Passionate about History and Technology

Passionate about History and Technology

Roman worship of Hercules ( 9:34 AM ) Mary
In his discussion of Roman religious beliefs, Dr. Fagan mentioned that in the later imperial period, Diocletian and Maximian promoted the worship of both Jupiter and Hercules as the recognized patron gods of the empire.

"The emperors of Rome had long associated themselves with the hero Hercules, known to the Greeks as Herakles. His exploits and 'labors' had been celebrated for many centuries, and demigod Hercules came to represent strength, virility and power - all personal features that were important to an emperor. There were countless minor emperor-associations with Hercules earlier in the empire, as well as several blatant ones: Commodus donned the lion's skin on coins and medals late in his reign, Caracalla was likened to Hercules (and his brother Geta to Bacchus), and Gallienus often promoted his Herculean efforts by striking coins and medals with just such an association. We certainly must include Postumus, the Romano-Gallic rebel who founded his own separatist empire, as chief among rulers who likened themselves to Hercules. The Tetrarchy created by Diocletian in 293 was a logical expansion of the Diarchy he founded in 285 by hailing Caesar his comrade-in-arms Maximian. The arrangement became more logically structured in 286, when Diocletian raised Maximian from Caesar to Junior Augustus. In this Diarchy there were two divine associations, which, in terms of describing the dynastic structure, came to be known as 'houses.' The Senior Augustus, Diocletian, chose as his patron the supreme deity Jupiter (Jove), whereas Maximian adopted the mythological hero Hercules: hence the common reference to the Jovian and Herculian houses of the Tetrarchy."

http://www.dcatalog.de/nac/00245h00.htm
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posted by Mary Harrsch on 9:34 AM | link

Mythology in Roman games ( 1:07 PM ) Mary
Another interesting tidbit was included in Dr. Fagan's lecture on the Roman games last week. He said that the recreation of mythology was strictly limited to games sponsored by the emperor. Apparently, such a presentation was intended as a statement of power - the emperor can make the "unreal" become real. I thought this was an interesting observation.
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posted by Mary Harrsch on 1:07 PM | link

Chariot Racing and Slavery ( 8:44 AM ) Mary
In this morning's lecture on public entertainments in ancient Rome, Dr. Fagan said that chariot racing was so popular that the streets of Rome were utterly deserted on racing day. The Emperor Augustus began stationing clusters of troops around the city to prevent looting. He also said the racing fans could be quite fanatic. In Thessalonika, a chariot driver was imprisoned for making a homosexual advance to a Roman general. The driver's fans rioted, breaking the man out of prison, but continued their violence throughout the city until troops had to be called out and in the end 7,000 people were killed.

A couple of days ago in his lecture on Roman slavery, Dr. Fagan said that if a slave killed a master, all slaves of that master would be executed and this did, in fact, happen occasionally. I was unaware of that aspect of Roman slavery. He also said that if a slave was granted manumition that the law stated that within three generations, the descendants of the former slave would be allowed to run for office (if they met the wealth criteria for a knight or senator). The Romans were quite meticulous about their social orders! #

posted by Mary Harrsch on 8:44 AM | link

Rome's Heart of Darkness: The Dacian Campaign ( 11:59 AM ) Mary
I attended Dr. Christina Calhoon's lecture on the Dacian Campaign on Friday and enjoyed it very much. The presenter compared the images of the conquest of Dacia on Trajan's column with the literary images of Belgium's brutal colonization of the Congo as described in Joseph Conrad's novel "Heart of Darkness".

Christina pointed out that the forest has always symbolized a foreboding uncivilized part of the world to the Romans so you frequently see images of the Romans cutting down trees as a symbol of their bringing civilization to the wild lands of the barbarians.

She displayed an image of a Dacian fortress with its row of heads on pikes as a symbol of their uncivilized status although she also pointed out an image of a Roman auxiliary fighting while holding a severed head by the hair in his teeth. She mentioned that "civilized" Romans would have recognized that the soldier was an auxiliary by his dress so such behavior from an auxiliary, that were frequently "barbarians", would not have been a reflection on normal Roman society.

She also mentioned something very interesting. She said the Dacians topped and delimbed trees then dressed them in armor in an attempt to deceive the Romans. #

posted by Mary Harrsch on 11:59 AM | link

The Rise of the Panegyric in Roman Oratory ( 11:58 AM ) Mary
In my audio course on the history of Rome, Professor Fagan pointed out the rise of the panegyric in Roman oratory during the imperial period. I was interested to learn more about it and found the following reference in James D. Garrison's Dryden and the Tradition of Panegyric:
"A late addition to the Latin language, the word panegyricus occurs only rarely in the Republican period and still infrequently in the early years of the empire.[12] Cicero, for example, does not use the word except to refer specifically to Isocrates' oration, while Quintilian finds only three occasions to use it in the entire course of the Institutio Oratorio .[13] By the fourth century, however, the word is commonly used to designate an oration, either in prose or verse, addressed to a public figure, usually the emperor. The most important and enduring examples of late Roman panegyric are by the poet Claudian. Between 395 and 404, Claudian attached the panegyricus label to five poems, each of which celebrates the beginning of a new year and the installation of a new consul. Three of these poems are addressed to the emperor Honorius, including the Panegyricus De Quarto Consulatu Honorii Augusti, which begins:"Once more the year opens under royal auspices and enjoys in fuller pride its famous prince . . .,"[14] The public occasion, here an inaugural ceremony, now calls for eulogy of the emperor.
Combining the Greek example of Isocrates with the Roman example of Claudian produces a composite definition of "panegyric" like Kersey's: "a Speech deliver'd before a solemn and general Assembly of People, especially in Praise of a great Prince." If Kersey had a specific author in mind, however, it was probably neither Isocrates nor Claudian, but rather Pliny the Younger. Elected consul for the year 100, Pliny acknowledged the honor in a speech delivered before the senate. Titled an actio gratiarum, this speech includes expressions of gratitude and promises of faithful service to the senators. But these remarks are only tiny appendages to the body of the speech, an elaborate idealization of Trajan, who was present to hear himself praised as the optimus princeps . Although Pliny did not call the speech a panegyricus, later orators viewed it as a model of the genre. In fact, when Pliny's oration was rediscovered for the Renaissance in the fifteenth century, it was not alone but rather at the head of a collection of panegyrics that came to be known as the panegyrici latini or panegyrici veteres . Modeled directly on Pliny's actio gratiarum, these other orations (eleven in number) publicly celebrate the Roman emperors from Diocletian to Theodosius. All of the orations in this collection fit Kersey's definition of "panegyric." They all praise a "great Prince" before a "general Assembly of People."

The general assembly that gathered to hear the eulogies of the later Roman emperors was not, however, necessarily restricted to the senate. On the contrary, the surviving panegyrics indicate that one of the most common occasions for this kind of oratory was an imperial visit to a provincial town. When the emperor decided to visit Autun or Trèves, for example, the town showed its appreciation by having its most distinguished orator (usually a professor at the local school) deliver an address. The speech was an essential part of the ceremony, like the decorations, the festive games, and the military salute.[15]"
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posted by Mary Harrsch on 11:58 AM | link

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Thoughts of a technology developer who is particularly interested in integrating technology and history education.