Damnatio memoriae of non-emperors

[Jona Lendering]

Does anybody know about the damnatio memoriae of a person who was not an emperor or related to the dynasty?

I am asking because in the Macellum of Lepcis Magna is an inscription (go here) that refers to a Quintus, who fell victim to a damnatio memoriae. But he can not be the emperor, because no titles are mentioned. The monument was erected by his mother Aemilia Victrix, which is no great help either. I have been thinking about Quintus Decius Valerianus, but he was consecrated - not damned - and he was born in Illyricum, so his mother was probably from Illyricum as well. Anyone any thoughts?

[D B Campbell]

Does anybody know about the damnatio memoriae of a person who was not an emperor or related to the dynasty?

Yup!

Anyone with sufficient authority to have raised an official inscription (basically an imperial governor or equivalent), and who had sufficiently abused that authority to displease the emperor, could have his name erased in this way.

In Britain, we have the well-known example of C. Julius Marcus, known to have been governor in AD 213. It is thought that he had displeased Caracalla in some way, because his name has been erased on one inscription, despite the blatant flattery of the emperor (RIB 1265: ... bono generis humani imperante ..., "reigning for the good of the human race"!).

Probably there are other examples from the German and Danubian fasti.

[Jona Lendering]

In Britain, we have the well-known example of C. Julius Marcus,

That's great! Otherwise, I was left with the unpleasant idea that my Quintus had to be an emperor, which did not feel very well. Thanks!

[Theodosius the Great]

Avete,

Wasn't Marcus Antonius' (Mark Antony) memory damned?

If so, how could someone like Plutarch write a biography about him?

I can't imagine Plutarch consciously defying the imperial ban.

~ Theo

[jho]

Although this may not be indication of damnatio memoriae in the strict sense, Marcus Simplicinius Genialis comes to mind whose name was erased from the famous victory altar from Augsburg (together with the names of the consuls for the year).

[ANTONIVS MAGNVS]

Avete,

Wasn't Marcus Antonius' (Mark Antony) memory damned?

If so, how could someone like Plutarch write a biography about him?

I can't imagine Plutarch consciously defying the imperial ban.

~ Theo

No he was not.

[Theodosius the Great]

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No he was not.

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I've dug a bit deeper and found something.

It seems MA's memory suffered a severe form of condemnation according to the author of Mutilation and Transformation: Damnatio Memoriae and Roman Imperial Portaiture.

Suetoninus, for example, says MA was declared a public enemy (hosti iudicato). Octavian tore down his statues in Alexandria. In Rome the senate dismantled his monuments and had his images destroyed. Even his descendants were forbidden to use the praenomen "Marcus". And his birthday was considered "vitiosus" or ill-omened.

But begininng around 19 BC Augustus began to gradually rehabilitate Antonius' memory. The process continued with his immediate successors all the way through Claudius's reign.

You can read the part of the chapter on Google following the link below:

http://books.google.com/books?id=5IpPhTq...io&f=false

It looks like an interesting read.

~Theo

[ANTONIVS MAGNVS]

Thanks for the link Theo, I'm a big Antony fan. It is true his statues were taken down but his coinage was never recalled and melted down or defaced like Caligula's. In fact his coinage circulated well into the reign of Marcus Aurelius. He was allowed to be burried with all honors in Alexandria and a great grandson of his was also named Marcus Antonius Primus the famous General who held Rome for Vespasian. I tend not to trust too much of the contemporary histories of Antony since they were clearly written to make Octavian look good...It's an interesting time in Roman history.

[Flavivs Aetivs]

I'd imagine this happened to a lot of usurpers, and I'm pretty sure it happened after the deaths of Stilicho and Aetius. It would help explain the lack of inscriptions and statues and stuff from that era.

[M. Demetrius]

As a Triumvir, he should have been afforded military honors. Civil War wasn't that uncommon, after all, and one way to win over the followers of the defeated was to show magnanimity.