Roman decadence
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| - | [[Image:Elagabalus.jpg|thumb|right|200px|'''[[Elagabalus]]''' was a [[Roman Emperors|Roman emperor]] known for [[perverse]] and [[decadent]] behavior. Due to these associations with [[Roman decadence]], Elagabalus became something of a hero to the [[Decadent movement]] in the [[late 19th century]]. Characterizing him and other historical persons in antiquity as "[[psychopath]]s" — for example, the five "[[mad emperors]]" of [[ancient Rome]]: [[Caligula]], [[Nero]], [[Domitian]], [[Commodus]], and [[Elagabalus]] — is however a retroactive speculation premised on a decidedly modern view of [[human nature]] and individual [[psychology]]. This modern view did not start to develop until the [[Late Middle Ages]], reaching full fruition in the [[Enlightenment]] and [[Romantic movement]] of the [[eighteenth century|eighteenth]] and [[nineteenth century|nineteenth centuries]] ]] | + | [[Image:The Remorse of Nero by Waterhouse.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''[[The Remorse of Nero After the Murder of His Mother]]'' (1878) by John William Waterhouse]] |
| - | [[Image:The Remorse of Nero by Waterhouse.jpg|thumb|200px|''The Remorse of [[Nero]] After the [[Matricide|Murder of His Mother]]'' ([[1878]]) by [[John William Waterhouse]]]] | + | {| class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5" |
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| + | "Does it not seem to the reader, as to me, that the language of the last [[Late Latin|Latin decadence]] - that supreme sigh of a robust person already transformed and prepared for spiritual life -is singularly fitted to express passion as it is understood and felt by the modern world ? Mysticism is the other end of the magnet of which [[Catullus]] and his band, brutal and purely epidermic poets, knew only the sensual pole. In this wonderful language, [[solecism]]s and [[barbarism]]s seem to express the forced carelessness of a passion which forgets itself, and mocks at rules . The words, used in a novel sense , reveal the charming awkwardness of a barbarian from the North, kneeling before Roman Beauty."--"[[Franciscæ meæ Laudes]]" by Baudelaire | ||
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| + | [[Image:Elagabalus.jpg|thumb|right|200px|'''[[Elagabalus]]''' was a [[Roman Emperors|Roman emperor]] known for [[perverse]] and [[decadent]] behavior. Due to these associations with [[Roman decadence]], Elagabalus became something of a hero to the [[Decadent movement]] in the [[late 19th century]]. Characterizing him and other historical persons in antiquity as "[[psychopath]]s" — for example, the five "[[Valeria Messalina|mad emperors]]" of [[ancient Rome]]: [[Caligula]], [[Nero]], [[Domitian]], [[Commodus]], and [[Elagabalus]] — is however a retroactive speculation premised on a decidedly modern view of [[human nature]] and individual [[psychology]]. This modern view did not start to develop until the [[Late Middle Ages]], reaching full fruition in the [[Enlightenment]] and [[Romantic movement]] of the [[eighteenth century|eighteenth]] and [[nineteenth century|nineteenth centuries]] ]] | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| - | :''[[Messalina]]'' | + | '''Roman decadence''' defines the gradual and moral decline in the [[ancient Roman]] republican values of family, farming, [[virtus (virtue)|virtus]], and [[Dignitas (Roman concept)|dignitas]]. It is personified by the '[[Valeria Messalina|mad emperors]]' and [[Valeria Messalina]] and is said to have led to the [[decline of the Roman Empire]]. |
| - | '''Roman decadence''' defines the gradual and moral decline in the [[ancient Roman]] republican values of family, farming, [[virtus (virtue)|virtus]], and [[Dignitas (Roman concept)|dignitas]]. | + | |
| Some contemporary critics of Roman decadence, such as [[Cato the Younger]], attributed its rise to the influence of the Hellenistic philosophy [[epicureanism]], while modern historians such as [[Edward Gibbon]] ( ''[[The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]'', was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788.) and Cyril Robinson also attribute increasing Roman affluence and the pacifying luxury it afforded. | Some contemporary critics of Roman decadence, such as [[Cato the Younger]], attributed its rise to the influence of the Hellenistic philosophy [[epicureanism]], while modern historians such as [[Edward Gibbon]] ( ''[[The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]'', was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788.) and Cyril Robinson also attribute increasing Roman affluence and the pacifying luxury it afforded. | ||
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| ===Decadence of the emperors=== | ===Decadence of the emperors=== | ||
| - | ====[[Tiberius]]==== | + | :''"[[mad emperors]]"'' |
| - | According to ancient historians such as [[Lives of the Twelve Caesars|Suetonius]], Tiberius indulged in the most morbid sexual perversions in his reclusive gardens on the Island of Capri. Suetonius records disturbing tales of perversity and cruelty, of violent sado-masochism and [[pederasty]], and most of all, extreme paranoia in the diseased emperor's mind. According to Suetonius, he raped very young girls and also enjoyed snapping the necks of boys with his bare hands. | + | |
| - | While perhaps sensationalized, the stories at least paint a picture of how Tiberius was perceived by the Roman people, and what his impact on the Principate was during his 23 years of rule. | + | |
| - | ====[[Caligula]]==== | + | Some of the emperors of [[ancient Rome]]'s behavior was so [[cruel]] and [[eccentric]] that they have come to be known as "mad emperors" and likened to "[[psychopath]]s". They include these five : [[Caligula]], [[Nero]], [[Domitian]], [[Commodus]], [[Claudius]], [[Tiberius]], and [[Elagabalus]]. |
| - | Perhaps most infamous of all Roman emperors, Caligula was a completely unstable psychopath who likely suffered from [[epilepsy]]. | + | |
| - | When he became emperor, he satisfied his perversions by having sex with his three sisters, raping the wives of senators, and naming his favorite horse [[Consul]]. | + | |
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| - | He declared himself a god and had his own image superimposed on statues of deities throughout the empire. Later during his chaotic reign, he created a private brothel in the palace, forcing patrician Roman women to prostitute themselves. | + | |
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| - | ====[[Claudius]]==== | + | |
| - | Emperor Claudius was a notorious drunk and glutton during his long reign. | + | |
| - | Contrary to popular belief, he had a ruthless streak and enjoyed watching public executions of men and women. He took his own niece [[Agrippina]] as his fourth wife, although throughout time many rulers have married family members. | + | |
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| - | ====[[Nero]]==== | + | |
| - | A perverse and unpredictable ruler, Nero ascended to power by having his mother [[Agrippina]] stabbed to death. Late in his rule, he brutally kicked his pregnant wife to death after she criticized his performance at one of his hours-long poetry recitals. | + | |
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| - | Suetonius tells us that Nero had numerous sexual perversions, had sex with young boys, forced himself on married women of high nobility and even raping a [[Vestal Virgin]]. Indulging his love for sado-masochism, Nero covered himself in wild animal skins and attacked the genitals of men and women bound to stakes. He is said even to have lusted after his mother before her death, as she had a great influence over the young emperor. | + | |
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| - | Nero was also an extravagant spender, declaring that, ‘only a miser counted what he spent, while a true gentleman wasted and squandered.’ | + | |
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| - | To stop the public belief that he had started the [[great fire of Rome]], Nero blamed the devastating fire on the marginal eastern sect called [[Christians]]. In many parts of the Roman empire, pogroms broke out against Christians and thousands were arrested. | + | |
| - | Nero then appeased the mobs of the ravaged Rome by having Christians thrown to lions and tigers, crucified and burned alive on stakes in the [[Circus]]. | + | |
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| - | ====[[Elagabalus]]==== | + | |
| - | A fourteen year old Syrian transvestite who thought himself a sun god. | + | |
| - | Elagabulus engaged in frequent homosexual perversions, such as prostituting himself in drag and marrying an enslaved chariot driver. | + | |
| - | He wasted enormous amounts of money, and supposedly fed his pet lions with pheasants while complaining that the people of Rome were starving. | + | |
| - | Many of the stories about Elagabalus are likely exaggerations by the Roman historians. | + | |
| ==In painting== | ==In painting== | ||
| *''[[Romans in the Decadence of the Empire]]'' by [[Thomas Couture]] | *''[[Romans in the Decadence of the Empire]]'' by [[Thomas Couture]] | ||
| *''[[The Roses of Heliogabalus]]'' | *''[[The Roses of Heliogabalus]]'' | ||
| *''[[Pollice Verso (Gérôme)|Pollice Verso]]'' | *''[[Pollice Verso (Gérôme)|Pollice Verso]]'' | ||
| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | *''[[Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence]]'' | ||
| + | *[[Decline of the Roman Empire]] | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Current revision
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"Does it not seem to the reader, as to me, that the language of the last Latin decadence - that supreme sigh of a robust person already transformed and prepared for spiritual life -is singularly fitted to express passion as it is understood and felt by the modern world ? Mysticism is the other end of the magnet of which Catullus and his band, brutal and purely epidermic poets, knew only the sensual pole. In this wonderful language, solecisms and barbarisms seem to express the forced carelessness of a passion which forgets itself, and mocks at rules . The words, used in a novel sense , reveal the charming awkwardness of a barbarian from the North, kneeling before Roman Beauty."--"Franciscæ meæ Laudes" by Baudelaire |
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Roman decadence defines the gradual and moral decline in the ancient Roman republican values of family, farming, virtus, and dignitas. It is personified by the 'mad emperors' and Valeria Messalina and is said to have led to the decline of the Roman Empire.
Some contemporary critics of Roman decadence, such as Cato the Younger, attributed its rise to the influence of the Hellenistic philosophy epicureanism, while modern historians such as Edward Gibbon ( The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788.) and Cyril Robinson also attribute increasing Roman affluence and the pacifying luxury it afforded.
According to Edward Gibbon, the root of the decadence may lie in the political system. Especially mentioned is the lack of clear rules of succession. A significant number of successions involved bribing the army to be elected emperor, and a civil war between different declared emperors. This resulted in higher taxes and frequent destruction that provoked the apathy of the elite.
More controversially, the early history of the Christian church is also mentioned as a cause of decadence. The early Roman Empire was usually tolerant of the religion of the people conquered, and tried to preserve peace amongst its subjects. After the conversion of most of the Empire to Christianity, religious issues took a proiminent place in the political debate, sometimes leading to civil wars and later persecutions.
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Examples
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On a broad cultural level
- The increasing popularity of orgies: in the Roman world, the term orgy did not necessarily contain its modern sexual connotation. It referred to a party of unrestrained indulgence during which guests consumed copious quantities of food and drink to such excesses that they often relieved themselves by vomiting (though not in a room called a vomitorium). This is debatable. Recent lectures by Professor Alistair Blanchard at the University of Sydney suggest that the "Roman orgy" is nothing more than a historical myth.
- The increasing extravagance of popular entertainment: exemplified by the inauguration of the Colosseum under the emperor Titus. Dio Cassius said that 9,000 wild animals were killed in the one hundred days of celebration which inaugurated the amphitheatre opening.
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Decadence of the emperors
Some of the emperors of ancient Rome's behavior was so cruel and eccentric that they have come to be known as "mad emperors" and likened to "psychopaths". They include these five : Caligula, Nero, Domitian, Commodus, Claudius, Tiberius, and Elagabalus.
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In painting
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See also
- Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence
- Decline of the Roman Empire
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