Images, spectacles et pouvoir à Rome. Les scènes historiques et mythologiques dans les munera

At the instigation of Caesar, then Nero, both of whom were innovators in the area of entertainment, a series of displays based on historical and mythological themes appeared in the Roman munera, which were particularly suited to efforts to develop imperial ideology. Thus, the naumachia and pitched battle that Caesar had staged in 46 BC combined gladiatorial elements with scenes taken from Greek military history, along with the imagery used by the rulers of the Hellenistic world to represent their victories. This model was then taken up by Augustus and his successors when it came to the naumachia, while the land battles were henceforth based on Roman triumphal iconography as a way of celebrating the prince’s most recent victories. As for the mythology-themed shows, first documented under Nero and soon referred to as pyrrhicae, they re-enacted, in the arena, the death of characters guilty of hubris (such as Icarus or Acteon), exploits of heroes who killed monsters (such as Hercules), or figures that symbolised the might and the eternity of Rome, such as its dii parentes, Mars and Venus.

This book combines written sources on these spectacles with iconographic material that has never previously been compiled. Together, these documents allow us to see the way in which the pyrrhicae were incorporated into the programme of the munera up to the 4th century, both in Rome and in the provinces and, above all, to highlight how few in number and how recurrent were the chosen mythological themes throughout the whole period. Upon investigating what lay behind these choices, it emerges that all these themes had previously been highly successful on the Roman stage, and especially in Roman art. In turn, it transpires that the munera often played a role in the enduring success of these themes. Hence, this book highlights the way visual arts and Roman spectacle entertainment influenced one another. It also illustrates the choices made, often under the impetus of imperial ideology, when it came to borrowings from Greek culture; choices which contributed to the creation of a collective imaginary uniting the whole empire around common cultural references.