ConstruCting Myths 1

ANALECTA ROMANA

INSTITUTI DANICI

EDENDA CURAVERUNT

OFFPRINT

XXXIII

2008

ROMAE MMVIII

ANALECTA ROMANA INSTITUTI DANICI XXXIIIAccademia di Danimarca Via Omero, 18 - 00197 Rome© 2008 Accademia di Danimarca

Analecta Romana Instituti Danici. — Vol. I (1960) — . Copenhagen: Munksgaard. From 1985: Rome, «L’ERMA» di Bretschneider. From 2007 (online): Accademia di DanimarcaISSN 2035-2506

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Helge Gamrath (Aalborg Universitet)Hannemarie Ragn Jensen (Københavns Universitet)

Mogens Nykjær (Aarhus Universitet)Gunnar Ortmann (Det Danske Ambassade i Rom)

Marianne Pade (Aarhus Universitet)Bodil Bundgaard Rasmussen (Nationalmuseet, København)

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Contents

antonella Mezzolani: I materiali lapidei nelle costruzioni di età fenicia e punica a Cartagine

gitte lønstrup: Constructing Myths: The Foundation of Roma Christiana on 29 June

Jens viggo nielsen: ”L’Esistenzialismo non è un umanesimo” La dialettica come approccio all’esistenzialismo di Luigi Pareyson

lise Bek: Innocence Lost. Symbolism to Rhetoric in Architecture and the Renaissance Concept of Invention

7

27

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If the foundation day of Rome was actually celebrated on 29 June, as described in the introductory quotation, the Christian ap-propriation of this legendary day would be intriguing. However, this event was not cel-ebrated on 29 June. Ancient sources and cal-

endars testify to the celebration of the foun-dation of Rome on 21 April – even after the Emperors Valentinian II, Theodosius I and Arcadius had annulled several conventional holidays in 389.3

When reading in the Enciclopedia dei

Constructing Myths:

The Foundation of Roma Christiana on 29 June

by gitte lønstrup1

Abstract. According to the early Christian calendar, June 29th was the day on which the Apostles Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome, by this sacrifice bestowing upon the Roman Church a unique authority. Already Ireneaus of Lyons (Adversus Haereses, 2nd century) and Clement of Rome (The Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, 1st century) had announced that these apostles were the pillars and foundation of the Roman Church. This claim was later elaborated by Pope Damasus (366-384), during whose pontificate the cult of Peter and Paul was intensified, a monumental epigram being erected in their honour at the so-called Memoria Apostolorum on the Via Appia outside the city gates. On this common cult site, June 29th was celebrated every year, a celebration not only of the sacrifice of the Princes of the Apostles, but also of the foundation of the Roman Church.

According to the Fasti Venusini, a Roman calendar of the first century (16 BC-4 AD), June 29th had once com-memorated the inauguration of a temple dedicated to Quirinus, the semi-mythical founder of Rome. This inaugura-tion, which Augustus seems to have been responsible for, is not, however, registered in any other preserved Roman calendar. Nevertheless, the coincidental parallel occurrence of these two events on June 29th has led scholars mis-takenly to claim that Christian Rome was founded on the same day upon which the Romans celebrated the city’s foundation by Romulus Quirinus.

The present article aims at deconstructing this myth by careful analysis of the sources – Roman and Christian calendars, basilicas and golden glasses, graffiti and marble epigrams. It argues that a celebration of Peter and Paul on June 29th in imitation of the festival of Quirinus is unlikely. This is not least because the commemoration of the temple of pagan Rome’s legendary founder already seems to have been fading away when Ovid composed his Fasti – the only other source which testifies, however vaguely, to the inauguration of the temple of Quirinus on June 29th.

“Perhaps it is not a coincidence that the renovatio urbis, the foundation of a nova Roma by Peter and Paul, was celebrated on 29 June, the same day as the anniversary of the foundation, or

refoundation, of Rome by Quirinus-Romulus.”

J. M. Huskinson2

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Papi (2000) I was intrigued by a comment in the entry for Pope Damasus that 29 June was “lo stesso giorno in cui i pagani cele-bravano l’anniversario della fondazione di Roma.”4 This article has its origin in the curiosity aroused on this occasion. I would therefore like to examine the significance of 29 June in the calendars of both the ancient Romans and the Roman Church, in order to verify whether this day had any connection to the traditional foundation day of Rome as suggested in the quotations above.

Pope Damasus (366-384) was a central figure in the creation of the myth about Chris-tian Rome, founded by Peter and Paul.5 His works constitute a corner stone of this study. During his pontificate he composed between 60 and 80 poems carved into monumental stone tablets (epigrams) which were placed at the martyr tombs in the Roman catacombs (Pl. I and Fig. 7).6 Damasus had crypts con-structed in the catacombs specially designed for the cultic and liturgical rituals which he staged there. The pilgrims did not arrive at the crypts until after they had passed through a route, the itinera ad sanctos,7 in the subter-ranean network of streets whose endlessly long, dark and narrow corridors, with tombs from floor to ceiling, a permanent smell of putrefaction, served as a constant reminder to the believer that he/she was in the realm of the dead. Then – as now – a visit to the catacombs was an overwhelming experi-ence, as very clearly evoked by Jerome’s description of such a visit:

We descended into the galleries, carved out

of the bowels of the earth, full of graves so dark that the words of the Psalms [55, 16] ‘Let the living sink into the Realm of Death’ seemed to become real. The darkness which surrounded us may be described through the words of Virgil: ‘Horror is dense everywhere, even silence thick-ens with terror’ [Aeneid II. 755].8

The labyrinthine procession increased the tension, which was eventually released upon arrival to the Damasian crypt where single rays of light penetrated the darkness and reached the saint’s grave, decorated with an epigram.The inscriptions, the atmospheric rooms and the routes served to promote the martyr’s cult in support of the myth of the Christian foundation of Rome which Dama-sus was in the process of constructing. The purpose of this myth was to ensure Rome the position as the authoritative diocese of Christianity. The martyrdoms of Peter and Paul, both celebrated on 29 June,9 would serve as the legitimisation of Apostolic au-thority. These martyrdoms became absolute-ly fundamental in the foundation of Roma Christiana.

The term ‘myth’ must here be conceived through two lenses: partly as a traditional foundation myth,10 in which mortal and im-mortal figures appear (i.e. the martyrs); part-ly through Roland Barthes’ theory of myths introduced in his book Mythologies (1957). According to Barthes, the myth is a phenom-enon, or a mechanism, which transforms his-torical constructions and makes them appear natural and self-evident.11 Neither the subject matter nor the source material of this article

ConstruCting Myths 29

have previously been studied through this lens, but it proves highly applicable, both in an analysis of the Christian foundation myth as constructed by Damasus, and in the scholarly myths attached to it, amongst them the discussion of whether 29 June was both the legendary and the Christian foun-dation day of Rome.

29 June and other Significant Days in the Roman CalendarThis is not the right occasion for an account of the complex construction and history of the Roman calendar.12 The issues here are 29 June and holidays in the Roman calen-dar, dedicated to the celebration of the founders and the foundation of Rome. Ju-lius Caesar’s reform of the Republican cal-endar in 46 BC should, however, be men-tioned by way of introduction. The structure of the Julian system, which consists of 365 days divided into 12 months, is in principle still valid, although it has been subjected to an ongoing Christianisation, partly through the inclusion of such Christian holidays as Christmas and Easter; partly through the an-nulment and the appropriation of traditional holidays as when Pope Gelasius (492-96) consecrated the day of LUPERCALIA (15 February) as the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary in 494.13

The Fasti Antiates Maiores (84-55 BC) is the only example of the Republican cal-endar, which was replaced by the Julian cal-endar that has been handed down to us. In the month of junius the 29 June is in no way emphasised. The most important days of the

month – marked with capital letters – were, however, VESTALIA on 9 June and MAT-RALIA on 11 June. Out of the 45 calendars examined,14 the date of 29 June has actu-ally only been preserved in the Republican Fasti Antiates Maiores and in the following Julian-Augustan calendars: the Fasti Maf-feiani (8 BC), the Fasti Esquilini (7 BC) and the Fasti Venusini (16 BC - 4 AD), to-gether with Ovid’s poetic Fasti, and the two calendars preserved in manuscript form: the Fasti Philocaliani (354) and the Fasti Silvii Polemii (449). The month of June is either entirely or in part lost in the other calendars. Among the seven relevant calendars, only the Fasti Venusini and Ovid’s Fasti regis-ter an event on 29 June. Ovid writes very briefly: “When as many days of the month remain as the Fates (Parcae) have names, a temple was dedicated to thee, Quirinus, god of the striped gown.”15 Since there were three goddesses of Fate (Nona, Decima and Morta), this must refer to the antepenulti-mate day of June. According to the Julian calendar, the month of June had 30 days (against 29 according to the Republican calendar), so logically the antepenultimate date should be 28 June. It was, however, 29 June. What logically should have been the penultimate day of the months was in-dicated by means of the Roman numeral III, as can be seen in e.g. the Fasti Prae-nestini (6 – 9 AD) (Fig. 1). The last day of the month, i.e. 30 June, was marked PR for priedie (which means “the day before”) and counted as the penultimate day, whereas the kalends itself (the first day of the month)

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both counted as the last day (of June) and as the first day of the next month (July). After kalends you counted backwards from nones which occurred either on the fifth or the sev-enth day, depending on the length of the par-ticular month.

According to Ovid, a temple to Quirinus was consecrated on 29 June. This is in ac-cordance with a note in the Fasti Venusini, “Quirino in Colle”, which appears to indi-cate a celebration for Quirinus on the Quir-inal Hill which was named after him. The note is, however, written in smaller letters as an indication that the celebration was not among the 45 most important celebrations of the year which, as already mentioned, were marked by capital letters, as was the case with the great Roman festival of the QUIRINALIA.16

The QUIRINALIA was celebrated on 17 February in honour of the divine founder

of Rome, Romulus-Quirinus. Romulus and Quirinus were one and the same figure, as Quirinus was the name given to Romulus af-ter his apotheosis.17 The festival took place in the middle of the so-called parentalia from 13 to 21 February when the Romans hon-oured their dead.18 On this day in the calen-dar, abbreviated QUIR NP (Fig. 2), is noted “Quirino” in the Republican Fasti Antiates Maiores, “Quirino in Colle” in the Julian calendars Fasti Caeretani, Fasti Praenestini and Fasti Farnesini, and eventually “Quiri-nalia” in Polemius Silvius’ calendar, written 60 years after the three Christian emperors Valentinian II, Theodosius I and Arcadius had annulled a series of traditional holidays in 389.19

The oldest temple to Quirinus, dedicated by Lucius Papirius Cursor in 293 BC, was most probably consecrated on the QUIRI-NALIA of 17 February.20 One may therefore wonder how 29 June came into being. Ac-cording to Cassius Dio (164-229) the Em-peror Augustus rebuilt the temple to Quiri-nus which was reconsecrated in the year when Lucius Domitius [Athenobarbus] and Publius [Cornelius] Scipio were consuls, i.e. in 16 BC, which corresponds to the dating of the Fasti Venusini (16 BC – 4 AD).21 Cassius Dio, however, mentions neither the day of consecration nor the geographical position of the temple; nor does Augustus, when he mentions “aedem Quirini” in the Res Ges-tae (19). Only in Ovid’s poetic Fasti and in the Fasti Venusini is 29 June mentioned. If, however, we assume that Augustus actually did reconsecrate the temple on that day, what

Fig. 1. Fasti Praenestini, Rome, 6-9 AC, Palazzo Massimo (photo: with permission from Il Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma).

ConstruCting Myths 31

may have been the reason that he chose this particular date rather than 17 February?

Equinox, solstice, victories, birthdays and other important events in the life of Augus-tus provided occasions for the consecration of buildings and the founding of holidays.22 A victory would have been an obvious oc-casion for the consecration of the Augustan temple to Quirinus, since Quirinus was a god of war.23 Yet no victories were registered for 29 June.24 The Emperor’s birthday might also have provided an occasion, as he may

have wished, as suggested by Cassius Dio, to celebrate his 26 years by means of the 26 columns in the temple to Quirinus.25 Augus-tus’ birthday was, however, on 23 Septem-ber, which – according to ancient astrologers – coincided with the birthday of Romulus.26 This day was and is the autumnal equinox. At both the vernal and the autumnal equinox, Augustus’ sundial (Gnomon) would draw a line from the dial in the West to the Altar of Peace (Ara Pacis) in the East. At sunset the ray would touch the entrance with its reliefs

Fig. 2. Fasti Caeretani (in which I have marked the following holidays: * 17 February, QUIRINALIA; ** 23 March, TUBILUSTRUM; *** 21 April, PARILIA), Rome, 12 BC, Musei Capitolini (NCE 2449)(photo: Archivio Fotografico dei Musei Capitolini, Rome).

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of Romulus and Aeneas. The entire cosmic universe thus marked the birthday of the Emperor Augustus and his connections to the legendary founding father and ancestor of Rome in a way which was worthy of a divine ruler.27

The Augustan festival which comes closest to 29 June is 26 June when Augus-tus adopted Tiberius as the successor to the throne.28 Yet in the Fasti Triumphalis in-scriptions, no victories, birthdays or other memorable events are registered for 29 June which could have provided Augustus with an occasion to consecrate the rebuilt temple to Quirinus on that day. According to Cas-sius Dio, Augustus’ imminent departure for Gaul would appear to have been the practi-cal reason for reconsecrating the temple.29 As already mentioned, he does not, however, indicate on what day the event took place.

It is worth noting that the festival “Quir-

ino in Colle” on 29 June is neither regis-tered in the Fasti Maffeiani (8 BC) nor in the Fasti Esquilini (7 BC), both dating from within the same time span as the Fasti Ve-nusini (16 BC – 4 AD), less than ten years after the consecration of the temple. It is also intriguing that Ovid’s poem about 29 June (VI. 795-796) is by far his shortest poem of only two stanzas. By comparison his poem about 17 February runs to 57 stanzas (II. 475-532), while the poem about 21 April is his longest of 141 stanzas (IV. 721-862). Might Ovid’s taciturnity about the cult and the ceremony of 29 June be an indication that the festival occasioned by the consecra-tion of the second temple to Quirinus had almost been forgotten when, between 4 and 7 AD, he wrote his Fasti, in which he often reports in great detail about the ritual which took place on particular festivals? Is it pos-sible that the festival celebrating the recon-

Fig. 3. Fasti Antiates Maiores, Rome, 84-55 BC, Palazzo Massimo (photo: with permission from Il Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma).

ConstruCting Myths 33

secration of the temple to Quirinus ceased a few years later, when the divine founder of Rome, his temple and the foundation of the city had already been celebrated on 17 February and 21 April at two of the greatest festivals of the year? If the Fasti Venusini was written immediately after the consecra-tion of the temple in 16 BC, and the other calendars were not written until ten years later (when the day of consecration was pos-sibly no longer celebrated), it might serve as an explanation of why the festival appears in neither the Fasti Maffeiani nor the Fasti Esquilini. Here the day is not even marked by an N for nefasti (festival), but by an F for fasti (weekday).30

While 17 February was a festival celebrat-ing the divine founding father of Rome, and while the reconsecration of his temple may - for a while at least - have been celebrated on 29 June, the founding of the city itself was celebrated on 21 April. Like the QUIRINA-LIA the foundation day was one of the most important of the 45 holidays. They have both been passed down in all the calendars in which the months of February and April are preserved.31 Both in the Republican and in the Julian calendars, 21 April is marked by PAR or PARIL, which are abbreviations of PARILIA (Fig. 3).32 In the Fasti Antiates Maiores and the Fasti Caeretani among oth-ers, PARILIA is followed by the note “Roma condita. Feriae coronatis omnibus” (Figs. 2 and 3), while in such Late Antique calendars as the Fasti Philocaliani and Polemii Silvii it is referred to as “N Urbis” and “Natalis Urbis Romae”.

Ovid describes PARILIA as a festival of agriculture and purification, celebrated in honour of the god Pales. Judging from his poetic account, the festival of Pales existed before Romulus, who supposedly chose to perform the ritual of consecration in connection with this festival.33 Whether the event originally took place on 21 April is insignificant. The fact is that the foundation of Rome was celebrated on 21 April.34 One of the most spectacular celebrations took place in 248 in occasion of the city’s millennium. Even the Christian Emperor Theodosius I (379-395) issued a dispensation for the celebration of the traditional foundation day, possibly because the idea of Rome as the Eternal City lived on in his own politics; possibly because it was an event celebrating the city rather than its pagan founder Romulus-Quirinus. As it appears from a notice in the Fasti Philocaliani (“Natalis Urbis. Circenses missus XXIIII”) the day was still celebrated with games, circenses, in the fourth century. This practice of celebration continued until 444, when the games in the circus ceased.35 This explains why they are not registered in Polemius Silvius’ calendar of 449, where both “Natalis Urbis” and PARILIA still appear under 21 April.36 The foundation day itself was, in other words, still commemorated after Christianity had become the state religion in 380.37

In the Fasti Praenestini there would ap-pear to be a difference between PARILIA and the foundation day of Rome. 23 March (which was one among the 45 most impor-tant holidays called the TUBILUSTRUM)

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carries the note “Romulus Urbem inaugu-raverit” (Fig. 4). Scholars have attempted to explain this exception with a reference to the Augustan desire to make the founda-tion day coincide with the vernal equinox, in order to make it correspond to Augustus’ birthday which coincided with the autumnal equinox. Vernal equinox is, however, on 21 March rather than on 23 March, but it would

appear that there was some confusion about the exact date, which, according to Ovid, was on 26 March (III. 877-878). According to Professor Carandini, the TUBILUSTRUM might have marked the day when the Augur saw the birds flying from the Aventine Hill as a sign of the gods’ blessing of Romulus and his imminent consecration of Rome. Romulus was then supposed to have ad-

Fig. 4. Fasti Praenestini, Rome, 6-9 AC, Palazzo Massimo (photo: with permission from Il Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma).

ConstruCting Myths 35

dressed the Etruscan priests in order to re-ceive the rules for the initiation ritual which was to take place a month later at the festival of Pales, the PARILIA.38

Amongst the exceptions is also the Fasti Fratrum Arvalium (36-21 BC) in which Quirinus is mentioned in the note “Quir-ino in Colle Volk Comit” for 23 August, when people presumably made sacrifices to Quirinus as part of the festival in hon-our of the god Vulcan, Feriae Volcano.39 Like the QUIRINALIA, the VOLCANALIA was amongst the 45 most important Ne-fasti (festivals). The day is documented in the Fasti Pinciani (VOLC-N Volcano), the Fasti Maffeiani (VOLC NP) and the Fasti Vallenses (VOLCAN NP – “Volcano in Cir-co Flaminio”), but here “Quirino in Colle” is not mentioned.40 Whether the note in the Fasti Venusini might likewise be a reference to a sacrifice to Quirinus on the occasion of another festival is mere guesswork, as no festivals for other gods, rulers, victories, birthdays or natural phenomena are regis-tered for this day.41

The note “Quirino in Colle” appears for 17 February in several calendars, and excep-tionally for 29 June in the Fasti Venusini and 23 August in the Fasti Fratrum Arvalium. It refers to the founding father of Rome, Rom-ulus-Quirinus, and not to the foundation day of Rome on 21 April, whereas the notes “Roma condita […]” and “Natalis Urbis Ro-mae” refer to the foundation itself and not to the founder. Nor does it say “Quirino in Colle” for 23 March, the alternative founda-tion date which appears exclusively in the

Fasti Praenestini.It cannot be dismissed that the conse-

cration festival for the Augustan temple to Quirinus took place on 29 June, and that this is the festival referred to in the Fasti Ve-nusini and in Ovid’s Fasti. Two of the most important holidays of the year had, however, already celebrated the founder of Rome on 17 February, and the foundation of the city on 21 April respectively, so it would not be surprising if the festival on 29 June lost its significance after a few years. There would, in other words, appear to be no evidence for referring to 29 June as “the anniversary of the foundation, or refoundation, of Rome” or “lo stesso giorno in cui i pagani celebra-vano la fondazione di Roma”, as stated in the introductory quotations to this article.

It is therefore problematic to base an ar-gument on the coincidence between 29 June, the reconsecration of the temple to Quiri-nus, the legendary and Christian foundation of Rome, and the dies natalis of Peter and Paul.42 The conflation of these events looks more like an after rationalisation. But how could it have arisen? The claim that 29 June was the foundation day of Rome appears in such a recent publication as the Enciclope-dia dei Papi of 2000 referred to above. It is, however, not supported by any source refer-ences. Huskinson, on the contrary, does refer to a monograph on the Apostle Peter written by Antonio Rimoldi in 1958. It is interesting to pursue this reference, as Rimoldi actually stresses that 29 June was not the foundation day of Rome.43 He states that it may have been the date for the consecration of the

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temple to Quirinus, but does not enter into a discussion of 29 June and 21 April. Rimol-di’s discussion arises out of his criticism of Oscar Cullmann’s claim that “c’est le 29. juin qu’était célébrée la fête anniversaire de la fondation de Rome, Quirinus-Romulus. A cette fête du fondateur de la ville correspon-dit celle des fondateurs de la communauté chrétienne.”44 Cullmann refers to Carl Erbes (1899), but he does not claim 29 June for the foundation date of Rome either. With a ref-erence to the Fasti Venusini, Erbes speaks of this day as a festival for Romulus-Quirinus. Subsequently he maintains that Pope Sixtus II established the cult of the Apostles for the founders of the Church on 29 June 258.45 The reason for Sixtus II’s choice of this par-ticular date was, according to Erbes, that this was the closest available date which had any connection to the founder(s) of Rome. The QUIRINALIA had long passed when the second Valerian edict was issued to immedi-ate effect in the summer of 258.46 This edict commenced the persecution of those priests who refused to perform traditional sacrifices to the imperial cult. Among the persecuted priests were Pope Sixtus II and his six dea-cons, among them St. Lawrence to whom Damasus dedicated his titular church S. Lorenzo in Damaso. Sixtus II was executed on 6 August 258; St. Lawrence followed suit only four days later on 10 August. Damasus honoured both of them with epigrams.

The claim that 29 June was the founda-tion date of Rome consequently appears to have its origins in Cullmann. Cullmann merges Erbes’ thesis – about the connec-

tion between the founder Romulus-Quirinus and the founders of the Church – with the festival celebrating the founding of the city. It would appear that Rimoldi’s criticism of Cullmann’s article has not been registered, since this misunderstanding still circulates in 2000, some forty years after the publica-tion of Rimoldi’s monograph. One inevita-bly wonders why Huskinson allies himself with Cullmann without taking Rimoldi’s argument into consideration, despite his ex-plicit reference to Rimoldi’s work.47

In the very same monograph of 1958, Rimoldi furthermore counters Erbes’ idea of a parallel between the legendary founder Romulus-Quirinus and the founders of the Church, Peter and Paul.48 As quite rightly pointed out by Rimoldi, the parallel be-tween Romulus-Quirinus and Peter and Paul makes no sense, since Romulus and Quirinus were one and the same person. If it were to have made any sense, the paral-lel should have referred to another pair, like Romulus and Remus.49 Charles Pietri has, however, introduced a correspondence be-tween Peter and Paul on the one side and the eastern Dioscuri, the twins Castor and Pol-lux, who became the guardians of Rome, on the other: “Pourquoi s’étonner si Damase, dans son ambition de donner à Rome ses véritables héros et ses vrais patroni, sug-gère de remplacer les Dioscures, encore populaires, par les deux apôtres?”50 This correspondence has recently been resumed by Dennis E. Trout who writes that “They [Peter and Paul] would assume the city’s ce-lestial guardianship, replacing such former

ConstruCting Myths 37

heavenly transplants as Romulus-Quirinus, the Dioscuri, and the deified emperors.”51 Taking their starting point in Pope Dama-sus’ epigram to Peter and Paul, in which the Apostles are referred to as the ‘new stars’, nova sidera,52 Pietri and Trout would appear to suggest that these ‘new stars’ took over the position of the ‘old stars’, i.e. the stellar constellation (“l’image astrale”) of Castor and Pollux. Pietri and Trout thus stress the corresponding characteristics and responsi-bilities of the heroes rather than any corre-spondence between the dates on which the heroes were celebrated. When seen from this angle, Peter and Paul could potentially also correspond to the twins Lares Praes-tites. Like Romulus and Remus they were brought up among wild animals, and like the Dioscuri they took the roles as the guardians of Rome.53 According to Pietri and Trout, this role was taken over by Peter and Paul. The heroic couple of Evander and Hercules could likewise be introduced as correspond-ing founders, in so far as Evander and his retinue supposedly founded a settlement on the hill of Pallantion (i.e. the Palatine Hill) by the Tiber where Hercules paid them a visit.54

These hypothetical correspondences be-tween Peter and Paul, Lares Praestites, the Dioscuri, Evander and Hercules do, however, not reflect any correspondences between the Saints’ day and the festivals for the ancient heroes. The consecration date for the temple to the Dioscuri was 27 January.55 The origi-nal festival days for Lares Praestites were 21 February and 1 May.56 The story of Evander

and Hercules was commemorated on 12 August when the consecration of Hercules’ Ara Maxima, erected by either Evander or Hercules himself, was likewise celebrated.57 As it appears from Ovid’s Fasti (I. 461-581) their story was likewise commemorated on 11 January in connection with one of the 45 great annual festivals, the KARMENTALIA, named after Evander’s mother Carmenta or Carmentis. While the festival on 12 August is not registered in any of the calendars from the fourth and the fifth centuries AD, the memory of the KARMENTALIA was, sur-prisingly enough, still vivid by the mid fifth century, as suggested by the following note in Polemius Silvius’ calendar of 449: “Car-mentalia de nomine matris Evandri. Natalis […] Theodosii Augusti.” One can only spec-ulate on whether the coinciding dates of the Emperor Theodosius’ birthday and the KAR-MENTALIA may have had any influence on this non-Christian festival still being regis-tered in a calendar of 449. The fact is that the story of Evander’s mother, her son and Hercules was still being remembered even after the myth of Romulus’ (and Remus’) founding of Rome had been solidly estab-lished around the third century BC.58 The KARMENTALIA is registered in the Fasti Antiates Maiores, the Fasti Maffeiani and the Fasti Praenestini. Paradoxically enough, it would appear that one founding myth did not preclude the existence of another.

If the Christians had wanted to take over a date which directly associated the founda-tion of Roma Christiana with the legendary foundation of the city, they had a choice

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between 21 April and 23 March (cf. Fasti Praenestini). Had they wanted to associate Peter and Paul with the founding father of Rome, 17 February would appear far more obvious than 29 June. Alternatively, the KARMENTALIA on 11 January was a possi-bility. Had the Christians wished to connect Peter and Paul with the guardians of Rome, they could have taken over the festival of the Dioscuri on 27 January or the Lares Praes-tites festivals on 21 February and 1 May. According to the saints’ calendar, nothing, however, took place on those dates.59 It may well be that the priests deliberately avoided any dispositions on these traditional Roman

festivals, partly in order to avoid any com-peting festivals, partly not to give rise to any unrest. We know of similar discretions from the Emperor Constantine who presumably erected the first Christian basilicas outside the monumental city centre of Rome, in or-der not to provoke the aristocratic elite by building churches side by side with the tem-ples.60

Carl Erbes may have been right when suggesting that, because of the persecutions introduced in Valerian’s second edict, it be-came impossible to postpone the transfer-ral of the bodies of the Apostles to the most important festivals in the spring of the fol-

Fig. 5. Plan of the S. Sebastiano complex at the Via Appia showing the plan of the circus-shaped basilica as well as the catacomb beneath it, Rome, fourth century (Archivio Disegni, Pontificia Commissione di Archeologia Sacra, Rome).

ConstruCting Myths 39

lowing year. He concludes that 29 June was the closest available date connected with the founders of Rome. The question is, however, whether the significance of the festival of “Quirino in Colle” was still so vivid in the collective memory by 258 that an appropria-tion would have made any sense? This seems questionable in the light of the taciturnity which even 250 years previously character-ised Ovid’s brief poem about this date. Such brevity may well speak for itself.

Given the seriousness of the persecutions, it made little sense to waste any time on con-sidering which dates to move the relics in order to create continuity between the legen-dary and the Christian founders of Rome. In the following, the implications of this date will step into the background, to make room for a sketch of the actual significance of 29 June within the Roman-Catholic Church.

29 June in the Christian Calendar: Dies na-talis Petri et Pauli?The first time 29 June is mentioned in the Christian source material is in the part of the Fasti Philocaliani (336-354) called the Depositio Martyrum.61 It consists of a list of the burial places and the death days of pri-marily Roman martyrs – dies natales. For 29 June on this list we find the following note: “III KAL. IUL. Petri in Catacumbas et Pauli Ostense Tusco et Basso cons.” From this we may infer that Peter and Paul were celebrated on 29 June (the third day before the kalends of July), since Tusco and Bas-so were consuls, i.e. in 258 when Sixtus II was Pope.62 We are furthermore informed

that Peter was celebrated “in catacumbas”, while Paul was celebrated “in Ostense”, i.e. in the Via Ostiense where Paul supposedly was beheaded and buried.63 “In catacum-bas” refers to the toponym ad catacumbas, which was the name of the Christian burial ground underneath the present Basilica of S. Sebastiano in the Via Appia outside the Ro-man city walls (Fig. 5). Not until the ninth century did this toponym become a common denomination for the type of subterranean burial place of which there were about 60 in Rome by the fourth century, namely the catacombs.64

Under S. Sebastiano more than 600 in-scriptions have been found which testify to the fact that since the middle of the third century both Apostles had been worshipped “in catacumbas” in the part of the burial ground which was later called the triclia.65 In these graffiti Peter and Paul appear side by side in the believers’ prayers to them (Fig. 6). Amongst the believers was the man Sozomenus who visited the triclia on 22 June (ten days before the kalends of July): X KL iulias Paule Petre in mente habete Soze-menum et tu leges.66 Other graffiti like Petro et Paulo Tomius Coelius refrigerium feci[t] recount how the ritual meal, the refrigerium, took place here.67 This meal belonged to the private cult, and judging from the graf-fiti which indicate a date, it would appear to have taken place all the year round, while the official Eucharist liturgy was presum-ably only being celebrated on 29 June.68 It has been much discussed what provided the occasion for the rise of this cult. The main

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points in this discussion will be summed up in the following.69

In the biography of Pope Cornelius (251-253) in the Liber Pontificalis (compiled ca. 530) we find the following version:

[…] at the request of a certain lady Lucina, he took up the bodies of the apostles Saints Pe-ter and Paul from the catacombs at night; in fact first of all the blessed Lucina took the body of St. Paul and put it on her estate on the Via Ostiensis close to the place where he was beheaded; the blessed bishop Cornelius took the body of St. Peter and put it close to the place where he was

crucified […], on the Mons Aureus, on the Vati-can at Nero’s palace, on 29 June.70

Abbé Duchesne was, however, of the im-pression that Peter and Paul had originally been buried close to the place where they died and that, during the Valerian persecu-tions in 258, they had been removed to the Via Appia because people were fearing for the safety of the relics. Duchesne’s expla-nation, which is generally accepted, is the most plausible one, if one is to believe the testimonial given by the Roman Christian Gaius in the second century: “If you will

Fig. 6. Graffiti in the catacomb beneath the S. Sebastiano complex. Among them Sozomenus’ prayer to Peter and Paul: X KL iulias Paule Petre in mente habete Sozemenum et tu leges. Rome, third-fourth century (photo: Pontificia Commissione di Archeologia Sacra, Rome).

ConstruCting Myths 41

go to the Vatican or to the Ostian way, you will find the trophies of those who laid the foundations of this church.”71 Gaius men-tions no Apostolic tomb “in catacumbas” where Peter, according to the later Deposi-tio Martyrum was supposedly celebrated. In the Apostolorum Passio hymn from the beginning of the 380s it is suggested that the Apostles were celebrated in three different places.72 This is confirmed by the liturgical calendar Martyrologium Hieronymianum of 431-50 according to which Peter was celebrated on the Mons Vaticanus, Paul at Ostiense and both “in catacumbas”: “III KL. IUL. Romae natale sanctorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli. Petri Via Aurelia in Vaticano. Paulo vero in Via Ostensi. Utrumque in ca-tacumbas, (passi sub Nerone), Basso et Tu-sco consulibus.”73 The information given in the Depositio Martyrum and in the Martyr-ologium Hieronymianum are thus not in ac-cordance with one another. It may well be that they reflect two different situations. In 336, when the first compilation of the Fasti Philocaliani (which contains the Depositio Martyrum) took place, Paul had apparently been moved to the modest Constantinian Basilica of Paul whereas the monumental Basilica of St. Peter presumably had not yet been consecrated.74 It is therefore possible that Peter was still being worshipped in the so-called Memoria Apostolorum Basilica which by the beginning of the fourth centu-ry was superimposed upon the triclia in the Via Appia.75 The separation of the Apostles may thus have resulted in a similar separa-tion of the cult of the Apostles in the Via Ap-

pia until Damasus resumed it and placed the monumental epigram dedicated to Peter and Paul to which I shall return shortly.76

As for 29 June, the issues up for discus-sion are partly when and where the Apostles were worshipped, and partly whether this date did at all refer to the day of the Apostles’ deaths, or whether it simply marked a tem-porary translation of their relics to or from the Via Appia, if such a translation ever took place.77 These issues have been much de-bated, partly because there is no evidence to prove that the Apostles actually died on 29 June. In Gaul the death of the Apostles was celebrated on 22 February, whereas the Ori-ental Church, according to a martyrology of 411, celebrated the day on 28 December and regarded 29 June as the date of the transla-tion.78

The fact is that a cult of the Apostles – with or without translation – arose ad cat-acumbas about 100 years before Damasus became Pope. He either passed on or re-sumed this tradition by marking the day, the cult and the Apostolic agreement – concor-dia apostolorum – with a cenotaph to Peter and Paul in the form of a metric epigram, as is stated in the life of the Pope in the Liber Pontificalis: “At the Catacombs, the place where lay the bodies of the apostles St. Pe-ter and St. Paul, he adorned with verses the actual tablet at the place where the holy bod-ies lay.”79 The implications behind the posi-tioning of this epigram in the basilica in the Via Appia – and not elsewhere – will be the central issue of the next section.

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Concordia Apostolorum. The Myth of the Christian Foundation of Rome on 29 June“You should know that two saints used to dwell here (Hic habitasse/habitare prius sanctos cognoscere debes, v. 1).” So Dama-sus begins his poem to the Apostles.80 “Their names which you seek are Peter and Paul (nomina quisq. Petri pariter Paulique requiris, v. 2). The East sent us her disci-ples whom we willingly receive (discipulos Oriens misit, quod sponte fatemur, v. 3).81 By the merit of blood (sanguinis ob meritum, v. 4), they followed Christ to the higher spheres through the stars to the realm of the pious (Xpumq. per astra secuti / aetherios petiere sinus regnaque piorum, v. 5).” Since God let Peter and Paul receive their martyrdom in Rome “this city was far more deserving than any other city of claiming the two Apostles for its honorary citizens (Roma suos potius meruit defendere cives, v. 6). Damasus here conveys your praises to the new stars (Haec Damasus vestras referat nova sidera laudes, v. 7).”

Sadly, the Apostolic epigram has been lost, but the stanzas have been handed down in several pilgrim itineraries, amongst them the so-called Sylloge Laureshamensis (821-846) from the monastery in Lorsch in Ger-many.82 During his visit to the so-called Me-moria Apostolorum, a pilgrim had copied the inscription which had in all likelihood been placed at the altar. The altar was close to the entrance to the crypt where the Apos-tles’ communal place of worship was, the place previously referred to as the triclia.83 At the beginning of the fourth century, the

tomb and the crypt were, however, bur-ied under the 70 meter long circus-shaped basilica which was later consecrated to St. Sebastian.84 The Damasian inscription thus marked the original place in which Peter and Paul had been worshipped more than a hundred years previously.85 The Apostles’ contact with this place (v. 1) had invested it with a sacred atmosphere which it was in the Pope’s best interest to preserve – or possibly rather to resume, if we recognise the infor-mation in the Depositio Martyrum that at the beginning of the fourth century the Apostles were worshipped individually, “in catacum-bas” and “in ostense” respectively.86 The es-sence of the Papal project was to preserve and retrace the martyrs. The purpose of this project was to secure the memory of the leg-ends about the martyrs, then on the point of perdition. He therefore composed numerous verses and had them carved in marble tablets that were erected close to the martyr tombs.

Although the physical traces of the early place of worship had disappeared, a kind of architectonic continuity was preserved, since the inscription was placed close to the crypt which marked the original place of worship. This position was quite atypical for Damasus who often placed his epigrams in subterranean crypts (Pl. I). The pilgrim’s experience of a visit must necessarily have been different in the 2000 square metre large and well lit processional hall of the Apos-tolic Basilica from a visit to the subterrane-an crypts of 10-15 square metres to which you arrived after having winded your way through the dark labyrinthine corridors, as

ConstruCting Myths 43

described by Prudentius:

Into its hidden depths a downward path shows the way by turning, winding steps, with the help of light from a source unseen […]; then as you go forward easily you see the dark night but you find openings let into the roof far above, so as to throw bright rays down into the chasm. How-ever doubtful you may feel of this fabric of nar-row halls running back on either hand in dark-some galleries, still through the holes pierced in the vault many a gleam of light makes its way down to the hollow interior of the disembow-elled mount, and thus underground it is granted to see the brightness of a sun which is not there, and have the benefit of its light.87

Such an atmosphere could not be created in the space surrounding the Apostolic epi-gram which merely marked where the lost triclia had been. Cultic and liturgical conti-nuity prevailed, however, partly because the refrigerium was still being celebrated within the framework of the private cult, and partly because the Eucharist liturgy for the two Apostles was probably celebrated here on 29 June. We must presume that on this occa-sion Damasus gave a sermon and read aloud the Apostolic epigram. Reciting inscriptions and texts was common practice, since si-lent reading was generally not much used before the Middle Ages, with a few excep-tions such as St. Ambrose whose silent read-ing intrigued St. Augustine so much that he suspected St. Ambrose of either wishing to conceal the content of his book or of wish-ing to rest his voice.88 When Damasus read

the epigram aloud, he could stress its direct appeal to the believer (cognoscere debes and requires) in the first two stanzas of the poem and hence promote the proliferation of the message carried by the epigram. But what was this message? When seen in the light of the foundation myth of Roma Chris-tiana, the essential part of this inscription is Damasus’ declaration that “more than any other city” Rome fully deserved “to claim Peter and Paul for its honorary citizens” (v. 6), despite their Eastern origins (v. 3). This was justified by the two Apostles having met their martyrs’ deaths in Rome (v. 4 and 5). He thereby maintains that more than any other city Rome has the supreme prior claim as the highest Apostolic See. This was also given to Rome officially at the Ecumenical Council in Constantinople in 381, when it was agreed that the Bishop of Constantino-ple was allotted the rank just under that of Rome in the ecclesiastical hierarchy.89 The question is whether Damasus composed his Apostolic epigram before or after the Ecu-menical Council in 381. Did the epigram confirm the recently established hierarchy, or was it an attempt to obtain a position of sovereignty in the form of the primateship (Lat. primatus, first rank)?90

On the basis of the decisions reached at the Ecumenical Council, Damasus con-structed a myth about the foundation of Roma Christiana on 29 June. The central message of this Damasian myth, reflected in the epigram to the Apostles, was to empha-sise that they had jointly and equally founded the Roman Church. Such equality between

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Peter and Paul is remarkable and novel. The Roman Church had so far not exposed Paul on an equal footing with Peter, presumably because Paul was not among the Disciples of Christ.91 Damasus created a special pro-file for Rome as a diocese by promoting the Apostles as an inseparable pair, supple-menting one another: Peter was the rock, the representative of the faith and the preacher of the Jews; Paul was the messenger of the Doctrine and the preacher of the Gentiles.92 This inseparability was of great importance for Damasus’ interpretation of the Apostolic agreement – concordia apostolorum – and for Peter and Paul’s joint foundation of the Roman-Catholic Church due to their mar-tyrdom on the same day.

Ever since Clement Romanus (30-100) had written to the congregation in Corinth around 97, the bishops of Rome had main-tained that the Roman Catholic Church rest-ed on the blood of the Apostles Peter and Paul.93 Damasus’ predecessor Liberius (352-366) also had the Apostles’ foundation of the Roman diocese in mind when he supposedly commissioned the, now severely restored, mosaics for the niches in S. Costanza (Pl. II). Here Christ is flanked by Peter and Paul, the lambs and the symbolic representations of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Iconographic representations of the pair also begin to ap-pear at around this time (350-360), as can be seen from miniature art (in glass, bronze and ivory) and from reliefs on sarcophagi, cata-comb paintings and mosaics.94 The idea of concordia found iconographic expression in the double portrait of the two Apostles as can

be seen in several vetri dorati – small glasses whose bottoms are decorated with gold (Pl. III). The Apostle motifs became highly pop-ular, not least during Damasus’ pontificate where his own portrait occasionally figures side by side with those of Peter and Paul (Pl. IV). One can only speculate on whether this might have been a way of stressing or sign-ing his revised interpretation of the concor-dia apostolorum. Whatever may have been their exact significance, the Apostolic mo-tifs continued their existence for centuries, irrespective of the liturgical and theological roles which Peter and Paul played together, as well as separately.95

In his approach to the Apostolic agree-ment and the foundation of the Roman-Catholic Church, Damasus differed from his predecessors, none of whom had yet con-nected these matters with the discussion of the primateship of Rome or her sovereignty. Before Damasus the Roman diocese had been regarded as an Apostolic seat, but not as the Apostolic See that he desired to make it.96 The legitimization of such a sovereign position was the equality of Peter and Paul and their joint foundation of the Roman-Catholic Church which took place when they received martyrdom in Rome – not in Constantinople, Alexandria or Antioch.97 The Apostles had been joined by their simul-taneous presence in Rome, by a joint dies natalis, a joint place of worship and possibly also a joint place of burial, and it was on the background of this Roman ‘construct’ that Damasus was able to proclaim that Rome had obtained her primateship.

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There is, however, a certain discrepancy with respect to the idea of concordia. On the one hand, the Apostles were equals as they founded the Roman Church by receiving their glorious deaths in Rome on the same day. On the other hand, Peter and Paul could not share the post as the first Bishop of Rome; a post which belonged solely to Peter.98 Not many years would pass before Paul was again placed in the shadow of Peter, since Damasus’ successors again stressed Peter’s primateship, just like his predecessors had done.99

Dilemma or no dilemma; the concordia construct had a remarkable effect, as re-flected not merely in the iconography of the time, but also in its architecture. The idea for a new Pauline memoria was most prob-ably conceived at the first Roman Council in 382.100 This led to the construction of the three Emperors’ (Theodosius, Gratian and Valentinian II) Basilica of St. Paul, designed to replace the smaller Constantinian struc-ture which could not match the Basilica of St. Peter.101 But apart from these two sepul-chral basilicas, the Memoria Apostolorum also became a significant site, since Dama-sus decided to mark it by means of a ceno-taph.102 The cult place thus regained – for a time at least – its raison d’être as a commu-nal memoria for Peter and Paul.

During Damasus’ pontificate, the deaths of Peter and Paul were thus celebrated on 29 June. As already mentioned, it cannot be as-certained whether he continued or resumed the older liturgical tradition which had been documented in the Depositio Martyrum and

also ad catacumbas. The epigram which he placed there supplemented the information from the calendars and the architectonic framework of the cult with accounts which primarily derived from the apocryphal Acts of the Apostles in which the actual date of 29 June is not mentioned. Damasus enlarged the tradition of the Apostles’ association with Rome by stressing their inseparability and equality in his emphasis that they were celebrated as martyrs on the same day. To-gether with the idea of their Roman “citi-zenship”, this was designed to legitimise the supreme status of Rome as the Apostolic See within the Christian world, a status the Roman diocese no longer intended to share with the other patriarchies.

During Damasus’ reign the celebration of 29 June took place in the three basilicas in the Via Appia, the Via Cornelia and the Via Ostiense. Here the pilgrims took part in liturgical ceremonies, and in the basilica in the Via Appia they probably listened to the recitation of the Apostolic epigram. Some even copied it into their diaries. In addition they could purchase small vetri dorati, the gilt bottom of which were decorated with double portraits of Peter and Paul in concor-dia (Pl. III).103 On the occasion of 29 June it even became the custom for Christians to donate to friends and family such a glass upon which had been engraved the exhorta-tion “Pie Zeses” (“drink and live”) as a ref-erence to the function of these small glasses at libation sacrifices in connection with the refrigerium (Pl. III).104

Both the Apostolic epigram and the gold

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glasses contributed towards the spreading of the Papal message by ‘naturalising’ the myth of the saints’ day, the cult of the martyrs and the foundation of Roma Christiana.105 ‘To spread’ is the original meaning of the term ‘propaganda’ (from the Latin verb propa-gare), and it is widely believed that Dama-sus used the epigrams and the gold glasses as means of propaganda. When Huskinson refers to the glasses as “weapons of prop-aganda”, and when Carletti describes the epigrams as “strumenti di propaganda” their terms produce negative connotations with respect to the objects concerned as well as to the ambitions of Damasus.106 These conno-tations of ‘propaganda’ have primarily their origin in the use of the term ever since the First and the Second World Wars. Damasus’ use of the decree, the epigrams and the gold glasses – with or without the Papal portrait (Pl. III and IV) - in order to convince the competing patriarchies of Constantinople, Alexandria and Antioch that the Roman Church was worthy of its primateship does, however, not turn him into a propagandist. He was merely an educated man who under-stood how to employ visual as well as rhetor-ical effects in order to spread and naturalise his message.107 It is therefore my conviction that the mechanism of naturalisation, which Roland Barthes called ‘myth’, offers a far less value-laden perspective on Damasus’ strategies than does the term ‘propaganda’.

Myth as a Construct of Memory and a Mechanism of NaturalisationAccording to Barthes, ‘myth’ is a mechanism,

which makes historical constructions look like natural ones by way of associative relations.108 Taking my starting point in the Barthesian theory of myth as a mechanism of naturalisation, I should like to employ the term ‘myth’ to the Damasian foundation history.

The naturalisation of historical construc-tions is Barthes’ primary objection against the phenomenon of myth as launched in his book Mythologies (1957). In this book he defines myth as “[…] pas par l’objet de son message, mais per la façon dont il le profère […].”109 Barthes did not focus on the con-tents of myths, but rather on their form and function. “Le mythe est une parole”, he wrote.110 It is a system or a mechanism of communication, significance and memory. Barthes held that the people subjected to myth, conceived of the relation between ex-pression and intension as a natural relation, not as a historically constructed one.111

When Damasus’ project is viewed in the light of this, albeit summary, version of Bar-thes’ theory, the Roman congregation and the pilgrims become subjected to myth. The imaginary spectator did not conceive of the Apostles’ joint dies natalis, the martyr acts and their relation to the Christian foundation of Rome in terms of a historically construed relation, but rather as a fact of nature. It is this naturalisation of meaning which Barthes ob-jects against. He maintains that “Le rapport qui unit le concept du mythe au sens est es-sentiellement un rapport de déformation.”112 The reason for this is that mythical meaning, as construed by the producer of the myth,

ConstruCting Myths 47

pretends to be a matter of fact.113 This was what Damasus did when, as the producer of the myth, he discreetly concealed lacunae in some of the legends about the deaths of the martyrs which had been passed down orally, and when, with the expression Credite per Damasum, he pretended that these legends were true.114 In this sense Damasus’ project takes the form of a myth, as a mechanism of significance which achieved the naturali-sation of a historical construct; a construct which revolved around Peter and Paul as joint founders of Roma Christiana by their deaths on the same day. The means of re-alising and naturalising this historical con-struct were the epigrams, the gold glasses, the martyr tombs, the subterranean crypts and the basilicas, together with the Latin translation of Paul’s letters, the Hebrew Bi-ble and the mass which had until then been celebrated in Greek. Each in their way these objects, writings, rituals and spaces can be conceived as systems of communication and mechanisms generating meaning, spreading the papal message and contributing towards a naturalisation of the Christian legend of the foundation in the memory of the users.

When seen from this angle, the relation between history and memory is reciprocal. If, however, Damasus’ historical construct is viewed through Maurice Halbwach’s theory of collective memory, the relation between history and memory becomes a relation of opposites.115 This relation has its roots in the view that as long as the memory of an event is vivid in the collective memory, there is no need to fix it in writing.116 On the contrary,

when memory is no longer vivid, there is a need to write it down. The distance to the past makes room for the construction of his-tory. If you transfer this to Damasus’ project, it is obvious that a noticeable distance had entered to the time of the persecutions and the martyrs, a time which Damasus de-scribed in the frequently appearing meta-phorical phrase: tempore quo gladius secuit pia viscera matris.117 (Burial) sites had been forgotten and the fixing in writing of the orally transmitted evidence had begun when Damasus had them carved in stone. Ac-cording to Halbwachs, events which previ-ously existed in the collective memory will slowly be transformed into imaginary and fictitious episodes and periods.118 This was the case with the macabre executions which had almost become absent in the collective memory, and which instead found their way into the poetic universe of Damasus. The Pope’s rewriting of history was, however, at the same time materially rooted in the architecture. The crypts and the epigrams were to contribute towards the creation of a Christian historical awareness of the past, since the collective memory in a Halbwach-sian sense could no longer be kept alive. It is interesting that Abbé Duchesne has called the Damasian epigrams devoid of history (“vides d’histoire”), when their form, con-tents and contexts appear so full of legends, myths, stories and constructs.119

Another aspect of the Barthesian theory about myth, of great methodological rel-evance in my analysis, is that which Barthes en passant calls the mythologie du mytho-

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logue, i.e. the scholars’ own myths.120 This notion is central to my uncovering of the scholars’ myth about the reputed interrela-tionship between the celebration of Peter and Paul on 29 June, the foundation day of Rome and Romulus-Quirinus. As dem-onstrated, the myth created by Damasus about the foundation of Roma Christiana on 29 June was, however, neither indicative of propaganda nor a direct takeover of the foundation day of Rome.

Conclusion. The Deconstruction of the Con-struct at the Time of Pope Gregory and Pope Honorius in the sixth and seventh century“When so much else falls into silence, mon-uments remain” - writes Dennis E. Trout.121 It is tempting to agree with him when faced with one of the few intact Damasian monu-ments such as the epigram to St. Agnes (Fig. 7).122 Sadly, things are not quite so. Several Damasian inscriptions perished during the fifth- and sixth-century invasions by the Visi- and Ostrogoths, the Vandals and the Longobards, as witnessed by Pope Vigilius (537-555),123 who restored them, and from

the mid seventh century the Damasian epi-grams no longer played a significant role in the martyr cult. They were therefore unscru-pulously hacked into pieces and employed as spolia in the marble-paved floors, as was the case with the Hippolytus epigram which was adapted to fit the pattern of the cosmatesque pavement in the Lateran Basilica in the fif-teenth century.124 Several have been lost and are only known from the pilgrims’ copies in their itineraries from the seventh to the ninth centuries.125 The epigram to St. Agnes is one of the few preserved because it was recycled in one piece and placed front down in the pavement of the ad corpus basilica which Pope Honorius (625-638) built over the tomb of the female saint. After having decorated the martyr’s tomb for almost 300 years, Damasus’ epigram was taken down. For the very same reason it is not mentioned in any of the itineraries from after the mid seventh century. Only 1100 years later it was discovered by Giovanni Marangoni.126

The pontificate of Gregory the Great (590-604) was also of importance for the de-construction of Damasus’ work. The equal-

Fig. 7. Damasian epigram to S. Agnes, S. Agnese fuori le mura, Rome, 366-384 (photo: Pontificia Commissione di Archeologia Sacra, Rome).

ConstruCting Myths 49

ity of the Apostles, which he had stressed in order to convince the Christian world of Rome’s primateship, was annulled. As soon as the primateship had been secured, the Apostolic pair began to lose their liturgi-cal significance, and Damasus’ successors again emphasised Peter’s primateship, just as his predecessors had done. Gregory the Great had even the celebration of Paul’s dies natalis moved from 29 June to 30 June.127

This significant separation is commented upon in a sermon of the seventh century.128 Here it is reduced to a merely practical is-sue, namely that it was supposedly difficult to make the congregation attend mass in both the Basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul on the same day. The sermons of Leo the Great (440-461) testify to the fact that the Church was competing against such other kinds of traditional entertainment as the theatre, since Leo complains over the fact that “mad spectacles draw greater crowds than blessed martyrs.”129 But no matter how great may have been the challenges encoun-tered by the popes in terms of capturing the attention of the congregation, one would have believed that the celebration of the

Apostle’s death could not be moved all that easily. Gregory did so, however, because he intended to promote Peter’s supreme po-sition as the founder of the Church.130 By separating the saint’s days he had created a new official construct, thus superimpos-ing Damasus’ myth which was not merely attached to Peter’s primateship, but to the Apostles’ joint foundation of Roma Chris-tiana on 29 June.

Gitte LønstrupM.A. & Ph.D.-fellow

Aarhus UniveristyDepartment of Church History

Taasingegade 3DK-8000 Århus C

gl@teo.au.dk

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54 gitte lønstrup

1 I would like to thank the Princess Margrethe and Queen Ingrid Foundations for awarding me scholarships for the Danish Academy in Rome during 2005 and 2006. I would also like to thank the New Carlsberg Foundation for financing the illustrations of this article, and the Elisabeth Munksgaard Scholarship for financing its translation into English by Dr. Lene Østermark-Johansen.

2 Huskinson 1982, 82. It is worth noting that Nova Roma here refers to Rome rather than Constantinople, although the latter was also often referred to in that term. The foundation day of Constantinople was, however, celebrated on 11 May.

3 The foundation day of 21 April is registered in the Republican calendar Fasti Antiates Maiores (84-55 BC) and in such Julian-Augustan calendars as the Fasti Caeretani (12 BC) and the Fasti Esquilini (post 7 AD), as well as the Fasti Philocaliani (354 AD) and the Fasti Polemii Silvii (449 AD). Amongst the ancient writers referring to the foundation day on 21 April are Varro (116-27 BC) quoted by Solinus (fourth century AD): “Ut affirmat Varro auctor diligentissimus, Romam condidit Romulus […], duodeviginti annos natus undecimo kalends Maias” (I. 18); Ovid (43 BC-17/18 AD) IV. 806; Plutarch (46-120 AD) XII. 1 and Asinus Quadratus (third century AD) who described the millennium of the city on 21 April 248. His History of a Thousand Years is, however, lost to us. A lecture of 29 October 2006 in the Roman Auditorium by Professor Carandini on the significance of 21 April can be downloaded at http://www.laterza.it/novita/lezionidistoria.asp For the annulment of holidays in 389, see Codex Theodosianus II. 8. 19-22. See also Salzman 1990, 155; Lim 1999, 279.

4 Enciclopedia dei Papi 2000, 362.5 The names of saints, popes and emperors are as far as possible given in English and Latin (St. Agnes, St.

Sebastian, Damasus, Augustus, Constantine), whereas the names of basilicas and catacombs are mentioned by their Italian place names (e.g. S. Agnese fuori le mura (f.l.m.), S. Sebastiano, S. Callisto).

6 Damasus’ poems were carved in stone by Furius Dionysius Filocalus who signed both several of the epigrams and the frontispiece of the Fasti Philocaliani, named after him.

7 For the itinera ad sanctos (the routes to the holy martyr tombs in the catacombs), see Fiocchi Nicolai 1995.8 In Ezechiel 12, 40 (in: PL 25, 375): “[…] crebroque cryptas ingredi, quae in terrarum profunda defossae, ex

utraque parte ingredientium per parietes habent corpora sepultorum et ita obscura sunt omnia, ut propemodum illud propheticum compleatur: Descendant ad infernum viventes (Ps. Liv, 16): et raro desuper lumen admissum horrorem temperet tenebrarum, ut non tam fenestram, quam foramen demissi luminis putes: rursumque pedetentim acceditur, et caeca nocte circumdatis illud Virgilianum proponitur (Aeneid. Lib. II.): ‘Horror ubique animos, simut ipsa silentia terrent’.”

9 See Fasti Philocaliani (354).10 For this aspect, see also Trout 2003, 524.11 Barthes 1957, 215-216. I shall return to the discussion of Barthesian myth later in this article. 12 See Michels 1978; Brind’amour 1983; Invernizzi 1994; Hannah 2005. 13 Invernizzi 1994, 30 and 36. The traditional caristia festival on 22 February was for example appropriated by

the Christian natale Petri de cathedra. For St. Augustine’s commentary on this appropriation, see epistles 22 and 29 (in: PL 33). See also Ferrua 1956, IV, 134.

14 44 of them are published in Inscriptiones Italiae XIII. 2 and CIL I. Ovid’s Fasti is in addition to these.15 VI. 795-6: “Tot restant de mense dies, quot nomina Parcis, cum data sunt trabeae templa, Quirine, tuae.”

English translation of quotations from Ovid by Frazer, LCL 1976.

tion), London. 1958 Fasti, Bömer, F., Heidelberg.1976 Fasti, LCL, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

London.

Pharr, C. 1952 The Theodosian Code and Novels and the

Sirmondian Constitutions, Princeton.

Plutarch, M.1914 Vitae Romuli. LCL, London & New York.

Prudentius, A. C. 1953 Peristephanon, LCL, London & Cambridge.

Vitruvius (Marcus Vitruvius Pollio)1999 Ten Books on Architecture, Rowland, I. D. &

Dewar, M. J. (eds.), Cambridge.

NOTES

ConstruCting Myths 55

16 QUIRINALIA is documented as the 17th day of the month of februarius in: Fasti Antiates Maiores, Fasti Caeretani, Fasti Maffeiani, Fasti Philocaliani and Fasti Polemii Silvii, and in the Codex Vaticano Barberini 2154 and the Codex Vaticano Latino 9135, which contain calendars from the time of Constantine until 403.

17 According to my correspondence with Michele Salzman: “Quirinus was made the equivalent of Romulus – in a rather nebulous way – as another founder of Rome, from the third century BC on.” See also Ovid II. 475: “[...] qui tenet hoc nomen, Romulus ante fuit […].” (“[…] he who owns this name [Quirinus] was Romulus before […].”).

18 Ovid (II. 533): “Est honor et tumulis.” (“Honour is paid, also, to the tombs.”).19 Codex Theodosianus II. 8. 19-22; Salzman 1990, 155; Lim 1999, 279.20 Livy (X. 46. 7) mentions briefly L. P. Cursor’s triumph and dedication of the temple, but he does not mention

where or when. See also Ovid’s Fasti 1929, 343-44; 1958, 365; 1976, 382; Richardson 1992, 326-327; LTUR, 185-187.

21 Dio LIV. 19. 3.22 16 January 10 AD became a holiday when Augustus consecrated the temple of Concordia. In 38 BC 17 January

became a holiday in celebration of Augustus’ and Augusta’s wedding anniversary. 4 July became a holiday at the consecration of the Ara Pacis in 13 BC. Cf. Judge 1987, 59-63.

23 Wissowa 1912, 154. 24 The closest victories are on 1 August 30 BC and 14 August 29 BC. Cf. Judge 1987, 59-63. As a consequence

of these victories, and because Augustus was proclaimed consul for the first time in August, the Republican month of sextilis was renamed and called after him – after 16 January 27 BC when Octavian was given the name of Augustus.

25 Dio LIV. 19. 3. Vitruvius III. 2. 7. Augustus’ birthday is registered as a holiday in the Fasti Maffeiani (CIL I, 225): “Augusti natalis LUD CIRC.”

26 See Rehak 2001, 15 for the astrologer Publius Nigidius Figulus’ calculation of the birthdays of Romulus and Augustus at the autumnal equinox. This theory is challenged by Brind’amour 1983, 240-49; Hannah 2005, 125.

27 Rehak 2001, 7. Equinox is on 21 March and 23 September.28 Fasti Amiterni (in: Inscriptiones Italiae XIII. 2); Michels 1978, 176: “26. a.d. V Kal. Quinct. = a.d. VI Kal.

Iul. anni Iuliani. NP. Feriae ex s. [c.q]uod e[o] die [imp. Caes(ar)] Augus[tus ado]p[tav]it [sibi] filiu[m Ti. Caesarem] Aelio [et Sentio cos]. AMIT.”

29 Dio LIV. 19.30 The days were divided into five categories marked by the following abbreviations: F (Fasti, workdays or court

days), N (Nefasti, festivals), C (Comitiales, workdays when the popular assembly, comitia, would meet), EN (Endotercisi, festival at the beginning and the end of the day, but workday in the middle of the day) and NP, the full significance of which is not quite clear, but which almost consistently follows the ides and festivals of the months. See Invernizzi 1994, 13.

31 See the following Fasti: Antiates Maiores, Ostiensis, Caeretani, Maffeiani, Esquilini, Praenestini, Philocaliani and Polemii Silvii.

32 In such calendars as the Fasti Praenestini, Fasti Maffeiani and Fasti Ostiensis the festival of 21 April is only indicated by the capital letters PAR[ILIA]. Invernizzi 1994, 14.

33 Ovid IV. 819-20. The ritual consisted in the marking of the pomerium, also called the moenia: “Apta dies legitur, qua moenia signet aratro. Sacra Palis suberant: inde movetur opus.” (“A suitable day was chosen on which he should mark out the line of the walls with the plough. The festival of Pales was at hand; on that day the work began.”). See also Dionysius of Halicarnassus (first century BC) I. 88. 3, who has reservations about whether the festival existed before Romulus.

34 Cf. Solinus I. 18; Ovid IV; 806; Plutarch I. XII. 35 Salzman 1990, 122 table 2.36 The event is, however, not mentioned in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum.37 According to the Cunctos Populos edict, issued by the Emperor Theodosius in 380, “the faith which Peter

passed on to the Romans and which Pope Damasus continues” was recognised as the state religion. Cf. Codex Theodosianus XVI. 1. 2. Mommsen & Meyer 1905, 477: “De fide Catholica”, titulum I. II.

38 Cf. Prof. Carandini’s lecture of 29 October 2006. MP3: http://www.laterza.it/novita/lezionidistoria.asp. As for the sign of the flying birds, see Dionysius of Halicarnassus I. 85 and Ovid IV. 812-819, where it would likewise appear to be an event preceding 21 April; Wiseman 1995, 6-8.

56 gitte lønstrup

39 CIL I, 215.40 These are the only three calendars, apart from the Fasti Fratrum Arvalium, in which 23 August is

documented.41 There are similar examples from Diana’s festival on 13 August when people also made sacrifices to the Dioscuri

and other gods “in circo Flaminio”.42 According to Christian terminology, dies natalis means day of death, since you were born to eternal life on that

day.43 Rimoldi 1958, 34.44 Cullmann 1952, 116.45 Erbes 1899, 39. 46 Haas 1983, 133-144. The first edict of 257 prohibited any kind of Christian adoration. The previous edict issued

by Decius (249-51) prohibited any frequenting of cemeteries.47 Pietri 1961, 311. Although Pietri’s article appeared three years after Rimoldi’s (1958) he still quotes Cullmann’s

argument: “[…] le 29. juin était célébrée la fête anniversaire de la fondation de Rome, Quirinus-Romulus.”48 Rimoldi 1958, 34. See also Cullmann 1952, 116. Cullmann refers to both Erbes and Mohlberg. Mohlberg

(1952, 64-65) introduces the coincidence between 29 June, the festival of Romulus-Quirinus, the Feast of the Apostles in the Via Appia and the date for the funeral of Pope Novatian, together with the role played by St. Quirinus during the fifth and sixth centuries. It never becomes clear, however, which significance this saint may have had for 29 June.

49 As a founding figure Remus was, however, inferior to Romulus-Quirinus, the divine founder of Rome. On Remus, cf. Ovid IV. 835-856.

50 Pietri 1961, 316. The cult of the Dioscuri arose around 499 BC and would still appear to have been popular by the middle of the fourth century when the city Prefect Tertullus asked them to stop the famine in 359. Cf. Marcellinus XIX. 10, 4.

51 Trout 2003, 521-23. 52 Haec Damasus vestras referat nova sidera laudes. Ferrua 1942, no. 20. 53 Pauly, A. et al.: “Lares Praestites”: Sons of Mercury and the nymph Lara/Larunda, and guardians of Rome. The

nickname praestites was given to them because they guard everything with their eyes and come to the rescue of mankind. See also Wiseman 2004, 117.

54 Wiseman 1995, 40-41, 52; Wiseman 2004, 26 and 179. Ovid I. 539-42: “Puppibus egressus Latia stetit exul in herba […]. Nec mora longa fuit: stabant nova tecta […].” (“Landing from his ships, Evander stood an exile on the Latian sward […]. But little time elapsed until new dwellings rose […].”). I. 581: for the erection of the Ara Maxima. For the name of Pallantion, see also Dionysius of Halicarnassus I. 78. 5; I. 79. 8. Wiseman 1995, 40-41, 52; Wiseman 2004, 26 and 179.

55 On 13 August they were celebrated “in Circo Flaminio” in the context of the festival for Diana where, as already mentioned, sacrifices were made to several gods.

56 According to Wiseman (1995, 71) 1 May can indicate the conception of the twins and 21 February (FERALIA) their birth. See Wissowa (1912, 171) for a discussion of Augustus’ reconsecration of a previous Lares sanctuary. See also Augustus: Res Gestae, 19. It appears from the Republican calendar Fasti Antiates Maiores (84-55 BC) that the Lares were also celebrated on 27 June. Ovid likewise describes that a sanctuary was consecrated to the Lares on 27 June (VI. 791-794). It is uncertain whether this is a reference to Lares Praestites or to other Lares (cf. Pauly, A. et al for Lares Privati and Lares Publici). It is, however, obvious that Ovid, in his poem about 1 May, suggests that the altar to the Lares twins was in a state of disrepair (V. 131-2): “[…] multa vetustas destruit, et saxo longa senecta nocet.” (“[…] length of time destroys many things, and age prolonged wears out a stone.”). Something suggests that the memory of this festival was fading at Ovid’s time – possibly as the Dioscuri took over the role previously played by the Lares.

57 Wissowa 1912, 277ff. There were two types of Hercules cults in Rome: the Greek at the Circus Flaminius, and the Tiburtan at the Circus Maximus. Hercules was celebrated on 1 February (natalis Herculi), 3 April, 30 June, and on 12 August and 11 January together with Evander. See also Wiseman 2004, 28.

58 Among the earliest artistic evidence of the myth of the female wolf, Romulus and Remus, is the sculpture group erected by G. and O. Ogulnius in 296 BC (Livy X. 23). Cf. Wiseman 1995, 72-76 and lecture given by Dr. Christopher Smith at the British School at Rome (December 2006).

59 Shepherd 1970, 854-57.60 Baldovin 1987, 112. As one of the only churches, the Lateran was just inside the city walls.61 Fasti Philiocaliani , CIL I, 2. The date or the location of the Apostles’ martyrdom is neither mentioned in the

ConstruCting Myths 57

canonical writings (e.g. Acts of the Apostles) or in the apocryphal writings (Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha, i.e. the acts of Paul of ca. 170 and the acts of Peter of ca. 225). For an extensive discussion of these sources, see Erbes 1899; Lietzmann 1927; Rimoldi 1958.

62 A list of consuls can be found in Marucchi 1912, appendix.63 Ruysschaert 1965-1966, 173-174.64 The martyr Sebastian is supposedly also buried here and later the church was named after him. Catacumbas

means cave in the earth or in the rock, for the oldest core of the burial place arose in an arenarium, i.e. a cave from which you dug out tuff. Christian burial grounds were originally called coemeteria, i.e. resting places where the body was awaiting resurrection.

65 Krautheimer 1937, 103. Graffiti dated 260 when Saeculari II et Donato II cos were consuls. See also Josi 1969, 166. For the history of the building, see Krautheimer 1937, 99ff; Donati 2000; Fiocchi Nicolai 2001, 10ff; Brandenburg 2005, 63-69.

66 Ferrua 1956, III, 432-33. 67 Ferrua 1956, IV, 135. At least ten of the S. Sebastiano graffiti refer to meals for the Apostles. Some of them

are dated: XIIII kal apriles [14 March] refrigeravit Parthenius in deo and Idus (iuli)as [15 July] refrigeravit restituita (in domi)no at Paulu(m) et Pet(rum) refri(geravi). Chadwick 1957, 47 and 33.

68 Saxer 1969, 166: “Le date offerte dai graffiti sono quelle del loro pellegrinaggio a Roma: in febbraio, marzo, giugno, agosto, novembre; una sola data non si legge mai: quella del III kal. Iulias!” Nothing specific is known about the official cult in the Via Appia. See Lietzmann 1927, 125; Susman 1961, 16-18.

69 It is dealt with in detail in Chadwick 1957 and 1962; Rimoldi 1958; Donati 2000.70 Hic temporibus suis, rogatus a quodam matrona Lucina, corpora apostolorum beati Petri et Pauli de Catacumbas

leuauit noctu: primum quidem corpus beati Pauli accepto beata Lucina posuit in praedio suo, via Ostense, iuxta locum ubi decollatus est; beati Petri accepit corpus beatus Cornelius episcopus et posuit iuxta locum ubi crucifixus est, inter corpora sanctorum episcoporum, in templum Apollinis, in monte Aureum, in Vaticanum palatii Neronis, III kal. Iul. Translation from Davis 2000, 28.

71 Eusebius, II. 25, 6-7 (translation from CCEL). According to Fiocchi Nicolai (2001, 13), the testimonial dates from the second century. Ferrua 1956, IV, 138, 141; Chadwick 1962, 313-14; Ruysschaert 1969-1970, 205; Brandenburg 2005, 63-69.

72 “[…] trinis celebratur vis/festum sacrorum martyrum” (in: PL 17, 1215). According to Susman (1961, 17 ref. 6 to Simonetti) the hymn is attributed to Pseudo Ambrose. According to Josi (1969, 156ff) it is attributed to Ambrose or Ambrosiaster. In the Gelasian Sacramentarium (750) three masses are registered for 29 June: one “in Natali S. Petri proprium”; another “in Natali Apostolorum Petri et Pauli”; and a third one “in Natali S. Pauli proprium.”

73 Martyrologium Hieronymianum (ed. Delehaye 1931): “[…] lectio codicis Bernensis suppressa tamen sententia ‘passi sub Nerone’.” The Martyrologium Hieronymianum has been passed down in several manuscripts. In the Codex Bernensis the sentence in the parenthesis has been omitted.

74 Lietzmann 1927, 109; Saxer 2000, 76. The first compilation of the Fasti Philocaliani took place in 336. The expression “Petri in Catacumbas et Pauli Ostense” dates from this time. It is worth noting that in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum we find the following commentary for 25 January: “Roma translatio Pauli apostoli ad viam Ostiensem.” This might be a reference to the removal of Paul from the Via Appia back to Ostiense.

75 Lietzmann 1927, 112; Rimoldi 1958, 26 and 34. As for the naming of the Memoria Apostolorum in 1916, see Mohlberg 1952, 53.

76 Chadwick 1957, 47.77 According to Delehaye, the translation never took place; the Christians merely founded a place to meet and

worship in the Via Appia in order to find a safe spot, but without removing the bodies of the Apostles. Cf. Saxer 2000, 76.

78 Erbes 1899, 54; Lietzmann 1927, 125, 135, 141; Mohlberg 1952, 65; Rimoldi 1958, 35-36; Susman 1961, 20. Erbes was amongst those who believed that 29 June marked the date of the translation. He was also of the opinion that the Apostles died on 22 February 63. In the calendar of Polemius Silvius the note “depositio Petri et Pauli” is also registered for 22 February in accordance with the practise in Gaul, but also with the traditional Roman celebration of the dead (caristia) on this day, which the Roman Church appropriated for the celebration of the natale Petri de cathedra as mentioned above. Erbes was accordingly of the opinion that the apostles died before the famous fire of Rome on 18 July 64. This particular event is otherwise often regarded as the reason for the intensification of the persecution of the Christians under Nero, which led to the execution of the Apostles. There are, however, endless discussions of which year the Apostles were executed, but it is generally assumed that Peter was executed between 64 and 67, and Paul in 67. Christiana Loca I, 2-4 (a cura di Pani Ermini 2000-

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2001).79 “[…] et in catacumbas ubi iacuerunt corpora sanctorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli, in quo loco platomam

ipsam, ubi iacuerunt corpora sancta, versibus exornavit. Hic multa corpora sanctorum requisivit et invenit, quorum etiam versibus declaravit.” Translation from Davis 2000, 29.

80 Ferrua 1942, nr. 20; Ruysschaert 1969-1970, 205-15; Trout 2003, 532 ref. 38. Both Ferrua and Trout write habitasse in full accordance with ICUR V. 13273. Ruysschaert discusses variant readings alternating between habitasse and habitare. Damasus does not specify whether the Apostles were buried here first or in the places where they were executed. He completely omits the use of such verbs relating to the funeral as depositus, iacet and requiescit. Instead he uses the much more discreet term habitare/habitasse as a more general indication that the apostles had dwelt here – dead or alive – as also referred to in the apocryphal writings (Acta Apostolorum apocrypha) which relate that Peter and Paul had either lived or been there.

81 Whereas the death of the Apostles is only described in the apocryphal acts of Peter and Paul, their journey from their home in the East to Rome in the West has been related in the canonical Acts of the Apostles.

82 Codex Vaticano Palatino 833. This has likewise been documented in Itinerarium Einsiedlense of the eighth and ninth centuries. They have both been published in ICUR II. I and Lanciani 1891.

83 Ruysschaert 1969-1970, 216.84 Pavia 1999, 42ff; Christiana Loca (a cura di Pani Ermini 2000-2001) I 74, 93-94 and II 8; Brandenburg

2005, 63-69. For discussions of the circus-shaped deambulatory basilicas in general (Basilica Apostolorum (S. Sebastiano f.l.m.), S. Agnese f.l.m., S. Lorenzo f.l.m., Ss. Marcellino e Pietro ad duas lauros and the anonymous basilica in the Via Prenestina), see Krautheimer 1937; Tolotti 1982; Torelli 1992. For the most recently discovered basilica in the Via Ardeatina, see Fiocchi Nicolai 1995-1996.

85 Ruysschaert 1969-1970, 215.86 Ruysschaert 1965-1966, 176.87 Prudentius XI. 154-178: “[…] mersa latebrosis crypta patet foveis: huius in occultum gradibus via prona

reflexis ire per anfractus luce latente docet. Primas namque fores summo tenus intrat hiatu inlustratque dies limina vestibuli. Inde ubi progressu facili nigrescere visa est nox obscura loci per specus ambiguum ccurrunt celsis inmissa foramina tectis, quae iaciant claros antra super radios. Quamlibet ancipites texant hinc inde recessus arta sub umbrosis atria porticibus, len excisi subter cava viscera montis crebra terebrato fomice lux penetrat. Sic datur absentis per subterranea solis cemere fulgorem luminibusque frui.” Translation from LCL 1953.

88 Saenger 1997 (introductory chapter). As for St. Augustine’s comments on St. Ambrose, see Confessiones VI. 3 (in: Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, 2nd Series). For the recitation of inscriptions, see Bodel 2001, 16.

89 Enciclopedia dei Papi 2000, 358 (on the Conciliorum Oecumenicorum Decreta, canon 3, 32). 90 Ruysschaert 1969-1970, 211-212: “L’un et l’autre sont, en effet, invoqués au concile tenu a Rome en 382, sous

Damase, lorsqu’il s’est agi d’affirmer en face de Constantinople le droit de l’Eglise de Rome d’occuper la première place.” There has been no attempt to date the Apostolic epigram. For their chronology in general, see Enciclopedia dei Papi 2000, 351.

91 Huskinson 1982, 79 and 88. Damasus did, however, ask Jerome, who worked as his secretary, to obtain a version of the letters of Paul. Ferguson, E. et al. 1997, 218.

92 Pietri 1961, 295.93 Clement Romanus, chapter 5 (in: Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, 2nd Series); Chadwick 1957, 35.94 The iconography of the Apostles is dealt with in great detail by Huskinson 1982, 3-62; Mazzoleni 1996, 66. As

early as 310-320 specific iconographic programmes were developed allowing the spectator to distinguish the two Apostles from one another. Paul is characterized by being the eldest; he is partly bald and has a long beard, whereas Peter has far more hair and a shorter beard. No apsidal paintings in churches from the time of Damasus have survived, and it is therefore not possible to ascertain to which extent the motif has been employed there.

95 Huskinson 1982, 62.96 Cf. Batiffol 1925, 106. Huskinson 1961, 90. 97 Huskinson 1982, 86-88, 90. Concordia apostolorum was, according to Huskinson, developed during the second

half of the fourth century as a legal legitimization of the primateship. Constantinople’s claim to a primateship was founded later in the 7th or 8th century on the Apostles Andrew (Peter’s brother) and Luke (the companion of Paul), see Dvornik 1958, 122. Antioch’s claim to a primateship was based on the belief that their church had been founded by Peter and Paul before the Apostles arrived in Rome. Here the Christians were called christianoi for the first time, cf. Martyrologium Romanum, 22 February. See also Pietri 1961, 304; Ruysschaert 1969-1970, 211-212.

98 Paul is not mentioned in the so-called Liberian Catalogue in the Fasti Philocaliani 354; nor does the Liber Pontificalis (ca. 530) contain his biography, but Peter’s death on 29 June (III Kal. Iul.) is, however, mentioned

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there in his biography, as the first Bishop of Rome.99 Huskinson 1982, 86. I shall return to this discussion later.100 According to Février, André Chastagnol has demonstrated how the construction of the Basilica of St Paul was

begun in 383-84: “cette reconstruction a eu pour l’inspirateur Damase.” Février 1992, 505; Carletti 2000b, 448.

101 CSEL 35, 3: “De constructione basilicae sancti apostoli Pauli.”102 The popularity of the site is reflected in the intensified sepulchral cult. At the time of Damasus several tomb

monuments were erected around the basilica in the so-called Platonia. 103 Pietri 1961, 279; Grig 2004, figures 5-6.104 Zeses is a Latin transliteration of the Greek verb záo (ζάω). It was inserted in the phrase dignitas amicorum

vivas pie zeses (“honour and good luck befall your friends, drink and live”) as it says in the bottom of the glass in Pl. III. The phrase was originally intended as a congratulatory greeting to the living, as the gold glasses had so far been used as gifts for one’s hosts. See Pietri 1961, 307-8; Ferrua 1974 and 1975; Faedo 1978, 1026.

105 ‘Naturalising’ is a term which takes its starting point in Barthesian theory and method. The term refers to the process of something becoming natural and matter-of-course, as if it had never been any different. I shall enter into a further discussion of the term and its application in connection with Damasus’ project in the following section.

106 Huskinson 1982, 90; Carletti 2000a, 367-369. See also Pietri 1961, 305, 307, 322; Cameron 1991, 82; Février 1992, 505; Sághy 2000, 279, 285-286.

107 I shall expand upon the criticism of the whole concept of propaganda in a forthcoming article.108 Barthes 1957, 215-216: “au principe même du mythe: il transforme l’histoire en nature.” “[…] il va le

naturaliser.” His italics.109 Barthes 1957, 193.110 Barthes 1957, 193. 111 Barthes 1957, 214-217.112 Barthes 1957, 207.113 Barthes 1957, 210.114 Epigram to Nereus et Achilleus, Ferrua 1942, no. 8. 115 Halbwachs 1950, 68.116 Halbwachs 1950, 68-69.117 The expression can be found in epigrams nos. 17, 31, 35, 43, 46, cf. Ferrua 1942. Translation: “When the

sword was still ravaging the holy interior of the Mother.” 118 Halbwachs 1950, 37, 70, 73.119 Ruysschaert 1969-1970, 205 quotes Duchesne: Histoire ancienne de l’Eglise t. 2, Paris 1907, 483.120 Barthes 1957, 10 (preface). His italics. This aspect has been developed by Dr. Mary Beard. Cf. Beard 1993,

45.121 Trout 2003, 527.122 Apart from the inscription to St. Agnes, the martyr epigram to St. Euthychius in S. Sebastiano is intact. It has

been possible to reconstruct the inscription in the papal crypt in S. Callisto because of the large number of fragments which have come down to us (Pl. I). Far more fragmented are the inscriptions to St. Felicissimus and St. Agapitus in the Pretestato catacomb, the inscriptions to St. Eusebius and St. Cornelius in S. Callisto and the St. Nereus and St. Achilleus epigram in the catacomb of Domitilla.

123 Ferrua 1991, 332-339.124 From the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries the Cosmati family adapted several epigrams to the patterns in

the cosmatesque pavements in S. Martino ai Monti, Ss. Quattro Coronati and S. Giovanni in Laterano.125 Among these itineraries are De Locis Sanctis and Notitia Ecclesiarum Urbis Romae from the seventh century

and Itinerarium Einsiedlense and Sylloge Laureshamensis of the eighth and ninth centuries.126 Marangoni 1744, 402-3.127 Huskinson 1982, 86. Moreover, in Prudentius’ hymn to Peter and Paul (XII, 3-6) he suggests that Paul

became a martyr a year after Peter: “Festus apostolici nobis redit hic dies triumphi, Pauli atque Petri nobilis

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cruore. Unus utrumque dies, pleno tamen innovatus anno, vidit superba morte laureatum.” (in: PL 60, 556). (“Today we have the festival of the apostles’ triumph coming round again, a day made famous by the blood of Paul and Peter. The same day, but recurring after a full year, saw each of them win the laurel by a splendid death.”). Translation from LCL 1953.

128 The sermon is taken from Agimondo’s collection of sermons (in: PL 54, 513); Chevasse 1960, 166-167; Susman 1961, 19.

129 Sermon 84. 1 (in: Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, 2nd Series).130 Susman 1961, 188-189.

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Pl. I. The crypt of the popes containing a Damasian epigram, S. Callisto, Rome, 366-384 (photo: Pontificia Commissione di Archeologia Sacra, Rome).

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Pl. II. Mosaic with a representation of Peter and Paul, S. Costanza, Rome, fourth century (photo: with permission from the ‛Parrocchia di S. Agnese’, Rome).

ConstruCting Myths 63

Pl. III. Gold glass, vetro dorato, with a double portrait of Peter and Paul framed by the inscriptions Petrus, Paulus and fragments of the sentence dignitas amicorum vivas pie zeses. Rome, fourth century, The British Museum (photo: The Trustees of The British Museum).

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Pl. IV. Gold glass, vetro dorato with a representation of “Pastor”, the christological monogram, and the portraits of Damasus, Peter and Paul, whose names are inscribed on the glass as well. Rome, fourth century, Musei Vaticani (photo: Musei Vaticani, The Vatican City, Rome).