Divine carnage is a catalogue of transvestism, treachery, incest, torture, slaughter and perversity brought to life with superb authorial skill, making it a vivid and essential historical document of murderous decadence. Although the purpose of the ships is only speculated upon, the larger ship was essentially an elaborate floating palace, which contained quantities of marble, mosaic floors, heating and plumbing and amenities such as baths. Lake nemi is a small circular volcanic lake in the lazio region of italy 30km south of rome, taking its name from nemi, the. The rex nemorensis 3 having many years enjoyed the honour of the priesthood, he procured a still stronger antagonist to oppose. Intriguingly, the rex mentioned by strabo may still have ruled when forced to. He caligula caused the rex nemorensis, who had held his.
He presents it, not as part of a ritual challenge to become the rex nemorensis, but rather as a gift to the sybil of cumae, who instructs aenas on the way to travel to hades, where he converses with the ghost of his father anchises. James frazier, the king of the wood, the golden bough. Even so, they are built to the highest degree possible for roman shipwrights. The murderous cult of roman diana and her swordwielding priests from artemis to aeneas and a founder of modern anthropology. How close it is to the historical events the book is, i have insufficient knowledge to give an opinion. The golden boughthe king of the wood wikisource, the free. A dictionary of greek and roman antiquities 1890 william smith, lld, william wayte, g.
Biography of the personal life of the schizophrenic roman emperor gaius caligula 1241. Nemi temple of diana artemisium nemorense, temple of. There was a small group which lived in the woods surrounding lake nemi who were ruled by a priest king, the rex nemorensis. Massie makes the emperor gaius, known as caligula bootikins human, not a particularly likable one, but human none the less.
Feb 12, 2009 buy caligula roman trilogy 1 by douglas jackson from amazons fiction books store. Ovid gives a poetic account of the priesthood of nemi in his fasti, book 3, 271 on the month of march. Alan massies roman novels are all first rate, this is the fourth that i have read. The latin name of the priesthood is given by suetonius. The nemi ships were two ships, one larger than the other, built under the reign of the roman emperor caligula in the 1st century ad at lake nemi. They were not intended for use on the sea, but were built to use on the lake. Lake nemi was clearly an important spot, caligula relaxed on his. The perversion behind imperial rome and the epic story of its maddest emperor. Its indeed the proper place for such background discussions. Because she had freed him, he desired to worship her, and she gave him sanctuary.
Gaius caligula of rome caligula was so sensitive about his lack of hair that it was a capital crime for anyone to look down from a high place as caligula passed by. The object of this book is, by meeting these conditions, to offer a fairly probable. Caligula by douglas jackson receives three stars by me. Apr 15, 2012 commissioned by caligula, during his short but bloody reign 37ad 41ad, one as a floating temple, probably to isis who was also worshipped here and the other as a waterborne palace, they measured 70 metres by 20 metres and 74 metres by 24 metres. If the consensus of the ancient authorities who may not be entirely independent of one another is any guarantee, we know three things about the. Caligula, roman emperor from 37 to 41 ce, who succeeded tiberius and completed the emperors monopoly of army command. Her sanctuary was to be found on the northern shore of lake nemi beneath the cliffs. Archaeologist ludovico pisani guides us through the legends surrounding the rex nemorensis, the high priest who was obliged to.
Carin greens 2007 book, roman religion and the cult of diana at aricia. The murderous cult of roman diana and her swordwielding priests. Long ago, in the alban hills, there came a runaway slave who was favored by the goddess diana. Caligula is perfectly aware of how evil and vile he is, and cheerfully embraces it the corrupter. This may be due to the main premise of the book that caligula was actually a very good emperor and that he was demonized by the aristocracy of the time and later historians. By the time caligula interfered in the succession of priestkings, the. Richard coons, a courtappointed austin psychiatrist, examined rivas prior to his trial. It was sacred to diana diana nemorensis, diana of the wood, as was the grove. The lake nemi ships were two outsize pleasure barges built on the orders of the roman emperor caligula. Lake nemi, diana sacred grove, dianas mirror portal, ancient portals, the sacred oak and the king of the woods. Accounts about caligulas reign by ancient historians are so biased against him that the truth is almost impossible to disentangle. This cult, now know as the cult of the rex nemorensis lit. Aug 18, 2014 the post which he held by this precarious tenure carried with it the title of king king of the woodrex nemorensis.
Sir james george frazer was a scottish social anthropologist influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion. To read riencourts sixtyyearold book is like reading todays newspaper. The rex nemorensis ritual combat chosen to be the hooded one. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading rex nemorensis. Caligula formally known as gaius was the third of ancient romes emperors, who achieved feats of waste and carnage during his fouryear reign a. How close it is to the historical events the book is, i. The principal deity in the sanctuary was diana or diana nemorensis that she was called here, but also the greek hero hippolytos, who had been transformed into a minor local deity bye the name of virbius was worshipped. The barges were 70 m 200 ft long and 18 m 60 ft wide. A peculiar feature of this cult was the rex nemorensis who reigned as the king of the grove. Since the author is disputing the more scandalous details of caligulas life, the book is not full of nasty scenes like you find in other depictions of caligula.
In fact, so much did he enjoy this rather gruesome day trip whenever he was in town, that according to the roman historian suetonius the emperor once sent one of his own slaves to fight the sitting rex nemorensis, since caligula felt that the current priestking had held his position for too long. List of books and articles about caligula online research. Roman emperor caligula and the fantastic nemi barges discovered at the bottom of the lake. Cla160h1 lecture notes rex nemorensis, latinus, turnus. The priesthood played a major role in the mythography of j. The rex nemorensis is an article from the classical weekly, volume 12. The sanctuary of diana nemorensis was found on the northern shore of lake nemi and her cult was particularly violent. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The remains of ancient romes most mysterious and violent cult, dedicated to the goddess diana, can still be found on the shores of lake nemi, near rome. After only four years, he was assassinated by members of his bodyguard and the roman senate.
Apparently, the ruler of rome didnt have enough to occupy his twisted mind during his own reign, so he meddled in religious rites. Emperors caligula and tiberius sailed lake nemi not merely to cool off in summer, but to assert themselves as nemorensis, rulers aligning with the stars, wedded to earths perpetual lifeforce. If you wanted to become rex here, you came to the sanctuary, you went and found the special sacred tree you pulled off a branch, if you managed to pull off that. The murderous cult of roman diana and her swordwielding. Near the temple of diana was the sacred grove of aricia. The rituals he partook in at temple nemorensis with the priestesses of diana were sexual, symbolic, and sacred. Suetonius tranquillus, caligula alexander thomson, ed. The tale of the rex nemorensis is told in a number of ancient sources. Lake nemi sacred grove diana, sacred oak, grigori vatican. Roman imperial history is inherently biased and not necessarily very accurate. Suetonius writes that caligula actually hired an adversary to attack the reigning king, since he had now held his priesthood for many years xxxv. The golden bough by sir james george frazer, paperback. Latin cults through roman eyes myth, memory and cult practice in.
I have used the third and most elaborate edition of the book. The son of the popular roman general germanicus and augustuss granddaughter agrippina the elder, caligula was born into the first ruling family of the roman empire, conventionally known as the julioclaudian dynasty. The rex nemorensis latin, king of nemi or king of the grove was a priest of the goddess diana at aricia in italy, by the shores of lake nemi, where she was known as diana nemorensis. Sep 19, 20 there was a small group which lived in the woods surrounding lake nemi who were ruled by a priest king, the rex nemorensis. The king of the woods rex nemorensis was mystically married to the goddess diana. As a result, the reigning priest dubbed the rex nemorensis, or. Rex nemorensis project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Here there was a priest called the rex nemorensis who. Denarius roman coin of diana and triple cult statue of diana nemorensis on reverse, minted 43 bc. Rex nemorensis wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. In a grove sacred to the goddess diana, at aricia, twenty. The other of the minor deities at nemi was virbius. Supposedly, caligula got fed up with the fact that the current rex nemorensis had lived for so long, so the dastardly emperor hired a stronger adversary to attack him.
A dictionary of greek and roman antiquities 1890, rex. Openlearn from the open university recommended for you. Testament to the strength of caligula s attachment to the nemi area is the fact that his story ties in with that of the rex nemorensis. The lake was also host to emperor caligula s ships. The tale of the rex nemorensis appears in a number of ancient sources. Temple model myth in the greek and roman worlds 15 duration. Caligulas colossal pleasure ships, discovered by mussolini only to be lost in flames. Rex nemorensis kindle edition by richard bankowsky. Roman emperor caligula and the fantastic nemi barges. James george frazer and the golden bough arnold arboretum. The positive aspects are that i felt that the author had thoroughly researched this topic. Ferrill does not to mention obvious contradictions in suetonius life of caligula that cast him in a favorable light.
Caligula enjoys corrupting innocents into committing atrocities for him, with junius being his personal pet project, seeking to see how far he can corrupt him before junius tries to claim his revenge. Suetonius writes that caligula actually hired an adversary to attack the. Caligula gaius julius caesar augustus germanicus, 31 august 12 24 january 41, was the third roman emperor. Jul 23, 2017 on the same day as caligula s assassination, the praetorian guard declared caligula s uncle claudius as emperor. The king had the power to restrain the underworld and invoke the blessings of the gods.
From talks of time travel, the roman area, caligula etctalk goes to the vatican and peter talks of the vatican and how a certain exorcist and priest was rumored to have a time travel device called the chronovisor and how most. The romans frequently adopted greek divinities and merged them with their own, which resulted in several legends that refer to the origin of the sanctuary of diana nemorensis. Home browse history ancient and classical history ancient rome caligula. Frazers the golden bough was more famous than turners painting of the. The rex nemorensis was a priest of the goddess diana at aricia in italy, by the shores of lake.
Diana nemorensis diana of nemi, also known as diana of the wood, was an italic form of the goddess who became hellenised during the fourth century bc and conflated with artemis. Dec 01, 2018 lets get one thing out of the way first. Jackson delivers the sheer brutality of caligula and his torturers so vividly in his book that i was shocked and felt deeply emotional at times. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. The book also includes a visceral history of the gladiatorial games.
The priesthood played a major role in the mythography of james george frazer in the golden bough. Caligulas barges and the renaissance origins of nautical. According to suetonius, caligula was a very jealous ruler, and hated anybody who commanded even a morsel of power or respect. Filmmaker werner herzog interviews joseph garcia and george rivas of the infamous texas seven. Rumor has it that a well researched book on the entire caligula debacle will be published sometime in the coming year.
Jun 26, 20 one of her guises was diana nemorensis diana of nemi. Legend had it that virbius was the young greek hero hippolytus, chaste and fair, who learned the art of venery from the centaur chiron, and spent all his days in the greenwood chasing wild beasts with the virgin huntress artemis the greek counterpart of diana for his only comrade. The rex nemorensis 443 having many years enjoyed the honour of the priesthood, he procured a. First of all he was a runaway slave secondly in order to get the job he had to kill the present incumbent. The context of suetonius account of caligula s interference in the succession of the rex nemorensis implies that it is a theatrical event pascal 1976. By the time caligula interfered in the succession of priestkings. Having read a great deal about caligula i can say that caligula. Diana nemorensis diana of nemi, also known as diana of the wood, was an italic form of.
Her sanctuary was to be found on the northern shore of lake nemi beneath the cliffs of the modern city nemi latin nemus aricinum. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Caligula simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It supports the sensational extras provided as well as keeping the film itself in proper entertainment perspective. The rex nemorensis, king of the sacred grove was the highpriest of. Frazers book had a huge impact on modern literature. Sexual abuse and violence against women in african states. Any understanding of the biblical book of ephesians requires some grasp of the culture of that city since paul wrote to encourage followers of jesu who lived among a people dominated by artemis worship. Caligula s barges on nemi were deliberately sunk after his assassination. Later ra talks of his ancestry and the magical lake nemi the tale of the rex nemorensis or king of the woods. The victim was agrippa postumus, the slowwitted 26 yearold son of his wife julias by a previous marriage, feared as a possible rallying point for disaffected persons.
Frazer in the golden bough, whose interpretation has exerted a lasting influence. To the internet archive community, time is running out. Nemi temple of diana artemisium nemorense, temple of diana. Rex nemorensis was mystically married to the goddess diana. The post which he held by this precarious tenure carried with it the title of king king of the wood rex nemorensis. Archaeologist ludovico pisani guides us through the legends surrounding the rex nemorensis, the high priest who was obliged to murder his predecessor. For example, the big three sources for the reign of nero were tacitus, suetonius and cassius dio. He was referred to as rex nemorensis, the king of the woods. Supposedly, caligula got fed up with the fact that the current rex nemorensis had. Caligola by giuseppina ghini, filippo avilia, marco bonino, domenico carro, filippo coarelli, francesca diosono, anna maria liberati, paolo liverani, silvano mattesini, massimiliano papini, giulia sacco, 20, gangemi editore edition. As a result, the reigning priest dubbed the rex nemorensis, or king of the grove at nemi.
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