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A new date for Agrippa's theatre at Ostia
Alison Cooley
Papers of the British School at Rome / Volume 67 / November 1999, pp 173 - 182
DOI: 10.1017/S0068246200004542, Published online: 09 August 2013
Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0068246200004542
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Alison Cooley (1999). A new date for Agrippa's theatre at Ostia. Papers of the British School at Rome,
67, pp 173-182 doi:10.1017/S0068246200004542
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A NEW DATE FOR AGRIPPA'S THEATRE AT OSTIA
1
The location of the theatre at Ostia was known long before the building was
formally excavated towards the end of the nineteenth century, since its outline
was clearly visible in the uneven landscape of the unexcavated town.
2
During
the early nineteenth century, both Fea and Nibby identified the monument in
their verbal descriptions of the site, and Holl marked it clearly on his map of
the town.
3
Lanciani was the first to excavate inside the theatre, during the
1880s, revealing its scaena, orchestra and cavea. Vaglieri consolidated and
extended the scope of this work from 1910, uncovering the theatre's outer
structures.
4
Finally, Calza supervised its reconstruction in the late 1920s.
5
The theatre's structures indicate that it underwent three main phases
of development. This is also confirmed by fragmentary inscriptions discov-
ered in the theatre.
6
Built during the Augustan period, it was enlarged by
the Severans and finally, perhaps towards the end of the fourth century, it
was modified for aquatic displays.
7
In this article, I shall concentrate upon
' I would like to take this opportunity for thanking Anna Gallina Zevi and Jane
Shepherd of the Soprintendenza di Ostia Antica for all the help they have given me during
my visits to Ostia. Maria Pia Malvezzi and Valerie Scott of the British School also gave me
invaluable practical help in pursuing my research. I am grateful to the Craven and Meyerstein
Committees at Oxford, and the British Academy for financial support in carrying out this
research. This article is an expanded version of part of my unpublished doctoral thesis, The
Role of Inscribed Monuments in Transforming Public Space at Pompeii and Ostia (Oxford
D.Phil., 1997), and has greatly benefited from the comments of my supervisors, Margareta
Steinby and Greg Woolf, and examiners, Alan Bowman and John Patterson.
2
R. Lanciani (apud G. Fiorelli), 'VII Roma: Via ostiense', Notizie degli Scavi di Antichitd
(1880), 469.
3
C. Fea, Relazione di un viaggio ad Ostia e alia villa di Plinio (Rome, 1802), 59; A. Nibby,
Viaggio antiquario ad Ostia (Rome, 1829), 61, 63. G. Calza et al., Scavi di Ostia I. Topografia
generate (Rome, 1953), fig. 9, illustrates the plan by Pietro Holl dating from 1804 which shows
the semicircular outline of the theatre in the unexcavated part of the site.
4
Lanciani, 'VII Roma: Via ostiense' (above, n. 2), 469-78; R. Lanciani, 'XI. Ostia',
Notizie degli Scavi di Antichitd (1881), 109-20; R. Lanciani, 'IX. Ostia', Notizie degli Scavi di
Antichitd (1886), 56-7; D. Vaglieri, 'II. Ostia scoperte varie di antichita', Notizie degli Scavi
di Antichitd (1910), 289-90; D. Vaglieri, 'II. Ostia nuove scoperte nell'area delle tombe',
Notizie degli Scavi di Antichitd (1910), 434-6; D. Vaglieri, 'III. Ostia scavi nel teatro, nel-
l'area dei quattro tempietti, sul decumano, nel foro e nell'area di Vulcano. Scoperte varie',
Notizie degli Scavi di Antichitd (1913), 228.
5
G. Calza, // teatro romano di Ostia (Rome and Milan, 1927); G. Calza, 'II teatro di
Ostia', Capitolium 3 (1927-8), 74-85.
6
C/LXIV82, 114, 129.
7
There are many brief accounts of the theatre's development, including Lanciani, 'XI.
Ostia' (above, n. 4), 109-20; C. Pavolini, Ostia (Rome and Bari, 1983), 64-7; M. Fuchs,
Untersuchungen zur Ausstattung Romischer Theater in Italien und den Westprovinzen des
Imperium Romanum (Mainz, 1987), 44. On the theatre's transformation for aquatic spectacles,
see I. Gismondi, 'La colimbetra del teatro di Ostia', in Anthemon. Scritti di archeologia e di
antichitd classiche in onore di Carlo Anti (Florence, 1955), 293-308; G. Traversari, Gli spetta-
coli in acqua nel teatro tardo-antico (Rome, 1960), 39^43.
173
174 COOLEY
FI G. 1. CIL XIV 82: inv. 12296a. (Photo: author. By kind permission of the Soprintendenza
di Ostia)
its foundation. By offering an interpretation of a fragment of the theatre's
dedicatory inscription, I shall argue that the building can be dated to the
period 18-12 BC, and perhaps more precisely to 18/17 BC. I shall then sug-
gest some implications of this dating for the wider historical context of the
building.
Two elements in the theatre's standing structures indicate that the build-
ing was constructed during the Augustan period: firstly, the blocks of tufa
that form the scaena and portico beside the decumanus, and, secondly, the
reticulate walls of the parodoi* In view of these archaeological dating criteria,
we can be fairly confident that the fragmentary inscription naming Agrippa
which was found in the theatre originally commemorated its foundation.
Although scholars have been cautious in assigning the inscription to the
theatre, its monumental form provides further support (in addition to its find-
spot) for the view that it did originally belong to the theatre.
9
It is similar to
architrave inscriptions found in other theatres, which were probably originally
8
M.E. Blake, Ancient Roman Construction in Italy from the Prehistoric Period to Augustus
(Washington D.C., 1947), 163. Pavolini, Ostia (above, n. 7), 64-6.
9
Both G. Calza, 'II piazzale delle corporazioni e la funzione commerciale di Ostia',
Bullettino della Commissione Archeologica Comunale in Roma 43 (1916), 185, n. 1 and R. Meiggs,
Roman Ostia (second edition) (Oxford, 1973), 42, cautiously favoured the identification.
AGRIPPA'S THEATRE AT OSTIA
175
FIG. 2. CIL XIV 82: inv. 12296b. (Photo: author. By kind permission of the Soprintendenza
di Ostia)
displayed across the front of the scaena}
0
Two fragments of the inscription
were published as CIL XIV 82 (Figs 1 and 2):
[M AGJRIPPA [...] COS
These were found incorporated into the structure of the scaena.
11
The third
fragment, found in the hyposcaenium, bears the letters PO, and was published
without further comment in the excavation report of 1910 (Fig. 3).
12
All three
belong to the same monumental marble architrave.
13
10
Pompeii, c. 2 BC: CIL X 833^; Volterra, c. 2 BC: AE (1957), 220 (illustrated and dis-
cussed by O. Luchi, 'Per la storia del teatro romano di Volterra', Prospettiva 8 (1977), 40, and
A. Pizzigati, 'La decorazione architettonica del teatro di Volterra: analisi preliminare', in G.
Cateni (ed.), // teatro romano di Volterra (Florence, 1993), 67-70); Casinum and Iguvium (both
Augustan): Fuchs, Untersuchungen zur Ausstattung Romischer Theater (above, n. 7), 23 BI 2,
72 BI 1-2; Vaison-la-Romaine, early Principate: CIL XII 1380 (illustrated in Y. de Kisch, 'Le
theatre de Vaison-La-Romaine: archeologie d'un monument et de ses spectacles', in C. Landes
and V. Kramerovskis (eds), Spectacula II. Le theatre antique et ses spectacles (Lattes, 1992),
147, fig. 14; Lepcis Magna, Antonine: J.M. Reynolds and J.B. Ward-Perkins (eds), The
Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania (London, 1952), no. 534 (illustrated in M. Bieber, The
History of the Greek and Roman Theater (second edition) (Princeton, 1961), 207, figs 698-9).
11
Lanciani, 'VII Roma: Via ostiense' (above, n. 2), 477-8; Lanciani, 'XI. Ostia' (above,
n. 4), 110.
12
Vaglieri, 'II. Ostia nuove scoperte nell'area delle tombe' (above, n. 4), 435, no. 2.
Giornale di scavo 3 (1910), 182: 21-23 July. The three fragments are now identified as inv.
12296a-c. See Figs 1-3.
13
I am happy to be able to acknowledge that my interest in Agrippa's inscription was pro-
voked by a pencilled note of Fausto Zevi in the copy of CIL XIV at Ostia, which pointed out
that these three fragments are all part of a single text.
176
COOLEY
FI G. 3. Inv. 12296c. (Photo: author. By kind permission of the Soprintendenza di Ostia)
Many scholars have been cautious in dating the theatre, contenting
themselves simply with suggesting a possible chronological framework for its
foundation.
14
Some, however, have been tempted to draw a comparison
between the theatre's inscription and the dedicatory text reinscribed over the
entrance to Rome's Pantheon by Hadrian, which presumably represented
Agrippa's original text accurately.
15
Calza suggested restoring Ostia's inscrip-
tion along the same lines, resulting in:
[M AG]RIPPA [L F ] COS [TERTIVM FECIT]
16
?
Consequently, the theatre at Ostia is often dated to the years around 27 BC.
The third fragment of Agrippa's inscription, however, offers enlighten-
ment on this matter. At first sight, the fragment might seem rather disap-
pointing, given that it preserves only two letters, PO, but these two letters are
particularly illuminating. It seems probable that they form part of the phrase
14
Typical is C. Courtois, Le bdtiment de scene des theatres dltalie et de Sidle (Louvain,
1989), 113, who suggested the period 27/13 BC.
L<
CIL VI 896.
16
Calza, 'II piazzale delle corporazioni e la funzione commerciale di Ostia (above, n. 9),
185. .
17
Blake, Andent Roman Construction in Italy (above, n. 8), 163, even stated unequivocally
that Agrippa built the theatre during his consulship of 27 BC.
AGRIPPA'S THEATRE AT OSTIA 177
tribunicia potestas. The text inscribed over both of the parodoi in the theatre
at Emerita in Lusitania (modern Portugal) provides a close parallel:
18
M AGRIPPA L F COS III
TRIB POT III
The decision to mention Agrippa's tribunician power in such public inscrip-
tions reflects the perceived importance of that power, something which is also
illustrated by its prominence in the eulogy delivered by Augustus for Agrippa
at his funeral.
19
Since Agrippa first received tribunician power only in 18 BC,
the theatre at Ostia, on this interpretation, must post-date this, and pre-date
his death in 12 BC.
20
It seems most likely that Agrippa sponsored the build-
ing of Ostia's theatre while he was in Rome during the period 18-17 BC,
before he set off for the East.
21
This proposal to date the foundation of Ostia's theatre to 18/17 BC, a
decade later than has sometimes been supposed, means that it contributes to
a striking pattern of urban change which occurred during this period of
Augustus's reign. This pattern consists of the proliferation of theatres in dif-
ferent parts of the Empire, as a result of the intervention of influential indi-
viduals who all shared personal ties with Augustus namely, Agrippa,
Herod the Great and Juba II. Their names are associated with seven differ-
ent theatres built between roughly 25 and 15 BC.
22
Herod was a personal friend of Augustus and Agrippa, as well as a
client-king.
23
His reign was a period of extensive urban transformation, as he
constructed many buildings in several cities, even beyond the area of his
immediate control.
24
In addition to several palaces, a harbour and an
amphitheatre at Caesarea, and an amphitheatre at Jerusalem, he built four
theatres at Jerusalem, Caesarea, Sidon and Damascus.
25
These last two
cities did not even belong to his realm. Although the building of theatres
might appear to be simply a necessary part of any extensive programme of
18
CIL II 474. I. Richmond, 'The first years of Emerita Augusta', Archaeological Journal
87(1930), 98-116.
J.-M. Roddaz, Marcus Agrippa (Rome, 1984), 358; F. Hurlet, Les collegues du prince
sous Auguste et Tibere (Rome, 1997), 42.
20
PIR III no. 457, M. Vipsanius Agrippa: 441 lists sources relating to his tribunician
power.
21
Agrippa left Rome some time during late 17 or early 16 BC: M. Reinhold, Marcus Agrippa.
A Biography (New York, 1933), 106.
22
In addition, Caius Caesar (Agrippa's son, Augustus's adopted son and heir) perhaps
built the theatre at Carthago Nova some years later: S.F. Ramallo Asensio, 'Inscripciones hon-
orificas del teatro de Carthago Nova', Archivo Espanol de Arqueologia 65 (1992), 49-73.
23
D. Braund, Rome and the Friendly King (New York, 1984), 79-80, 82-3.
24
H. Von Hesberg, 'The significance of the cities in the kingdom of Herod', in K. Fittschen
and G. Foerster (eds), Judaea and the Greco-Roman World in the Time of Herod in the Light
of Archaeological Evidence (Gottingen, 1996), 9-25. Braund, Rome and the Friendly King
(above, n. 23), 75-7.
25
Josephus, Antiquitates Judaicae XV.8.1, XV.9.6; Bellum Judaicum 1.21.11.
178 COOLEY
ur ban development, the t heat re was not as yet established in the urban reper-
toire of t hat part of the empire. Frezouls has pointed out that, in contrast
t o Asia Mi nor, the Hellenistic theatrical t radi t i on had not taken root there.
His analysis has shown t hat the construction of theatres in Syria was due to
Roman, rat her t han Greek, influence. He has further suggested t hat the
emergence of new kinds of spectacle and the invention of an architectural
model at Rome suitable for i mi t at i on elsewhere removed the obstacles t hat
previously had st ood in the way of the dissemination of Hellenistic theatres
in this area. Her od played a crucial role in this change, since he had stayed
in Rome and had probabl y at t ended performances in Pompey' s new monu-
ment al complex.
26
Fur t her mor e, Josephus emphasized the hostility which
Her od encount ered, as a consequence of depart i ng from native customs in
building theatres and amphi t heat res t o host spectacles which were alien to
Jewish t radi t i ons. The theatre and amphi t heat re at Jerusalem aroused par-
ticular suspicion among his subjects, not least because Herod established at
the same time regular athletic contests in honour of Augustus.
27
The extent of Herod' s building activities was unusually wide, but at
roughly the same time anot her client-king, Juba II, also built a theatre in his
capital city, Iol Caesarea (now Cherchel, Algeria). This theatre probably dates
from the early years of Juba' s reign, 25-15 BC. Its design and decorative
scheme clearly reflect the influence of the theatre of Pompey. It t oo has a
sanctuary at the t op of its cavea, and the discovery of two colossal statues of
Muses implies t hat it may have derived inspiration for the decorative scheme
of its scaenae frons from t hat theatre.
28
In this respect, the nort h African
theatre was similar in appearance t o a number of Italian theatres of the
August an period, since statues of the Muses also appeared in the theatres of
Ferent i um, Hercul aneum, Mi nt urnae and Ocriculum.
29
These t wo client-kings, therefore, considered the theatre to be a suffi-
ciently significant monument for t hem t o introduce it at some expense in a
permanent stone form i nt o ki ngdoms t o whose architectural and cultural tra-
ditions the building and its activities were alien. The construction of the
theatre at Emerita may further illustrate how deeply embedded the theatre had
become as an essential element in a t own' s landscape by the mid-Augustan
period. Emeri t a had only been established in 25 BC, following the Cant abri an
26
E. Frezouls, 'Recherches sur les theatres de l'orient syrien', Syria 36 (1959), 202-27.
27
Antiquitates Judaicae XV.8.1-2.
28
G. Picard, 'La date du theatre de Cherchel et les debuts de l'architecture theatrale dans
les provinces romaines d'occident', Comptes Rendus de I'Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-
Lettres (1975), 394. Theatre of Pompey Fuchs, Untersuchungen zur Ausstattung Romischer
Theater (above, n. 7), 6-7 (EII 1-5), 10.
29
P. Ciancio Rossetto and G. Pisani Sartorio, Teatri greci e romani. Alle origini del lin-
guaggio rappresentato II (Rome, 1994): Ferentium, 455; Ocriculum, 539. Fuchs,
Untersuchungen zur Ausstattung Romischer Theater (above, n. 7): Herculaneum, 31 (EIV 1-3);
Minturnae, 38 (EII 2-3).
AGRIPPA' S THEATRE AT OSTIA 179
wars, and yet it was provided with a stone theatre by 16/15 BC.
30
The speed
of this process contrasts sharply with the situation at Rome and Ostia. The
inscriptions naming Agrippa, mentioned earlier, date to 16-15 BC, by which
time he had long left the Iberian peninsula and was once again in the East.
31
He may well have sponsored the building of the theatre before his departure,
however. It would not have been strictly necessary to specify the year of
Agrippa's tribunician power in these inscriptions if the town sought simply to
recognize his generosity as a benefactor. Therefore, the decision to record the
date of the theatre's dedication precisely, even though Agrippa had already
left Emerita, suggests that this date was of some wider significance to the
town. The gap in time between Agrippa's departure from Emerita and the
date of the theatre's dedication implies that the inscriptions had a commem-
orative purpose. Roddaz has made the attractive suggestion that the dedica-
tion of the theatre coincided with the town's promotion to capital of the new
province of Lusitania during the reorganization of the Spanish provinces dur-
ing 16/13 BC.
32
The presence of a stone theatre in the town may thus have
represented one way of enhancing its status.
Augustus's personal friends and family did not, of course, account for
the construction of all the theatres of his reign. Nevertheless, other bene-
factors in Italy known to have built or significantly modified their towns'
theatres did also have strong links with Rome. The theatre at Herculaneum,
built during the early Augustan period, was probably financed not only by a
local magistrate, L. Annius Mammianus Rufus, but also by Appius Claudius
Pulcher, the consul of 38 BC.
33
Similarly, out of two sets of brothers, the
Holconii at Pompeii and the Caecinae at Volterra, the more prominent of
each pair had connections with the capital. Holconius Rufus was a tribunus
militum a populo, an equestrian post which was a sign of Imperial favour,
whilst Caecina Severus held high political office at Rome, as consul?
4
How are we to account for this apparent pattern, whereby individuals
connected in some way with the capital built so many theatres during
Augustus's reign? Some scholars have already discussed the marked increase
in the number of theatres during the Augustan period, and have suggested
that the regime actively promoted a policy of theatre-building.
35
Picard has
suggested, for example, that Juba' s decision to build a theatre was a response
to direct instructions from Augustus: 'il semble qu'en agissant ainsi, il se soit
conforme a des instructions precises d'Auguste, pour qui le theatre etait un
30
Dio Cassius LIII.26.1: foundation of Emerita.
^ CIL II 474.
" J.-M. Roddaz, 'Agrippa et la peninsule iberique', in A. Ceresa-Gastaldo (ed.), // bimil-
lenario di Agrippa (Genoa, 1990), 71-7.
33
CIL X 1443-5, 1423.
34
PIR
2
ll 106, A. Caecina Severus.
35
G. Bejor, 'L'edificio teatrale nell'urbanizzazione augustea', Athenaeum 57 (1979), 126-38.
180 COOLEY
i nst rument essentiel d' action psychologique' .
36
Certainly, it is essential to
remember ephemeral aspects of the theatres especially the activities t hat
t ook place there when seeking to explain why the construction of theatres
might have seemed an attractive prospect during the middle years of
August us' s reign.
Gros has suggested t hat the construction of theatres was related to the
performance of ceremonies t o honour the emperor.
37
Al t hough the evidence
for this perhaps seems rat her t enuous, the celebration of the ludi saeculares
in 17 BC provides an anal ogous and suggestive case. Augustus and Agrippa
were in charge of organizing this festival, which included the presentation of
shows in theatres within a context which was at the same time religious and
political in significance.
38
Dur i ng the festivities to celebrate the dawning of a
new Gol den Age at Rome, theatrical performances were staged in three dif-
ferent theatres the new theatre of Marcellus (not yet officially dedicated),
the theatre of Pompey, and a t emporary wooden theatre by the Tiber.
39
The
festival as a whole was obviously related t o Augustus' s current political con-
cerns: not least, his desire t o regulate the moral behaviour of Roman families
t hrough legislation.
Theat res were not only a venue where theatrical shows could be pro-
duced, but , above all, they potentially provided the backdrop against which
politically significant demonst rat i ons could be staged, where lower social
orders could voice praise or criticism of their rulers, whether emperor or local
magistrate.
40
Cicero' s compari sons of political orat or and actor are but one
reflection of the similarities perceived between the two spheres.
41
Several
scholars have advanced the hypothesis t hat the apparent reluctance of the
Senate t o allow the construction of a permanent theatre at Rome may have
been the result of unease concerning the provision of a large space where
people could assemble t o express their views.
42
Worries about popular disturb-
ances arising in the theatre do not , however, seem t o be a sufficient reason
for put t i ng obstacles in the way of permanent theatres. Instead, it seems plaus-
ible t o look for further enlightenment in terms of the elite, and, more pre-
cisely, t o t ake into account the high level of competition among Rome' s elite
36
Picard, 'La date du theatre de Cherchel' (above, n. 28), 397.
37
P. Gros, 'Theatre et culte imperial en Gaule Narbonnaise et dans la peninsule Iberique',
in W. Trillmich and P. Zanker (eds), Stadtbild und Ideologic. Die Monumentalisierung
Hispanischer Stadte zwischen Republik und Kaiserzeit (Munich, 1990), 381-90.
D. Feeny, Literature and Religion at Rome (Cambridge, 1998), 28-38.
39
CIL VI 32323, lines 108, 153-61.
40
C. Roueche, 'Acclamations in the Later Roman Empire: new evidence from
Aphrodisias', Journal of Roman Studies 74 (1984), 181-8, provides an overall picture.
41
For example, Brutus 203; De Oratore 11.338; III.220. Cicero was, however, also anxious
to distance political orators from the immoral associations of the stage.
42
E. Frezouls, 'Aspects de l'histoire architecturale du theatre romain', Aufstieg und
Niedergang der Romischen Welt II 12.1 (Berlin 1982), 353-6.
AGRIPPA'S THEATRE AT OSTIA 181
of the middle and late Republic. The provision of ludi, or public shows, of
which dramatic performances on stage (or ludi scaenici) were just one kind,
was an effective way of winning popular support. Agrippa had shown that he
was fully aware of this from early on in his career, since he organized shows
as early as 40 BC, when he held the post of praetor.,
43
Furthermore, arguably the most significant difference between a tempor-
ary wooden theatre and a permanent stone one was that the latter could act
as a monumentum of a particular individual. By building a stone theatre, an
individual could potentially monopolize the space of that theatre with per-
sonal monuments. A permanent theatre, in contrast to a temporary one, dis-
played permanent epigraphic monuments in the form of honorific statues and
building inscriptions. Pompey had demonstrated the potential power of text
and image in the decoration of his theatre complex, the first stone theatre in
Rome. In particular, the portico behind his theatre exhibited a series of stat-
ues representing the nations he had conquered. This decorative programme
of triumphal images must have been quite extensive, since sixteenth-century
excavations in the porticoes also uncovered capitals decorated with shields,
helmets and trophies.
44
Literary sources, as well as surviving epigraphic and
archaeological evidence, indicate that theatres of the Augustan period fol-
lowed Pompey's example. Malalas recorded that Augustus built a large
theatre at Laodikeia in Syria, and set up a marble statue of himself there.
45
At Emerita, Agrippa was honoured not only by inscriptions incorporated into
the fabric of the theatre, but also by a statue portraying him in military cloak,
standing upon a base inscribed with his name.
46
Another statue portrayed his
wife Julia.
47
In the theatre at Jerusalem, by contrast, Herod did not set up
monuments relating to his achievements, but instead set up trophies and
inscriptions celebrating Augustus's victories.
48
This may illustrate the import-
ance of Augustus's personal friends in building theatres that they were
willing to celebrate Augustus instead of (or in addition to) themselves. The
few statues and inscriptions of the Augustan period that have survived from
theatres illustrate how theatres became portrait galleries of the Imperial fam-
ily. At Volterra, for example, heads of Augustus, Livia and Tiberius were
found.
49
The role of Rome in providing architectural prototypes for towns
throughout the world is clear in the case of the widespread impact of the
theatre of Pompey. In later years, the other major architectural genre to make
43
Dio Cassius XLVIII.20.2.
44
G.C. Picard, Les trophees romains (Paris, 1957), 186.
45
Malalas IX.223.
46
Roddaz, Marcus Agrippa (above, n. 19), 417. EE VIII, 364 no.19.
47
CIL II 475 = EE VIII, 363 no. 18.
48
Josephus, Antiquitates Judaicae XV.8.1.
49
Pizzigati, 'La decorazione architettonica del teatro di Volterra' (above, n. 10), 65-7.
182 COOLEY
such a st rong impression was t he Imperi al bat h complex. Imi t at i ons of Rome
also extended t o specific monument al designs, such as the For um August um
or For um Tr ai anum. The t heat re of Pompey combi ned bot h of these phe-
nomena, acting bot h as a general architectural and specific decorative model.
The peri od of August us' s reign between about 25 and 15 BC saw theatres in
the limelight: they were promi nent venues duri ng the ludi saeculares, and they
were t he subject of legislation regulating t he pat t ern of seating in t hem more
strictly t han ever before.
50
At roughly the same time, t oo, pant omi me perform-
ances became popul ar at Rome. The pot ent i al political influence exerted by
activities in t heat res, and by t he monument s displayed in t hem, may help to
explain why a significant number of those who built theatres were connected
in some way with the regime. The role of part i cul ar individuals in maki ng an
i mpact upon t he visual appearance of the t owns of the empire should not be
underest i mat ed. The proposal to redat e t he t heat re at Ostia to 18/17 BC sug-
gests t hat Agri ppa' s involvement in building t hat t heat re may be a typical
example of a mor e wi despread phenomenon.
ALI SON COOLEY
50
E. Rawson, 'Discrimina ordinum: the lex Julia theatralis', Papers of the British School at
Rome 55 (1987), 83-114.