Stealing Aphrodite: Plundered art and politics in the Roman Republic
Kendall, Jennifer S.
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Throughout Rome's conquest of the Mediterranean, thousands of pieces of sacred art were plundered and brought to Rome. These works of art were first displayed in the triumphs of the victorious general and then deposited in manubial temples and/or placed in victory monuments in Rome and throughout the empire. The placement of this plundered sacred art became a form of valuable and memorable visual propaganda that the triumphator used to promote his victory, enhance his image, and further his political ambitions. The acquisition of this type of plunder was also used by the triumphator's political rivals as a weapon against him through accusations of excessive plundering and improper handling of the sacred art. In the political turbulence of the first century B.C.E., the acquisition of large amounts of plundered sacred art became a form of contention for ancient authors who were seeking a source for the moral decline that had permeated Roman society and compromised the Republic. In their quest they singled out different men and events as its origin. This dissertation is an examination of that process. It investigates the uses and abuses of art plundered from temples and sanctuaries as a means towards political advancement and popular support for both the triumphator and his political rivals during the Roman Republic. My examination focuses on three key events that occurred during Rome's Mediterranean conquests: 1) the Second Punic War; 2) Rome's conquest of Greece (and Carthage) from M. Fulvius Nobilior's conquest of Ambracia in 187 B.C.E. to the destruction of Corinth and Carthage in 146 B.C.E.; 3) and the Mithridatic Wars of the mid first century B.C.E. Each of these events are investigated through an analysis of key figures and their use of plundered sacred art within the context of their respective time periods. My results determine that pinpointing certain men and events for the origin of the onset of moral decline should only be considered as a literary topos . Instead, it was the culmination of Rome's experiences with plundered sacred art and the importance that was placed on it as a highly valuable form of symbolic capital that contributed to Rome's moral decline in the late Republic.