Abstract
This paper aims at evaluating the visual dynamics constructed in Pliny’s Panegyricus in praise of Trajan. I focus on specific comparisons between the visual features Pliny associates to Trajan and those Seneca assigns to Nero in his De Clementia, while both resorting to the highly-visual metaphor of the Emperor-sun – with a few insights into the visual characterisation of Domitian in Statius’
Silviae. Through the looking-glass provided by the comparisons, it will be shown how the way in which Pliny portraits the civitas looking at and interacting with Trajan – and makes the reader, which is part of the civitas itself, experience the same vision – is not only an epiphenomenal expression of Trajan’s ‘good’ power but actively engaged in crafting its perception and its very reality.
Silviae. Through the looking-glass provided by the comparisons, it will be shown how the way in which Pliny portraits the civitas looking at and interacting with Trajan – and makes the reader, which is part of the civitas itself, experience the same vision – is not only an epiphenomenal expression of Trajan’s ‘good’ power but actively engaged in crafting its perception and its very reality.
| Translated title of the contribution | Omnibus in commune: : gazes on Trajan and the civitas (who looks at Trajan) |
|---|---|
| Original language | Italian |
| Title of host publication | E pluribus unum: |
| Subtitle of host publication | Prospettive sull’Antico |
| Editors | Isabella Bossolino, Chiara Zanchi |
| Place of Publication | Pavia |
| Chapter | 8 |
| Pages | 121-32 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9788869521614 |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2023 |
Keywords
- Pliny the Younger
- Wordl Contruction
- Immersive reading
- Enactivism
- Panegyric
- Trajan
- gaze
- perception