Domitian roman emperor biography of william hill
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The reign of the emperor Domitian (81 – 91 CE) is one characterised by infamy. Immortalized for posterity on account of his brutal and unforgiving nature, Domitian comes down to us as the runt of the Flavian family. A tyrannical leader who purged the Senate, revelled in degeneracy, and was rumored to have been involved in the untimely death of his niece.
Among the anecdotes that illustrate Domitian’s cruelty was his macabre hobby of torturing flies, a perturbing pastime that paints a vivid picture of his sadistic tendencies. His rule is frequently compared to Nero’s, earning him the nickname calvus Nero or ‘the Bald Nero,’ a comparison his contemporaries no doubt made behind his back.
When Domitian was finally stabbed to death by his freedman in the imperial chambers on the Palatine Hill, the Senate celebrated. They swiftly enacted the practice of Damnatio Memoriae, erasing his presence from public memory by demolishing his statues and removing his name from inscriptions throughout Rome and the Empire.
Visiting Rome? Join me for my Damnatio Memoriae ‘Cancel Culture’ tour!
Pliny the Younger, the ancient author who provides our historical account of Vesuvius’ eruption and Pompeii’s destruction in 79 CE, describes
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Demystifying Domitian: Rome’s Most Misunderstood Emperor?
Few of Rome’s early emperors have such an undeservedly damning reputation as Domitian (81 – 96 AD).
He comes down to us as the black sheep of the Flavian dynasty. A cruel, ruthless autocrat. A powerful, paranoid psychopath who purged the Senate and impregnated – and subsequently murdered – his niece.
Such was Domitian’s sadism that one of his favourite alleged pastimes was to stab flies with a stylus (sharp pen) before plucking their wings out one by one.
Bust of Domitian from the Louvre, Paris.
Our sources for Domitian describe depths of depravity unseen in Rome since the reign of Nero some thirty years earlier. In fact, such were the parallels Rome’s senators drew with the all-singing, all-dancing emperor Nero that even during his reign people would refer to Domitian as calvus Nero (the “Bald Nero”).
Behind his back, of course.
When Domitian was murdered, stabbed to death by his freedman in the imperial chambers on the Palatine Hill, the Senate celebrated. In the practice of what we now call Damnatio Memoriae (the damnation of one’s memory), they pulled down his statues, removed all images of him from public spaces, and carved his name out of inscriptions – both in