Cultural depictions of Domitian

Domitian was Roman emperor from 81 to 96 AD.

Literature edit

  • The Roman Actor (1626), a play by Philip Massinger that features Domitian as the main character.[1]
  • Domitia (1898), a historical novel by Sabine Baring-Gould
  • Josephus and the Emperor (1942; earlier Der Tag wird kommen), historical novel by Lion Feuchtwanger,[2] in which a cruel and hypocritical Domitian suggests the tyranny of Adolf Hitler.
  • The Far Arena (1978), science fiction novel by Richard Sapir. It describes events in the life of Eugeni, a Roman gladiator of Domitian's time, who is frozen in ice for nearly 2,000 years and then revived. Eugeni recalls Domitian as a brutal tyrant.[3]
  • The Ravishers (1980), a historical romance by Jeanne Duval, about a Gallic princess who is enslaved in Rome and survives the Year of the Four Emperors
  • Killer (1985), a science fiction novel by Karl Edward Wagner and David Drake, is set in Domitian's Rome, and Domitian appears in the novel.[4]
  • The Triumph (1986), a historical novel by Ernest K. Gann, features a villainous Domitian.[5]
  • The Marcus Didius Falco series of crime novels (1989— ) by Lindsey Davis, set during the reign of Vespasian. Domitian appears as a peripheral character, and is named as the primary suspect in the murder being investigated in the first novel, Silver Pigs.
    • The companion series, featuring Falco's adoptive daughter, Flavia Albia, takes place during the reign of Domitian.
    • Master and God (2012), a historical novel by Davis, centers around the reign of Domitian.[6]
  • The Light Bearer (1994), a historical novel by Donna Gillespie.[7]
  • Domitia and Domitian (2000), a historical novel by David Corson based on the works of Brian Jones and Pat Southern, revolving around the title characters.
  • The Roman Mysteries series of young adult novels by Caroline Lawrence features Domitian as a peripheral character, in which he is depicted as indolent and cruel, and responsible for several plots to undermine his brother Titus's popularity;
  • Mistress of Rome (2010), a historical novel by Kate Quinn where Domitian's skills as an emperor are tarnished by his personal cruelty and suspicion towards those around him.
  • Roman Hell (2010), a historical novel by Mark Mellon, fictionalizes the rise and fall of Domitian and suggests he may have had a role in his brother's death.
  • Roman Games: A Plinius Secundus Mystery (2010), a crime novel by Bruce Macbain, featuring Pliny the Younger;
  • Blood of Caesar, a crime novel by Albert Bell, Junior, featuring Pliny as detective with the historian Tacitus as his sidekick, during Domitian's reign;
  • Empire, an epic novel of imperial Rome by Steven Saylor depicting four generations of a Roman family and their relationships with every emperor from Augustus to Hadrian, with Domitian as a major character.
  • "Los Asesinos del Emperador" (2011), a novel (in Spanish) by Spanish writer Santiago Posteguillo.

Film and television edit

References edit

  1. ^ "The Roman Actor | American Shakespeare Center". American Shakespeare Center. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  2. ^ Cournos, John (1 March 1942). "Life in the Rome of Domitian; The Final Volume of Lion Feuchtwanger's Trilogy Is a Novel With Implications for Our Day JOSEPHUS AND THE EMPEROR. By Lion Feuchtwanger. Translated by Caroline Oram. 446 pp. New York: Viking Press. $2.75". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  3. ^ Goodreads
  4. ^ Easton, Thomas A. "Review: Killer" by Karl Edward Wagner and David Drake". Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, June 1985 (p.162)
  5. ^ Hanscom, Marion. "Gann, Ernest K.(ellog)", in Henderson, Lesley, and Kirkpatrick. D. L. (eds.), Twentieth-Century Romance and Historical Writers. Detroit : St. James Press, 1990. ISBN 9780912289977 (p. 259)
  6. ^ Jakeman, Jane (23 May 2012). "Master and God, By Lindsey Davis". The Independent. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  7. ^ "Fiction Book Review: The Light Bearer". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Con «San Giovanni-L'Apocalisse» si conclude il decennale progetto Bibbia della Rai Richard Harris, ultimo apostolo La storia del discepolo interpretato dall'attore irlandese" (in Italian). La Nuova Sardegna. Retrieved 12 September 2020.[permanent dead link]