The Buildings and the Images of the
Imperial Cult
IIII Julio-Claudian dynasty
Acta Fratrum Arvalum (Arval Acta)
The Arval Brothers
- important for studying the development of the imperial cult
- main literary source for the period of Julio – Claudian dynasty
1. TIBERIUS (Tiberius Claudius Nero)
Born: November 16th , 42 BC
Died: March 16th , 37 AD
Parents: Livia, Tiberius Claudius Nero
Accession: Augustus, 4 AD
Reign:
- extremely cautious
- forbade the setting up of his portraits
- final establishing of the cult – the cult of
Divus Augustus
IMAGES
Posthumous portrait – Tiberius as Jupiter –
Cerveteri
Grand Camée
- eight-layer sardonyx: white the upper,
brown the lower.
- irregular shape (not the original)
- appears to be complete
- the largest ancient surviving cameo
(H. 31 cm; w. 26.5 cm) in Paris,
- 23-29 AD, Tiberius, or after 50 AD Claudius
(different interpretations)
Subject: Enthroned Tiberius is surrounded bySubject: Enthroned Tiberius is surrounded by
various members of the Julio-Claudian family
(living and deceased).
1 – Tiberius as Jupiter, holding lituus,
wearing laurel wreath (not a corona civica)
2 - Julia (Augustus’ daughter) but the
marriage ended up quickly, never married
again, so this is Livia (mother), stressing his
succession rights
3 – Nero Germanici,
4 - Julia Drusi, Nero Germanici’s wife
5 - Slightly older boy behind Livia – Drusus 4
9
8
10
1112
13
9 – Augustus, 10 - Drusus the Younger, 11 –
Germanicus, 12 – Eros, 13 – Mithras (Aion
– eternal time, Marc Anthony, Alexander
the Great, Iulus Ascanius)
5 - Slightly older boy behind Livia – Drusus
Caesar, with a trophy
6 - Agrippina Maior, Germanicus’ widow
7 - Gaius Caesar
8 - Claudia Livilla, Germaicus’ sister and
widow of Drusus the Younger
3, 5, and 7 – brothers - sons of Germanicus
and Agrippina
1
23
4
5
6
7
8
Boscoreale cup
triumph (awarded in 8 BC and celebrated in 7 BC) of Tiberius
The triumphus de Germanis of Tiberius,
Tiberius – triumphator with servus publicus
The other side:
The scene of sacrifice
2 CALIGULA (Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus)
Born: August 31st , 12 AD
Died: January 24th , 41 AD (stabbed 30 times)
Parents: Germanicus, Agrippina the Elder
Accession: Germanicus (father) adopted by
Tiberius (died before him)
Reign:
- the beginnings peaceful
- sacrifices to Caligula’s Genius vetoed
(modesty? fear?)
- then humiliated, emphasized his limitless
power
- then humiliated, emphasized his limitless
power
THE STATE CULT
Literary sources
problematic nature: Suetonius – sensationalist
Dio – no critical ability
(a habit to generalize from single incident),
Seneca – hatred of the emperor
Jewish writes Philo and Josephus – Caligula’s conflict with Jews,
no other aspects
- impersonating different gods
- the dress used as an emblematic dress to define position without courting death- the dress used as an emblematic dress to define position without courting death
THE PRIVATE SPHERE
- the private sphere - encouraged the phenomenon
- he never received state deification or divine worship in the Roman state
BUILDINGS
The palace of Caligula (Suetonius describes it as a domus)
- the northern side of the Palatine
Problem with the buildings:
Building (palace) – situated behind the temple of Dioscuri - incorporated into it (literary
sources) ?
3 CLAUDIUS (Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus)
Born: August 1st , 10 BC
Died: October 13th , 54 AD
Parents: Drusus the Elder, Antonia the Younger
Accession: after Caligula’s murder, he was chosen to
be the emperor by the guardsmen (who killed the
former emperor)
Reign:
- distanced himself from the absolutist
pretensions
- modest as well as legitimate
- Vestal Virgins – duty to offer proper sacrifice to- Vestal Virgins – duty to offer proper sacrifice to
Augustus and Livia
- forbade sacrifice and worship of himself
THE STATE CULT
- huge changes in the state cult, the most important time in the development of the role of the
Genius
-emperor’s Genius joined the state pantheon of Rome
-beginnings – Claudius wanted to stress himself as the heir of Augustus
-state worship – position of the emperor in the state clearly expressed
- senators became his clients
Archaeological evidence:
The Frieze of the Vicomagistri
- the name: after the four ministry
- a part of a rectangular monument or a statue base
Found: Campo Marzio
Depiction: religious procession
The togate figures
-“magistri” – only four of them
depicted in compital cults
- the only one frontal, the other two
looking at him and he is taller - the
emperor Claudius
The ministri
-two groups: publici (public slaves) and pueri ingenui patrimi et matrimi (senators’ young sons),
who will one day function as priests
-carry statuettes of the emperor’s Genius and Lares
two almost frontal togati, three lictors, two tunicate figures, presumably camilli, three
hornblowers, three bovine victims – a bull, a steer and a young heifer each pulled by a
victimarius, group of musicians, part is missing
- the background – crowded with several minor figures, e.g. a victimarius carrying a tray, other
carrying a cauldron
- victims, their nature and order – steer, heifer and bull
- the scene: consecration of Livia and the procession to the temple of Divus Augustus with her
statue
- Genius of the living emperor included in the state cult for the first time
Deification
Two changes:
a) conflicting version of achieving his apotheosis
b) no eyewitness
Death of the emperor
Formal deification by theFormal deification by the
decree of the Roman Senate
Official consecration by
the new emperorPublic imperial funeral
Symbolical apotheosis
performed by the release
of an eagle from the
funeral pyre
Either before or after the
senatorial decree
Official consecration by
the new emperor
BUILDINGS
Temple of Divus Claudius – Caelian hill (peripheral site), side of Claudius’ private domus
- 54 AD died – wife Agrippina began the construction
- no trace of the temple above the platform foundations - Severan Marble Plan – prostyle,
hexastyle, 3 columns on the sides
- Nero cancelled several Claudian acts
- Vespasian restored Claudius’ divine honors
IMAGES
Portrait from Lanuvium
- the statue was erected in honor of
Claudius by the Senate and the people
of Lanuvium
Seated statue from Cerveteri as Jupiter
- a part of a Claudian dynastic group – Claudius, Tiberius, Agrippina, Britannicus
Cameos
Grand Camée
1 Tiberius
2 Livia
3 Germanicus
4 Agrippina the Elder (in front of Tiberius)
5 Claudius – behind Tiberius
6 Agrippina Younger – Claudius’ wife and niece at
the same time
7 The child on the left – Nero
8 Behind Nero – Providentia Augusti
9 Augustus in the middle, up
1
23 4
5
9
8
10
1112
13
9 Augustus in the middle, up
10 Drusus the Younger – on the left of Augustus
11 Drusus the Elder – on the right of Augustus
(died falling of the horse)
12 Eros
13 Mithra/Sol Invictus – Nero was born on the
15th December, close to Mithra’s birthday –Nero
loved himself showing as Sol, astrological
reference to the birth (similar to Gemma
Augustea)
• Seated oriental figure - Ti. Claudius Balbillus – a
personal counsellor of Nero – oriental origin,
living on the court, connection to the Claudians
23 5
6
7
Claudius apotheosis, mid 1st century AD, four layers, sardonyx
The Ravenna Relief (Claudian date between 45-50)
- two marble relief fragments from a Claudian monument, possibly an altar honoring the
imperial family
The smaller fragment – sacrifice
The bigger fragment – a series of frontally positioned imperial figures
NERO (Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, Claudius
Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Nero
Claudius Drusus Germanicus)
Born: December 15th , 37 AD
Died: June 9th , 98 AD
Parents: Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, Agrippina
the Younger
Accession: adopted by Claudius
- the last julio-claudian emperor
Reign:
- influenced by his mother, Seneca and Burrus- influenced by his mother, Seneca and Burrus
(Praetorian commander)
- later cruel
- persecuted Christians
- committed an “assisted” suicide
STATE CULT
-the worship of Genius continued – The Arval Acta
-change of iconography
- reason of the change: difficult to distinguish
- the Colossus Neronis 30 m bronze statue,
in the vestibule of his Domus Aurea.
PRIVATE CULT
- the sources fail – texts and monuments created for the public eye, private cults had a well
informed insiders – no need of explanatory monuments
- literary sources - Ovid – Augustus, Vitellius
- there is hardly any archaeological evidence of emperor
- Pompeian wall painting
- portraits in private
-sculptured miniature portraits – Herculaneum
Imperial libation before private banquets
- to the living emperor
- 30BC after the conquest of Egypt – the Senatorial Decree – a libation poured to the emperor,
not to his Genius, at all banquets, public and privatenot to his Genius, at all banquets, public and private