Friday, June 25, 2010

Hadrian and the Triumph of Rome


I dunno. I found Hadrian boring. Maybe I find Roman life boring--but I did enjoy the Claudius books. I do have a much better handle on the history of the early empire now, although I'm still a bit fuzzy on the civil wars that preceded Domitian's rise to emperor. The reign of Hadrian marks the zenith of the Roman empire at its greatest power and influence. It was Hadrian, also, however, that set the limits to Roman growth after Trajan found that he could hold Parthia after he had defeated its army.

There are only two points of interest for me in Hadrian's life--his fondness for Grecian culture and his relationship with Antinous. Hadrian was something of an intellectual dilettante, and in some way the height of his intellectual curiosity came when he was given the chance to participate in the Elusinian mysteries. He also studied Stoicism, which gained greater status with Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, in addition to being a great patron of the arts, temple building, and great public works all over the empire. Everit makes it clear that Hadrian had a loveless marriage, and, following Trajan, much preferred the boys. There is some indication that he may have scored political points early in his career with his choice of bed fellows. At the same time, he had a complex relationship with Trajan's wife, who could have been his adoptive mother. She may have fabricated the story of Trajan's choice of Hadrian to succeed him as emperor.

Hadrian may have fallen in love with Antinous when Antinous was about 13, and they were inseparable in the last few years of Antinous' life. Everitt suggests that Hadrian may have had Antinous sacrificed, however, when they were in Egypt, as part of a magical cure for erypsalis. Also, there is some hint that Antinous may have resisted getting buggered by Hadrian. Hadrian was following the classical Greek model of eronimous--the elder man who takes a young boy as a student and a lover--pedagogy and pederasty. Everitt includes an interesting discussion towards sex and same sex relationships in Rome--it was OK to be the penetrator but not the penetratee.

Antinous' death signals Hadrian's going over the edge. He had Antinous deified by the Senate and then put into a mausoleum near his villa on the estate that he built just outside Rome.Yet, it seems that Hadrian spent most of his time away from Rome, whether in the Danube region or the Rhine or Egypt or Britain, or especially Greece. There is a lot of insight into how the empire was governed as Hadrian's corp of administrators and functionaries followed him on his journeys.

The signal event in his career was the brutal suppression of the Jews. He passed a number of laws trying to eradicate Judaism, including building a statue to Jupiter over the temple mount, and eventually completed the diaspora by forbidding any Jews to come near to Jerusalem. In the process the Legions took heavy casualties and lost a full legion in one season of campaigning.

Finally, Hadrian had some of his closest advisors put to death near the end of his reign. By then, he was out of control, perhaps caused by the constant pain that dogged him for a number of years. Hadrian was not a popular ruler, haughty and overbearing at times, full of himself and his sense of entitlement. He had had four senators put to death at the beginning of his reign, and the senate never forgot nor forgave. Everitt makes it clear that the Roman empire went downhill after Hadrian, probably through Marcus Aurelius' campaigns for expansion on the Rhine.

Author: Everitt, Anthony
Date Published: 2009
Length: 14hr 25min
Narrator: Curless, John

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