Sol: Image and Meaning of the Sun in Roman Art and Religion, Volume II 2

With this analysis of Sol images, Steven E. Hijmans paints a new picture of the solar cult in ancient Rome. The paucity of literary evidence led Hijmans to prioritize visual sources, and he opens this study with a thorough discussion of the theoretical and methodological issues involved. Emphasizing the danger of facile equivalencies between visual and verbal meanings, his primary focus is Roman praxis, manifest in, for instance, the strict patterning of Sol imagery. These patterns encode core concepts that Sol imagery evoked when deployed, and in those concepts we recognize the bedrock of Rome's understandings of the sun and his cult. Case studies illustrate these concepts in action and the final chapter analyzes the historical context in which previous, now discredited views on Sol could arise. This is volume II of a two-volume set. Contents 8 Figures 14 Abbreviations 17 Chapter 5 Temples and Priests of Sol in Rome 20 1 The Origins of the Cult of Sol in Rome 20 2 Early Temples of Sol in Rome: Circus Maximus and Quirinal 23 3 The Porticus Solis – a Misidentified Temple of Sol 26 3.1 The Provenance of the Inscriptions 30 4 Priests and Others Involved in the Cult 39 4.1 The Role of the kalatores 42 5 Sol and the Roman Notions of Divinity 47 Appendix: Inscriptions Cited by Palmer and Chausson 49 Chapter 6 Solar, Divine, or Imperial? Understanding the Radiance of Gods and Emperors in Roman Art 60 1 Introduction 60 2 A Hint of Sol 62 3 A Statue in Raleigh 64 4 The Sternenstreit 71 5 Circe 77 6 The Imperial Radiate Crown 79 6.1 The Imperial “Uniform” 83 6.2 A “Pseudo-Object”? 85 6.3 The Radiate Prize Wreaths of the Actian Games 87 6.4 The divus and His Crown 101 6.5 Augustus’ Crown(s) 115 6.6 The Later Use of the Radiate Crown 120 Chapter 7 The Emperor as Sol? 127 1 Nero as Sol? 127 2 Other Depictions of the Emperor as Sol? 134 3 Constantine as Sol? 137 4 Conclusions 149 Chapter 8 Sol-Luna Symbolism and the Carmen Saeculare of Horace 154 1 Introduction 154 2 The Sign Sol-and-Luna 155 3 Horace’s Carmen Saeculare – Another terminus ante quem 156 4 Mommsen’s Criticism and Its Aftermath 162 4.1 Carmen and Ludi Compared 166 4.2 The “Decadent” Practice of Syncretizing Deities 167 5 Horace’s Hymn Rehabilitated 170 6 In Conclusion 174 Chapter 9 Image and Word: Christ or Sol in Mausoleum M of the Vatican Necropolis? 178 1 Introduction 178 2 Mausoleum M 180 3 Interpretation and the Diachronic Aspect 186 4 Parallels 188 5 With Roman Eyes 193 6 Visual Impact, Meaning, and Atmosphere 197 7 Visual Meanings versus Verbal Ones 198 8 In Conclusion 200 Chapter 10 From Aurelian to Julian: Sol in Late Antiquity 204 1 Sol Invictus and Christmas 205 1.1 December 25, a Feast Day for Sol? Fact and Fiction 208 1.2 Excursus: Aurelian’s Changes to the Cult of Sol 209 1.3 Back to December 25 216 2 Pagans, Christians, and Cosmic Divinity 220 3 Pagans, Christians, and “Solar Theology” 224 3.1 Dura Europos 227 4 Sol as Supreme Deity? 230 5 Beliefs, Ambiguities, and Imagery 237 6 Constantine and Purposeful Traditionalism 241 7 In Conclusion 251 Chapter 11 The Invention of Sol Invictus: An Analysis of Previous Research on Sol 256 1 The Republican Sun God 257 1.1 Georg Wissowa’s Line of Argument 259 1.2 The Influence of Nineteenth-Century Nationalism 264 2 The Orient and the Imperial Sol 274 2.1 The Epithet invictus 276 2.2 “An Undermined and Weakened Body” 280 3 Classical Studies and the Western Elite 283 4 The Tenacity of Paradigms and Ideology 285 4.1 Decolonizing Sol 287 Conclusions 293 Bibliography 298 Concordances 363 PLATES 396 Sol: A Viewer’s Typology 398 Catalogue 422 Index 604 "With this analysis of Sol images, Steven E. Hijmans paints a new picture of the solar cult in ancient Rome. The paucity of literary evidence led Hijmans to prioritize visual sources, and he opens this study with a thorough discussion of the theoretical and methodological issues involved. Emphasizing the danger of facile equivalencies between visual and verbal meanings, his primary focus is Roman praxis, manifest in, for instance, the strict patterning of Sol imagery. These patterns encode core concepts that Sol imagery evoked when deployed, and in those concepts we recognize the bedrock of Rome's understandings of the sun and his cult. Case studies illustrate these concepts in action and the final chapter analyzes the historical context in which previous, now discredited views on Sol could arise"-- Provided by publisher