History and silence : purge and rehabilitation of memory in late antiquity / Charles W. Hedrick, Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hedrick, Charles W., Jr., 1956-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Inscriptions, Latin--Italy--Rome.

Inscriptions, Latin.

Palimpsests--Italy--Rome.

Palimpsests.

Memory--Social aspects--Italy--Rome--History.

Memory.

Monuments--Conservation and restoration--Italy--Rome--History.

Monuments.

Elite (Social sciences)--Italy--Rome--Historiography.

Elite (Social sciences).

Forum of Trajan (Rome, Italy).

Rome--Politics and government--284-476--Historiography.

Rome.

Flavianus, Virius Nicomachus, approximately 334-394.

Flavianus, Virius Nicomachus.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxvi, 338 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, 2000.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The ruling elite in ancient Rome sought to eradicate even the memory of their deceased opponents through a process now known as damnatio memoriae. These formal and traditional practices included removing the person's name and image from public monuments and inscriptions, making it illegal to speak of him, and forbidding funeral observances and mourning. Paradoxically, however, while these practices dishonored the person's memory, they did not destroy it. Indeed, a later turn of events could restore the offender not only to public favor but also to re-inclusion in the public record. This book examines the process of purge and rehabilitation of memory in the person of Virius Nicomachus Flavianus(?-394). Charles Hedrick describes how Flavian was condemned for participating in the rebellion against the Christian emperor Theodosius the Great—and then restored to the public record a generation later as members of the newly Christianized senatorial class sought to reconcile their pagan past and Christian present. By selectively remembering and forgetting the actions of Flavian, Hedrick asserts, the Roman elite honored their ancestors while participating in profound social, cultural, and religious change.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

CHAPTER 1 A PALIMPSEST

CHAPTER 2 CURSUS AND CAREER

CHAPTER 3 UNSPEAKABLE PAGANISM?

CHAPTER 4 REMEMBERING TO FORGET The Damnatio Memoriae

CHAPTER 5 SILENCE, TRUTH, AND DEATH The Commemorative Function of History

CHAPTER 6 REHABILITATING THE TEXT Proofreading and the Past

CHAPTER 7 SILENCE AND AUTHORITY Politics and Rehabilitation

APPENDIX Concerning the Text of CIL 6.1783

NOTES

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

SECONDARY WORKS CITED

GENERAL INDEX

INDEX LOCORUM

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [301]-320) and indexes.

ISBN:

0-292-77937-2

0-292-79915-2

OCLC:

55889846