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The Political Significance of the Imperial Watchword in the early Empire*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2011

JONATHAN EATON
JONATHAN EATON
Affiliation:
jeaton01@qub.ac.uk
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Extract

The emperor displayed his role as commander-in-chief through his actions as the soldiers' supreme benefactor, martial portraits on the coinage and imperial art, and speeches to particular army units. The fortunate survival of the text of Hadrian's speech at Lambaesis provides us with an exceptional record of how the emperor showed both an awareness of military techniques and empathy for the rigours of army life. In times of crisis, the emperor could address the soldiers directly, in order to ensure their continuing support for his rule. As a study on imperial witticisms has shown, what the emperor said was as important as what he did for the purpose of defining his role within the Principate.

Type
Research Article
Information
Greece & Rome , Volume 58 , Issue 1 , April 2011 , pp. 48 - 63
Copyright
Copyright © The Classical Association 2011

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References

* I am greatly indebted to Professor Brian Campbell, whose encouragement and guidance brought this article to fruition. I also wish to express my gratitude to Dr John Curran and the anonymous reviewer for their comments on an earlier draft.