Octavian and the introduction of public statues for women in Rome (original) (raw)
Related papers
Women and Gender in the Forum Romanum
Transactions of the American Philological Association, 2011
This article explores the evidence for women and gender in the Forum Romanum, investigating (primarily through literary sources) women's use of this space, and (primarily archaeologically) historical women's signification there by images and structures. The illustrated analysis proceeds chronologically from the Republic to the early third century c.e. Authors report women's presence in the civic Forum as abnormal, even transgressive through the Julio-Claudian period. The paucity of women's depictions and patronage here until the second century c.e. echoes constructs of Livy, Seneca the Younger, Tacitus, and others. The mid-imperial Forum, however, marks changes in Roman ideology as well as topography.
Comunicazione e linguaggi, a cura di C. Antonetti, G. Masaro, A. Pistellato, L. Toniolo, Padova 2011, pp. 197-238.
This essay analyses the occurrences in literary tradition of women (Caia Cecilia, Taracia Caia, Lucretia, Tarpea, Cloelia, Claudia Quinta and Cornelia) honored by the granting of an effigy in a public place during the Roman Republic. Ancient texts allow to reconstruct a framework in which an interference in the historical memory is clear, due to Augustus and his entourage. This operation aimed to present the privileges granted to Octavia and Livia, respectively sister and wife of Augustus, in 35 BC and in 9 BC as an act in accordance with the tradition, and, at the same time, to create a comparing relationship between the women of the gens of Augustus and the matrons that had obtained the privilege of being honoured by a statue before them. The association of Octavia and Livia with such illustrious ancestors indirectly contributes to strengthen their public position (as is the case for Augustus in his forum) and to allow them to be identified as exempla of feminine virtues by their contemporaries.
Femina princeps. Livia's position in the Roman state .pdf
This thesis is concerned with the foundations of Livia’s position in the Roman state. They are delineated by an investigation of important events of her life, the diverse privileges given to her, and the patterns that were established to enable subjects to express their loyalty to her and the imperial power. The study is based on a multifarious collection of material including literary texts, inscriptions, statues, coins, and gems. The material is organized, both theoretically and methodologically, according to the three principal roles Livia performed, viz. mater/uxor, patrona, and diva. The focus is on analysing how the content and enactment of these roles were transformed as a consequence of the development of the principate and Livia’s increasing status within it. The thesis has, therefore, a chronological structure and spans a hundred years, from Livia’s birth in 58 BCE up until her deification in 42 CE. The three roles provide the structure of this study and are discussed in one chapter each. In the concluding chapter they are placed side by side and a comprehensive view is taken of their chronological progression so as to present a thorough analysis of the stages in the formation of Livia’s position. A picture emerges of how female imperiality became a constituent part of the early principate, and how Livia was established as its princeps femina.
WOMEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN IMPERIAL ASIA MINOR: HELLENISTIC TRADITION AND AUGUSTAN IDEOLOGY
Women frequently appear with titles of public office in inscriptions of Roman Asia Minor. These titles are a meaningful sign of the role of women as office-bearers and not necessarily the result of sharing a position with a male relative. The late 1st century BC—early 1st century AD was particularly important as a formative period. The article discusses the social context of women office-bearers in Asia Minor under the headings: Queens in Bosporus and Asia Minor; Livia, femina princeps; Livia imitatio in the East; Wealthy Women in Public Life during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.
OCTAVIA MINOR AND THE TRANSITION FROM REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE
As a “good girl,” Octavia Minor, older sister to Octavian née Augustus, has been understudied as a historical figure of the Late Roman Republic. Her portrayal as a “good” exempla in the written classical sources obscures Octavia’s agency. This thesis seeks to divest Octavia of her “good girl” reputation, as has been done by other scholars for many “bad girls” of antiquity, such as Cleopatra and Livia. Removing this “good” stereotype will allow for an examination of Octavia’s role in transforming the moral example of a Roman woman from the Republic to the Empire. Through attentive handling of androcentric classical sources, this study will carefully seek to rehabilitate Octavia as an astute, rather than “good” woman. Though large portions of Octavia’s life are not examined by the classical sources, this thesis will turn to the people with whom Octavia was connected, her mother, step-father, husbands, and brother, as well as her female contemporaries with whom she was compared, Fulvia and Cleopatra, in an effort to more fully examine the entirety of Octavia’s life. The material culture associated with Octavia will also be studied. An examination of the innovative coins which displayed Octavia’s portrait, the busts and cameos, and the portico which she built in Rome all contribute to understanding Octavia as a woman who was not merely “good,” but was instead well-versed in her understanding of Roman traditional values and influential in transforming what it meant to be a Roman matrona under the new, innovative Roman state her brother was constructing. Octavia’s exempla would serve as the prototype to emulate for Livia and others, including Octavia’s own female descendants, as Roman empress.
The physical domus represented the status of imperial women and their position in society. Just like the male residence, the female residence was a lieu de me´moire. Activities taking place within the house were often evaluated along the lines of the ideal of female conduct. Livia’s actions on the Palatine Hill show that she was well aware of the symbolic power of her residence and of the importance of presenting herself as being in agreement with the traditional standards for female behaviour. The celebration of Diva Augusta on the Palatine and the preservation of (a part of) the Domus Augusti, first as the living space of the matres familias of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and later as an object of veneration, shows that the Palatine structure should not only be seen as the living space of emperors. The female component was just as present and played a role in the creation of lieux de me´moire.
THE RESTORATION OF THE PORTICUS OCTAVIAE AND SEVERAN IMPERIAL POLICY
Greece & Rome, 2007
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The Julio-Claudian period was in many aspects a period of trial and error. The women in Augustus' family attained a position of high visibility. They were designated to guarantee the family's continuity and contributed to the creation of a public image of the princeps and his reign. Julio-Claudian women remained important contributors to imperial ideology until Nero's reign. Over the years, ancient authors and image-makers came up with different ways to translate the position of imperial women. This process took place on various social levels, both at the centre and in the periphery of the Roman Empire. Some of these forms of representation were persistent and became part of a set of possible idioms, others were never repeated again.