Roman Propaganda Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Engraved Gems and Propaganda in the Roman Republic and under Augustus deals with small, but highly captivating and stimulating artwork – engraved gemstones. Although in antiquity intaglios and cameos had multiple applications (seals,... more

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- Classical Archaeology, Iconography, Propaganda, Roman Republic

Este artículo pretende demostrar que Augusto nació en el mes de diciembre astronómico, bajo el signo de Capricornio, en una fecha que se correspondía con el septiembre calendárico debido a las viejas discrepancias del calendario tradicional romano con respecto a la realidad astronómica, así como señalar la endeblez de las demás teorías propuestas acerca de esta cuestión.

- by Alberto González García
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- Astrology, History of Astrology, Augustan Principate, Natal Astrology
- by Diego M. Escámez de Vera
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- Roman Religion, Flavian Rome, Roman Propaganda

This article reflects on some of the problems inherent in the study of imperial (self)presentation. It argues that Roman emperors had to bridge the gap between the reality of emperorship and its perception by different layers of society. Augustus solved the problem by putting forward a multi-faceted imperial persona, to whom different audiences could relate differently. This plurality characterised ‘normal’ images of power in the first two centuries of the Roman Empire. Exception to the rule was imagery of those rulers who expressly aimed to legitimate themselves through clear but controversial visual programmes. This resulted in inflexible imagery, and antagonistic reactions. The problems which the Roman Empire faced in the third century widened the ‘gap’ between imperial image and daily reality, and changed the dynamics through which Roman ideology was formulated.

- by Olivier Hekster
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- Augustus, Tetrarchy, Roman Emperors, Roman Propaganda

Look at the list of contents for more detailed description of what is inside the volume.

- by Paweł Gołyźniak
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- Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Iconography, Art History

La legitimidad es un espacio político en continua construcción. Sin embargo, el respeto al legado augústeo y la explotación de su recuerdo, en aras de proyectar una imagen de continuidad con la casa imperial precedente, son constantes en la actuación política de Vespasiano y sus hijos. El propósito del presente trabajo es analizar el papel de de los símbolos y referentes ideológicos augústeos en la construcción y consolidación del Principado flavio a través de su reflejo en la documentación hispana. En particular, a través del estudio de un conjunto de inscripciones procedentes de la Bética, fechadas entre el reinado de Vespasiano y Domiciano, dedicadas a los miembros de la familia imperial y a divinidades asociadas a ellas, como Venus y Apolo.
Un aspecto sumamente interesante es el perfil de los dedicantes: exmagistrados que elevan su agradecimiento a los emperadores flavios por la obtención de la ciudadanía romana en el marco del nuevo ordenamiento institucional. Por tanto, el análisis de estas dedicatorias constituye una excelente oportunidad para evaluar la recepción por parte de estas oligarquías municipales de la propaganda oficial flavia. A su vez, nos permitirá reflexionar cómo la difusión de estos modelos imperiales, y en particular aquellos orientados a la exaltación dinástica, influyen en el comportamiento y la proyección pública de estas élites sociales.

- by David Gordillo Salguero
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- Roman History, Roman Religion, Flavian Literature, Latin Epigraphy

Nummi restituti (Restitution coins) appeared in Roman imperial mintage thanks to the Flavian mints, operating in the times of Titus and Domitian. The authoress shares the thesis that the Restitution coins, apart from their commemorative function, expressing the tribute to memory — of
pre-Flavian members of the Roman imperial house, their successes and virtues, as well as the Roman senate or earlier coin types — served also as a medium of ideological contents. Their production might have fulfilled an ideologically justified political need — an intention of ensuring the continuity of the pre-Flavian emperors’ politics and the legitimization of the Flavian dynasty. The authoress looks for a selection criterion of the prototypes for the Restitution coins and points to the possible key of choosing those prototypes which may have been military successes of predecessors crowned by triumphal honours.

- by Katarzyna Balbuza
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- Emperor Domitian, Flavian World, Roman Imperial Ideology, Roman Imperial Coins

The rich collection of engraved gems once belonging to Constantine Schmidt-Ciążyński, now preserved at the National Museum in Krakow, provides a number of interesting and valuable pieces. Among them are several objects testifying to the use of glyptic art by Octavian/Augustus in his propaganda campaigns. This paper aims to present six intaglios and one cameo from this collection and to explain their propagandistic value. The study is also a contribution to a broader discussion on the use of engraved gems for personal branding and propaganda purposes in the Late Roman Republic and the early Principate.

- by Paweł Gołyźniak
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- History Of Propaganda, Glyptics, Augustus, Engraved gems

The paper focuses on the representation of the British leader Caratacus in the twelfth book of the Annals by Tacitus. Within this context the historian attributes two different speeches to the leader of the Catuvellauni. In contrast with the first, held in Britannia, aimed at persuading the local tribes to fight against the Romans, which follows the conventions of military oratory, the second, pronounced in the presence of Emperor Claudius, after Caratacus was paraded through Rome, following his capture, contains an explicit accusation of the Roman way of conquering in order to obtain property and possessions, taking advantage also of the support of local tribes. In addition to this argument showing a further example of Tacitus’ interest in expressing the perspective of the oppressed, Claudius’ decision to concede Caratacus his life, after having him paraded as prisoner through the streets of Rome, provides a further example of his strategic skill in exploiting the propaganda value of the successes in Britain achieved under his leadership.

- by Ida Gilda Mastrorosa
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- Ancient History, Classics, Latin Literature, Roman History
- by Diego M. Escámez de Vera
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- Roman Religion, Augustan Principate, Augustus, Julio-Claudian Emperors

La ricerca del ritratto di Apollodoro di Damasco, l'architetto attivo per Traiano e nella prima parte del principato di Adriano, è stata fuorviata dall'immissione sul mercato antiquario, alla fine dell'Ottocento, di un busto marmoreo contraffatto. Sul rilievo della Colonna Traiana si trova l'unica rappresentazione del celebre architetto siriano, che va individuata però in un personaggio diverso rispetto a quelli fino ad oggi segnalati dalla disciplina archeologica. Non si tratta, tuttavia, di un ritratto vero e proprio, perché la fisionomia è generica. La posizione occupata nella scena del sacrificio davanti al ponte sul Danubio, 'certifica' tuttavia che proprio Apollodoro si voleva rappresentare come alter ego dell'imperatore Traiano, come immagine non importante in sé, ma strategica nel supporto alla propaganda imperiale.

- by Giuliana Calcani
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- Archaeology, Roman History, Portraits, Art History

- by Olivier Hekster
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- Augustus, Tetrarchy, Roman Emperors, Roman Propaganda

Romanisation has been studied on various levels from the material culture to the different social, economic or religious aspects. The main questions were how and in what way the Roman culture penetrated the everyday life in the provinces, i.e. from the local point of view. But how did Rome or its rulers perceive the progress of Romanisation? How can this be traced and what kind of a picture – realistic or idealistic – does this reveal to us? There are some special representations, the personifications of provinces that reflect exactly this.

- by Lajos Juhasz
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- Iconography, Propaganda, Numismatics, Romanisation

The triumphal monument from Adamclisi (Romania), which was erected by order of Emperor Trajan on the place where he was victorious against barbarian enemies in the early secondcentury AD, stands as evidence of the imperial propaganda implemented in a provincial environment with an artistic standard not equal to that of the more culturally advanced regions. This assertion was unanimously accepted by the scholars, nevertheless, it stimulated abundant debates concerning the art
of this monument. This paper summarizes the principal conclusions, adding several observations regarding Trajan’s visual propaganda. Our considerations refer especially to the iconographic features of the frieze and the reliefs of this monument, inspired by the military theme of Roman art during the Early Empire, in which the war and the figure of Mars predominate.

- by Hollard Dominique and +1
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- Roman History, Early Christianity, Roman Religion, Imperial Rome

This paper deals with the hypothesis of why Nicopolis ad Haemum, a town established to glorify the victory of Trajan over the Dacians and their Sarmatian allies south of the Danube, was renamed at the beginning of Hadrian's rule as Nicopolis ad Istrum. The author believes the change happened in 118/119 AD after a victory of the emperor near the Danube over either Roxolani or Iazyges, with a preference for the latter. This, along with the unfortunate fate of the main person responsible, Q. Marcius Turbo, predetermined the confusion in later historical narratives and the connection of this battle to the Trajanic Dacian Wars, although no such victory is ever attested.

- by Ivo Topalilov
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- Roman History, Roman Provincial Archaeology, Roman provinces, Hadrian

The reverse figures on two coin types of Julia Domna (RIC 380 and 381) have been identified as either the empress herself or a personification of Pax. This article offers a third possibility. By examining numismatic evidence pertaining to the empress in the context of the fraught period of Caracalla and Geta’s joint rule of the empire, I will argue that the most likely identity of the personification depicted on RIC 380 and 381 is that of Concordia. This identification fits more comfortably with the rest of the numismatic corpus for the period, and also makes greater sense when considered in the midst of the intense rivalry observed between the young Augusti in months preceding Geta’s eventual murder.

- by Alex Imrie
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- Ancient History, Roman History, Numismatics, Ancient numismatics (Archaeology)

While interest in land appropriation in Zimbabwe has produced a significant amount of literature in recent decades, much of this research has not been located within an explicatory schema that explores the relationship between physical space and political order in Zimbabwe’s land reform programme for purposes of political control and power retention. The attempt by Mugabe to appropriate different arguments to justify his veterans-led land redistribution programme has been interpreted differently in the existing scholarship on Zimbabwe’s land reform programme. Mugabe’s speech quoted in the title of this article opened for us a new lacuna to explore in the ongoing debate on Mugabe’s motives for land reform. In this respect, we need to examine the politics of space in Zimbabwe’s land reform programme, which saw the expropriation of white-owned commercial farms by veterans of Zimbabwe’s war of liberation, discussing the various strategies and subtle arguments appropriated by Mugabe to r...

- by Ezra Chitando
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- Sociology, Propaganda by public libraries in Romania, Roman Propaganda
- by Jennifer Lynam
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- Classics, Roman History, Roman Propaganda

The matter at issue of this article is golden and silver coinage of Marcus Agrippa during his governorship in Gaul in 38 BC. Comparison of this coinage with contemporary Italian bronze coins shows that the main ideological motive was probably determined by Octavian, but its specific realization belonged to Agrippa. Caesar holds a special place on these coins and his connection with Octavian is stressed by combining the portrait of Caesar with the legend referring to his son, portraits of Caesar and Octavian face to face on the same obverse, Octavian’s beard, legend DIVI F, the title IMP, which was inherited by Octavian from Caesar. The image of the sidus Iulium above the forehead of Caesar, just as it was on his statue erected by Octavian in his honor, also appears for the first time on these very coins. A modest reverse bearing only the name of Marcus Agrippa and his title as COS DESIG serves as a foil to the importance of the obverse. This coinage had to remind the legionaries serving in Gaul that this province had been conquered by Caesar and that Octavian was his true heir. Besides, this coinage also served as a counterbalance to the coinage of Sextus Pompeius. Also coins of Agrippa would help to restore Octavian’s renown as a military leader, which had suffered damage in the war with Sextus Pompeius

It has long been proven that some rulers of the Hellenistic, Late Roman Republic and early Imperial period used the cult of Dionysus to legitimise their political authority. The research to date focuses on the most explicit examples, usually related either to the title Neos Dionysos used as a means of self-identification (e.g. Mark Antony, Ptolemy XII, Mithridates VI), or to the idea of associating the imperial family (domus divina) with the figure of Dionysus (the Severan dynasty). This chapter aims to draw attention to three poorly investigated cases in which the figure of Dionysus was used to legitimise the imperial authority: Caligula, Domitian and Hadrian. The chapter proceeds to examine the idea of the rulers’ self-identification with the figure of Dionysus and debates some Dionysiac aspects of imperial religious policy between the time of the Late Roman Republic and the period of the Nerva-Antonine Dynasty. Access Online: https://www.routledge.com/Dionysus-and-Politics-Constructing-Authority-in-the-Graeco-Roman-World/Doroszewski-Karlowicz/p/book/9780367507282?fbclid=IwAR06TsoeKOPgxISCrKRYRP7pQr10jH67k8LPYDWAePB1HZA65EjYzyewxC8#

- by Sławomir Poloczek
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- Roman Religion, Roman political culture, Roman Empire, Dionysus

Look at the list of contents for more detailed description of what is inside the volume.

This article proposes a reinterpretation of scene C of Trajan’s Column. Fulcrum of the whole narra- tive of the Column, the events between the first and second Dacian war are represented in this relief that shows the Emperor Trajan receiving men from foreign delegations. The work proposes some new readings on these ambassadors, on their ethnic groups and on the reasons for their presence in Drobeta in 105 AD. This scene is explanatory of the diplomatic abilities of the emperor Trajan, known primarily for his commander skills, but – in contrast with Domitian – also as a prudent and shrewd manager of the fragile relations between the numerous populations of the Danubian area.

- by Simone Pastor
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- Roman History, Barbarian societies, Column of Trajan, Dacia and Trajan

Look at the list of contents for more detailed description of what is inside the volume.

- by Ida Gilda Mastrorosa
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- Roman History, Roman Historiography, Roman Republic, Roman social history

En este artículo nos centraremos en analizar las mecánicas que la domus Licinia Augusta puso en marcha en las provincias africanas para reafirmar su posición de prestigio a través de la epigrafía edilicia entre los años 253 y 268. De este modo, estudiaremos cómo las favorables políticas de promoción colonial y de reorganización de unidades militares llevadas a cabo por Valeriano y Galieno (ausentes en otras provincias como Hispania) influyeron favorablemente en la edificación y reconstrucción de templos y otros edificios de carácter público. Exploraremos, por tanto, las estadísticas de la epigrafía edilicia en su conjunto para después analizar algunos ejemplos de gran importancia en enclaves como Lambaesis, en Numidia, o Thugga, en Africa Proconsularis.

In 2012 I taught Roman coins both semesters (same class) Fall and Spring. We had a low enrollment in Spr and 10 in Fall, which was probably the biggest of the seminar classes that term (History of Art caps enrollment in undergraduate seminars at 12). Students had a chance to handle real Roman coins from my collection.
In the eras before newspapers, Roman politicians spread information by using the tails of coins as newspaper headlines to share news of the latest conquest, important anniversary, new religious event, or to glorify the emperor with praise. Word could travel from hand to hand as quickly as word of mouth in some cases, although the medium of coinage as a vehicle of information only succeeded when the intended audience understood the coin messages. The ancient reader need not be literate by our definition to have understood the images on these coins, but as literate, modern scholars we sometimes have trouble reading the message on the coins of this ancient culture. This class addresses some of the better known coins whose imagery is intelligible and traces the progression of Roman coinage from mere currency to a form of newspaper worth much more than what it was printed on (sic).
We will ask a number of questions about the transmission of these newspaper headlines, such as what are their limitations? How did illiterate Romans understand the messages? Was the message ever misconstrued? Did opposing mints conduct unfriendly dialogues during civil war? How involved was the emperor in cons design?
[see syllabus for the rest]

Road Epigraphy give us not only a lot of data concerning with mobility and road system, but also it is a real expression of road policies and political propaganda in rural areas. Territorial policies combined with all these perspectives allow us to link with two
traditional models that have been always studied separated. Notwithstanding, the review of the corpus milliariorum of the territory of the former Roman province of Baetica give us divergences of these evidences and it shows us a different approach of this propaganda in a spread territorial view from Augustus to Hadrian. It can be linked with historic moments and the model of Roman administration in that area.

- by Sergio España-Chamorro
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- Latin Epigraphy, Roman roads, Roman Provincial Archaeology, Hispania

In the mid fourth century B.C. some Roman gentes drew on a Pythagorean tradition. In this tradition, Numa's role of Pythagoras' disciple connected Rome (and the gentes) with Greek elites and culture. The Marcii, between 304 and 300 B.C., used Numa's figure, recently reshaped by the Aemilii and the Pinarii for their propaganda, to promote the need for a plebeian pontificate. After the approval of the Ogulnium plebiscite (300 B.C.), the needs for this kind of propaganda fell away. When Marcius Censorinus became censor, Numa's pontificate was no longer relevant for promoting the gens. For this reason, the Marcii used another genealogy for similar propagandistic effect: the figure of Marsyas, a symbol of plebeian ideals.

- by Davide Morelli
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- Roman History, Roman Republic, Pythagoreanism, Numa Pompilius

Look at the list of contents for more detailed description of what is inside the volume.

IntroductionPresident Robert Mugabe's famous speech at the Earth Summit in South Africa in 2002, in which he targeted the then British prime minister, Tony Blair, opened up a new dimension in the land redistribution debate of Zimbabwe's 2000-2008 years of crisis. The speech revealed what can be argued in Mugabe's scheme of things when he conceived the idea of instituting a land reform. Mugabe's words against Tony Blair presuppose that there was an existing relationship between the physical space of the people resettled by Mugabe, especially veterans of Zimbabwe's war of liberation, and Mugabe's political order. While a common concern for the landless poor was no doubt part of the ideological foundations of Zimbabwe soon after attaining independence, we argue in this article that the redistribution of land and farm invasions (termed the "Third Chimurenga" (Uprising) in official and popular discourses) were concerned with transforming the lands acquir...

- by Ezra Chitando
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- Sociology, Politics, Pan African Studies, Propaganda by public libraries in Romania

In Macr. Sat. ii 4, 31, a humble Greek poet (Graeculus) repeatedly begs Augustus to accept a praising epigram. To make him leave, the emperor himself plays the role of a poet: he composes an epigram impromptu and offers it to the Graeculus. In turn, the Greekling plays the role of an addressee of poetry and donates all of his money to the emperor, just a few denarii, and adds: “if I had more, I would give you more”. Augustus has to laugh at the joke of the Graeculus and donates him a big sum. Analyzing this anecdote in the framework of the testimonia about Augustus as a Greek poet, I aim to show that the sentence uttered by the Greekling capsizes a common anathematic motive, which runs as follows: “O deity, if you give me more (than my present offering), I will offer you more in return”. This motive was commonly used by Greek epigrammatists. In some late Hellenistic epigrams there is even an eulogistic shift in the employ of this topos, as the laudandus plays in these poems the very same role played by the god in the traditional formulation of the motive. So, Augustus is presented in the anecdote as an ironic, educated and open individual and, at the same time, is implicitly portrayed as a deus praesens, who immediately fulfills the wishes of his subjects. Although it can not be ruled out that the anecdote has undergone a remake process during the time, this Macrobian anecdote might be traced back to a propaganda to create a public persona of Augustus. In spite of its articulate structure, the anecdote can be seen as testimony to Augustus's knowledge of the Greek language as well.

- by Francesco Pelliccio
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- Greek Literature, Latin Literature, Augustan Poetry, Propaganda

In the present paper we will analyze the role of rumor as a way of spreading prodigia during the Flavian period. The prodigia,perfectly ingrained in the system of religious legitimization of the ruler in roman times, are considered a direct expression of the will of the deity,which shows its support or rejection. The apparent knowledge of classics about how the rumor operates, and the continuous link established between it and the appearance and spreading of prodigia, lead us to propose a political use of both phenomena during the Empire. Through the comparison between classics and modern psychology of rumor, we will analyze to what extend the link between prodigia and rumor is relevant to understand the roman prodigia.

- by Diego M. Escámez de Vera
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- Psychology, Roman History, Visual propaganda, Propaganda

Since the studies of Pierre Salama, milestones have been considered as inscriptions which exude and express the imperial power. Notwithstanding, the studies on the Epigraphy of this road have been generally seen firstly from an epigraphical view and secondly, as a proof to fill in the gap for road system. The aim of this research is linking the geographical information with their characteristic as element of power. This allows me to draw the spaces of power in the province of Baetica and to delve into administrative implications of these inscriptions. It also allows me to propose propaganda as their main function, more than their traditional consideration as an informative element.

The article explores the relationship between three political events of 66–65 B.C.E., which were the factual basis of the propagandistic myth about the “First conspiracy of Catiline”. The myth was laid down when in the second elections of 66 B.C.E. P. Sulla, condemned and debarred from consulship, tried to support Catiline against his own former rival and prosecutor Torquatus with the help of armed gangs. But Catiline was not admitted to the elections, so he formed an alliance with Manilius, a popular leader accused of extortion, and broke down his trial expecting to receive a good turn from Manilius during his own impending trial on the same charge. Among the instigators of these disturbances was Cn. Piso, a friend of Catiline and an enemy of Pompey, trying to win over Pompey’s ally Manilius. Crassus’ participation in these events is not attested and seems improbable, but soon he promoted the extraordinary appointment of Piso to a post of propraetor of Spain. In the propaganda of their political opponents the electoral alliance of Sulla and Catiline and the disturbances organized by the latter during the trial of Manilius were interpreted as a conspiracy to seize power schemed by Sulla, Catiline and their allies Piso and Autronius. The enemies of the first triumvirate inserted into this story the name of Crassus as an initiator of the conspiracy, and the accusation seemed plausible because he had openly sought the appointment of Piso to Spain.

- by Olga Liubimova
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- Late Roman Republic, Julius Caesar, Roman politics, Roman Propaganda
- by Diego M. Escámez de Vera
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- Roman History, Roman Religion, Ancient Roman Numismatics, Vespasian

- by Diego M. Escámez de Vera
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- Roman History, Roman Religion, Roman Propaganda