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Cultivating the memory of Octavius Thurinus

Cultivating the memory of Octavius Thurinus This article offers a reexamination of Suetonius' account of Augustus' early cognomen, Thurinus. In its first part, a historical explanation of the surname's longevity is presented. Augustus' biological father's success in suppressing bandits in the ager Thurinus established a patron-client relationship between the Octavii and Copia-Thurium and its surrounding environs. Both Octavian and the Thurians revived this memory when it served their respective interests. M.Antonius therefore used it derisively because of its topicality, not its obscurity. The second part discusses Suetonius' use of his gift to Hadrian of the Thurinus statuette to revive a forgotten exemplum from the life of Augustus' biological father. Through this device, the biographer showcases his scholarship's ability to recover fading exempla in the tradition of Augustus. The author also uses the statuette to intimate the positive prospects for a successful outcome to Hadrian's ambitions to be a new Augustus. Keywords: Suetonius, Augustus, Hadrian, Roman statuettes, Roman names In chapter seven of his biography of Augustus, Suetonius, exploring the possible origins of Octavius' former cognomen Thurinus, describes a bronze statuette of the boy Octavian he had earlier given to the emperor Hadrian as a gift:1 Infanti cognomen Thurino inditum est, in memoriam maiorum originis, http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Ancient History de Gruyter

Cultivating the memory of Octavius Thurinus

Luke, Trevor
Journal of Ancient History , Volume 3 (2) – Dec 1, 2015
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References (13)

Publisher
de Gruyter
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 by the
ISSN
2324-8106
eISSN
2324-8114
DOI
10.1515/jah-2015-0012
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This article offers a reexamination of Suetonius' account of Augustus' early cognomen, Thurinus. In its first part, a historical explanation of the surname's longevity is presented. Augustus' biological father's success in suppressing bandits in the ager Thurinus established a patron-client relationship between the Octavii and Copia-Thurium and its surrounding environs. Both Octavian and the Thurians revived this memory when it served their respective interests. M.Antonius therefore used it derisively because of its topicality, not its obscurity. The second part discusses Suetonius' use of his gift to Hadrian of the Thurinus statuette to revive a forgotten exemplum from the life of Augustus' biological father. Through this device, the biographer showcases his scholarship's ability to recover fading exempla in the tradition of Augustus. The author also uses the statuette to intimate the positive prospects for a successful outcome to Hadrian's ambitions to be a new Augustus. Keywords: Suetonius, Augustus, Hadrian, Roman statuettes, Roman names In chapter seven of his biography of Augustus, Suetonius, exploring the possible origins of Octavius' former cognomen Thurinus, describes a bronze statuette of the boy Octavian he had earlier given to the emperor Hadrian as a gift:1 Infanti cognomen Thurino inditum est, in memoriam maiorum originis,

Journal

Journal of Ancient History – de Gruyter

Published: Dec 1, 2015

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