Time for a look at the 12 Caesars again– one in particular– Caligula, though it’s hard to beat Suetonius’ account and Michael Graves’. Part of the fascination with this Roman emperor is from previous “classic” films (i.e., Caligula, I Claudius) and part from his somewhat enigmatic (not much remains of his actions in the archaeological record) and outrageous, brief reign (37–41). I’ve covered Gaius (as he was properly known) before in Ancients Behaving Badly (History Channel– Blink productions), a riff on antiquity’s worst rulers, but there’s so much more to say– and I was glad when NorthSouth Productions contacted me about the two hour special they are producing for History Channel.
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Of course a good area to start is the Roman Forum– and place dear to my heart– with our past dig– though the true expert on site of the “Domus Gai” (Caligula’s notorious pad) is Henry Hurst of Cambridge University (recently retired) whom I happily ran into a few days ago in Campo de’ Fiori. Our work (excavation: post aedem Castoris with colleagues from classics departments at Stanford and Oxford) near Hurst’s site did launch AIRC and its eventual study abroad program, and formalized our relationship with the Italian soprintendency and Ministry of Culture. So we owe a lot to the domicile of Caligula. Our work revealed, in conjunction with Hurst’s study, that the projecting structures under the Domitianic portico of the so-called Augusteum/ library complex did indeed come very close to the back end of the Castors’ temple. Among bonuses to the dig were the remains of 7th century BC housing! Needless to say there are few places in the world with the complexity of the Forum’s stratigraphy!
So, it was a nice production this November– with filming on the Palatine, as well as a full day at Herculaneum, a beautiful setting for discussing antiquity, especially after the conclusion of the Herculaneum Conservation Project. I was pleased that a fellow local Roman– Katie Parla is also in the production, filming in Pozzuoli. Looks like a great show– due out this spring!
at 3:12 am
I have been a Julio Claudian numismatist for 25 years and have an expertise in Caligulan coinage. I find him interesting mainly because of his short reign and the propaganda regarding his coins. My goal is to identify a “pre-principate” portrait of Caligula in the round, as of yet no art historian scholars agree on one. I have found one candidate that Prof. John Pollini had as a candidate, I feel it is Caligula before his accesion in 37 A.D. and needs further scholary attention. The only coins minted of Caligula under Tiberius are from the provincial mint of Carthago Nova and are usually crude portraits. Here is the portrait in the round I suggest is a pre-principate portrait of Caligula: http://www.flickr.com/photos/julio-claudians/190554990/
I also have a photo site with over 35,000 Julio Claudian related items at my educational only site. http://www.flickr.com/groups/93273909@N00/
We also have a discussion group recarding Julio Claudian Iconography at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/julioclaudian/
Multa Cum Amicitia
Joe Geranio
Julio Claudian Iconographic Association
at 4:10 pm
Great to hear from you. I am not an expert like J. Pollini– but your identification is very interesting. I know just how hard it is to identify the young portraits of the J-Cs, esp. Gaius, for whom we have such few remaining. Are you aware of the recently scanned Caligula statue in VA? B. Frischer’s funded project, with experts like E. Varner, J. Pollini. I believe a publication is coming out soon.
Best– and I’ll be sure to check on all the resources you listed, thanks.
Darus
at 4:58 am
Yes, Eric Varner is also a great Julio Claudian portrait specialist and a expert on Damnatio Memoriae of Roman portraits and statues. The VMFA in fact is having a symposium on the VMFA statue tomorrow. Your on top of all of this!! Impressive. What is your next TV Special? I look forward to them.
at 8:12 am
Thanks Darius, I love your passion on the “Underground Rome” show. I hope you keep up the wonderful work you are doing and I hope to see more of you regarding 1st century Rome. The quality of the Julio Claudian and Flavian architecture, archaeology, and portraits are wonderful and would love to see more from these two dynasties on T.V. I would love to see a TV segment on the Domus Tiberiana , and Domus Transitoria (Nero’s first residence). Thanks for Keeping Ancient Rome alive and front and center.
Multa Cum Amicitia
Joe Geranio