Eternalizing the Emperor: Architecture, Cult, and Deification in Imperial Rome Público
Blevins, Susan Ludi (2013)
Published
Abstract
Honored with majestic temples that dominated the urban cityscape of imperial Rome and invoked repeatedly throughout the festal year as an integral part of maintaining the favor of the gods, the deified emperors were central to the religious and political development of the Roman Empire. The status of the deified emperors transcended dead mortals, while architecture and cult worship subsumed them within the totality of Roman religious remembrance. This dissertation offers a new approach to the phenomenon of deification through the lens of social and cognitive theories of collective memory.
Focusing on the early Empire, Chapter 2 assesses the Temples of Divus Julius and Divus Augustus as commemorative and theological models that shifted the memorial focus of the dead emperors from individual biography to universalizing, sacred history, categorizing the divi as eternal gods of the Roman state pantheon that reflected and constructed a Roman identity that sought divine legitimation through their deified rulers. Chapters 3-7 evaluate significant milestones in the development of deification in Rome: the Temple of Divus Claudius as a crucial turning point after the civil wars of 68-69, experimentation and mnemonic disjunction under the Flavians, the consolidation of a canon of good emperors under Trajan, the expanding and merging of ideologies related to the deified emperors and eternal Rome under Hadrian, and the concerted return to the beginning of the tradition under the Antonines with the conspicuous and well-publicized restoration of the Temple of Divus Augustus. A synchronic analysis suggests that despite ruptures in the dynastic transfer of imperial power, temples and cults of the deified emperors served as an index, a physical and ritual testament within the city of Rome to an eternal Empire encompassing the past, present, and future. Finally, by exploring how Romans negotiated imperial commemoration that simultaneously claimed superiority to, and alignment with, the past; and how and when emperors asserted dynastic legitimacy in the face of Senatorial ambivalence toward dynastic succession, this dissertation sheds light on pervasive tensions in imperial commemoration and self-representation.
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………....1
Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………………...3
Chapter 1: Introduction: Remembering the Deified Emperors……………………………………6
Dead Emperors Mattered………………………………………………………………….....6
Collective Memory……………...………………………………………………………....16
Identity………………………………………………………………………...…………....20
Chapter 2: Divus Julius and Divus Augustus: Memorial Models (29 BCE-68 CE)…………….26
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….......26
Temple of Divus Julius………………………………………………………………….....26
Temple of Divus Augustus……………………………………………………………........34
Building Eternity……………………………………………………………………..….....40
Collective Memory and Knowledge………………………………………….…..41
Comparison and Categorization.…………………………………………….…..43
Architectural Form…………………………………………………………..…....45
Aeternitas…………………………………………………………..…………........52
Eternity of Divus Augustus and Divus Julius………………………….………....56
Sculptural Program of the Temple of Divus Augustus……………………...……62
Performing Eternity…………………………………………………………………...…......66
Inauguration and Dedication………………………………………………….....66
Recurring Ritual and the Calendar……………………………………...……….74
Temples and Processional Routes………………………………………………...81
Suppression of Personal History……………………………………………………….........85
Dynastic Implications…………………………………………………………...…...…........91
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….….....98
Chapter 3: Julio-Claudian Divi, Divus Claudius, and Civil War: Negotiation and Novelty (54-69)…………………………………………………………………………………………...…............103
Introduction: Uncertain Power and Divine Intervention……………………….………...103
Julio-Claudian Divi and the Temple of Divus Augustus………………………………....107
Deification of Claudius: Addressing Contemporary Bias…………………………..….....113
Temple of Divus Claudius and Cult Under Nero…………………………………….........117
The Divi and the Civil Wars of 69-69: Bridging the Divide……………….…………......127
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………...…………......134
Chapter 4: Flavian Divi: Affirmation, Experimentation and Mnemonic Disjunction (69-98)…136
Introduction…………………………………………..………………………………..........136
Temple of Divus Claudius and the Flavians: Alignment with the Past……………..…....137
Aeternitas and the Flavian Divi……………………………………………………….........141
Temple of Divus Vespasian and Divus Titus: Emphasis on the Sacred……………..…....146
Architecture…………………………………………………………………….....147
Sculptural Program………………………………………………...…………......150
Architrave Inscription....................................................................................................158
Topography…………………………………………………………………….....161
Restoration Coin Series of Titus and Divus Augustus……………………….…………...166
Commemoration and Cultic Experimentation Under Domitian………………..………...172
Arch of Titus……………………………………………………………………....174
Templum and Porticus Divorum………………………………………….……....176
Temple of the Gens Flavia and the Imperial House…………………...………...178
Temple of the Gens Flavia: Architectural Form and Topography……………....181
Temple of the Gens Flavia: Sculptural Program……………………………........184
Temple and Tomb…………………………………………………………….….....188
Domitian as Son of a God and Father of Gods to Be…………………………….……........190
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...….......193
Chapter 5: Trajan: Consolidating the Good and Bad Emperors (98-117)………………….….....194
Introduction………………………………………….…………………………………........194
Domitian: Damnatio or Divus?.................................……………………………..……...........195
Divus Nerva…………………………………..…………………………………..……..........198
The Gist of the Matter…………………………………………………………………..........202
The Restoration Coin Series of Trajan: Consolidating the Good……………………….....216
The Coins…………………………………………………………...…………............217
Trajan as Restorer………………………………………………………...……..........221
Trajan and the Temples to the Divi: Establishing Continuity…………….…………….....234
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………...…………........238
Chapter 6: Hadrian: Expanding and Eplicating the Tradition (117-138)……………..……….....240
Introduction………………………………………….…………………………………........240
Hadrian's Divine Parents……………………………………………………………….........241
The Elusive Temple of Divus Trajan……………………………………..……………........244
Location……………………………………………………………….………...........244
Date and Appearance…………………..……………………………..………...........247
Topographical and Ideological Context………………………………………........252
Urban Context of Divus Trajan………………………………………………………….......258
‘Hadrianic' Pantheon……………………………………………………….…..........258
Temple of Diva Matidia……………………………………………………...….........262
Looking to the Present Past: Julio-Claudian and Flavian Divi……………………...…......267
The Divi and Roma Aeterna……………………………………………………………........269
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...........274
Chapter 7: The Antonines: Consistency and Commemoration (138- 192)………………….…....276
Introduction………………………………………………………………….………….........276
Hadrianeum……………………………………………………………………………..........277
Architecture……………………………………………………………………...........280
Reliefs of ‘Provinces' and Trophies…..……………………………………..…..........281
Diagram of Imperial Eternity…………………………………………………............284
Temple of Divus Antoninus Pius and Divus Faustina: A Return to the Beginning…..........290
Restoration of the Temple of Divus Augustus: Renewing and Reinforcing the Imperial Past
……………………………………………………………………………………......................296
Commemoration of the Divi Under the Antonines…………………………………..….......299
Apotheosis of Sabina Relief……………………………………………………..........301
Column of Antoninus Pius………………………………………………..……...........302
Column of Marcus Aurelius………………………………………………….…..........303
"Arae Consecrationis" and the Antonine Dynastic Complex…………...……..........304
Conclusion: Temple of Divus Marcus Aurelius………………………………………...........308
Chapter 8: Conclusion: Accumulation and Inscription………………………………………….....310
Impact of Accumulation………………………………………………………………............310
Inscribing the City…………………………………………………………………..…...........312
Centrality of Rome………………………………………………………………...…….........317
Figure List……………………………………………………………………………………….........320
Abbreviations………………………………………………………………………….………...........336
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………….........337
Figures…………………………………………………………………………………………...........362
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