What is it about?
This essay examines the evidence for the Domitianic ‘Arae Incendii Neroniani’, a presumed set of monumental altars dedicated to Vulcan in fulfilment of a vow dating back to the Neronian Fire of A.D. 64. A close reading of the text of the dedicatory inscription creates a framework for exploring the larger historical and cultural context of these monuments, which offer a significant illustration of Flavian rhetoric concerning Rome’s post-Neronian transformation. Reaffirming Julio-Claudian notions of civic identity, collective memory, and the ruler’s privileged relationship with the gods, these monuments also constitute a conspicuous form of posthumous reproach to Nero.
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Why is it important?
This article is of possible interest to scholars of Nero, Domitian, the Great Fire of Rome, Ara Incendii Neroniani (Ara Incendii Neronis), Volcanalia, Roman monuments, Roman altars, disasters and commemoration, and Roman urbanism.
Perspectives
The topic of the article is related to my forthcoming book, "While Rome Burned: Fire, Leadership, and Urban Disaster in the Roman Cultural Imagination," as well as to my forthcoming co-edited volume, "Urban Disasters and the Roman Imagination." It considers epigraphic, topographical, literary, and historical evidence to offer new perspectives on an understudied set of imperial-era monuments in Rome'e urban center.
Virginia Closs
University of Massachusetts Amherst
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This page is a summary of: Neronianis Temporibus: The So-Called Arae Incendii Neroniani and the Fire of A.D. 64 in Rome's Monumental Landscape, The Journal of Roman Studies, July 2016, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1017/s0075435816000599.
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