portraits of the emperor l. septimius severus (193-211 a.d.) as an expression of his propaganda

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Portraits of the Emperor L. Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D.) as an Expression of hisPropagandaAuthor(s): Drora BaharalSource: Latomus, T. 48, Fasc. 3 (JUILLET-SEPTEMBRE 1989), pp. 566-580Published by: Societe d’Etudes Latines de Bruxelles

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Portraits of the EmperorL. Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D.)

as an Expression of his Propaganda (* )

There s a widespread endencyo regard ne type fSeptimius everus'portraitss an expression ftheemperor's eligious olicyof self-identifi-cation with the Egyptiangod Serapls. The purpose of this study s toreconsider hisprevalentpinion, nthe ight fthe iteraryndarchaeologi-cal evidence.

There eemsto be little oubt hat heemperor's ortraits,othon publicmonumentsnd on coins,served s a means ofspreading mperial ropa-

ganda. Through heseportraitsmperors ould convey o the nhabitantsftheempire varietyfmessages.But t seemsequally learthat nymessagethus conveyed oughtto have been so obvious, that it would be easilyrecognized venby lliterates.fan emperorwanted o be closely ssociatedwith certain eity he dea had tobe depictedn hisportraitsntheclearestmanner ossible. t is of course sometimes uitedifficulto assess whatwaseasily ntelligibleothemasses n all parts ftheempire. he literaryourcesmustthereforeonstitute he starting ointforany such assessment.Anyattempto interpretmperial ortraits,oth on monumentsndon coins,as

a vehicle for conveying certaintheme must be based first f all onsufficientlyubstantiatedata in the iteraryources e.g. a peculiar xpres-sion on the facesof Caracalla'sportraitsanbe interpreteds an attemptoimitate hose ofAlexander he Greatonly n view of Herodian's explicittestimonyoncerninghispracticenCaracalla'sportraits'). In the bsenceof such evidence,every ubjecton coins or other visual media mustbe

(*) Anearlierersionf his aper as ead tthe nnual eetingf he sraelocietyfor he romotionfClassicaltudies,nthe pringf 1985 tTel-Avivniversity.wish

to hankrof. eevRubinnd rof.srael oll orheirelpfulriticismnd ncouragement.Likewise,thankrof. ubin or ermittinge he seofhismanuscriptnthe ubjectfthemperialdoptions,et npublished.also hank issM.PelegndMrA.Mizrahi horead hemanuscriptf his aperndTheOpenUniversityhichncouragedhis esearch.

(1) Seep. 570below. orCommodus-Hercules-maniaeep.570-1 elow.







EMPEROR. SEPTIMUSEVERUS193-21A.D.) 567

sufficientlylear n order o be accepted s evidence ormperial ropagandaand fill hegap in the iteraryources.

This criterion oes not seem to have been applied to Severus'allegedself-identificationithSerapison his portraits ithdue strictness.t oughtto have been asked whether histhemehas left nyresidue n the literarysources, ndwhetherheresemblance f Severus' ortraitsorepresentationsofSerapis s sufficientlylear, fthefirstuestion annotbe answered.

Modern researchhas so farfailed o produceconclusive videncefor n

attitude f such venerationn Severus'portraitshatwould be accounted orbya desire o be identified ith hisgod (2).

The firstcholar oidentify"Severus-Serapis"ortraitypewasL'Orangein his bookApotheosisnAncient ortraitureublishedn 1947. His viewwasadopted by many cholars 3), amongothersbyA. M. McCann, who hasproduced he mostcomprehensivetudy n Severus'portraits4). This viewis basedmainly n the affinitiesetween he hairstyle nd therenderingfthe beard on Severus'portraits n the one hand, and on the commonrepresentationsfSerapison the other.

A comparison etween heportraitsdentified ithcertaintys those ofSeverus n the one hand fig.1, 2) and Serapis'figuren the other fig.3,4) reveals ndeed series fostensibleikenesses etween hetwo bothhavea maneof ocksfallingver heforeheadnseparate piral urls a rich piral,curlyforked eard whose locks are rendered eparately and an almostentirelyxposedforehead,hecurlsof the hairbeingdrawnbackwards.

According o L'Orange a decisiveexampleof Severus'tendency o beidentified ithSerapis s furnishedyone ofthemost famous elief cenesknown s the "CapitolineTriad" on the arch of Severus t Lepcis Magna

(fig.5) (5) whichdepicts hree igures.he central iguresusuallydentifiedas Severus ytheremains f the beardand bythe female iguren his left,who bearsJuliaDomna's characteristiceatures, oticeablemainly n thehair.

(2) Seep.568ff„ndn.21-26 elow.(3) H. P. L'Orange, potheosisnAncientortraitureOslo,1947), ited erealters

L'Orange,potheosis.or urthertudiesn heubjecteeG.Grieco, istoiret hilosophieduportraitomain,nScripta editerranea,II (1982), . 101-105R. P.Hinks, reeknd

Roman ortraitsculpture,London, epr. 976), . 85 D. Soechting,ie PortraitsesSeptimiuseverusBonn, 972),with ibliography;. A. Nodelman,eveřanmperiaiPortraiture.D. 193-217Diss.YaleUniversity,965).

(4) A.M.McCann, he ortraitsf eptimiuseverus193-211.D.) Rome, 968).(5) L'Orange, potheosis,.77ff.also eeMcCann,p. it n. 4), p.53ff.







568 D. BAHARAL

L'Orange aiguës 6) thatthisfigure f Severuswas inspiredbythe cultstatue fSerapis ntheSerapeum fAlexandriafig. 12). This contentionsbasedon a Serapis-imageupposed o be a copyofthis ult-statue,ttributedto Bryaxis 3rd century .C.).

In bothsamples he enthronedigureitswith tsright oot dvanced ndthe eft rawn ackwards, olding scepter missing odaynboth) n ts efthand,whiletheright andhangsdown. In Serapis* ase itprobably estedon the head of Cerberus missing n the extant opy). Bothfigureswear a

short hiton nd thecloak,thrown vertheir eft houlder,Ms down theirback,and is drawnup againfrom heright o cover the egs.

Nevertheless, closercomparison etweenSeverus'portraitsfig. 1, 2)and those of Serapis fig.3, 4) reveals ome differenceswhereasSeverus'beard ends withpointed urls noticeable lso in his coin portraitsfig.8,9, 10), thoseof Serapis usuallyhave roundedges thehair of SerapisMdownhis face on bothsides,covering is ears and temples nd hanging nhis shoulders,whereas everus' ocksare combedbackwards, xposing heears and temples, nd covering nlythe nape of his neck the locks of

Serapis'hairhang in a mass overtheforehead,My covering t,whereasSeverus' ocks are clearly eparated, esigned s a spear-point,overing isforehead nlypartially.

In view ofthese differencesheabsenceof Serapis'distinctivettributes,the modius or Cerberus, rom everus'portraits ecome a crucial onside-ration.

In the lightof the above observation fewquestionsarise. Are thesuperficialfsimilaritiesetween hefiguresfSeverus nd Serapis ufficientcriteria o claim that heemperor ursued religious olicyofself-identifi-

cation withthisdeity Is it possiblethatsuch a policy, f it existed,hasescaped the attention f ancienthistoriographyAre these similaritiesexclusive o theportraitsfSeverus nd Serapis

The lastquestion anbe easily nswered. t is enough o compare erapis,as commonly epresented, ithcommonrepresentationsf otherdivinefigures, uch as Zeus (7), or Jupiter8), Asclepius '), Ammon 10) and

(6) Ibid.

(7) For he magesfZeus ee G. A. Mansuelli, alleriaegliUffìzi.e sculture,(Roma, 958), . 64,No.42 Inv. 3),fig. 2.(8) For hemagesfJupiteree bid,p.63-64, o. 41 (Inv. 83),fig. 1a,b.(9) For hemagesfAsclepiusee bid, . 160-162. o. 133 Inv. 52),fig. 33 ,b.(10) For hemagesfAmmonee bid., . 175,No. 157 Inv. 17),fig. 53.







EMPEROR. SEPTIMUSEVERUS193-211.D.) 569

Saturnusn), to be struck ysuchastounding imilarities etweenSerapisand each one ofthesedeities, hatvery requentlyhe dentificationf eachindividual eitywouldhave been quite mpossible,had it not been for tsdistinctivettributes12).Moreover,ustas Serapis' figure as been compa-red to Septimius' ortraits,tought ohave beencompared othoseof somesecondcenturymperorsuch s MarcusAurelius13),LuciusVerus 14)andCommodus 15), s wellas thoseofSeverus' ivals escenniusNiger 16)andClaudius Albinus 17).The same similaritiesn theshapingofthehair and

the beard are discernible o a certain xtent n all the above mentionedinstances.As for hesitting osture f Severus n theLepcis relief, hich ccording

to L'Orange is reminiscent f Serapis' representations,t ought to beobserved hat hisposture s byno meanspeculiar o depictions fSeverusalone. Both n historical eliefs,nd in threedimensional tatues, mperorsaregenerally epicted s seated,withone footextended orward,he otherdrawnbackwards,My dressed,ust like Severus n theLepcis relief.Oneexampleof this seatedtype s thefamousporphyrytatuefromCaesarea

Maritima ttributedo Hadrian fig.7). The sameposture anbe pointed utin representationsf otheremperors, specially n scenes on historical

(11) For hemagesfSaturnusee Rome, atican useum,aladeiBusti, o.307,Inv. 98 Helbig4,. 125, °168 E. Simon).

(12) For erapis'ultnd ts yncretisticatureeeespecially.E. Stambaugh,arapisunderhe arly tolemiesLeiden, 972).Forfurthertudiesnthe ubjectlso seeF.Cumont,rientaleligionnRomanaganismNewYork, 956), .73ff.,sp. .81-82P. M.Fraser, wotudiesnthe ultf arapis,nOpusculatheniensaII (Lund, 960),p. 1-54 A. D. Nock, onversion.heOld nd he ewnReligionromlexanderhe reat

toAugustinefHippoOxford,933), . 35ff.,sp.p.74,hereafterited sNock,Conver-sion Id.,HellenisticysteriesndChristianacramentsinEssays nReligionndtheAncient orldOxford,972), .799ff.H. C. Youiie,TheKline f arapisinHTR, 1(1948), .9-29.

(13) For ortraitsfMarcus ureliuseeG.Traversari,useo rcheologicoiVenezia.I ritrattiRoma,968), .75-76, o.57 ,b, nv. J.J. ernoulli,ömischekonographie.DierömischenaiserStuttgart,erlin,eipzig,894),I, 2,Taf. XIX Mansuelli,p. it(n. 7), I (Roma, 961), . 102,No. 122 Inv.1914,No. 186), ig. 22.

(14) ForportraitsfLucius eruseeBernoulli,p.cit n. 13), I, 2,Taf. VIa,bTraversari,p. it n. 13),p.76-77, o. 59a, b, nv. 80 Mansuelli,p. it n. 7), I,p. 101,No. 121 Inv.1914,No. 187), ig. 21.

(15) ForportraitsfCommoduseeK. Ftitschen,. Zanker, ataloger ömischen

Porträtsndem apitolinischenuseenMainzmRhein,985),,p.83-85. os74-78,ls.86.90, 9,91-94.(16) For ortraitsf escenniusigereeMansuelu,p. it n.7),p.144, o.196 Inv.

1914, o.206),fig. 96.(17) For ortraitsfClodius lbinuseeMcCann,p. it n. 4), p.200, ls.CIII,CIV.







570 D. BAHARAL

reliefs18).Moreover,tought obe observed hat hisposturesbynomeanspeculiarto depictionsof Serapis alone. Jupiter,orexample, s generallydepicted n thissitting osture fig. 6) (19),but also otherdeities.

Thus since thesimilarities etween he mageofSeverus nd Serapisarenot distinctivenough, nycontentionhat heformermitate he attermustbe treatedwith hegreatest aution.

A comparison etween everus' lleged elf-identificationith erapis ndthe well attestedHercules-mania f Commoduswillbe instructive.n the

case ofCommodus,not onlythe use of characteristicercules'attributes,suchas the ion'sskin ndtheclub, nhisportraits,ttests isspecial ttitudetowards hisdeity, utalso a considerable umber freferenceso thethemeinthe iteraryources 20).The samesources realmost ompletelyilent fanyrole assigned o Serapis n Severus'propaganda.

These sources ncludeCassius Dio's RomanHistory hich, or heperiodthatconcernsus, has survived nly in fragmentaryorm,notably n thesummaryfXiphiliniusnd inpassagesof ateByzantine ncyclopedias21),as wellas inthe ccount fHerodian,which houghess reliable ndetail 22)

shows pecial nterestntheeccentric ttitudesf heemperorsoward ivinefigures,uch as thatof Commodus towardsHercules Dio, 73 [72]. 15.2 ;20.2 ; 23.3 ; Herodian, 1.14.8-9 1.15.9) and that of Caracalla towards

(18) For xampleee marbleeliefepictinghe mperoradriann he orumD. E.Strong,omanmperialculptureLondon, 961), .43,96,fig.0 a reliefepictingheApotheosisfSabina Ibid.p. 54,96,fig. 8 anda reliefhowing arcus ureliusdistributingaigessesotheRomaneopleIbid., .93,98,fig. 4.

(19) A. H. Smith, CataloguefSculpturenthe epartmentfGreekndRoman

Antiquitiesnthe ritish useumLondon,904),II,p.6,cat. culp. 531.(20) For xampleeeCassius io,Roman istoryLondon,ambr. ass., epr. 961),73[72].15.220.2 22.3, ivisionccordingoBoissevain,hereashe raditionalivisionisgivennbracketsHerodian, istoryftheRomanmpireromheTime fMarcusAureliusLondon, ambridgeass., epr. 969),1.14.8-9; .15.9ScriptoresistoriaeAugustaeLeipzig,epr. 971),Comm.,.5 9.2 9.6 11.8, ereafterited s HA.

(21) For detail iscussionfDio see F. Millar,A StudyfCassius io Oxford,1964).Also ee Z. Rubin, ivilWar ropagandandHistoriographyBruxelles,980),p.81-84, 45ff.,sp.p. 146, 65, ited ereaftersRubin,ropaganda.f.Z. Rubin, io,Herodiannd everus'econdarthian arinChiron5 (1975),p.419ff.A. R.Birley,Septimiuseverusthe fricanmperorLondon,971), . 6 T. D. Barnes, he ourcesof he istoriaugustaBruxelles,978), . 81,hereafterited sBarnes,ources.

(22) For detailedxaminationf he istoricalorkfHerodianndhis ttitudeowardSeverusee C. R Whittaker,ntroductioninthe oebClassicalibrarydition,p.cit(n. 20),p.Dc-Lxxxvn.lso eeBarnes,ourcesp.82-85Birley,p. it n.21),p.9-17Rubin,ropaganda,. 17, 5ff.andG. W.Bowersock,erodianusnd lagabalus,nYCS,24 1975),p.229ÍT.







EMPEROR. SEPTIMIUSEVERUS193-21A.D.) 571

Alexander he Great (Herodian, 4.8.1-2 ; 6.4.9) (23). The same silence sobvious n ater ourceswhichdescribe hereign f Severus24).The HistoriaAugusta, ow almostuniversallyecognized s a fraudulentiterary roductofthe ate 4thcentury,till ollows n tsearlier art, o which he Vita eueribelongs, t least one central ood source,mostprobably wosuch sourcesan anonymous iographer, ommonly eferredo as Ignotus, nd the sena-torialbiographerMarius Maximus 2S). It does mention he dentificationfCommodus with Hercules (HA, Comm.,8.5 ; 9.2 ; 9.6 ; 11.8), but only

vaguely efers o the feetthat Severusdelightedn Serapis*worship HA,Seu., 17.4).

Assuminghen, hat his videncenthe HAis in fact rue 26)and Severus

(23) Herodian's ork eems o reflecttendencyodamageeverus'eputationndaccordingly,e electshe actsegardinghe mperor'seign.ince he ubjectf everus'journeyoEgyptidnot uit is im, eomittedhe ventas n he ase f he irstarthianWar ndmanytheretails hichoncerneverus'ife).or xamplesfHerodian'sttitudetowardeverusee Rubin,ropagandacf. . 22 above.

(24) For xampleeeAurelius ictor, iber e CaesaribusEutropius,reuiiariumburbe onditaFestus, reuiariumerumestarumopuli omaniEusebius,hroniconEpitomee CaesaribusMalalas,Chronographia.or he ositivend ffectionatettitudeofAureliusictorowardeveruseeesp. bid., 0.Victor,owever,oesnotreferoSeverus'ourneyoEgyptndhisvisit o the erapeumfAlexandria.n the ightfhispositivettitudeowardeverusndmoreover,onsideringisperiods that f he PaganRenaissance"henhe gyptianults ere ighlyommonmonghe agans,ndAlexan-driawas ne f hemostmportantentersf he mpire,t eems, ostikely,hat one fVictors'ources entionedeverus'ondnessor erapls.ordetailsn Victor'sttitudetowardseverusee Rubin,ropaganda,. 168-176.

(25) For tudiesn theHÄ problemsee Barnes,ourcesp.48,90-98,sp.p.95Id.,The amilyndCareerf eptimiuseverusnHistoria,6 1970), . 103 H.Dessau,

Über eitundPersönlichkeiterScriptoresistoriaeugustaein Hermes24 (1889),p. 337ff.J.Hasebroek, ntersuchungenurGeschichteesKaisers eptimiuseverus(Heidelberg,921, epr. ew ork, 975), . 108-109,47 E.Hohl,DieHistoriaugustaund ieCaesaresesAureliusictorinHistoria,(1955),p. 220ff.A.Momigliano,nUnresolvedroblemfHistorieorgeryThe HA,nStudiesnHistoriographyLondon,1966),p. 153-154, 66; Rubin,ropaganda,. 133-195,sp. p. 171-175;R. Syme,Ammianusnd he istoriaugustaOxford,968), .36,106-107,ereafteritedsSyme,AmmianusId.,EmperorsndBiographyOxford,971), .33-34, 1, 123, ereafteritedasSyme,mperorsD.Magie,ntroductionn he oebClassicalibraryditionf he HA(London,ambridgeass., 921), .ххп-ххш.

(26) For he roblemegardinghe atin istoricalourcessed y he uthorf heHAsee Barnes, ources,.87,108-109Id.,Hadrianusnd ucius erus,nJRS, 7 1967),

p.66,70,74 Syme,mmianus,. 92f. Id.,Emperors,. 30-35, 7,83 Birley,p. it(n. 21),p. 306-326Rubin,ropaganda,. 18-19, 33-193.ordetailsn themperialbiographerarius aximuss a probableourceee: Birley, p.cit n. 21), App.I,p.308ff.Syme,mmianusp.89 Id.,Emperors,. 135-145САН, II Cambridge,939,repr.971), 99 Rubin,ropaganda,. 18-19,38ff.Barnes,p. it.n. 21),p.98ff.or







572 D.BAHARAL

did ndeedvisit heSerapeum tAlexandria, anone conclude hathewishedbe identified ith erapis Furthermore,oes everymperial isit o a certaintemplethroughouthe Empire necessarilymean self-identificationf anemperorwith hedeity n question

Similar isits re known othfrom istoricaliterarynd from on iterarysources uch as thefamous isit fVespasian otheSerapeum tAlexandria.Butnoneofthesevisits an be regarded s expression ftheemperor's imto be identified ith hedeityworshippedn thetemple n question 27).

In view of thiscomplete bsenceofthe themefrom he iteraryources,one might xpectto find n portraitsdentifieds thoseofSeverus learerSerapis-attributeshanthosepointed utbyL'OrangeandMcCann. Yet, aspointedoutbyMattingly,everus'coins indicate fanything,n attitude findifferencen Severus'parttowardsSerapls.The absence of thisdeity'sfigure rom he reverse-typesf Severus' coins 28) cannotbe successfully

thenonymousiographerIgnotus),ctivehortlyfteraracalla'seatheeBarnes,p. it(n.21),p. 101 Syme,mperorsp.44. t eemshathe etailsivenn heHA Seu. 17.

1-4) eferringoSeverus'

ourneyoEgypt

reccurate,

inceome re ncounterednDio'sHistoryhichsconsideredsa reliableourcecf. io,51.17.2-376[75]. 3.1-2),s wellas nthe umismaticvidence.

(27) Tacitus, ist.V, .Suetonius,iu.Vesp, 7, nd io, 5[66].8.2 escribendetailand omewhatmphasizehe toryfVespasianusnd he odSerapls.he ttitudef heemperorowarderapisswellttestedn ienumismaticata, orxampleeeJ.Vogt, ieAlexandrischenünzenStuttgart,924, epr. ildesheim,976), , p. 44.Furtherxam-ples the isit fPompeiusnthe emplefJerusalemJosephus,ewish ars14,24-76,andvisits fCaracallaovariousemples,uch s the emplefApollo-GrannusDio,78[77]. 5.6), othe emplefAsclepiusnPeigamonDio, bidemHerodian,.8.3) ndto the erapeumfAlexandriaDio,78[77].23.1-2Herodian,.8.6-9). hese isitsreattestedn oinage,orxample,pollo-GrannusppearsnCaracalla'soinagef 14A.D.

(BMCV,p.448,No. 91 p.452,Nos.107-109)ndAsclepiusppearsnhis oinagef215A.D. BMCV,p.451,No. 103 p.452,Nos.104-106p. 485-486, os.278-280p.448,No.291).Literaryourceslso ecordPilgrimages"oAthensorhenitiationntothe leusinianysteriesfDemeter.uch re he isitsfAugustusSuetonius,iu.Aug.,93 Dio,51.4.1 54.9.10)HadrianHA,Had 13.1 Dio,69(68]. 1.1) Marcusurelius(HA,Marc. nt 27.1 Dtto,2[71].31.3)SeptimiuseverusHÁ, eu., .7).

(28) ВМСV, .cli, ndH.Mattingly,he oinagef eptimiuseverusndhisTimes,inNCH,12 (1932),p. 177-198. ock,Conversionp. 129,finds o evidenceor heorientalizationf he ormalultsuringeverus'eign.ikewiseeverus'oinageadesnyeasternypes,ave or erculesndBacchusLiber),heAfricans,atronods f everus'birthplaceepcisMagnaand venwhenheyoappearnhis oinage,heyeem ohavebeen omanizednd ook sany f heGreek-Romanrototypes).ogt, p. it n.27), ,p. 166, oteshathebsencefmagesf he gyptianods romhe oinagefAlexandriaduringeverus'tay heres surprising.lsosee BMCG,AlexandriandtheNomes,p. 181-184.

It ppearshathe asternity-coinsresenterapis'magelsoduringeverus'eign.hissituation,owever,iffersntheWest,speciallynRome,nd ntheEast speciallyn








counterbalancedytherather agueresemblances etween everus'portraitsand theSerapis-representations,ointedoutbytheadherents f theSeve-rus-Serapis heory29). ** *

The situations completely ifferenthen Severus'portraitsre examinedin the ight f a Seveřanpropaganda-themehich s well-attestedotonlyin the literaryut also in the epigraphical, apyrological,nd numismatic

sources. n thecourseof 195 Septimius everusproclaimed hathewas the

son of the deifiedMarcusAurelius, hus aking n imperial ictitiousynastyforhimself,eaching s farback as thedeifiedNerva 30).

The adoptionof SeverusntothegensAmelia s mentionedwice nDio's

History. n one occasion 76[75].7.4), during sessionoftheSenate n the

year197 A.D., Severusdemanded ts members o recognizehim as thesonofMarcus nd thebrotherf Commodus ndto bestowdivinehonours ponthe latter Commodus had been previously ondemnedto a damnatiomemoriae (31). On the second occasion Dio claims thatSeverussimply

Antioch.he asternities hich ereuthorizedomintoinageuringhemperialeriod,portraynthe bservehemagef he mperoruringhoseeignhe oinsweressuedand nthe eversemagesfTVche,he ityoddess,ut lsoof therods,ncludinghatof erapis,ho eflectnmostases he ocal ult.hougherapis'ppearancen heseoinsdoesnot ecessarilyndicaten mperialnitiativef Serapeanormaltate-cult.

On a reverseoin fCaracalla,f he ityfMarcianopolisn owerMoesia BMCGThracetc., .29,No.9),Serapissenthroned,rownedithhemodius,scepternhisrightandnd this eet erberus.n a reversef Julia omna oin romiospolisnPalestineromheyear 08-9A.D.,Serapiss crownedithhemodius. n identicalportrayalsfoundnCaracalla'soin romhe ame earnd ityId.,Palestinep.43,Nos.1,5).Noteworthys the acthat one f he asternmpireoins ortrayerapis'magen

Severus'oinage.(29) See upra.567-8.(30) This s denotedhe Fictitiousdoption",inceMarcus ureliusadbeen lready

dead or ifteenears hen he doptionasdeclared.t seemshathe doptionidnotfollowhe egulationsf heRomanaw f doptionutwas atherone ccordingothreeother octrines1) Adoptioo ure acta,hats anadoptionot ccordingo the aw;2) Princepsegibusolutusstwhichismissedhemperorromhe ales f he rivateaw3) Quod rincipilacuitegis abetigoremwhichefinedhe aw ccordingo hemperor'sdecision.hus,heserinciplesrotectedhe dministrativelaw hichequiredhe resenceof he arenturinghedoption.nemayegards aprecedentoSeverus'doptionero'sstepwho The reedwomancte e llbutmade is awfulife"Suetonius,ero28).Forthis urposeesignedernthegensfAttalos,heKing fPergamonwho iedn 133B.C.)"oftenribingomex-consulsopeijurehemselvesy wearinghathewas f oyalbirth"Suetonius,ero,28 Dio,61[61].2.1). detailedtudynthe doptionn Romecanbe foundnRubin'sookmperialdoptionsyet npublished).

(31) Itappearsromio'saccounthathe doptionfSeverusnto hegens ureliaoccurredn 197A.D. A carefulxamination,owever,fhisdescriptionevealshathe







574 D. BAHARAL

registered imselfn the gensAurelia, nd was facetiouslyongratulated ya senatorial supporter,Pollenius Auspex, for having found a father(76[75].9.4).

Severus'self-adoption yMarcus Aurelius s mentioned lso in theHA,once again in two places. One of the reasons forbestowing he nameAntoninuson Caracalla was accordingto "some", the feetthat "Severushimselfwished o pass over ntothefamilyf Marcus" HA, Seu. 10.6). Itsaccountofthe troubled enatorial ession n whichhe proclaimed ommo-

dus' deifications insertedntothat of the battleofLugdunum, ut t stillreflects n authentic ccurrence 12.8). The ostensible hronological n-congruityetween he sourcescan be reconciledwith ufficientttention othe context nd to the nature f the sourcesof theHA,as well as with heaid ofthenon-literaryvidence 32).

Other iteraryources uch as Herodian 3.10.5), Eutropius8.19.2), andAureliusVictor 20.30) (33) mention he feet hat Caracalla was renamedMarcusAureliusAntoninus, mittinghe feetthat this step followed headoption.

Moreover, t is well known that divine sanction was represented yimperial ropaganda s indicated yomina mperiiThese ncluded eportedmiracles, rophecies nd dreams, nd were mportantactors n strengthe-ning an emperor's uthoritynd establishinghe claims of his house todynastic ight fsuccession o power 34).Such omina mperiirefrequentlymentionedn iteraryources nconnectionwith everus' uccession nd hintnotonly t his claimto a divinepledgeto hold the mperial hrone, ut arealso at his connectionwithMarcusAurelius nd theadoption nto thegensAurelia.There s at leastone sign nthe omina mperiifSeverus, escribed

byDio, which s associated withtheadoption.Dio recounts 75[74].3.1)

membersf he enate ho pposedo the emand,ere ot urprised,incehey erealreadyamiliarithhis ubject.urthermore,hewords ôeyendéôíôov re ntheimperfectense nd herefore,t sclear hat io referredo a pre-97A.D.period.

(32) Rubin,ropagandasupra,.21).(33) Victorlaimshaty enamingaracalla,everusishedo honor ntoninusius

duringhoseeignebegan ispoliticalareers anAduocatusisci t ooks s fVictor'sclaimss a resultf mistakenhis ource,he ostKaisergeschichteKG).For discussionontheKGsee Barnes, ourcesp. 91-95 Id.,The ostKaisergeschichtendthe atinHistoricalraditionnHistoriaugustaolloquium968/69Bonn,970), . 13ff.Id.,TheEpitomeeCaesaribusnd ts ourcesnCPH71 1976), .258ff.,sp. .260-265Syme,Emperorsp.71, 103,110, 28 Id.,Ammianus,. 105 Rubin,ropaganda,. 166ff.

(34) For good ummarynthe tatus,uthorityndnominationf legitimatemperorsee САНXII,p. 352-376Webre tzioni, heThree ypes fLegitimateulein ASociologicaleadernComplexrganizationNewYork, nd d.,1969), .6-15.








thaton theevening f hismarriagewithJuliaDomna, Severusdreamt hatFaustina, the wife of Marcus Aurelius preparedthe QáÀapoç (nuptialchamber) or hecouple nthetemple fVenus on thePalatine 35).The hintis clear notonly hat he mperial uturef Severuswas suggestedy divinemessage, ut ikewise,hedivineMarcus ndhiswife ccepted everus s oneof their amily.

The association, speciallywiththedivineMarcus, s further intedbymiracles. io (75[75].1.2 ; 3.1 ; 7.6-7), Herodian 3.3.6-8) and theauthor

of the HA (Seu., 9.9-11) recordreports f weathermiracles uringmilitarycampaigns,which escued everus' rmy rom efeatn critical ituations. issoldiersregarded hese episodes as intimation f a divinepower.Thesemiracles voke hememoryf similar ccurrencesn whichMarcusAurelius'armywas involvedDio, 72[71].8.1-4 ; HA,Marc.Ant, 24.4.47) (36),andit s most ikelyhat everus ntended oemphasize he resemblance etweenhis owncase and thatof thedivineMarcus.

The numismaticndepigraphicalvidence eveals hat everus roclaimedhimselfhe son of Marcus Aurelius lready n 195 A.D. On the reverse f

bronze coins of the same year,the year of Severus' fifthmperatorialacclamation,he is titled"the son of the divine Marcus" (DIVI M. PII

F.) (37). This titlerepeats tself n a gold coin of the same yearwithhisseventh mperatorial cclamation38). There is also a later numismaticattestationf Commodus' apotheosis 39). An inscriptionromMauretaniaCaesariensisfrom he same yearascribes to Severusa lineage of divineancestors, xtendings forback as divus Nervaand describing everus sDiui Commodi raterC0).

Manyof Severus' edicatorynscriptions hichwerefound hroughouthe

Empire emphasizethe dynastic rigin f his title o thethrone41). Even

(35) It is not o coincidentalhat everus'ream ccurredere,ince ollowingheApotheosisfFaustina,ilvertatuesfMarcusndFaustinaere etup n theTemple,accordingo the ecree f he enateDio, 72[71].31.1), placewhereaustinandherhusband ere egardeds divineatrons.or detailccountn this ignee Z. Rubin,SupernaturalndReligiousanctionf he mperorsule nderhe everi,93-217unpu-blishediss.,Oxford,971), . 312-341.

(36) ForweatheriraclesfMarcusureliusee Rubin,Weatheriraclesnder arcusAureliusinAthenaeum,7 1979),p. 357-380.

(37) H. Matiingly,. A. Sydeham,heRomanmperialoinageIV, 1 (London,

1936), . 185,No.868, ited ereaftersRIC.(38) Ibid,p. 187,Nos.700-702ap. 188,No.712.(39) Ibid,p. 99,No. 72a.(40) CILVIII,9317.(41) For xampleeeDessau,LS 418,420,422,431,448f.,54,458,1141, 422

CILVIII,1333, 699, 700.







576 D. BAHARAL

inscriptionsrom isbirth lace, Lepcis Magna,wherehis authenticedigreewas well known, dvertise ll of the titles ssociated withthe gensAure-liaC2)- An inscription romAezani in Phrygia(43)commemorates herenaming f Caracalla as Marcus AureliusAntoninus,which occurrednotlaterthan at the end of 195 A.D. From 196 A.D. on Caracalla is titled"MarcusAureliusAntoninus"M AVK ANTONINVS) (").

Severus'wish to secure n associationwith he houseofMarcus Aureliusis furthereflectedyan imitation fsome ofMarcus Aurelius'activities,

such as bestowing he title Mater Castrorum n Julia Domna. This title,encountered n Severus' coins 4S), and inscriptions 46)had also beengranted o FaustinaunderMarcusAurelius47). Another nstance s theassumption f the togauirilis yCaracalla. It was on thevoyageback fromEgypt,whenCaracalla was only12 years ld thatSeverus estowed tuponhim, ndappointedhimas fellow-consul.HA, Seu., 26.8). Commoduswasalso given hetogauirilis nd appointed yMarcusAurelius s hiscolleaguein the consulate t one and the sametime, ongbefore he egal age (Dio,72[71].22.2 ; HA,Marc.Ant, 22.12) (48).

So far t seems that the coins and the dedicatory nscriptions xpressSeverus'devotion o hisplanof hisself-affiliationith he Aurelian ynasty.In thisrespecthe iterarynd thenon-literaiyources re thereforenperfectaccord.

The questionnow ariseswhetherhiswell-attestedropaganda heme anbe shownto have exercised ts nfluence n Septimius everus'portraits.

Ifone acceptsthat heportraitf an emperorn anyofthe visualmediais one of the nstrumentsfspreading ispropaganda, ne wouldexpect o

(42) IRT, . 412-414.(43) Dessau, LS,8805.(44) H.Matongly, he oinagef eptimiuseverusnNCH, 2 1932), . 193 RIC

IV, 1,p. 83.(45) RICTV,,p. 83.(46) CIL II,5935 VI, 1035.(47) CILXIV,40 Dio,72[71].10.5HA,Marc. nt26.8.Also eeBirley, p.cit

(n.21), p. 182 nd183,n. 1 САН, II,p. 356.(48) Also eeBirley,p. it n.21),p.210.For he ossibilityhathe nownubjects

FelicitasndVictoriased y heAntonineynastyerveslso everusnhis laim obetheson fMarcusureliusee Rubin,he elicitasnd he oncordiaf he eveřanouse,nScriptalassicasraelica,(1976-77), . 153-172. f he pinionhat he hangef hename fBassianusCaracalla)oM.Aureliusntoninuss a moveeminiscentf haty .Verusn161, ee Birley,p. it n.21),p.301-302. henucius ecameo-emperorithMarcusureliusn161, is wn ame as lteredo hat hich arcusas orneromirth,Verus. or detailediscussionee A.Birley,MarcusureliusLondon,966), . 152ff.







PLATEVIII

Fig. 1 - Septimiuseverus.etail f panelromhe rch f eptimiuseverustLepcisMagna,a. 203A.D.

Fig. 2.- SeptimiuseverusndJulia omna. etail f panel romheArch f heArgentariitRome,04A.D.

Fig. 3.- HeadofSerapls. omanopy ftypettributedoBryaxis.ome, aticanMuseum.

Fig. 4.- Head f erapls.ome, atican useum.







PLATEX

5

Fig. 5.- The Capitolineriad" romhe rch f eptimiuseverustLepcisMagna.Fig. 6.- Cult-StatuefJupiter.ondon, ritish useum,ownley'sollection,at.

Sculpt.531.Fig.7.- Porphyrytatueromaesarea aritimattributedoHadrian.







PLATEX

Fig. 8.- Head f eptimiuseverus.ureus,ome,02A.D.,Ob.Fig.9.- Head f eptimiuseverus.ureus,ome, 93/4 .D.,Ob.Fig. 10. Head f eptimiuseverus.estertius,ome,10A.D.,Ob.Fig. 11. Head fMarcus urelius.estertius,ome, 72/3 .D.,Ob.Fig. 12. Replicafcult-statuettributedoSerapls. lexandria,raeco-Romanu-

seum.Fig. 13. Head f eptimiuseverus.aris,ouvre useum.







PLATEXI

Fìg. 14. Head of Septimiuseverus. ünchen,lyptothek,aalXI (RömischenBildnisse),o.48.Fig. 15. Head fMarcus urelius.aris,ouvre useum.

Fìg. 16. StatuefMarcus urelius.ome, useo apitolino,alone °32, nv.AlbaniС 18.

Fìg. 17. Statue fSeptimiuseverus.ome, atican useum,alleria elle tatue,inv. 71.








find n Severus'portraitsome characteristiceatures nd associatinghimwith hedynasty ithwhichhe wishedto associatehimself.

Althoughmostof Severus' oin-portraitsrestill ealisticnthedepictionof his squareface and thick nd fleshy eck e.g. fig.7) (49),a comparisonbetween umismaticortraitsfSeverusfig.9, 10) (50)andthoseofMarcusAureliusfig.11) (5I) reveals consistentimilarityn hairdo nd especiallyin the beardwith eparated ong pointedcurls.Yet there re at least twomarked nstances n the mint-artist'sart o bring ut even a more marked

similarityetween the two emperors.A coin-portraitrom193/4 A.D.(fig. 9) (52), and anotherfrom210 A.D. (fig. 10) (53), portray im withfeaturesimilar othoseof MarcusAureliusfig. 11) (S4).Botharepresentedwithongand narrow aces bothhave a richmane ofcurly, aturallypreadhair,partiallyMing over the forehead a longbeard with eparated,ong,pointed urls, nd largeeyesturned pwards.

A comparison f Severus' culpted ortraitsfig. 13-14) (55'56), ith hoseof Marcus fig. 15) (") exposesfurtherimilaritiesthe beard s parted ntoseparate roupsoflonglocks thediagonal upwardglance s emphasized

the head inclines ideways nd slightlyapersdownward the ocks of hairoftenM as a mass over the forehead nd are often ombedup, leaving heforehead are,and the long and narrowface is more emphasized n thesculpted ortraits.

Noteworthyrefewdominant acts although hedesignation f Severusas the "son ofthe divineMarcus" occurred nly n 195 A.D., he alreadyappearswithMarcusAurelius'fecialfeatures n coins of 193/4A.D. Thesamefecial raits eappear n a coin of 210 A.D., when Severus'powerwasfullyonsolidated,nd his need fordivine anction orhisimperial osition

(49) McCann,p. it n.4),pl.VIII,figs. ,3.(50) J.P.C. Kent, .Overbeck,. U. Stylow, ierömischeünzeMünchen,973),

pl.93,no.381 pl.95,no. 398andBMCV,pl.15,no.8.(51) Kent, verbeck,tylow,p. it n. 50), pl.87,no. 345.(52) Ibid., l.93,No. 381.(53) Ibid., l.95,No. 398.(54) Supra, . 51.(55) Bernoulli,p. it n. 13), I, 2,pl.XIIIb. II, 3,pl.XIII ,b.For recentomplete

cataloguef everus'ortraitseeMcCann, p. it n.4).(56) Bernoulli,p. it n. 13), I, 2,pl.LXDC hese haracteristiceaturesre speciallynotedn he questrianarcus ureliusRome, apitole).or nexampleeeStrong,p.

cit n. 18),p.213,fig. 50.(57) GlyptothekünchenMünchen,986), .77,pl.40: SaalXI Römischenildnisse),

no.48.







578 D. BAHARAL

was no longer s pressing s before.Moreover, hese arerecognized lso inhis sculptedportraitsn theLepcis reliefsfig. 1) (58).

Likewise, two sculptures n the round, one of Marcus Aurelius(fig. 16) (59)and theother fSeverusfig. 17) (60)exhibit he samestance,dress nd facial eaturescurly air, he mane s drawn p overthe foreheadand temples a singlemedium ength urlyhair and large upwardstaringeyes.

Beforeanswering he questionwhether he resemblancebetween the

portraitsf Severus nd thoseof MarcusAurelius s accidental, ne mustconsider herepresentationf fashion nd style fhairdo n Roman mperialart.

An examinationfthe known pecimens asgiven ise o twoapproacheswithregard o thisquestion.According o one approach mperial ortraitsexhibitn detailfrequenthangesoffashion,nd hairdocan thus erve s afairly eliableyardstick or the datingof portraits f the imperialperiod.According o theother pproach, mperial ortraits epresent nlygeneralcharacteristicsf styleand fashion of hairdo peculiarto the reignsof

individual ynasties. ifferencesan thereforendicatemerely he prove-nanceof a portraitrom hereign f one dynastyr another, ut can notbeused as a criterion or moreprecisedating 61).Thus for nstance ortraitscan be defined s Julio-Claudian62) or Flavian 63).

(58) Formore f everus*ortraitsn he epcis*eliefee J.B.Ward-Perkins,eveřanart,nJRS 38 1948),pl.XI,fig. L'Orange, potheosisp.78,fig. 2.Both 'Orange,Apotheosisp.77andMcCann,p. it n. 4),p.80, ndicateheimilaritiesetweeneverus'portraitsn he epcis' eliefsnd hose fMarcusurelius.he se f heMarcusurelius"

typenthe epcis' eliefsestifyothe act hat everus'ish oself-identificationithheAurelianamilyashonoredy he eople, espitef heirnowledgenhis amilyuthenticrelationships.eealso upra .42.Moreover,oteworthys dominantactevenhoughnthoseculpted-portraitsf eptimiuseverus hichdentifiedy cholars the ortrait-typeof Severus-Serapis"ndwere he ar-excellenceortrait-typef everus,ne ould,ndeed,recognizeotonly hetraditionalmpressionftypical ntoninemperialortraiture,especiallyn conographynd tyleo hose fMarcusureliussee, orxample,ig. 3,14,15),whichs apparentnthe lmostdenticalut f he ong eardwitheparatedongpointedurlsnd ichmane f urlyair,utlson he arrowose nd hinace ithengthproportions.

(59) Rome, useo apitolino,alone o.32, nv.Albani18.Cf.H. Stuart ones,heSculpturef heMuseo apitolinoOxford,912, epr. oma, 969), .296, alone,o.32,pl.72.(60) Rome, atican useum,alleryf tatues,nv. 71.

(61) Formore f hesewo pproacheseeforxampleA. F. Shore, ortrait-Paintingfrom oman gyptLondon, 972), sp. p. 12-20 and S. E. Wood,Roman ortraitSculpture17-260 .D.TheTransformationf n ArtisticraditionLeiden, 986).For







EMPEROR.SEPTIMUSEVERUS193-211.D.) 579

If eitherapproach is accepted the consistant dherence of Severus'portraitso a modelthat an be described s Antonine s rather triking.ftheformerpproach s accepted, t s a remarkable act hat everus' ortraitsappearto transcendhangesof fashion n their aithfulnesso thismodel. fthe atter s to be followed t is stillnotablethatno new Seveřanhair-styleseems to have developed under Severusfor his portraitswhich followconsistentlyhe Antoninemodel.

A careful xamination f the portraits f Lucius Verus 64), Commo-

dus 65),MarcusAurelius66)and Severus67) indicates similar enderingin thetraditionalnd customaryraits fthe Antonine ortraiture.hisstyleemphasizes he contrast etween hesmoothfaceand themane of thehair,and betweenthe hair and the beard,while the play of lightand shadeemphasize hepictorial-opticallement, oticeablenotonly n thearrange-ment fthe beardand thehair,but also in thephilosophical xpression ftheface, nd the nature f the external utline f theseportraits. speciallyobvious are the iconographie s well as the stylisticikenessesbetweenSeverus' nd Marcus Aurelius'portraitsfig. 13-17) (68).

In conclusion, ntentional esemblance etween heportraitsf Severusand thoseof Marcus Aureliusmaybe traced. t seemsthat hese arebeingused consciouslynd deliberatelys a device ofpropaganda o promotehisclaimofbeing he mmediate eirof the Antonine ynastyndto assisthim

furthertudiesnthisutgectlso ee G. M. A.Richter,heMetropolitanuseumfArtRoman ortraitsNewYork, 948) E. Rosenbaum,CataloguefCyrenaicanortraitSculptureLondon, 960) C. C.Vermeule,omanmperialrtnGreecendAsiaMinor(Cambridge,ass., 968) Б. AlfOldi, . Erim, . nan,Roman ndEarly yzantinePortraitculpturenAsiaMinor.upplement,nBellettenürk arih urumu,2 1968),

p. 1-24,sp.p.3-5, 0-13 J.D. Breckenridge,omanmperialortraiturerom ugustustoGallienus,nAufstiegndNiedergangerrömischenelt, , 12,2 (Berlin, 981),p.477-512D. L.Tompson,ummyortraitsnthe .PaulGettyuseumMalibu,982),esp.p. 10-11G.Grœco, p. it n.3).

(62) G. M.A.Hanfmann,omanrtLondon, ew ork, 975), . 105-107,igs.02-106 Heniged.),AHandbookfRoman rtOxford,983), .74-75, 5-86, igs.5-56.Also ee J.M. C. Toynbee,he ra acisReconsideredndHistoricalrtnRomantaly,inProceedingsf he ritishcademy,9 1953), .67-95 R.Brilliant, esturendRankinRoman rtNewHaven,963).

(63) Henig, p. it n. 62), p. 86,fig. 2 Hanfmann,p. it n. 62), p.95,fig. 8Hinks,p. it n. 3), figs.0-52. lso ee J.M. C.Toynbee,he lavianeliefsromhePalazzo ella ancellerianRomeNewcastlepon yne, 957) Brilliant,p. it n. 62).

(64) Seesupra . 14.(65) Seesupra . 15.(66) Seesupra . 13.(67) Seesupra . 55.(68) Seesupra . 55-60.





portraits of the emperor l. septimius severus (193-211 a.d.) as an expression of his propaganda

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