Under divine auspices
Subtitle: divine ideology and the visualisation of imperial power in the Severan period
By: Clare Rowan
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Cambridge; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 303
ISBN-13: 9781107020122
Subjects: Religion; History; HISTORY / Ancient / General
Description: "This book explores how deities were used to communicate and negotiate imperial power under the Severan dynasty (AD 193-235). Septimius Severus connected his reign to the divine support of Liber Pater and Hercules, while Caracalla placed a particular emphasis on the gods Apollo, Aesculapius and Sarapis. Elagabalus' reign was characterised by the worship of the Emesene deity Elagabal, which resulted in a renewed emphasis on the cult of Jupiter under Severus Alexander. Numismatic evidence is reintegrated into the wider material culture of the Severan period in order to bring new insights into the use of the divine in this period, as well as the role played by the provinces in the formation and reception of this ideology"--
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Introduction; 1. Contextualising a 'foreign' dynasty; 2. Septimius Severus, Liber Pater and Hercules; 3. Medical tourism and iconographic dialogues in the reign of Caracalla; 4. Elagabalus, Summus Sacerdos Elagabali; 5. Severus Alexander and the refounding of Rome; 6. Divine ideology in the Severan dynasty; Appendix A. Shifting imperial ideology; Appendix B. Dies of the stone on quadriga type; Appendix C. Coin hoards.