2015/01/01 by Trevor Luke · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Classical Antiquity Studies
paper · doi:10.1515/jah-2015-0012
openalex publication_date 2015/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
This article offers a reexamination of Suetonius’ account of Augustus’ early cognomen, Thurinus. In its first part, a historical explanation of the surname’s longevity is presented. Augustus’ biological father’s success in suppressing bandits in the ager Thurinus established a patron-client relationship between the Octavii and Copia-Thurium and its surrounding environs. Both Octavian and the Thurians revived this memory when it served their respective interests. M. Antonius therefore used it derisively because of its topicality, not its obscurity. The second part discusses Suetonius’ use of his gift to Hadrian of the Thurinus statuette to revive a forgotten exemplum from the life of Augustus’ biological father. Through this device, the biographer showcases his scholarship’s ability to recover fading exempla in the tradition of Augustus. The author also uses the statuette to intimate the positive prospects for a successful outcome to Hadrian’s ambitions to be a new Augustus.