Not Just by Jove: The Emperor in Roman Oaths

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Not Just by Jove: The Emperor in Roman Oaths
Katz, Nathaniel S.

From the journal Historia Historia, Volume 70, December 2021, issue 4

Published by Franz Steiner Verlag

article, 13058 Words
Original language: English
Historia 2021, pp 494-523
https://doi.org/10.25162/historia-2021-0018

Abstract Related content References

Abstract

When Romans swore, they did so by their emperor. Using Greek papyri from Egypt and Latin tablets from Herculaneum and Pompei, this paper argues that the language of oaths shows how ordinary Romans responded to imperial messaging. While oaths included Augustus’ divinity and Vespasian’s children, they ignored the divi. Similarly, literary sources see oaths by the emperor’s genius as controversial, but documents show that, once genius oaths began, their popularity grew, regardless of an emperor’s preferences. Oaths did not unthinkingly follow imperial messaging or share the elite sources’ concerns.

Author information

Nathaniel S. Katz

Keywords

oath | genius | imperial cult | papyri | tablets

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