Triumphus: An Inquiry Into the Origin, Development and Meaning of the Roman Triumph

418 Pages·1970·18.868 MB·English

by  H. S. Versnel

TRIUMPHUS
TRIUMPHUS
AN INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN, DEVELOPMENT
AND MEANING OF THE ROMAN TRIUMPH
BY
H.S. VERSNEL
LEIDEN
E. J. BRILL
1970
This book was printed with the financial support of the
Netherlands Organization for the Advancement of Pure Research
(Z.W.O.)
Copyright 1970 by E. J. Brill, Leiden, Netberlend:
All rights reserved. No pari of this book may be reproduced or
translated in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, microfiche
or any other means without written permission from the publisher
PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS
Homines enim ad deos nulla ve propius accedunt
quam salutem hominibus dando.
Cicero
CONTENTS
PREFACE... . 2 s we s oes XI
ABBREVIATIONS... . 2. ee ee ee ee s XIII
INTRODUCTION . . . ..... s... l.l νι μιν I
PARTI
ANALYSIS
I. OplapBoc and iriwnphus. . .... ls II
I. Introduction . . .. ...........s. s II
2. OplapBog . . . . lll ss 16
3. Trüumbe e 38
4. From OptapBe to friumpe . . ls. 48
II. The triumphator..........2..2.2.2.4.. 56
I. Introduction... 1... 0.0... 2-8 +e eee 56
2. Thetwo theories . .. .. .......... 58
3. The triumphator: Iuppiter orzex?. . . . . . . 66
4. The triumphator: Iuppiter and rex. . . . . . . . 84
III. The f$om$a triumphalis... ........... 94
1. The three great pompae of Rome ........ 94
2. The pompa iriumphalts and the Pompa ctrcensss ; the
relation between triumph and iud: Romani . . . 101
3. The pompa triumphalis and the pompa funebris; the
relation between triumph and fumus .... . 115
4. Conclusion. . . . .. ......ee. 129
IV. The Porta Tiumphalis. . ............ 132
I. Introduction . . . . ............. 132
2. Thetheories . .. .............. 137
3. Criticism. . . . . .. ... l.l 140
4. Àn attempt at a new interpretation of the Porta
Triumphalis .. .............. ISI
V. The tus (riumpbhandi . 2. . l.l es 164
r Introduction .. . . . 1... ee ee s 164
2. The views of Mommsen . . .. .. . ..... 168
VIII CONTENTS
3. The theory of Laqueur, viewed critically.... . 170
4. À comparison between the views of Mommsen and
Laqueur . .. .. . . . eee ee ee n 185
5. Summary and conclusion. . . . . . . . . . .. I93
Summary of the conclusions of the first five chapters. Method
of further investigation. . . . . ............ 196
PART II
SYNTHESIS
VI. Gods, kings and the New Year festival. . . . . .. 201
I Introduction . . ..........c.s. 201
2. Egyptian and Near Eastern festivals ...... 205
3. Dionysos, the king and the New Year festival in
Hells . . .. .....c..r. nn 235
VII. An Etruscan New Year festivalin Rome ...... 255
I. The /udi Roman: as a New Year festival . . . . . 255
2. The rites of the idus septembres, their calendrical
meaning, their origin. . . . . . . .. .. 270
3. The origin of the triumph ........... 284
4. Conclusion. . . .. .....ee. .νω ν 300
VIII. Imperium and auspictum . 2.1 ..ee 304
1. Introduction. The bearer of the spolia opima . . . 304
2. Imperium auspictumque . ls. 313
3. The lex curiata de imberio: the theories. . . . . . 319
4. Anattempt at a new interpretation of the lex curiata 340
5. Conclusions. . . . . .. ......s..s 349
IX. The meaning of the Roman triumph ........ 356
I. Auspicto, imperio, felicitate, ductu . . . . . . . 356
2. The triumphator as the bearer of good fortune. . . 371
3. The entry of the bearer of good! fortune M 384
4. Conclusion. . . . ..... sls 396
BIBLIOGRAPHY . 2... 6 1 lere 398
PREFACE
According to one of the many Leyden mores the author of a thesis
is not allowed to mention by name those persons who are in any way
connected with the University. This means that many people who
by their moral support, their warm interest, their advice or sugges-
tions contributed to the writing of this book, will unfortunately have
to remain anonymous. I am greatly indebted to them and to the
friends who were kind enough to read the proofs of the various
chapters, and thereby took a great deal of work off my hands.
However, those who undertook the most onerous tasks, may be
mentioned by name. Mrs. M. H. Boomsma-Huisman translated the
thesis in the shortest possible time. Unfortunately, the possibilities
for communication between author and translator were so limited
that there was no opportunity for them to discuss some problems
of translation. Therefore Mr. E. M. H. van Gendt and Mr. F. Lettinga
each read a large part of the translation, amended the text where it
seemed necessary and made many useful suggestions for improve-
ment. I am very grateful to them for giving so much of their
valuable time and energy.
For a number of years my wife had to share her husband with a
demanding and unco-operative member of the family: the triumph.
Not only did she bear with this intruder, but she also typed the
entire manuscript, including the footnotes, with two fingers. It is
hard to say which of these two achievements deserves more
admiration.
My mother-in-law, Mrs. E. A. Hoogvliet-Smelik, made an
important contribution to the thesis by reading all the proofs with
admirable accuracy and patience, thus eliminating countless errors.
(prs. A. V. van Stekelenburg undertook the unrewarding and
time-consuming task of compiling an index, a task which he per-
formed with great scrupulousness, for which I owe him many thanks.
The Netherlands Organization for the Advancement of Pure
Research (Z.W.O.) not only encouraged the publication of the book,
but also enabled the author to devote himself completely to his
studies for a full year by granting him a stipend. But for this highly
valued support this thesis would in all probability never have been
completed.
ABBREVIATIONS
A.J.P. American Journal of Philology.
Act. Or. Acta Orientalia.
Arch. Jahrb. Jahrbuch des deutschen archáologischen Instituts.
Arctos Arctos. Acta philologica Fennica.
A.R.W, Archiv für Religionswissenschaft.
Athen. Mitt. Mitteilungen des deutschen archáologischen Instituts.
Athen. Abt.
B.C.H. Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique.
Bibl. Or. Bibliotheca Orientalis.
Bonner Jahrb. Bonner Jahrbücher des Rheinischen Landesmuseums
in Bonn.
B.S.L. Bulletin de la Société de linguistique de Paris.
Bull. Com. Bullettino della Commissione Archeologica comunale
in Roma.
Class. Phil. Classical Philology.
Class. Quart. Classical Quarterly.
Class. Rev. Classical Review.
Emerita Emerita. Boletín de Lingüística y Filologia Clásica.
Eranos Eranos. Acta philologica Suecana.
Ét. Class. Les Études Classiques.
Glotta Glotta. Zeitschrift für griech. und lat. Sprache.
Gnomon Gnomon. Kritische Zeitschrift für die gesamte klas-
sische Altertumswissenschaft.
Gótt. Gel. Anz. Góttingische Gelehrte Anzeigen.
Gymnasium Gymnasium. Zeitschrift für Kultur der Antike und
Humanistische Bildung.
Harv. Theol. Rev. Harvard Theological Review.
Hermes. Zeitschrift für klassische Philologie.
Historia. Zeitschrift für alte Geschichte.
Indogermanische Forschungen.
Journal of Egyptian Archaeology.
Journal of Semitic Studies.
Latomus. Revue d'Études Latines.
Lingua. International Review of general Linguistics.
Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome.
Maia. Maia. Rivista di Letterature classiche.
Mél. Éc. Rom. Mélanges d'Archéologie et d'Histoire de l'École Fran-
gaise de Rome.
Mnemos. Mnemosyne. Bibliotheca Classica Batava.
M.R.K. Myth, Ritual and Kingship. Essays on the Theory
and Practice of Kingship in the Ancient Near East and
in Israel, Oxford, 1958. Ed. by S. H. Hooke.
Mus. Helv. Museum Helveticum.
Orbis Orbis. Bulletin international de documentation lin-
guistique.
Philol. Philologus. Zeitschrift für das klassische Altertum.
R.E. Pauly-Wissowa, Heal-Encyclopüdie der classischen
Altertumswissenschaft.
ΧΙΙ ABBREVIATIONS
R.E.A. Revue des Études Anciennes.
Revue des Études Latines.
R.E.L.
Rend. Ist. Lomb. Rendiconti deli'Istituto Lombardo. Classi di Lettere,
Scienze morali e storichi.
Rev. Arch. Revue Archéologique.
Rev. Hist. Revue Historique.
Rev. Phil. Revue de Philologie.
Rhein. Mus. Rheinisches Museum für Philologie.
R.H.R. Revue de l'Histoire des Religions.
Róm. Mitt. Mitteilungen des deutschen archáologischen Instituts.
Róm. Abt.
R.V.V. Religionsgeschichtliche Versuche und Vorarbeiten.
S.E. Studi Etruschi.
S.M.S.R. Studi e Materiali di Storia delle Religioni.
Studi class. e or. Studi classici e orientali.
Symb. Osl. Symbolae Osloenses.
Vig. Christ. Vigiliae Christianae.
Wien. Stud. Wiener Studien. Zeitschrift für klassische Philologie.
Ζ.Α. Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und verwandte Gebiete.
Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte.
Romanistische Abteilung.
INTRODUCTION
Certamente si tratta sempre di ipotesi; ma, come
sempre, nella scienza importa scegliere quella che
spiega il maggior numero di fenomeni.
P. de Francisci
According to Orosius! no fewer than 320 triumphs were cele-
brated during the period between the founding of Rome and the
reign of Vespasian. Nor was this all; also in subsequent years
tnumphs were held, be it at increasingly long intervals, until
Honorius in 403 A.D. combined his accession to the consulate with
the last official triumph known to us *. The entire history of Rome
has thus been marked by a ceremony which testified to the power of
Rome, its mission of conquest and domination, and to the courage
of its soldiers. Primarily, however, the triumph characterized the
greatness of Rome as being due, on the one hand, to the excellence
of the victorious general, and, on the other, to the favour of the
supreme god, who, optimus maximus, ensured the continuance and the
prosperity of the Roman empire. In no other Roman ceremony do
god and man approach each other as closely as they do in the
triumph. Not only is the triumphal procession directed towards
the Capitolium, where the triumphator presents a solemn offering
to Iuppiter O.M., but the triumphator himself has a status which
appears to raise him to the rank of the gods. Amidst the cheers of
10 trtumpe he enters the city via the Porta Triumphalis, standing on
a triumphal chariot, which is drawn by four horses. He is clothed
in a purple toga and a tunica stitched with palm-motifs, together
called ornaius Iovis, and in his hand he carries a scepter crowned by
an eagle. His face has been red-leaded. It seems as if Iuppiter
himself, incarnated in the triumphator, makes his solemn entry
into Rome.
What did this remarkable ceremony stand for? If the Romans
themselves are asked this question, the answer received is highly
unsatisfactory. The triumph is a honos, for gods as well as for men,
we are told by Livy, 45, 39, 10, diis quoque. . .non solum hominibus
1 Hist. 7, 9, 8.
3 Claudian. 28, 543 ff. See Ehlers, R. E. 2e Reihe 7, 1939, 500, s.v.
Triumphus.