their class. / History / D.Litt. et Phil. (Ancient History)

The nature of the Republican constitution has been much contested by scholars studying the history of the Roman Republic. In considering the problems of the late Republic, the nature of the constitution is an important question, for if we do not understand what the constitution was, how can we explain Rome’s transition from ‘Republic’ to ‘Empire’? Such a question is particularly pertinent when looking at events at Rome following the assassination of Caesar, as we try to understand why it was that the Republic, as we understand it as a polity without a sole ruler, was not restored. This thesis examines the Roman understanding of the constitution in the aftermath of Caesar’s death and argues that for the Romans the constitution was a contested entity, its proper nature debated and fought over, and that this contest led to conflict on the political stage, becoming a key factor in the failure to restore the Republic and the establishment of the Second Triumvirate. The thesis proposes a new methodology for the examination of the constitution, employing modern critical theories of discourse and the formation of knowledge to establish and analyse the Roman constitution as a discursive entity: interpreted, contested and established through discourse. I argue that the Roman knowledge of the proper nature of the constitution of the res publica had fractured by the time of Caesar’s death and that this fracturing led to multiple understandings of the constitution. In this thesis I describe the state of Rome in 44-43 B.C. to reveal these multiple understandings of the constitution, and undertake an analysis of the discourse of Cicero and Sallust after 44 B.C. in order to describe the way in which different understandings of the constitution were formulated and expressed. Through this examination this thesis shows that the expression and interrelation of these multiple understandings in Roman political discourse made arrival at a unified agreement on a common course of action all but impossible and that this combined with the volatile atmosphere at Rome after Caesar’s death played a major role in Rome’s slide towards civil war and the eventual establishment of a different political system.

In this thesis I have endeavoured to throw light on both the private and public aspect of the lives of women living in the Roman African provinces from the first century BC to the seventh century AD. Funerary inscriptions reveal that the role of women in private life was projected in a manner which reflected the ideals for Roman womanhood (pudicitia, castilas,fides and fecunditas), even when they clearly came of Afro~Punic stock. In terms of the quality of their lives Roman African women of the propertied status groups (about whom we know the most) had a good standard of living compared to other parts of the Roman Empire, and for example were well~educated in the urbanized areas compared to provinces such as Gaul. Roman African women of the elite also enjoyed a degree of autonomy enhanced by the increased financial independence granted to them in terms of Roman law, which enabled them to function as benefactors in their communities in the same way as their male counterparts, donating money for temples, baths and markets. In return for this they were duly recognized in honorary inscriptions by their communities. Although this public role may appear to be in conflict with the 'ideal' domestic or private role of the Roman matron, this activity was sanctioned by the fact that they were acting in the interests of male family members who were engaged in municipal careers. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries there are a few signs that women were beginning to act more in their own interests, but much of their public role faded with the increasing dominance of the Christian Church which prescribed a more limited role for women. The only exceptions occurred in the times of persecution through the temporary prominence gained by women as martyrs and confessors, although this prominence cannot be said to have advantaged women in general. During the Vandal and Byzantine period we know of only a few women, primarily those with connections to the elite at Rome and Constantinople, who acted with the independence and authority of their class. / History / D.Litt. et Phil. (Ancient History)

Cette thèse a pour objectif l’étude des parentes de chevaliers romains, dénommées matronae equestres, originaires des provinces d’Occident, entre les règnes d’Auguste et de Gallien. L’optique choisie est celle de l’approche prosopographique qui demeure la seule possible pour collecter suffisamment d’informations à leur propos. Après une analyse des différentes titulatures équestres, l’accent a été porté sur trois thématiques liées entre elles, telles que le mariage, les pratiques religieuses et les voyages, qui ont permis une réévaluation du rôle des femmes apparentées aux chevaliers. Le chapitre consacré aux alliances matrimoniales a mis au jour diverses stratégies auxquelles elles prirent part :mariages égaux, exogamie et remariages avec des personnages de toutes les catégories sociales. La section suivante a souligné leur degré d’implication parfois active à la vie religieuse de leur communauté entre sacerdoces, participation aux rites et vœux. Enfin, on a montré que ces dames se déplaçaient de manière pratiquement systématique avec leurs parents, dans tous les recoins de l’Empire, pacifiés ou non. Le catalogue prosopographique figure, quant à lui, dans le volume II, subdivisé en quatre tomes. / Doctorat en Histoire, art et archéologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

La domination romaine est une période « mal-aimée » de l’Egypte ancienne. Elle est néanmoins très intéressante et mériterait davantage d’études. <p>Réaliser une analyse du matériel de cette époque n’est donc pas chose aisée. Il faut comprendre, dès le départ, que la recherche sera confrontée à des préjugés, des problèmes de documentation et une certaine négligence de la part des scientifiques. Il convient de poser les buts de recherche, de se conformer à une méthodologie rigoureuse et de dégrossir une série de conclusions. <p>Il semble opportun d’étudier l’art d’époque Julio-Claudienne en Egypte. Cette thématique s’impose pour de multiples raisons.<p><p>Nous nous trouvons face à deux civilisations sortant d’un conflit récent (les guerres civiles romaines qui ont conduit à l’affrontement d’Octave-Auguste avec Antoine et Cléopâtre VII, dernière reine de la dynastie Lagide) où l’une a triomphé de l’autre. Ces tensions vont-elles être tangibles dans l’art ?Pour des raisons matérielles, il faut délimiter le sujet à aborder. L’étude de cet article sera donc consacrée majoritairement aux images de temple et aux stèles. <p><p>Ce ciblage s’explique non seulement pour des raisons matérielles mais aussi pour l’intérêt scientifique que ce sujet représente. Pendant longtemps, les reliefs égyptiens d’époque romaine ont été considérés comme un art altéré sans aucune autre fonction que de préserver une tradition vouée à son inéluctable disparition. Plusieurs questions se sont posées d’emblée :qui commanditait les monuments, qui les finançait, qui les réalisait, y-avait-il un suivi de la part du pouvoir central romain et qui en étaient les relais ?<p>L’image royale des temples d’époque romaine en Egypte est fortement tributaire des types iconographiques des époques pharaonique et ptolémaïque. Néanmoins, certains détails révèlent qu’il ne s’agît pas d’une copie servile. Les innovations d’époque romaine sont visibles dans le rendu du détail, des suggestions de volume ou l’utilisation d’un mode représentatif. L’étude de ces images permet de mieux comprendre les techniques de dessin en Egypte romaine et l’organisation du travail des artistes :isoler des « mains », supputer l’existence de « cahiers de modèles » et d’écoles de style ( parfois, plusieurs au sein d’un même temple ). Certaines scènes sont plus récurrentes dans certains endroits géographiques: leur analyse permet de comprendre les enjeux géographiques, politiques et religieux que la propagande voulait faire passer à travers elles.<p>Enfin, d'autres recherches (prosopographie.) pourraient permettre de mieux comprendre le microcosme où se sont élaborées ces images. / Doctorat en Histoire, art et archéologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished