Statues of Senators in the Forum of Trajan and the Roman Forum in Late Antiquity

Chenault, Robert R.

doi:10.1017/s0075435812000020

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Such honorific statues are conspicuous testimony to continuing material display by elite pagans. At least half of the dozen or so erected in the Forum of Trajan in the fourth century represented non-Christian imperial officials, not counting emperors (Chenault, 2012: 130, table A) 15 . Far from being cautiously suppressed, pagan religious offices were proudly published on statue bases.…”

Section: Defending the Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where Did All the Pagans Go? The Non-Christian Sarcophagi of Fourth-Century Rome

Couzin¹

2019

Pap. Br. Sch. Rome

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The number of Roman sarcophagi without explicit Christian iconography conventionally dated to the fourth century is not commensurate with any reasonable estimate of the number of well-to-do pagans. This article explores several possible explanations for the anomaly. One approach would be to attempt to correct the archaeological record by finding errors in the religious classification of monuments that exaggerate the Christian corpus, adding non-Christian sarcophagi that have escaped published inventories, or establishing a systematic misdating of pagan sarcophagi. Alternatively, the preserved monuments could be taken as an accurate reflection of original production, the shortfall implying some change in commemorative habits specific to non-Christians. The author concludes that neither of these theories is likely to reduce the pagan sarcophagus deficit substantially. Instead, the shortfall is ascribed mainly to differential rates of preservation. This hypothesis is consistent with certain medieval practices of reuse that suggest a higher probability of survival for antique sarcophagi bearing Christian imagery.

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Section: Defending the Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where Did All the Pagans Go? The Non-Christian Sarcophagi of Fourth-Century Rome

Couzin¹

2019

Pap. Br. Sch. Rome

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“…Important bureaucratic functions were now headquartered in the German city of Trier. Without an imperial court or a bishop (yet) at Rome, a cultural power vacuum was created which senators and their families energetically filled by trying to re-create classical Roman senatorial cultural practices (Chenault, 2012). We chose to include Ammianus because his Res Gestae, composed in the late 4th century, features a well-developed theory on why Rome's authority eroded.…”

Section: Ancient Textsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why we fell: Declinist writing and theories of imperial failure in the longue durée

Lachmann

Rose-Greenland

2015

Poetics

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“…Perist. 1.501-5, 2.481-4; CTh 16.10.15, 16.10.17, both from AD 399; as well as CIL IX 1563, X 3714 and 1588), all of which demonstrate a steady concern for the upkeep of statues in urban settings throughout the Mediterranean; and many studies have now revisited Curran's and Lepelley's work to confirm the tenor of their approach, drawing attention to late antique dynastic displays in the Roman Forum and the abundance of statuary bases found in the Forum of Trajan (Bauer, 1996: 7-80;Kalas, 2010;Chenault, 2012;Weisweiler, 2012). Carlos Machado's analysis of statuary dedications for Rome's traditional gods and goddesses is also important in this regard.…”

Section: Statues In the Late Antique Landscape: Recycling Moving Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

A late antique statuary collection at Ostia's sanctuary of Magna Mater: a case-study in late Roman religion and tradition

Boin¹

2013

Pap. Br. Sch. Rome

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Throughout the Mediterranean the study of the destruction, reuse, moving and preservation of statues has provided a window onto the transformation of Rome during a time of ascendant Christianity. The preservation of statuary collections is increasingly important in this regard. Archival research has revealed the discovery of one such collection at Ostia's Sanctuary of Magna Mater, a treasure trove of sculptures, reliefs and at least one bronze statue. All were well preserved, and several were found in the open spaces of the sanctuary. Together they span 500 years of history, stretching into the late fourth century. Unfortunately, the late antique significance of this group has never been acknowledged. This paper situates that collection within the social world of late antique Ostia, where many statues of both sacred and non-sacred subjects remained on display. The late fourth-century dedication, in particular, set alongside the earlier pieces, demonstrates that the ‘mood and motivations’ of traditional Roman religion, in Clifford Geertz's terms, also remained quite visible. The presence of this accumulated tradition, a hallmark of Rome's ‘civil religion’ for centuries, testifies to the high social status afforded one of Ostia's most historic sites, even during an increasingly Christian age.

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Statues of Senators in the Forum of Trajan and the Roman Forum in Late Antiquity

Cited by 10 publications

References 12 publications

Where Did All the Pagans Go? The Non-Christian Sarcophagi of Fourth-Century Rome

Where Did All the Pagans Go? The Non-Christian Sarcophagi of Fourth-Century Rome

Why we fell: Declinist writing and theories of imperial failure in the longue durée

A late antique statuary collection at Ostia's sanctuary of Magna Mater: a case-study in late Roman religion and tradition

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