Monumenta Graeca et Romana: Mutilation and transformation : damnatio memoriae and Roman imperial portraiture PDF Download

Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004135774
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 472

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Book Description
The condemnation of memory inexorably altered the visual landscape of imperial Rome. This volume catalogues and interprets the sculptural, glyptic, numismatic and epigraphic evidence for "damnatio memoriae" and ultimately reveals its praxis to be at the core of Roman cultural identity.

Author: Michael Meyerhofer
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780984100552
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
Like most publishers, we at Brick Road Poetry Press list submission guidelines on our website. Additionally we go beyond the guidelines to include lists of "characteristics we like" and "characteristics we dislike." In Damnatio Memoriae, the winner of the Brick Road Poetry Prize, Michael Meyerhofer gives the impression of having gone down that list to check off each item one by one with almost every poem in the collection. As to the characteristics we dislike, he avoids them all including no "intentional obscurity or riddling," no "highfalutin vocabulary" or "lack of recognizable theme or topic." Without a doubt, these poems reveal wise insights on the human perspective, but never at the cost of being overly serious, scholarly, or mysterious. The reader of these poems faces no risk of boredom-quite the contrary. Imagination and a beguiling tongue-in-cheek tone are the trademarks of Michael Meyerhofer's poetry. His work hits all our "like" buttons as it speaks in "a coherent human voice," though not always his own or the one you might expect, but one with "a sense of humor" that uses "words and language as [a] springboard for playful exploration." In many of these poems, the speaker possesses an inquisitive mind with an avid interest in history and even pre-history, fueled by the Discovery and History channels, Google searches, and museums. These poems dramatize a mind capable of straddling centuries, combining in the same breath an ancient scene with a contemporary evaluation, as when in the title poem, "Damnatio Memoriae," we encounter a Roman "slave/who fell from a twine-wrapped ladder/that OSHA would never condone." Such use of anachronism strikes us as both clever and funny. In "The Original Swastika," we're guided briskly through history, spotting the association-laden symbol in cultures as varied as the Romans, early Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Navajos, and finally, "on the hoods /of German sedans." This whirlwind tour succinctly reminds us that the meanings of symbols morph over time and across cultures and that our recent memories and associations tend to obscure the resonances assigned in prior eras. His persona poems conjure speakers from worlds we know and from worlds we wish we knew, and every scene, setting or experience is depicted intensely with concrete imagery and drama. At first blush, "Dear Students," appears to argue for the conceit that writing poetry today rises from the same impulse that produced Stone Age cave paintings. Yet the poem does so much more than simply propose a comparison. It actually delivers a vivid experience from the point of view of a Paleolithic hunter, as if to say poetry is about beauty, guilt, and survival. Although many of these poems pursue history, the contemporary perspective and the everyday moment are not neglected. In "For Tanya, Whose Fate Remains Unknown," the speaker receives a phone call about "bad news" concerning a daughter he doesn't have. The surprise of the erroneous call sets off a poignant daydream of what peril the "daughter" Tanya might be suffering, and then an even deeper imagining of memories that might be slipping away from Tanya as she bleeds. These poems wake you up with their surprising twists, with the intensity of their speakers, and with the inventiveness of their lines and concepts. Sometimes these poems even risk offending the reader by tampering with archetypes, as in "Hansel's Redemption" where the question of what ever happened to Hansel and Gretel is answered with a scandalous narrative. As you may have guessed, Damnatio Memoriae easily asserted itself as the winner of our inaugural Brick Road Poetry Prize. We're proud to be publishing it and further encourage you to seek out Michael Meyerhofer's other books immediately. Keith Badowski & Ron Self Brick Road Poetry Press Columbus, GA

Author: Øivind Fuglerud
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000190498
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Manipulation of the past and forced erasure of memories have been global phenomena throughout history, spanning a varied repertoire from the destruction or alteration of architecture, sites, and images, to the banning or imposing of old and new practices. The present volume addresses these questions comparatively across time and geography, and combines a material approach to the study of memory with cross-disciplinary empirical explorations of historical and contemporary cases. This approach positions the volume as a reference-point within several fields of humanities and social sciences. The collection brings together scholars from different fields within humanities and social science to engage with memorialization and damnatio memoriae across disciplines, using examples from their own research. The broad chronological and comparative scope makes the volume relevant for researchers and students of several historical periods and geographic regions.

Author: Jeff Biggers
Publisher: Wings Press
ISBN: 1609404629
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
Damnatio Memoriae explores the role of the theatre amid the conflicts of immigration, human rights, citizenship, family, and legacy. From the clash of two theatre troupes on stage—one Italian, and the other composed of foreign actors—a new play emerges, revealing the history of Ancient Rome, its forgotten emperors, entangled cultural heritage, and today's unfolding stories on the Mediterranean Sea.

Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004417362
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Book Description
The essays in New Studies on the Portrait of Caligula in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts address art historical, historical, and cultural issues raised by one of only two surviving statues of the Roman emperor Caligula (r. 37-41 C.E.).

Author: Richard H. Wilkinson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190493992
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 648

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Book Description
The royal necropolis of New Kingdom Egypt, known as the Valley of the Kings (KV), is one of the most important--and celebrated--archaeological sites in the world. Located on the west bank of the Nile river, about three miles west of modern Luxor, the valley is home to more than sixty tombs, all dating to the second millennium BCE. The most famous of these is the tomb of Tutankhamun, first discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. Other famous pharaoh's interred here include Hatshepsut, the only queen found in the valley, and Ramesses II, ancient Egypt's greatest ruler. Much has transpired in the study and exploration of the Valley of the Kings over the last few years. Several major discoveries have been made, notably the many-chambered KV5 (tomb of the sons of Ramesses II) and KV 63, a previously unknown tomb found in the heart of the valley. Many areas of the royal valley have been explored for the first time using new technologies, revealing ancient huts, shrines, and stelae. New studies of the DNA, filiation, cranio-facial reconstructions, and other aspects of the royal mummies have produced important and sometimes controversial results. The Oxford Handbook of the Valley of the Kings provides an up-to-date and thorough reference designed to fill a very real gap in the literature of Egyptology. It will be an invaluable resource for scholars, teachers, and researchers with an interest in this key area of Egyptian archaeology. First, introductory chapters locate the Valley of the Kings in space and time. Subsequent chapters offer focused examinations of individual tombs: their construction, content, development, and significance. Finally, the book discusses the current status of ongoing issues of preservation and archaeology, such as conservation, tourism, and site management. In addition to recent work mentioned above, aerial imaging, remote sensing, studies of the tombs' architectural and decorative symbolism, problems of conservation management, and studies of KV-related temples are just some of the aspects not covered in any other work on the Valley of the Kings. This volume promises to become the primary scholarly reference work on this important World Heritage Site.

Author: Sarah A. Rous
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
ISBN: 0299322807
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
This book examines the various ways ancient Athenians purposefully reused stone artifacts, objects, and buildings in order to shape their own and their descendants' collective ideas about their community's past and its bearing on the present and future. The book introduces the concept of "upcycling" to refer to this intentionally meaningful reuse, where evidence is preserved of an intentionality behind the decision to re-employ a particular object in a particular new context, often with implications for the shared memory of a group. Utilizing archaeological, literary, and epigraphic evidence, this investigation connects seemingly disparate cases of upcycling over eight centuries of Athenian history, treating the city as a continuously evolving cultural community. In establishin g upcycling as a distinct phenomenon of intentionally meaningful reuse, this study offers a process- and agency-focused alternative to the traditional discourses on spolia and reuse, while also making a substantial contribution to the growing field of memory studies by identifying a crucial component within the overall "work of memory" within a community. Through an original interdisciplinary approach, the book illuminates a vital practice through which Athenians shaped social memory in the physical realm, literally building their history into their city.

Author: Arthur Bradley
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231550286
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
In ancient Rome, any citizen who had brought disgrace upon the state could be subject to a judgment believed to be worse than death: damnatio memoriae, condemnation of memory. The Senate would decree that every trace of the citizen’s existence be removed from the city as if they had never existed in the first place. Once reserved for individuals, damnatio memoriae in different forms now extends to social classes, racial and ethnic groups, and even entire peoples. In modern times, the condemned go by different names—“enemies of the people;” the “missing,” the “disappeared,” “ghost” detainees in “black sites”—but they are subject to the same fate of political erasure. Arthur Bradley explores the power to render life unlived from ancient Rome through the War on Terror. He argues that sovereignty is the power to decide what counts as being alive and what does not: to make life “unbearable,” unrecognized as having lived or died. In readings of Augustine, Shakespeare, Hobbes, Robespierre, Schmitt, and Benjamin, Bradley asks: What is the “life” of this unbearable life? How does it change and endure across sovereign time and space, from empires to republics, from kings to presidents? To what extent can it be resisted or lived otherwise? A profoundly interdisciplinary and ambitious work, Unbearable Life rethinks sovereignty, biopolitics, and political theology to find the radical potential of a life that neither lives or dies.

Author: Rebecca Usherwood
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030879305
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 359

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Book Description
This book is an exploration of political memory and disgrace in the reigns of Constantine and his sons. It uses the conditions of the early to mid-fourth century to argue that the deconstruction of political legitimacy should be viewed, first and foremost, as a collective phenomenon, the result of the actions of a diverse range of people responding to political change. It also challenges many positivist and teleological narratives of the ‘Age of Constantine’. Shifting the focus from the emperor and his sons onto their rivals and opponents, the Constantinian dynasty is placed back into the messy and ambiguous political environment from which it emerged.

Author: Charles W. Hedrick
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292779372
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 594

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Book Description
“It is so rare and refreshing to read a Roman history book which recognizes and celebrates the sheer difficulty of writing history” (The Times Literary Supplement). 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. Charles Hedrick describes how Flavianus 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 Flavianus, Hedrick asserts, the Roman elite honored their ancestors while participating in profound social, cultural, and religious change. “One of the most interesting and original books about the Later Roman Empire that I have ever read.” —T. D. Barnes