Augustus, Domitian, and the So-called Horologium Augusti

Heslin, Peter J.

Augustus, Domitian, and the So-called Horologium Augusti

Heslin, Peter J.

Authors

Professor Peter Heslin p.j.heslin@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

Buchner’s reconstruction of the Horologium Augusti continues to be influential, despite fatal flaws demonstrated by Rodrίguez-Almeida and Schütz; so we begin by reviewing the state of the evidence. There is no credible indication that Augustus or his successors built an extensive sundial, so we must conclude with Schütz that what Pliny described and what the excavations of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) uncovered was a solar meridian line. We then proceed to discuss its significance in the context of the Augustan building programme. Since the DAI in fact discovered a Flavian reconstruction, the final question to be addressed is what purpose it served Domitian to rebuild a largely symbolic Augustan instrument that had grown inaccurate over time.

Citation

Heslin, P. J. (2007). Augustus, Domitian, and the So-called Horologium Augusti. The Journal of Roman Studies, 97, 1-20

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Jan 1, 2007
Deposit Date	Jul 15, 2008
Publicly Available Date	Jan 20, 2010
Journal	Journal of Roman Studies
Print ISSN	0075-4358
Electronic ISSN	1753-528X
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	97
Pages	1-20
Publisher URL	http://www.romansociety.org/publications/journals/journal-of-roman-studies/content-and-abstracts.html