Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: Lurking in theHistoria Augusta'slife of the short-lived Emperor Carus is what appears to be a reference to the genuine contemporary poet Nemesianus and an extant work by him, theCynegetica. Given theHA'spredilection for ‘bogus authors’, this is rather surprising, but because some of what theHAsays about Nemesianus is true, the otherwise unique details of his life and works that it provides have been generally accepted. We show first that the reference to theCynegeticais an incorporated gloss in the text of theHA, one that reveals that the text was being read and studied in northern Francia. We then demonstrate that the name ‘Olympius’, which theHAgives to Nemesianus, is not authentic, offering an analysis of the text's onomastic habits more generally. We show that ‘Olympius Nemesianus’ is one of several invented authors in theHA, lent a superficial plausibility by borrowing the name of a real ancient writer. Finally, we reflect on the way that these conclusions might undermine two developing tendencies in the study of theHistoria Augusta.
Source: The Journal of Roman Studies
Authors: Justin Stover, George Woudhuysen
Institutions: University of Edinburgh, University of Nottingham
Language: English
Topic: Classical Antiquity Studies
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,255
OpenAlex ID: W4289517795