Two misunderstood visual puns in public protests against Nero in A.D. 68 (SUET. NERO 45.2)
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Date
2023-12-21
Authors
Woods, David
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Publisher
Royal Danish Library
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Abstract
Suetonius records a short list of four different examples of public protest against Nero at Rome during early A.D. 68 (Nero 45.2). One allegedly involved the adornment of a statue of Nero with an inscription and a lock of hair (cirrus), the other the adornment of his statue with an inscription and a leathern canteen (ascopa). It is argued here that the true significance of these two protests has been lost because the key terms used to describe the objects placed on the statues were altered during the transmission of the accounts of these events resulting in the obscuring of the puns that had been central to their understanding.
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Keywords
Suetonius , Nero , Rome
Citation
Woods, D. (2023) 'Two misunderstood visual puns in public protests against Nero in A.D. 68 (SUET. NERO 45.2)', Classica et Mediaevalia, 72, pp. 289-303.