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" Nero’s “Solar” Kingship and the Architecture of the Domus Aurea "
Robert Hannah, Giulio Magli, Antonella Palmieri, et al.
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AL
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| Record Number
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1079219
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| Doc. No
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LA122848
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| Call No
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10.1163/15685276-12341436
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| Language of Document
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English
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| Main Entry
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Antonella Palmieri
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Giulio Magli
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Robert Hannah
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| Title & Author
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Nero’s “Solar” Kingship and the Architecture of the Domus Aurea [Article]\ Robert Hannah, Giulio Magli, Antonella Palmieri, et al.
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| Publication Statement
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Leiden: Brill
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| Title of Periodical
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Numen
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| Date
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2016
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| Volume/ Issue Number
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63/5-6
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| Page No
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511–524
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| Abstract
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The Domus Aurea, Nero’s last “palace” constructed in the very heart of ancient Rome, is a true masterpiece of Roman architecture. We explore here symbolic aspects of the emperor’s project, analyzing the archaeoastronomy of the best preserved part of the Domus, the Esquiline Wing. In particular, we study the so-called Octagonal Room, the huge vaulted room which is in many respects a predecessor of the Pantheon. The project of the room turns out to be connected with astronomy, as is Hadrian’s Pantheon sixty years later. Indeed, the divinization and “solarization” of the emperor — placed at the equinoxes as a point of balance in the heavens — are shown to be explicitly referred to in the rigorous orientation of the plan and in the peculiar geometry of the design of the dome. The Domus Aurea, Nero’s last “palace” constructed in the very heart of ancient Rome, is a true masterpiece of Roman architecture. We explore here symbolic aspects of the emperor’s project, analyzing the archaeoastronomy of the best preserved part of the Domus, the Esquiline Wing. In particular, we study the so-called Octagonal Room, the huge vaulted room which is in many respects a predecessor of the Pantheon. The project of the room turns out to be connected with astronomy, as is Hadrian’s Pantheon sixty years later. Indeed, the divinization and “solarization” of the emperor — placed at the equinoxes as a point of balance in the heavens — are shown to be explicitly referred to in the rigorous orientation of the plan and in the peculiar geometry of the design of the dome.
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| Descriptor
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Domus Aurea
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| Descriptor
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Nero
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Roman archaeoastronomy
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Roman religion
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| Location & Call number
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10.1163/15685276-12341436
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