Ammianus’ Rainbows and Constantius’ Fate
Ammianus’ Rainbows and Constantius’ Fate
Abstract
At the end of book twenty of his Res Gestae Ammianus Marcellinus depicts an abundance of rainbows above the Roman army commanded by Constantius II in Persia. The significance of the rainbows as an omen is informed by his use of poetry, principally Virgil’s Aeneid. The rainbows foreshadow the death of Constantius II and the rise of Julian. Constantius’ subsequent decision to withdraw his army to winter in Antioch is framed as an anxious reaction to their presence. The episode responds to a debate contemporary with Ammianus’ own period regarding the supposed ability of Constantius and Julian to foresee events.
References
- 1. Barnes, T. D. (1998)
Ammianus Marcellinus and the Representation of Historical Reality , Ithaca and London. - 2. Bowersock, Glen Warren (1978)
Julian the Apostate , Cambridge MA. - 3. Brodka, Dariusz (2012)
Ammianus Marcellinus. Studien zum Geschichtsdenken , Kraków. - 4. den Boeft, J. / den Hengst, D. / Teitler, H. C. (1987)
Philosophical and Historical Commentary on Ammianus Marcellinus XX , Groningen. - 5. den Hengst, Daniël (2010) “The Romanization of Julian” in
Collected Essays on the Literature of the Roman Empire by Daniël den Hengst , D. W. P Burgerdijk and J. A van Waarden (eds), Leiden and Boston, 219-229. - 6. Fontaine, Jacques (1996)
Ammien Marcellin Histoire , Tome III, Livres XX-XXII, Paris. DOI 10.2307/4346799 - 7. Frantanuano, L. (2013) “Roscida pennis: Iris in the Aeneid,”
Bolletino di studi latini 43, 123-132. - 8. Gregory, Timothy E. (1983) “Julian and the Last Oracle at Delphi”
GrBs 24, 355-365. - 9. Kelly, Gavin (2004) “Ammianus and the Great Tsunami,”
JRS 94, 141-167. DOI 10.1017/s0075435800064212 - 10. Kelly, Gavin (2008)
Ammianus the Allusive Historian , Cambridge. - 11. Matthews, John (1989)
The Roman Empire of Ammianus , London. - 12. Mazzoli, Giancarlo (2012) “Piani della memoria nelle Res Gestae di Ammiano Marcellino,”
Il calamo della memoria V, 61-74. - 13. Mozley, J. H. (1933) “Statius as an Imitator of Vergil and Ovid”
CW 27, 35-38. DOI 10.2307/4339270 - 14. Müller, Friedhelm L (1998)
Die beiden Satiren des Kaisers Julianus Apostata , Stuttgart. - 15. Naudé, C. P. , T. (1956)
Ammianus Marcellinus in die Lig van die antieke Geskiedskrywing , Leiden. - 16. Nutt, D. C. (1973) “Silvanus and the Emperor Constantius II,”
Antichthon 7, 80-89. DOI 10.1017/s0066477400004354 - 17. O’Brien, P. (2006) “Ammianus Epicus: Virgilian Allusion in the Res Gestae,”
Phoenix 60, 274-302. - 18. Rike, R. L. (1987) Apex Omnium:
Religion in the Res Gestae of Ammianus , Berkeley, Los Angeles and London. DOI 10.2307/4350625 - 19. Rolfe, John , C. (1936)
Ammianus Marcellinus , Vol. 2, Philadelphia. - 20. Rudd, Niall (2008) “Ceyx and Alcyone: Ovid Metamorphoses 11, 410-748,”
G and R 55, 103-110. DOI 10.1017/s0017383507000332 - 21. Sabbah, G. (1978)
La Méthode d’Ammien Marcellin. Recherches sur la construction du discours historique dans les “Res Gestae.” Paris. - 22. Seyfarth, W. (1978)
Ammianus Marcellinus, Rerum gestarum libri qui supersunt , Leipzig. - 23. Smith, Rowland (1999) “Telling Tales: Ammianus’ narrative of the Persian expedition of Julian” in J. W. Drijvers and D. Hunt (eds)
The Late Roman World and its Historian: Interpreting Ammianus Marcellinus , London and New York, 89-104. - 24. Szidat, Joachim (1981)
Historischer Kommentar zu Ammianus Marcellinus Buch XX-XXI, Wiesbaden. - 25. Thompson, E. A. (1947)
The Historical Works of Ammianus Marcellinus , Cambridge. - 26. Weisweiler, John (2014) “Unreliable Witness: Failing of the Narrative in Ammianus Marcellinus” in Literature and Society in the Fourth Century AD: Performing Paideia, Constructing the Present, Presenting the Self, Van Hoof and Van Nuffelen (eds) Leiden, 104-133. DOI 10.1163/9789004279476_008
- 27. Whitby, M. (1999) “Images of Constantius” in J. W. Drijvers and D. Hunt (eds)
The Late Roman World and its Historian: Interpreting Ammianus Marcellinus , London and New York, 77-88. - 28. Williams, Sean Roberts (2009) “Ammianus and Constantius: The Portrayal of a Tyrant in the
Res Gestae ,” Dissertation, Tennessee. - 29. Woods, David (2004) “Notes and Discussions: Ammianus Marcellinus 21.6.3: A Misunderstood Omen”
CPhil 99, 163-168.