The Learned Collector: Mythological Statuettes and Classical Taste in Late Antique Gaul

5. Paideia and the World of Ausonius of Bordeaux: The Social Environment of Late Mythological Statuary

c h a p t e r f i v e Paideia and the World of Ausonius of Bordeaux: The Social Environment of Late Mythological Statuary The issues of iconography, display, style, and transport previously examined lead to the crucial question of taste: why did late mythological statuettes carry such appeal for Aquitanian landowners? The classical education system, known as paideia in the eastern empire, is the key to understanding this taste. We are fortunate to have preserved the writings of a municipal aristocrat and teacher from this very region, Ausonius of Bordeaux . Ausonius has in fact been touted as the possible owner of the renowned villa at Saint-Georges-de-Montagne, with its extensive collection of late mythological statuettes. Although the question of this particular villa cannot be definitively answered at the moment, Ausonius nonetheless provides a valuable window on the pursuits and interests of his society.1 Ausonius’s letters, poetry, and speeches furnish one man’s insight into the society of late antique Aquitaine and allow us to envisage an educated class of pagans and Christians whose classical literary education had trained them to appreciate mythology in literature and art as a vital and expressive measure of their standing in society. In the first portion of this chapter, I will examine the curriculum and values of the classical education system, focusing on Ausonius in particular, as he comes from southwest Gaul, but also drawing in discussion from other sources. The steady influence of classical literary styles on literature of the fourth century supports the hypothesis of a concomitant appreciation for classicizing styles in art. The treatment of physical texts provides further circumstantial evidence for the valuing of classicizing artwork. 138 This chapter will then evaluate selected late antique texts discussing artwork. Because the Gallic collections contain portraits as well as mythological statues (both contemporary and heirloom), evidence for the reception of portraits will be considered as well. While this chapter will concentrate on the writings of Ausonius and other Gallic writers, the universality of the education system and the Mediterranean-wide popularity of late mythological statuettes mean that the writings of educated people from outside Gaul are relevant as well and will be drawn into the discussion. The final section of this chapter will discuss more briefly the destruction of statuary by Christians, a phenomenon that has had great resonance in popular and scholarly visions of the early Christian or late antique age. I will consider the types and locations of statuary destroyed. The Theodosian laws against worship in pagan sanctuaries will also be briefly considered. ausonius of bordeaux, art, and education in fourth-century gaul The rhetor and poet Ausonius, consul in 379, provides an important mirror of the sector within late antique Gallic society that imported and valued mythological statuary. A rhetor practicing in Bordeaux, he was summoned to court as the tutor to the young emperor Gratian. He spent the years 364–79 at the imperial court at Trier in this post. Ausonius reached the pinnacle of his career when he became consul in 379. Examination of the literature, the lifestyle, and particularly the education of this famous rhetor and poet offers revealing insight into a known contemporary of the anonymous Gallic landowners who collected and displayed late mythological statuettes. Ausonius is of particular interest because, while several of his poems have Christian content, his poetry and writings are rich in mythological allusion and anecdote.2 Ausonius recorded his appreciation of statuary and mythological iconography in his letters and poetry. He collected sculpture of different sorts in his home and wrote ecphrastic epigrams of famous statuary of the Hellenic canon, visual arts at the imperial court at Trier, and statuary in his own home. In a series of conventional epigrams on monuments of the Hellenic canon, Ausonius depicts the lifelike qualities of various famous statues, such as the Knidia of Praxiteles and the heifer of Myron. He took an interest in style, expressed mainly through an attention to verisimilitude, and in iconography, as when he carefully explains the complex imagery of Occasio (Opportunity). Ausonius had many sources from which to learn about the famous masterpieces of the past. Rhetorical handbooks used artistic Paideia and the World of Ausonius of Bordeaux 139 parallels to illustrate concepts and methods. His particular choice of epigrams suggests that he was reading an anthology of Greek epigrams that was evidently circulating in...