D’une histoire des choses vues à l’histoire de l’image

The eagle, omnipresent in the iconography of Roman power, was given a new lease of life with the emergence of the imperial cult. Alongside the image of the pyre, the image of the bird of prey was also a popular form of plastic commemoration during the consecration ceremony. It was during this ceremo...

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Main Author: Juliana Gendron
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Université Lumière Lyon 2 2024-07-01
Series:Frontière·s
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/frontieres/2393
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author Juliana Gendron
author_facet Juliana Gendron
author_sort Juliana Gendron
collection DOAJ
description The eagle, omnipresent in the iconography of Roman power, was given a new lease of life with the emergence of the imperial cult. Alongside the image of the pyre, the image of the bird of prey was also a popular form of plastic commemoration during the consecration ceremony. It was during this ceremony, which was characterised by its spectacular staging and official sanction by the Senate, that the emperor symbolically received his apotheosis. According to Cassius Dion and Herodian, two Greek-speaking authors from the Severan era, a live eagle was placed at the summit of the immense consecratio pyre, after which it was released into the flames to symbolize the ascent of the deceased to Olympus. Nevertheless, despite the texts and images, there are several reasons to doubt that an eagle was present during the ceremony. It is unclear whether the images reflect a precise moment in the ceremony. It is necessary to ascertain whether the texts describe reality. The objective of this study is to compare iconographic and textual data, and to investigate the influence of figurative representations on the construction of narratives. To what extent did the iconographic representation of the eagle influence the literary descriptions of the ceremony? Did the authors base their accounts on what they had seen or on well-known images? In essence, the relationship between texts and images will be examined, not in terms of competition or the balancing of sources, but rather in terms of dialogue and even contamination.
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spelling doaj-art-2517b53f716e4a0b9cddaffb971fe1272025-01-09T12:57:20ZengUniversité Lumière Lyon 2Frontière·s2534-75352024-07-012718410.4000/121swD’une histoire des choses vues à l’histoire de l’imageJuliana GendronThe eagle, omnipresent in the iconography of Roman power, was given a new lease of life with the emergence of the imperial cult. Alongside the image of the pyre, the image of the bird of prey was also a popular form of plastic commemoration during the consecration ceremony. It was during this ceremony, which was characterised by its spectacular staging and official sanction by the Senate, that the emperor symbolically received his apotheosis. According to Cassius Dion and Herodian, two Greek-speaking authors from the Severan era, a live eagle was placed at the summit of the immense consecratio pyre, after which it was released into the flames to symbolize the ascent of the deceased to Olympus. Nevertheless, despite the texts and images, there are several reasons to doubt that an eagle was present during the ceremony. It is unclear whether the images reflect a precise moment in the ceremony. It is necessary to ascertain whether the texts describe reality. The objective of this study is to compare iconographic and textual data, and to investigate the influence of figurative representations on the construction of narratives. To what extent did the iconographic representation of the eagle influence the literary descriptions of the ceremony? Did the authors base their accounts on what they had seen or on well-known images? In essence, the relationship between texts and images will be examined, not in terms of competition or the balancing of sources, but rather in terms of dialogue and even contamination.https://journals.openedition.org/frontieres/2393
spellingShingle Juliana Gendron
D’une histoire des choses vues à l’histoire de l’image
Frontière·s
title D’une histoire des choses vues à l’histoire de l’image
title_full D’une histoire des choses vues à l’histoire de l’image
title_fullStr D’une histoire des choses vues à l’histoire de l’image
title_full_unstemmed D’une histoire des choses vues à l’histoire de l’image
title_short D’une histoire des choses vues à l’histoire de l’image
title_sort d une histoire des choses vues a l histoire de l image
url https://journals.openedition.org/frontieres/2393
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