The politics of culture in Neronian Rome

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 7
• Convenor: Professor Catharine Edwards
• Assessment: one essay of 5000-5500 words (100%)

Nero is one of Rome’s archetypal bad emperors; he is reviled by ancient commentators for his obsession with the theatre, his exotic sexual predilections, his lack of interest in things military - and, notoriously, his impulse to sing along to his lyre, while Rome itself went up in flames. This anecdote in particular dramatises the tension between art and political power, which runs through Suetonius' ancient biography of the emperor.

Not only did Nero consider himself an artist, however, penning poetry as well as performing on the stage, he also presided over an era of extraordinary literary creativity in Rome. In this module we look at the relationship between politics and culture - but also the politics of culture in Neronian Rome. Seneca, Nero’s tutor, was a distinguished philosopher (we shall look at his philosophically inspired treatise On Clemency, addressed to the young emperor), but he also wrote tragedies, such as the Thyestes, preoccupied with graphic violence, cannibalism and incest. Lucan, Seneca’s nephew, was a precocious writer of epic poetry; his Civil War offers a deeply disturbing picture of a society torn apart - and bodies violently ripped to pieces.

Petronius, a frequent presence at Nero’s court, was almost certainly the author of the Satyricon, a fragmentary but fascinating text which plays with the symbolism of feasting and sexual desire, offering a self-consciously low picture of Roman culture. These three brilliant but controversial writers share preoccupations with the body - and with destabilising the traditional forms of Latin literature. All three were very close to Nero but ended up forced to commit suicide when they fell out with the emperor. We will participate in close reading of selected literary texts, as well as a broader exploration of the relationship between politics and culture in this febrile period.