Luciane Munhoz de Omena

Memory and mourning: the symbolism of death in the philosophical logos of Lucio Aneu Seneca in dialogue with the material vestiges

This project aims to understand the representations of death and its relations with memory from the tombs, funeral processions and mourning in the philosophical logos of Lucio Aneu Sêneca, in dialogue with the material vestiges, investigating the impact of death on the Roman court in the The Julius-Claudia dynasty. To do so, we will draw some critical reflections on the mortuary rituals, for as we understand it, funerals became spectacles of power throughout the empire. It is then relevant to analyze the funeral procession and it’s unfolding in the urban space because together with its members, the symbols and insignia incorporated a theatrical ceremonial, which brought to the scene the dead in the structure of power and its position in the generations of the family. However, we must also focus on the more particular and emotional dimensions of remembering the dead, as the tomb could become a place of pilgrimage and reverence, a home or sanctuary for the dead; Furthermore, the associations of the dead with the deities and their attributes maintained not only their living name but fulfilled the emotional needs of the survivors. From this point on, we will reflect on aristocratic feminine behaviors in relation to prolonged mourning and therefore, analyzing uirtus practice, we will understand the creation of norms of the female conduct for the public expression of pain, as well as the insertion of more particular dimensions and emotional in the way they remembered the dead at the Roman imperial court.

 

Death and memory in the Roman Empire at the time of the principality (27 BC to 192 AD)

We aim to study the relationships between death and memory in the Roman society from the symbolism of death, tombs and funeral processions in textual narratives and material vestiges, investigating the impact of death on the Roman court in the first three dynasties: Júlia-Claudia, Flávia and Antonina. To do so, we will draw some critical reflections on the mortuary rituals, for as we understand it, funerals became spectacles of power throughout the empire. It is then relevant to analyze the funeral procession and it’s unfolding in the urban space, because together with its members, the symbols and insignia incorporated a theatrical ceremonial which brought to the scene the dead in the structure of power and its position in the generations of the family. We must also focus on the more particular and emotional dimensions of remembering the dead, as the tomb could become a place of pilgrimage and reverence, a house or sanctuary for the dead, and the associations of the dead with deities and their attributes. It would retain not only their living name, but it would also fulfill the survivors' emotional needs. From that point on, we will draw reflections on aristocratic female behaviors in relation to prolonged mourning and therefore, analyzing uirtus practice, to understand the creation of norms of the female conduct for the public expression of pain, and the insertion of more a particular and emotional dimensions in the way they remembered the dead at the Roman imperial court.