|
| jupiter
as emperor |
Date:
Tue, 11 Jan 1994
From:
Michael Fraser
Subject:
Jupiter as emperor?
I have seen references to the emperor being portrayed in art or
described in literature in images and terms appropriate to Jupiter.
Are there any examples (especially in art) of Jupiter depicted with
imperial imagery?
Date:
Tue, 11 Jan 1994
From:
Daniel Curley
Subject:
Re: Jupiter as emperor?
As
a start, you might try book I of Ovid's Metamorphoses, in the
Council of Gods sequence: vv. 168-76, in which Mt. Olympus is
compared to the Palatine, and 199-205, which likens the gods's
outburst to public reaction toward civil war (esp. sanguine
Caesareo, although which Caesar is [still] a matter of debate).
Date:
Tue, 11 Jan 1994
From:
Doug Burgess
Subject:
Re: Jupiter as emperor?
You
might also look at John Ferguson's *The Religions ofthe Roman
Empire* particularly chapter II (The Sky Father), pages 40-43. He
mentions a dedication to Jupiter Optimus Maximus, from the end of
the reign of Hadrian seems to honor the emperor and identify him
with the god, after his death. Under Marcus Aurelius, the god is
seated with a sceptre and Victory. Commodus identified himself with
Hercules (divine son of Jupiter) and apparently issued a coin with
the inscription IOVI IVVENI, and had the image of the god in his own
likeness. Pescennius Niger had a type inscribed IOVI PRAE. ORBIS,
honoring Jupiter as the rule of the world. And so froth. Under
Diocletian, Jupiter restores the world and (if I under- stand
correctly) Diocletion used the epithet "Jovius" which with
the special protection of Jupiter, gave the ruler a divine nimbus,
which the Byzantines would later convert to a Christian symbol. Most
of this appears to be from numismatic evidence. I am not sure it is
what you meant or were looking for, but perhaps it will be useful.
Date:
Tue, 11 Jan 1994
From:
"thomas d. mccreight"
Subject:
Re: Jupiter as emperor?
My
text is not handy, so I can't check it for you, but I seem to recall
a remark in Ov. _Met._1 to the effect that Jupiter's palace on
Olympus was the Palatine of heaven.
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994
From:
Daniel Curley
Subject:
Jupiter / Emperor
You
might try, as a start, Ovid's metamorphoses Book I. Vv. 168-176 =
Mt. Olympus as Palatine Vv. 199-205 = God's reaction equated to
public outcry at civil distress (esp. sanguine Caesareo, although
which Caesar is still debatable).
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994
From:
Aara Suksi
Subject:
Re: Jupiter as emperor?
pm
Jupiter is portrayed comically as emperor in Apuleius'
*Metamorphoses* Book V, in the story of Cupid and Psyche.
Date:
Wed, 12 Jan 1994
From:
John Younger
Subject:
Emperor as Juppiter
There's
a seated statue of Augustus, complete with globe & sceptre, if I
recall rightly (I do e-mail at home), now where? the Capitoline
Museum? (I'll look it up when I go in to campus today) -- the statue
is obviously modeled on that of Zeus at Olympia (as are seated
representations of the bearded Christian god).
Date:
Thu, 13 Jan 1994
From:
"Martin F. Kilmer"
Subject:
And So Froth
On
'Jupiter as emperor': Since the general whose triumph was being
celebra ted was clothed as Juppiter Optimus Maximus, emperors (who
alone, from Augustus on, were entitled to Triumph) in triumphal garb
always 'look like' Juppiter - i.e. wear his regalia - and the viewer
is necessarily (at least if s/he is a Ro man) led to equate emperor
and Jupiter. So the question 'who looks like whom' in this context
must be answered 'well, they both do'. I think that reading the
literature on the triumph, and examining depictions of the Triumph,
would probably be the best way into this stuff.
Date:
Thu, 13 Jan 1994
From:
"Hans-Friedrich O. Mueller"
Subject:
I.O.M., Tiberius, Epulum Iouis
Two more interesting items on Jupiter and emperors. 1. In the
preface to his Facta et Dicta Memorabilia, Valerius Maximus opts to
take his start from Tiberius, in contrast to the "prisci
oratores" who took theirs "ab Iove optimo maximo."
Valerius appeals to relgion to justify his choice: Te igitur huic
coepto, penes quem hominum deorumque consensus maris ac terrae
regimen esse uoluit, certissima salus patriae, Caesar, inuoco, cuius
caelesti prouidentia uirtutes, de quibus dicturus sum, benignissime
fouentur, uitia seuerissime uindicantur: nam si prisci oratores ab
Ioue optimo maximo bene orsi sunt, si excellentissimi uates a numine
aliquo principia traxerunt, mea paruitas eo iustius ad fauorem tuum
decucurrerit, quo cetera diuinitas opinione colligitur, tua
praesenti fide paterno auitoque sideri par uidetur, quorum eximio
fulgore multum caerimoniis nostris inclitae claritatis accessit:
reliquos enim deos accepimus, Caesares dedimus. [You, therefore, at
the beginning of this my work, in whose power the convictions of
mortals and gods alike unite in their desire that with you the
command of both sea and land should abide, upon you, staunchest
guardian of our nation, O Caesar, I call, by whose godlike provision
the virtues I am about to describe have been most liberally
succored, but by whom vices have most rigidly been revenged. Surely
it must be obvious that if orators of old could take their
beginnings from Jupiter Most High, Most Great, if the most exalted
prophets and poets could derive the source of their inspiration from
some divine power, then so much the more rightly does my own
insignificant self rush to your side, especially since the other
divine powers are worshipped merely on the basis of belief, but you
by your mere presence confirm our faith like the stars your father
and grandfather have become whose glorious illumination has added
such celebrated brilliance to our religion: because, although we
inherited all the other gods, we ourselves bestowed the Caesars.] On
the other hand, as Georg Wissowa, Religion und Kultus der Roemer,
2nd ed. (Munich: Beck, 1912), p. 128, points out: "der Iuppiter
O. M. ist bis zum Untergange des roemischen Reiches die goettliche
Verkoerperung seines Bestandes geblieben: er nimmt ausnahmslos den
ersten Platz in den langen Goetterreihen." 2. It was a
long-standing tradition to dress I. O. M. up as a triumphator for
the epulum Iouis. W. Warde Fowler, The Roman Festivals in the Time
of the Republic (London: MacMillan, 1899), pp. 217-218, describes
the scene: "This epulum was one of the most singular and
striking scenes in Roman public life. It began with a sacrifice;
probably a white heifer; the images of the gods were decked out as
for a feast, and the face of Jupiter painted red with minium, like
that of a triumphator. Jupiter had a couch, and Juno and Minerva
each a sella, and the meal went on in their presence." The
epulum Iouis maintained its importance during the empire, as
Wissowa, Kultus, p. 128, also points out: "Der capitolinische
Kult hat auch in der Kaiserzeit seine hervorragende politische
Bedeutung behalten." |
| Culled
from
classics.log9401b.
|
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