The Play of Allusion in the Historia Augusta

268 Pages·2016·1.08 MB·English

by  David Rohrbacher

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The Play of Allusion in the “Historia Augusta”
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Publication of this volume has been made possible, in part,
through the generous support and enduring vision of
Warren G. Moon.
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The Play of Allusion in
the Historia Augusta
david rohrbacher
The University of Wisconsin Press
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The University of Wisconsin Press
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Copyright © 2016
The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
All rights reserved. Except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical
articles and reviews, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, transmitted in any format or by any means—digital, electronic,
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Rights inquiries should be directed to [email protected].
Printed in the United States of America
This book may be available in a digital edition
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rohrbacher, David, 1969–, author.
The play of allusion in the Historia Augusta / David Rohrbacher.
pages cm — (Wisconsin studies in classics)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-299-30600-7 (cloth: alk. paper)
1. Scriptores historiae Augustae. 2. Emperors—Rome—Biography—History
and criticism. 3. Rome—History—Empire, 30 B.C.–284 A.D.—Sources.
4. Rome—History—Errors, inventions, etc. 5. Allusions in literature.
I. Title. II. Series: Wisconsin studies in classics.
DG274.R598 2016
937’.070922—dc23
2015008393
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For
julia and jonathan
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Contents
Preface ix
List of Abbreviations xi
Introduction 3
1 Allusion in the Historia Augusta 16
2 The Historia Augusta and the Ancient Reader 47
3 Religion in the Historia Augusta 87
4 Imperial History Reimagined 134
Afterword 170
Notes 177
Bibliography 203
Index 221
Index Locorum 235
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Preface
The most recent generation of classical scholarship has witnessed a
surge of interest both in late antiquity and in allusion, but the Historia Augusta, al-
though it is positioned at the intersection of these interests, has been sadly neglected.
In The Play of Allusion, I offer a new theory of the genesis of the work that requires
a new method of interpretation. Even more important, I hope to rescue the Historia
Augusta from its current confinement to a dusty museum storeroom, where a hand-
ful of late antique historians and philologists occasionally poke and prod at its text
through the thick pelt of a century of abstruse notes and speculations. The endlessly
fascinating, often bizarre, and sometimes hilarious pseudo-biographies of the
Historia Augusta deserve a place in the main collection, to be appreciated by all
those interested in the ancient world. The Historia Augusta has much to offer any-
one pursuing studies in allusion, genre, historiography and biography, late Roman
religion, ancient humor and parody, reception theory, and more.
I am grateful to the many people and institutions who encouraged me and
aided me in the completion of this manuscript. Much of the research and writing
was done during summers in the Greek and Latin Reading Room at Memorial
Library in Madison, and I thank both the helpful staff there and the Office of the
Provost at New College of Florida, which provided me with summer research
funds. Librarians and staff at the Jane Bancroft Cook Library at New College of
Florida were endlessly helpful during the school year, and the New College Library
Association purchased on my behalf some greatly appreciated Budé volumes of
the Historia Augusta that would otherwise be out of place in an undergraduate li-
brary. My colleagues and students at New College helped in many ways. A semester
research leave granted by the Division of Humanities proved crucial to completing
the manuscript. Richard Miles gave me the strong encouragement I needed to
begin this project. François Paschoud was kind enough to share his work with me
prior to publication. Alain Gowing has been an adviser and an ally for many years.
Carl Shaw read many drafts and greatly improved the manuscript in both content
and style. His constant help as a colleague and a friend are greatly appreciated.
At the University of Wisconsin Press I owe thanks to the editors of the series
Wisconsin Studies in Classics, Mark Stansbury-O’Donnell, Patricia Rosenmeyer,
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