Evil Emperors - An exhibition in the coin collection
Nov 12, 2019 - Mar 31, 2022
Ticket: €18.00*
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The image of Roman emperors transmitted by classical tradition continues to influence how we see and judge them today. Our view of Roman emperors is strongly affected by how classical tradition depicts them – Caligula, Nero or Commodus, for instance, are poster-boys for megalomania. For posterity is the final arbiter of a ruler’s life and deeds, deeming them benign or evil regardless of his assertions and efforts. Most of the authors whose works have come down to us were members of the Senate, or at least belonged to Rome’s intellectual and economic elite. Some were part of the emperor’s inner circle, others had joined the political opposition and may even have had cause to fear for their lives. This means that their appraisals are anything but objective; often they recount mere hearsay or rumours, or focus more on individual events than on the overall picture. Compared to these tendentious, at times circumlocutory literary recollections, coinage appears much more sober, business-like,…
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