God on Earth: Emperor Domitian

In life, the emperor Domitian (81-96 CE) marketed himself as a god; after his assassination he was condemned to be forgotten. Nonetheless he oversaw a literary, cultural, and monumental revival on a scale not witnessed since Rome’s first emperor, Augustus.

In tandem with an exhibition in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden and the Mercati Traianei in Rome, planned for 2021-2022, this volume offers a fresh perspective on Domitian and his reign. This collection of papers, produced by a group of international scholars, offers a wholistic and interdisciplinary approach to the emperor and his works that begins with an overview of Rome and its imperial system and ends with a reappraisal of Domitian and his legacy.

The subject of memory sanctions after his death, Domitian’s reputation has suffered as a result of the negative press he received both in antiquity and thereafter. Building upon recent scholarship that has sought to re-evaluate the last of the Flavian emperors, the papers in this volume present the latest research on Domitian’s building programmes and military exploits as well as the literary sources produced during and after his reign, all of which paint a picture of an emperor who – despite being loathed by Rome’s elite – did much to shape the landscape of Rome as we know it today.