Auteur: Pieper, Christoph
Titre: Bruttedius Niger, Cicero und das Forum: die Konstruktion eines ciceronianischen Erinnerungsortes
Revue/Collection: "Hermes", 149, 3
Lieu èdition: Stuttgart
Éditeur: Franz Steiner Verlag
Annèe edition: 2021
Pages: 342-363
Mots-clès: Biographie - Biografia - Biography, Héritage - Fortuna - Legacy, Histoire - Storia - History
Description: [Pieper, Christoph] [Abstract] In the only surviving fragment of Bruttedius Niger’s historical work the Romans deplore Cicero’s death; collectively they pronounce the funeral speech of the pater patriae and tell each other that "there is no part of the Forum which is not sealed by some traces of one of his famous speeches". This article contextualizes the fragment and offer a new interpretation of it. First it gives an overview of Cicero’s visual presence in early imperial Rome, especially focussing on his house as a symbolic place. In a second step, it argues that Bruttedius creates a lieu de mémoire of Cicero on the Forum, which Augustus had just transformed into a symbolic space for his dynasty. Against recent interpretations, which stress the subversive potential of Bruttedius’ description, this article argues that the Tiberian historian follows Augustus’ attempt to turn the Forum into a symbolic space for synchronous and diachronous consensus. Cicero’s presence on the forum fits this strategy: he is turned into a kind of predecessor of Augustus and thus into a political symbol for the republic’s alleged sublimation in the new imperial era.
Sigle auteur: Pieper 2021
Titre: Bruttedius Niger, Cicero und das Forum: die Konstruktion eines ciceronianischen Erinnerungsortes
Revue/Collection: "Hermes", 149, 3
Lieu èdition: Stuttgart
Éditeur: Franz Steiner Verlag
Annèe edition: 2021
Pages: 342-363
Mots-clès: Biographie - Biografia - Biography, Héritage - Fortuna - Legacy, Histoire - Storia - History
Description: [Pieper, Christoph] [Abstract] In the only surviving fragment of Bruttedius Niger’s historical work the Romans deplore Cicero’s death; collectively they pronounce the funeral speech of the pater patriae and tell each other that "there is no part of the Forum which is not sealed by some traces of one of his famous speeches". This article contextualizes the fragment and offer a new interpretation of it. First it gives an overview of Cicero’s visual presence in early imperial Rome, especially focussing on his house as a symbolic place. In a second step, it argues that Bruttedius creates a lieu de mémoire of Cicero on the Forum, which Augustus had just transformed into a symbolic space for his dynasty. Against recent interpretations, which stress the subversive potential of Bruttedius’ description, this article argues that the Tiberian historian follows Augustus’ attempt to turn the Forum into a symbolic space for synchronous and diachronous consensus. Cicero’s presence on the forum fits this strategy: he is turned into a kind of predecessor of Augustus and thus into a political symbol for the republic’s alleged sublimation in the new imperial era.
Sigle auteur: Pieper 2021
