Maternal Megalomania

Name: Maternal Megalomania
Brand: JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS
SKU: 9781421408477
Price: 130.0 AUD
Availability: InStock

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESSISBN: 9781421408477

Julia Domna and the Imperial Politics of Motherhood

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By Julie Langford
Imprint: JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS
Release Date: September 13, 2013
Format: HARDBACK
Pages: 232

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The image of Julia Domna, wife of Roman emperor Severus (192211), was ubiquitous in her time. Her visage could be found gracing everything from state-commissioned art to privately owned ivory dolls. The imperial empire equated her to the great mother goddess, Cybele, endowing her with an unprecedented power above other imperial women. In Maternal Megalomania, Julie Langford unmasks this maternal ideal as a campaign on the part of the administration to garner support for Severus and his sons.Julia Domna accrued an impressive array of titles in her lifetime; most were concerned with maternity, whether it was the role of mother to her two sons (both future emperors) or as the metaphorical mother to the empire. In actuality, Julia Domnas life was punctuated by murder, civil war, adultery, and incest. Langford looks to numismatic, literary, and archaeological evidence to reconstruct the propaganda surrounding the empress. She explores how her image was tailored toward different populations, including the military, the Senate, and the general population, and applies the case of Julia Domna to a broader context regarding the relationship between the ruling class and its subjects.

Preface
Introduction
Julia Domna Who?
Carving Out a Niche
Severan Dynastic Propaganda and Julia Domna
1. Not Your Momma
Problematizing Julia Domna as the Mater Castrorum
Women and the Military
Faustina the Younger: The Mother of All Mothers of the Camp
The Military and the Domus Augusta: All in the Family?
Severus and the Mater Castrorum Title
Severus, the Military, and Julia Domna
About Face!
Conclusion
2. Romancing the Romans
Julia Domna and the Populus Romanus
The Nature of the Sources
The Princeps and the Plebs
The Roman Populace, Public Demonstrations, and Divine Inspiration
Severan Propaganda and the Urban Plebs
Roman Matrona, Mother, and Protectress
Severus, the Populus Romanus, and the Collegia
And Julia Domna?
But What Does It All Mean?
3. Mater Senatus, Mater Patriae
Julia Domna as Senatorial Savior
Natural Rivals: Imperial Women and the Senate
Severus's Senate
Creating Consensus in the Senate: Wooing, Marginalizing, and Exterminating
Negotiating Dynasty: Maternal Megalomania and Senatorial Subversions
Julia Domna in Cassius Dio
Moderating Maternal Megalomania
Conclusion
Ideological Crisis
On the Dangers of Taking Ideology Too Seriously
Appendix A: Hoard Details of the Severan Hoard Analysis Database by Clare Rowan
Appendix B: Frequency of Julia Domna Coin Types in Hoards around the Mediterranean
Appendix C: Dating the Mater Senatus, Mater Patriae Titles
Notes
Bibliography
Index

""In just 123 pages, Langford adds a new dimension to the proliferation of texts about Rome's first third-century empress.""

Maternal Megalomania

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