In spring AD 119, Aulus Platorius Nepos, a close friend of Hadrian, was appointed as consul suffectus (suffect consul), the supreme magistracy in Rome, before being sent out as governor of Germania Inferior. Nepos is known from a dedicatory inscription at Aquileia (CIL V 877, Smallwood 229), where he had been appointed patronus (patron). The local… Continue reading Spring AD 119 – Aulus Platorius Nepos is appointed as suffect consul (#Hadrian1900)
Antinous has attracted renewed fascination since the High Renaissance. In the early 1500s, several portraits of the 'boy-favourite' were known in Rome, and numerous works of art were modelled on him. A clear example of the appeal of Antinous from this time may be seen in Lorenzetto's statue of Jonah in the Chuch of Santa… Continue reading Exhibition: ‘Antinous: Boy made God’ at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford (UK)
Happy 1943rd birthday, Hadrian! This year, I decided to cook Cato the Elder's recipe for Libum (sweet cheesecake) as Hadrian’s birthday cake. 🎂 Libum (original recipe from LacusCurtius): Bray 2 pounds of cheese thoroughly in a mortar; when it is thoroughly macerated, add 1 pound of wheat flour, or, if you wish the cake to… Continue reading Felicem diem natalem, Hadriane! 🎂
On 24 January AD 119, Hadrian celebrated his 43rd birthday in Rome, the first he spent in the capital as emperor. The emperor put on a gladiatorial show lasting six consecutive days to mark the occasion. Dio Cassius and the Historia Augusta reported that many wild animals were slaughtered, including 100 lions and 100 lionesses.… Continue reading 24 January AD 119 – Hadrian celebrates his 43rd birthday in Rome with gladiatorial games (#Hadrian1900)
On January AD 119, Hadrian celebrated the new year (year 872 Ab urbe condita) in Rome as consul for the third time (COS III) and appointed Publius Dasumius Rusticus as ordinary consul. Rusticus is known only from his consulship and the reason why he received this prestigious honour is not known. It may be that… Continue reading January AD 119 – Hadrian inaugurates the new year in Rome (#Hadrian1900)
Since November of 2017, the National Archaeological Museum of Athens and the Italian Archaeological School at Athens have been hosting a temporary exhibition called Hadrian and Athens. Conversing with an Ideal World in Gallery 31a of the Sculpture Collection. The exhibition marks 1900 years since the beginning of Hadrian's principate in August AD 117, an anniversary already celebrated in… Continue reading Exhibition: ‘Hadrian and Athens. Conversing with an Ideal World’ at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens (#Hadrian1900)
In AD 115, while Trajan and the majority of the Roman troops were campaigning in Parthia in the East, the diasporic Jews rose against Rome, creating havoc in Cyrenaica, Egypt and Cyprus. The hostilities started in Cyrene and quickly spread to Alexandria, Judaism's largest city, and resulted not only in great loss of life but… Continue reading The rebuilding of Cyrene by Hadrian in AD 118/9 (#Hadrian1900)
An essay by Nick Leonard. The emperor of Rome, ‘god and Panhellene,’1 was not one to linger anywhere, and certainly not in the capital city that he despised. All the major hallmarks of Hadrian’s reign – his civic architectural projects, his defensive fortifications, his drilling of the legions – stemmed from a restlessness that compelled… Continue reading Guest post: “Always in all things changeable”: The emperor and his tomb
Of the many bronze portraits of Hadrian that are known to have existed, only three have survived from antiquity. After the exhibition 'Hadrian: An Emperor Cast in Bronze' (see here) held at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem from December 2015 to June 2016, the Musée du Louvre invites us to discover these exceptional portraits in… Continue reading Exhibition: Three bronze portraits of Hadrian at the Louvre, Paris
Upon his return to Rome (see previous post here), Hadrian's first task was to regain the people's favour after the killing of four ex-consuls accused of plotting against him. To boost his popularity and win public support in Rome, the new princeps introduced a number of important financial reforms, including distributing largesses and remitting debts. Hadrian's best-known… Continue reading The early reforms and economic policies of Hadrian (#Hadrian1900)
