Mater Castrorum – Archaeological Biography of Julia Domna

X STUDENCKA KONFERENCJA STAROZYTNICZA

Cupido dominandi Żądza władzy, władza nad żądzą

Książeczka abstraktów

Warszawa 2014

wystąpieniu chodzi mi jednak bardziej o to w jaki sposób wątki te potraktowane zostały przez starożytnych. Na ile sam Homer postrzegał i przedstawiał wyprawę na Troję jako konflikt właśnie z

in the Roman conception of power. Besides, at the end o f the clay, Dido and Sophoniba embody Carthage—that is why their ultimair failure is necessary: if not, it would imply the victory of the 1'imu

powodów erotycznych? W wystąpieniu chciałbym poruszyć kilka najważniejszych aspektów tematu. Jeśli chodzi o samą Helenę, będzie to marginalizacja jej postaci w Iliadzie (zrozumiała jeśli weźmiemy pod uwagę gatunek literacki w jakim operujemy, lecz i tak godna omówienia) oraz inne wersje mitu trojańskiego, mówiące między innymi o jej wizycie w Egipcie i tym samym nieobecności w Troi podczas zmagań (co właściwie usuwa podstawową motywację jaka kierowała zastępy Achajów do szturmów na mury miasta!) [Thomson: 1958, s. 469-478]. Warto zwrócić też uwagę na charakterystyczny dla greckiej mitologii brak możliwości decydowania o własnym losie — to bogowie zdecydować mieli o losie Heleny, gdzie więc jest tu miejsce na romantyczne zauroczenie [Hom. //. 3.176]? Następnie omówić należy podejście pozostałych bohaterów eposu do Heleny i „wątku romantycznego". Istotna jest zwłaszcza postawa dwóch najważniejszych wodzów greckich Agamemnona i Achillesa, czy któregokolwiek z nich w ogóle realnie obchodzą łóżkowe perypetie żony Menelaosa [Hom. //. 1.150-171]? Ciekawym i podsumowującym zagadnieniem jest dla mnie krótkie rozważenie przyczyn narzucenia wyprawie trojańskiej „miłosnych" konotacji, czy też takiego jej postrzegania w naszej kulturze.

city at expense of Rome. Two highly attractive, gifted, powerful females; the firsl l i . i . founded Carthage, the second is the daughter of Hasdrubal, one l n major generals during the 2nd Punic war. Both have forced princcs U> surrender to their beauty, therefore they hołd two kinds ol' powi-i Elissa, already a ąueen when she meets Aeneas, subjects him lo licr sensuality; Sophoniba rules her first husband, the Numidian kinj-, Syphax, by means of seduction in order to serve a political role. To desire those ladies means to give up any p o l i l u n l authority. Syphax' lust for Sophoniba allows her to manipulalc him m his political choices (Haley 1990). Aeneus has to leave Dido lo mlihis own land and then Masinissa must let his one-day brnie dio li> become an effective king recognized by Rome. Mercury lirsl, ilu-n Scipio Africanus, both manifestations of Romanity, pul Ihe si-ll indulgent lovers back on the right track. These tales work as CM •t>\\'\(i one does not deserve to exercise power if simultaneously givinn in lo

Mathilde Ca/eaux, Universite Montpellier 3 Venus punica : Dido and Sophoniba, two women against Rome's power

I would like to compare the characters of two Carthaginian ladies, Dido and Sophoniba, whose charms have threatened the birth of Rome and its destiny as a world power. It would be of great interest first to explore the links between their power of seduction and their political influence, then to examine the place of temperantia

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lust.

Moreover, Dido's charms nearly prevented Aeneus h om founding Alba, from which Rome was fated to arise (Farron I')K(). Horsfall 1990). Sophoniba lured Syphax, the most powurful kin)-, ol Africa, away from his former alliance with Rome; after l l c i l , -.Inattempted to do the same deed to Massinissa, Syphax' conk-iuli-i l»i kingship and nów love rival, in effect endangering Rome's vii lnu Lusting after a Carthaginian is turning away from Rome. MoniK .mil politics arę interlocked. But their suicide is also signilicanl: is ii noi precisely the feminine, passionate naturę of Carthage's powci i l i . i l makes it precarious? Jakub Mosiejczyk, Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu Mater Castrorum — Archaeological Biography of Julia Domua

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Julia Domna, the daughter of the high-priest Elah Gabal of Emesa, appears as one of the most influential women in the history of Imperium Romanum. As the life partner of Septimius Severus, she displayed genuine political aspirations which did not go unnoticed by the historiographers of the era. Moreover, her engagement in the affairs of the Empire, despite numerous public accusations, was approved by her spouse. This was reflected in the official art from the turn of the 2nd century. hi this paper, written in the convention of historical essay, a number of questions about the role of the Syrian empress arę going to be posed. Was Julia Domna significant enough to influence Severus' decisions? Or should she be seen just as a part of the imperiał family in which she played a role of a propagandistic figurę embedded in a religious context, a figurę invented by the emperor from Leptis Magna? The search for answers to these questions was sparked by an analysis of the works of the ancient writers. Among these, the accounts of Cassius Dio, a historiographer contemporary to the Severan family, arę of greatest significance. Fortunately for historians, hę was not the sole witness to the events at the turn of the 2nd century. Information on the actiyities of the empress is complemented pieces found in the works of Herodian and Philostratus of Lemnos. The latter in particular pictures Augusta as the patroness of art and philosophy. The position of the empress is also reflected in the materiał culture, as evidenced by the analysis of the iconography of the official art from the Severan era. Among the discussed monuments arę the reliefs adorning Arcus Argentariorum in Rome and the triumphal arch of Septimius Severus in Leptis Magna, painting in the form of the famous Severan Tondo in Berlin, as well as assorted numismatic depictions of the era. The selected specimens illustrate a specific canon in representations of the imperiał family, in which the Syrian empress occupies a key position. It was related to promoting Severus'

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aspirations, i.e. founding a new, divine dynasty. Ali this contributes to the image of an extremely strong female figurę that left her mark not only on the Roman East, but throughout the entire Imperium Romanum. Łukasz Smorczewski, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu An extraordinar\ privilege granted to empress Eusebia — enigmatic passage XVII, 7,6 of Ammianus' Res Gestae Female influence on Roman Empire's authorities as portrayed in contemporary sources has been always an interesting subject. The work of Ammianus Marcellinus, a soldier and a historian of 4* century A.D., is a good example of the aforementioned tendency. T. D. Barnes pointed out some similarities between Cornelius Tacitus' Annales and Ammianus' narrative. One of the most significant parallels was their similitude in descriptions of imperiał women. Especially the wife of Constantius II, Augusta Eusebia, was depicted by Ammianus as an appropriate heiress of the powerful member of Julio-Claudian dynasties. Indeed, empress Eusebia appears to be a very influential person. Her deeds were held in high esteem not only in the text of Ammianus Marcellinus, but also in Julian panegyric. However, the most splendid homage was the imperiał decision to rename Pontus diocese in honour of Eusebia. The main issue that I wish to explore is this unusual reward granted to the empress. It is worth mentioning that Ammianus' work is the only testimony that recorded this peculiar information. Although this ancient writer informs his readers about renaming a diocese in honour of emperor's wife, hę does not divulge that the administrative unit in question was Pontus. Furthermore, the provincial list does not record any substantial change in Pontic administrative structure. In my opinion the identification of renamed pnwince with Pontus has been taken for granted by scholars and it should be reevaluated. First of all, I intend to check similar examples of an emperor's renaming province in

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