The Art of Forgetting: Disgrace and Oblivion in Roman Political Culture

CHAPTER VIII: The Memory of Nero, imperator scaenicus

The Memory of Nero, imperator scaenicus· · · Detur hoc inlustrium virorum posteritati, ut quo modo exsequiis a promisca sepultura separabantur, ita in traditione supremorum accipiant habeantque propriam memoriam. Tacitus, Annales 16.16 The previous two chapters have elucidated memory sanctions under the Julio-Claudians, both male and female, by exploring particular examples in some detail. As the first imperial dynasty, the Julio-Claudians inevitably formed a transition between the violent and highly competitive political climate of the late Republic and the very different world of prosperity and peace that came to characterize the high Empire. The principate was being defined and redefined throughout the Julio-Claudian period, even as the expectation of a hereditary system of succession was repeatedly evoked, only to be defeated in each generation. Consequently, each Julio-Claudian ruler needed to (re)position himself strategically in relation to his predecessors as well as to possible competitors, many of whom were in any case relatives in his extended family. Memory was consistently and variously recreated to suit the political needs of the moment: memory sanctions in many forms were often in use, most publicly within the leading family itself. Even as the imperial cult came into being, the divi remained a somewhat ambiguous and problematic group, whose temples were slow to be built in Rome itself. Each new ruler effectively faced the challenge of how to shape the memory of his  T h e P r i n c i pat e predecessor(s) in order to define and strengthen his own position, especially at the beginning of his reign. Both this chapter and the one that follows are concerned with a closely related phenomenon, namely the use of memory sanctions at moments of transition between dynasties, when a ruling family was replaced by a different individual or family. Needless to say, such transitions tended to be violent and illegal; they happened unexpectedly and had to be (re)presented in public after the fact. The violent death of an emperor and the simultaneous seizure of power by a usurper whose claim was not based on a family relationship posed its own memory challenge. Inevitably the dead emperor now became subject to memory sanctions of various kinds even as the message was sent out around the whole Empire that a new ruler was in place. At the same time, that new ruler took over as head of the domus Caesaris, so that his usurpation was really twofold. The names “Caesar” and “Augustus ” remained hereditary within the household set up by the Julio-Claudians, but they came to function more as imperial titles than as personal or family names. In 68 Galba quickly discovered that his initial decision not to use these names needed to be reversed before he entered Rome as the new princeps . Similarly, the conception of the principate as a unified system (rather than as a succession of discrete dynasties) was revealed by the way in which a new emperor would invariably appeal to the example of Augustus, thus presenting himself as a true successor who offered both a welcome new start and a return to hallowed “Augustan” norms and practices. Meanwhile, no one wanted to perpetuate the memory and example of the act of usurpation, most especially when successful, which might inspire another to threaten even the best-established emperor. Even as power was asserted at moments of extreme uncertainty and instability , memory sanctions were integral to the establishment of a new dynasty . The image of the previous emperor needed to be both removed and denigrated, in a wide variety of contexts. At the same time, the act of seizing power itself needed to be dealt with, often through distortion or erasure. In addition, others involved in the change of regime, whether on the victorious or on the defeated side, usually had their own vested interest in “forgetting” the precise sequence of events and their own role in them. In this way, memory sanctions might be especially useful in allowing a new political regime to function, using many if not most of the same people who had experience in government before, while putting the blame firmly on the dead “tyrant” and a few of his closest allies. The Memory of Nero  Nevertheless, the new emperor needed to be seen to be an effective replacement , especially in areas in which his predecessor had been particularly active. The erasure and/or denigration of the previous ruler was...