God on Earth: Emperor Domitian

In life, the emperor Domitian (81-96 CE) marketed himself as a god; after his assassination he was condemned to be forgotten. Nonetheless he oversaw a literary, cultural, and monumental revival on a scale not witnessed since Rome’s first emperor, Augustus. In tandem with an exhibition in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden and the Mercati Traianei in Rome, planned for 2021-2022, this volume offers a fresh perspective on Domitian and his reign. This collection of papers, produced by a group of international scholars, offers a wholistic and interdisciplinary approach to the emperor and his works that begins with an overview of Rome and its imperial system and ends with a reappraisal of Domitian and his legacy. The subject of memory sanctions after his death, Domitian’s reputation has suffered as a result of the negative press he received both in antiquity and thereafter. Building upon recent scholarship that has sought to re-evaluate the last of the Flavian emperors, the papers in this volume present the latest research on Domitian’s building programmes and military exploits as well as the literary sources produced during and after his reign, all of which paint a picture of an emperor who – despite being loathed by Rome’s elite – did much to shape the landscape of Rome as we know it today. Contents: Preface: Anchoring a New Emperor André Lardinois, Ineke Sluiter Introduction: Domitian, the Neglected Emperor Who Wished to Be God Aurora Raimondi Cominesi, Nathalie de Haan, Eric M. Moormann & Claire Stocks Part 1: Ruling the Empire Emperorship and Emperors before the Flavians Came to Power Olivier Hekster Rome AD 69: the City at the Crossroads Domenico Palombi The Rise of the Flavians Barbara Levick Impact of Empire: Cremona, Bedriacum and Brescia Francesca Morandini, Lilia Palmieri, Marina Volonté Part 2: Building the Empire Domitian’s Reshaping of Rome Eric M. Moormann The Arch of Titus in the Circus Maximus Claudio Parisi Presicce Material Culture in Britannia under Domitian; a Northern Focus Barbara Birley, Frances McIntosh Domitian and the Lower German Limes (The Netherlands) Jasper de Bruin Part 3: The Image of the Emperor The Image of the Emperor: Seeing Domitian Jane Fejfer Historical Reliefs and Architecture Paolo Liverani The Image of the Emperor in Contemporary Epic Poetry Claire Stocks Imperial Women and the Dynamics of Power. Managing the Soft Power of Domitia Longina and Julia Titi Lien Foubert Part 4: The World of Domitian Living Like the Emperor: A Portrayal of Domitian in his Villas and on the Palatine Aurora Raimondi Cominesi and Claire Stocks Between Magnificence and Misery: Living Conditions in Metropolitan Rome Nathalie de Haan Entertainment and Spectacle during Domitian’s Rule Daniëlle Slootjes Domitian and the Capitolia Onno van Nijf, Robin van Vliet, Caroline van Toor Archaeological Evidence from Domitian’s Palatine Natascha Sojc Albanum Domitiani, Domitian’s Villa in Castel Gandolfo Claudia Valeri Part 5: Man and God Domitian and Religion Frederick G. Naerebout Master and God: Domitian’s Art and Architecture in Rome Diane Atnally Conlin Man and God: Literature Antony Augoustakis, Emma Buckley Anchoring Egypt. The Iseum Campense and Flavian Rome Miguel John Versluys Part 6: Fall and Afterlife Regime Change/Reputation in Antiquity Portraiture and Memory Sanctions Caroline Vout Domitian and the Temples of Egypt Olaf E. Kaper Domitian’s Damned Memory in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries Maria Paolo Del Moro ‘An Enemy of God’ on the Imperial Throne? The Reception of Domitian during the Middle Ages Nine Miedema Bibliography Index of Names, Places, and Subjects