The Complexion of Domitian Author(s): W. C. Helmbold Reviewed work(s): Source: The Classical Journal, Vol. 45, No.

8 (May, 1950), pp. 388-389 Published by: The Classical Association of the Middle West and South Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3293021 . Accessed: 18/12/2011 17:55
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

The Classical Association of the Middle West and South is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Classical Journal.

http://jstor.org

, :'

: J=r-_. a-m ; %

~_a r %C a "L e
a
:

=_.i-_%

Contributions in the formof to this department briefobjective notes shouldbe sent direct to the State Universityof editor, OscarE. Nybakken, Iowa,inI Schaeffer Hall,IowaCity, Iowa.

THE COMPLEXION OF DOMITIAN

rubentiis not, it may be held either that in A.D. 89/90 (when Martial's fifth book was this published)Domitianhadnot yet acquired "naturalflush"to such a degree that it provoked comment;or that, since during DomiTacitus, Agr. 45: tian's lifetime2no one would have ventured to he was not sensiillevultus saevus et rubor, se contra lampoonhis appearance, pudorem quo tive to the markedcoloring of his face and muniebat. Martial might well allow himself to use ore Tacitus, Hist. Iv, 40: non rubenti metaphoricallywithout fear of crebra oris confusio ignotisadhucmoribus pro offending. modestia accipitur. The first of these explanationscannot be maintained unlesswe impugnthe evidenceof Suetonius, Dom. i8: Tacitus, Hist., Iv. 40 cited above, which devultu odesto ruborisque plenares expressly that this characteristicwas in Domitian'syouth (speThe countenanceof Domitian,then, had a alreadyremarkable natural flush, or "a recurrent and physical cificallyin A.D.69-70). Unless, indeed,we are periods rush of blood to the face, which saved him to distinguishtwo physiognomonical from the blushes of the spirit," as Hutton in Domitian's life: his early days, when he would have it. So much we seem to have se- blushedfrequently(crebraoris confusio),and curely on contemporary,if prejudiced,evi- his later years, when (with too frequent his face had permanentlyacquired dence. It is all but inconceivablethat these blushing?) three authors should have told the same a deep red "which saved him from the falsehood, either in collusion, or independ, blushesof the spirit."3 Against this in itself not very probable ently. Yet what arewe to thinkwhen we read hypothesisone must urge againthat if Domiin Martial: tian blushed repeatedly and markedly,or if cum domino domino liber quintus cum liberiocatur;.r quintus 1 n L * L a u 1 icatur;,his face had peculiarflush, it would be cerore non rubenti Germanicus quam tain to arouse comment in court,circlesand ru2i qcoam (non lega puella. GCecropia would reach the attentive ears of Martial,4 serena even if the poet had not observedit for himSic me frontelegatdominus, Faustine, complexionof Domitianare four: Pliny, Paneg.48: in corore, ore mpuden pallor femineus multorubore suffusa. ut meaneciustequosodit pagina laesit et mihide nullofamarubore placet.
excipiatquemeos qua solet aure iocus, self. Martial would be the last person to

HE RELEVANT passagesconcerning the very general. Though in the first ore non

(7. 12. I-4)

emphasizeany matterwhich might draw the unfavorableattention of the emperor upon

himself and his works.5

Can we believe that Martial of all people would addressthese lines to Domitian if the sensitive emperor'sface was already ruboris plenum? Many will doubtless urge that we can. Martial's words in the second passage are

Must we, then reject the combined evidenceof Tacitus, Pliny, andSuetonius,as well as the later and derived commentsof PhilosAnother way of aptratus6and Procopius?7 proach has been suggested by Miss E. C. Evans' work on the physiognomonical

388

NOTES
writers.8 She points out that handbookson physiognomy, such as those of the pseudoAristotle and Polemo,enjoyed "a far greater popularity with the writers of the Roman Empire than has been granted them." It is evident that Suetonius was familiar with handbooksof the kind and used them freely. It is also clearthat the elderPliny9was aware of the existence of such treatises;he had read the pseudo-Aristotle and quotes a relevant passagefromTrogus. But we may not, at the presentstate of investigation,go furtherthan to suggest that physiognomonical interpretation may possibly have had some influence on Tacitus' and Pliny's descriptionof Domitian's complexion. When we turn to the authoritieson face and feature, we find Polemo (38, in Script. Physiogn. I, 246 ed. Firster), Adamantius (35, ibid., I, 389), and the Anon. Lat. (ibid., ii. io8) all makingstatements which may be in the words of the last: cum vulsymmarized tus rubet,aut verecundum aut vinolentum declarat. On the other hand, pseudo-Aristotle (812 A) says that "too ruddy a hue marksa rogue, as in the case of the fox... ,10a red hue indicates hastiness. A flaming skin denotes mania";and the Epit. Matr. (23= F6rster i, 389) declares that red countenances indicatefierceand cruelmen, or wine-bibbers. Not, be it noted, modestand retiringpersons. There appear to have been, then, two schoolsof physiognomonical of interpretation a permanentlyred face. One school saw in men so colored only shyness or alcoholism; the other took them to be crafty, sly, and cruel. Now, while it would be too much to suggest that Pliny and Tacitus show traces of the second interpretation(though if they had known of it, it would have suited them well), it is quite likely that Suetoniusknew of the first.Note the juxtapositionof words and ideas: vultu modestoruborisque pleno, gran, dibus oculis, verum acie hebetiore; praeterea pulcherac decens,maxime in iuventa, et quidem toto corpore,exceptispedibus .... Having just mentioned the redness of the emperor's face, Suetonius proceeds to classify Domitian as pulcherac decens.He interprets, then, the color of his face to indicatepleasant

389

qualities rather than the reverse, and agrees with the Polemo-Adamantius readingof character, though of course he may have been aware of the other, and if he was, his choice is even moresignificant. What may be concludefromall this?In the present state of our knowledge,though Miss Evans has added an immense amount to former investigations, no conclusion can be certain.The line of thought suggestedby the passagesof Martial has apparentlynot been helpful;thoughPliny and Tacitus exaggerate, Suetonius'moreimpartial,if formal,evidence makes it very unlikely that the famous description is wholly wrong. Were physiognomonical theories of use to Tacitus, consciously or not, in his notorious distortions of character,if not of fact? Adhuc sub iudice lis est. W. C. HELMBOLD Universityof California Berkeley
NOTES 1"LoebClassical ed. of Agricola, Library," p. 249,
n. 2.
2 It shouldbe remembered that all our authorities, afterDomitian's death;SueexceptMartial,published a considerable tonius,ourmostnearly author, impartial timethereafter. 3 H. V. Canter (Stud.Phil.,xxv, 1928,p. 389)agrees with this view: "facemodestandwith a tendency to exhibited blush,of whichhe wasvain... in lateryears cheeks,anda haughty, pallorof body,bloated savage, shamelesscountenance." This is a terror-inspiring, rhetorical from allthe authorities, nomatter compilation howexaggerated; evenTacitus notpass sucha demight scription. 4 It would havebeendangerous forMartial to suppose of unflattering remarks about the that,whilewellaware hemight forestall unfavorablecritemperor's complexion, icismby a casual andinnocent allusion. 5 Theslipshod tactlessness of a hastywriter, as Martialonlytoo oftenwas,cannot be ruledout. Morecareful authors havebeenguilty;at leasteditors of Properwho readmollisat tius, beforeandafterBroekhuyzen,

III. 9. 57, appearto believe so. 6 Vita Apoll., VII. 28. 7 Anec., vIII. 12 if. This passageshows clearly that

Domitian's complexion, as described by Tacitus, became proverbial. 8 Harv. Stud. Cl. Phil., XLVI. 43-84, where the bibliographyup to I935 is carefullycollected. 9 N.H., xi. 273-276, and Evans, op. cit., 59 f. 10Cf. Miss Evans' (65 ff.) excellent tabulationsof the traits borrowed from animalsin Suetonius'imagines.