Open AccessAmmianus and Constantius’ Adventus – Rome from Site to Sight
Author(s) -
Jonas Bjørnebye
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
acta ad archaeologiam et artium historiam pertinentia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.101
H-Index - 3
eISSN - 2611-3686
pISSN - 0065-0900
DOI - 10.5617/acta.5796
Subject(s) - emperor , context (archaeology) , sight , history , roman history , event (particle physics) , classics , art , ancient history , archaeology , physics , quantum mechanics , astronomy
This article deals with the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus’ famous description of the emperor Constantius II’s visit to Rome in 357 CE. In Ammianus’ text, Constantius’ first direct encounter with the city of Rome; its inhabitants and its monuments, triggers a shift in his perception of the city. Specifically, the focus on the following discussion is on the monuments of the city – the sights that the emperor was so impressed by during his stay in Rome – and Constantius’ reactions to them, and on the how and the why of Ammianus’ choice of monuments to include in his description. The discussion then moves on to the context of these passages in Ammianus’ history and how they relate to other contemporary texts dealing with the same historical event. Finally, the article presents an analysis of Ammianus’ literary construction of Rome as a conceptual space in the description of Constantius’ adventus