AKA 18/09/2005

“So that human achievements may not become forgotten in time” (Herodotus)

Was Greek and Roman historical memory primarily based on nostalgia for past achievements?

Nostalgia is usually classified as “bittersweet”—a mixed emotion, a longing for the past. A desire to

retain memories of the past to preserve a legacy is common to all civilisations but the Greeks and

Romans were the first to go beyond mythology to develop a form of historical interest that leaves

behind the novelistic presentation adopted by previous historians 1. Past achievements of both these

civilisations could evoke a wide range of perspectives on what “achievements” truly mean- from

military superiority to the evolution of art and philosophy. Historical memory refers to the ways in

which groups, collectives, and nations construct and identify with narratives about historical periods

or events, therefore, I intend to look at the concept of nostalgia through the lens of the glorification

of Graeco-Roman rulership and classical artistic representations.

Greek historiography is immersed in Homer which helps shape nostalgic memories of past

achievements- “So that human achievements may not become forgotten in time,”- uttered in the

opening lines of Herodotus’ Histories presents a twofold layer in glorifying past achievements.

Firstly, by using memory as a means of preservation and secondly, by using immortal fame (Kleos) as

a concept to align Greek achievements with those illustrated in Homeric works 2. In mythology, the

historical muse Clio (from whom Kleos is derived) was daughter of Mnemosyne, Goddess of

memory3. The referential potential of kleos lies not in the actual presence of the word in Herodotus,

but in tropes and cultural parameters 4- for example the Battle of Thermopylae, which Pelling

describes as “The most Homeric battle,”5 was lost by the Spartans, after the death of Leonidas.

However, through the concept of Kleos, the Greeks were able to recast their defeat into victory, 6

therefore memorialising their resistance and giving the other Greek allies motivation to fight further.

1
Holborn (1949)
2
Herodotus takes on the role of the Odyssean traveller, chronicling his travels from Greece to Egypt
3
Leeming (2005)
4
Fragoulaki (2019)
5
Pelling (1997)
6
Indeed, some argue that the Persian wars were reminiscent of the Trojan wars (Said, 2012)
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The concept of the Barbarian can be used as a basis of Greek historical memory of past

achievements being imperialistic in nature. The derogatory term, “Barbarikos,” characterized by the

“bar-bar” onomatopoeic sound that imitated the language of non-Greek speakers 7, was often

associated with the Persians. Indeed, these so called “Barbarians,” were far more powerful than any

Greek state or combination of states (Eckstein, 2005). Aeschylus’ “Persians,” regularly makes use of

this word, particularly when referring to the Battle of Salamis, repetitively using it to describe the

Persians effeminate luxuriousness, the exoticism of their dress, and their oriental language. So how

is nostalgia created through this imperialistic narrative? This heroic recount of Greek democracy

triumphing over the Eastern authoritarianism allowed the Greeks to feel themselves to be a distinct

and demarcated group, and, as their history shows, their devotion to the polis was strong enough to

form a basis for unified action against an external power, such as Persia 8. I would argue it is this

zealous patriotism and the nostalgic need to uphold civic obligation and their culture that

immortalises their past achievements within history and reflects their nostalgic attitude towards

their past.

Furthermore, Aeschylus’ “Persians,” was a direct result of the nostalgic atmosphere post-Salamis 9.

The dramatic conventions integrated within the play, such as Aeschylus manipulating the time and

duration of the play to link Greece to daylight and Persia to night-time, arranging the Greeks as

natural seamen and the Persians as lumbering landsmen 10and the adoption of Salamis rather than

Marathon (which permits for a pro- Themistocles stance to be introduced 11) allows one to analyse

how Greek historical memory is constructed according to the social and emotional needs of the

contemporary Greek mood (which one could argue was positive and patriotic post-Salamis). Plays

being used as a medium for presenting historical knowledge was uncommon, nevertheless, this text

7
Kershaw (2019)
8
Cartledge notes that the main distinction between the Greeks and the Persians was linguistics, so such military campaigns
was motivated partially through xenophobia (The Oath of Plataea and the End of the Graeco-Persian Wars, 2013)
9
Edith Hall comments that the politics within the play are “The most overtly political of all extant Athenian tragedies,”- The
Persians, Pg. 11
10
Pelling (1997)
11
This helped bolster his reputation during this period when he was ostracized.
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has been approached as a site of facts and an archive of representation; distant and discrete from

the present, susceptible to objectification 12 depicting how creative memory links to Greek historical

memory, thereby allowing appreciation of achievements through entertainment (and consequently

nostalgia is enshrined as Aeschylus becomes the playwright associated with victory 13).

Most compellingly, neoclassicism particularly plays a role in understanding the longevity of recalling

past historical achievements and the desire to emulate the culture evokes the nostalgia that

emanates from it. The Napoleonic Regime was vital in incorporating aspects of Imperial Rome into

their empire, after the previous attempts by the Thermidorian Government to mirror a republican

Rome. Architecture is a key political tool that preserved Roman historical memory whilst also

depicting tales of military accomplishments - the landscape of monuments that dominated Rome

were able to convey messages of success such as the Arch of Titus that was constructed in 81 AD by

the Emperor Domitian after the death of his older brother Titus, to commemorate Titus's victory

over the Jewish rebellion in Judaea and Trajan’s Column which was inscribed with the details of

victories in the Dacian Wars. Similarly, Napoleon constructed the L’Arc de Triomphe in the same

style as the Arch of Titus, containing almost identical structures and details- with Victoria,

dominating as a key allegorical figure on both arches, as the Goddess of victory. She was not

considered a symbol of war but of triumph, and a peace that was consequent to victory. The

immortalisation of Victoria through millennia signifies the Pax Romana to which other empires

wanted to aspire, and thus Roman historical memory was perceived with nostalgic grandeur.

Iconography of Gods (i.e., Victoria) are thus used as effective propagandistic tools to affirm and

justify conquests, expansion and control14. One vivid example of such is the painting of the

Apotheosis of Napoleon- Victory pulls Bonaparte’s horses to the Temple of Immortality and Glory.

Thus, a parallel can be drawn between Rome and France, where Victoria is used to justify imperial

hegemony in both. Neoclassicism portrays an aesthetic attitude, which highlights harmony, clarity,
12
Pierre (1989)
13
Snyder (1991)
14
Favro (2006)
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restraint15- the centre of Roman values of achievement inaugurated by Augustus and propagated

through building works and the Res Gestae. This reaffirms the dominance of nostalgia.

The nostalgia for Greek past achievements can likewise be seen during the golden age of Athens, led

by Pericles’ in the 5th Century BCE. In Thucydides’ “Peloponnesian wars,” he augments the greater

qualities of Pericles, describing him as, “a man of the greatest ability both with words and actions” 16

Accounts such as these show him as outstanding figure in Greek history who influenced the Council,

to the point where he enjoyed unchallenged power and trust from the general public to democratise

Athens. Historical memory of Greece celebrates Pericles achievements to the point, where even

today, the former British Prime Minster argued in his debate with Mary Beard: “The Athenians gave

us our modern system of Government,”17– however, this deification highlights the modern

fetishization of the Athenian democratic system which neglects its shortcomings. Aristotle, a major

critic of the democratic system articulated in his book, “Politics” 18, “‘put among barbarians no

distinction is made between women and slaves, because there is no natural ruler among them’

referring to the exclusivity of the democratic structure of Athens which prohibited the opinions and

rights of women and Barbarians. Significantly, Athens denied their allied states in the Delian League

any form of identity, freedom or voice19- There was the annual obligatory payment which bred

corruption through the financing of opulent buildings, and deliberate attempts to keep the lower

classes out of the government. In this context we can see that not all accounts encompass nostalgic

memories of past achievements, and that Athens was, a tiny community with a narrowly restrictive

idea of citizen rights20

15
https://www.britannica.com/art/Neoclassicism [accessed 25th January 2023]
16
Thucydides’ and Warner (1974): Book 1, Section 5
17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k448JqQyj8 [accessed 14th January 2023]
18
Aristotle, Saunders, Sinclair (1981)
19
Greek disunity was commented on by Hanson who stated they were, “Fragmented by city-state rivalries,
badly outnumbered, hastily assembled, plagued by outright betrayal,”
20
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/apr/29/comment.politics1 [Accessed January 14th,
2023]
 AKA 18/09/2005

Moreover, collective memory becomes intertwined with historical memory, which distorts the true

nature of past achievements and leads us to the question on whether the sensation of nostalgia is

fabricated by whole communities to preserve only the past achievements of antiquity and forget its

shortcomings. One such example is the process of Damnatio Memoriae. Although not a legal or

formalised practice, it provided a form of material catharsis to purge any essence of a tyrannical

leader21. An infamous example of such implementation was the emperor Caligula, who according to

Suetonius, “Lived in habitual incest with all his sisters… Had many men of honourable rank disfigured

with the marks of branding-irons... and used to openly to deplore the state of his times, because

they had been marked by no public disasters,” 22 Caligula was eventually assassinated in 41 AD by

officers within the Praetorian Guard led by Cassius Chaerea 23 and by orders of the senate, Caligula’s

name was erased in inscriptions; some of his coins defaced, recalled, or countermarked; certain

portraits were intentionally mutilated24. Humphrey outlines that, “memory…is fixed and secured by

objects,”25 and by such erasure of products of culture, only the great are memorialised. Indeed, one

may argue that the act of Damnatio Memoriae in itself shows the lengths the Romans went to, to

maintain its achievements and expunge its villains from the historical record. However, Elizabeth

Meyer proposes an alternate theory to why Damnatio Memoriae is proof that historical memory is

not primarily based on nostalgia: “The visible indications of obliteration, the sense of the absent in

the present, carries the greatest significance,” 26 the vast void left after damnatio memoriae naturally

attracts historians to analyse why this it happened, generating interest within Roman antiquity. For

example, Gladiator (2000) was considered one of the best movies of the 21 st century, having grossed

$460.6 million worldwide27, and narrates a loosely based account of Emperor Commodus (who

received the punishment of Damnatio Memoriae for his sadistic tendencies) and his corrupt reign.

21
https://www.thecollector.com/damnatio-memoriae/ [Accessed January 21st, 2023]
22
Suetonius (2007): “Caligula”
23
Flavius and Whiston (2009)- XIX 1.3
24
Varner (2020)
25
Humphrey (2002)
26
Meyer (2004)
27
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegroup/gr2536067589/ [accessed 21st January 2023]
 AKA 18/09/2005

The fact remains that by today’s standards, only the emperors who were notorious and had their

legacies destroyed by Damnatio Memoriae are the tales that often are retold.

Similarly, parallels in such systems that emphasise negativity of the Imperial system can be seen in

the historiography of Suetonius’ 12 Caesars who was infamous for his portrayal of Imperial

characters that diverged from an ordinary citizens perspective on what they were like. The purpose

of such works was due to the fact, “The politics of regime change had a major influence on how each

emperor went down in history, as imperial careers and characters were reinvented… those who

were assassinated were demonised…those who died in their beds…were praised,” 28 Typically, at the

end of each biography, we find a detailed description of the emperors’ body which correlates to

their attributes and virtues in life. 29 This practice, known as physiognomy30, is crucial in

understanding that Roman historical memory engaged in salacious gossip as a core component of

the lives of the emperors rather than their past achievements; The biography’s popularity prove to

be immeasurable, as centuries afterwards, similar imperial biographers replicated his works. One

was expected to show the utmost reverence to the emperor, with the phrase commonly used,

“Principes instar deorum esse,”31 so one could argue that this disregard shows there was no interest,

from a social aspect of a Roman plebian or equestrian, of nostalgic past achievements. Gossip rather

than formal written history proves to last. Seemingly, in the 21 st century, most people know of the

horrendous crimes of debauchery and tyranny committed by Nero, but his achievements still remain

obscure to most32

In conclusion, I use the metaphor of an “ideological quilt” 33 to thread my argument together into a

tapestry of whether Greek and Roman historical memory primarily based on nostalgia for past

28
Beard (2017)
29
Chiai (2010)
30
E.g., Tiberius was described as, “Big and strong in body, his height being above average and his chest and
shoulders broad,” whilst Nero was described as, “skin mottled and his body malodorous,” (Suetonius, 2007)
31
Directly translated to “Emperors are as gods" which are the words of Tacitus (Annals, 1906)
32
Nero, despite his flaws: reduced taxes, reduced food prices, banned bloodshed in circuses and banned
capital punishment.
33
Zizek (1989)
 AKA 18/09/2005

achievements. I have shown that Greek and Roman historical memory encompasses a wide range of

feelings: from patriotism to shame, and when these ideas are stitched together, I argue that Roman

and Greek historical memory is based on nostalgia. It is this lens of glorification that continues to

make discourse within antiquity lively, vibrant and a site of contemplative evaluation. This question

finds legitimacy in the art and written history that permeates Roman and Greek civilisation which I

demonstrated within this essay.

- 1966 words excl. title, bibliography, and footnotes

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