Franz Steiner Verlag Historia: Zeitschrift Für Alte Geschichte

Change and Continuity in Late Antiquity: The Ceremony of "Adventus"
Author(s): Sabine MacCormack

Source: Historia: Zeitschrift fr Alte Geschichte, Bd. 21, H. 4 (4th Qtr., 1972), pp. 721-752
Published by: Franz Steiner Verlag
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CHANGE AND CONTINUITY IN LATE ANTIQUITY:
THE CEREMONY OF ADVENTUS*
The ceremony of adventus in the ancient world is closely related to what

people thought of him who was arriving - usually a ruler or other person of
great importance. This paper is mainly concerned with the arrival of rulers,
of the Roman emperors. An adventus could on the one hand be a perfectly
mundane - if splendid - affair, in which people fulfilled their duties as sub-
jects by expressing due enthusiasm; on the other hand, it could be an event
with some religious overtones, for rulers were generally regarded as in some
sense divine, and were welcomed as saviours, benefactors and lords.'
The ceremony had to accommodate conflicting aims: on the one hand rul-
ers had to see to it that they were honoured, and thereby, gained prestige, if a
monarchical government was to work properly. Also, the subjects of their
own accord wished to honour their ruler, thereby, in some sense, enhancing
their own dignity and existence. This process of being honoured had to be
carefully organized if it was to be successful.2 On the other hand, such hon-
ours could defeat their purpose, in that they might mark their subject as a
tyrant - witness the pains taken by authors of panegyrics to point out that
certain honours were unsolicited, i. e. that their subject was not responsible
for them.3 This was a useful method of having it both ways. Aeschylus' ac-
*1 whish to thank Peter Brown, Oswyn Murray and John Matthews for reading earlier drafts
of this paper and for making many helpful suggestions.
I See Peterson, 'Die Einholung des Kyrios', Zeiischrif/ fur systemaiische Theologie, VII, 1930,
p. 682-702; in general, cf. A. Alfoldi, 'Die Ausgestaltung des monarchischen Zeremoniells am
romischen Kaiserhofe', Mitt. d. deutschen arch. Inst. Rom. Abi. 49, 1934 (hereafter Zeremoniell) p.
79-118, and 'Insignien und Tracht der romischen Kaiser', Miti. d. deu/schen arch. Insi. Rom. Abi. 50,
1935, p. 25 ff. These two articles are now reprinted under the title Die monarchische Reprdsentation
im roimischen Kaiserreiche, Darmstadt 1970. See also 0. Treitinger, Die ostrimische Kaiser- und Reichs-
idee 1938 (1956) (hereafter Reichsidee), p. 67 ff., and p. 231-3.
2 cf. Ronald Syme, The Roman Revolution, 1952, p. 499 ff., especially p. 469 f.
3 On the interplay between ruler and subjects in this connection, see Treitinger, Reichsidee, p.
49. The chief occasion for 'unsolicited' honour, according to the panegyrics, is the accession of a
ruler: it is said that he was elected against his own wish, by popular demand or by divine interven-
tion (only the tyrant assumes the government of his own accord), eg when Maximian leaves his re-
tirement, the reason given is that Rome clamours for his return, Panegyrici Lat/ni (ed. Galletier;
46 Historia XXI/4
722 SABINE MACCORMACK
count of Agamemnon's return to Mycenae4 indicates that the problem of

how rulers should be honoured was not confined to the Hellenistic and Ro-
man periods. It was important not to go too far. In the Roman period the fic-
tion of the emperor as civis was of real importance. In making the arrange-
ments for an adventus both ruler and subjects had to find the right nuances:
too much honour and exaltation could be an embarrassment, too little like-
wise. Hence official propaganda often made its points indirectly, leaving
their exact interpretation open to conjecture.
The adventus ceremony provided ample scope, and this is the reason why it
is so difficult to interpret. Few would object to a solemn arrival; to this, oth-
er ingredients, which completely changed the meaning of the event, could be
added almost imperceptibly. Roman propaganda made parallels between em-
perors and gods, and often went further by identifying particular emperors
with particular gods.5 Correspondingly, when the emperor arrived, he could
be welcomed as a god; this added religious overtones to the adventus cere-
mony, or made it a religious event in itself, an event which had a non-secu-
lar, universal significance, as distinct from a merely historical one.
Even if the emperor was not outrightly proclaimed as divine, a heigh-
tened, general significance could be attributed to his actions. Thus, as an ex-
tension of particular victories, the Roman emperors came to be called 'al-
ways victorious' and 'unconquered'., Similarly, a panegyric states in connec-
tion with a particular arrival, that the emperor is always and everywhere
present ;7 his presence is universal, a theory which is also expressed by the
sending out of the imperial images. Thus a particular event becomes an
expression of an imperial characteristic to which general validity is attributed.
Individual, personal characteristics are overshadowed by generalized ones,
which can be applied to any emperor.8
the Latin panegyrics, hereafter Pan. Lat., are always cited from Galletier's edition), VI,
10, 3 - 12, 8; see also VII, 8, 3; XII, 11; see also Pliny's panegyric 57-58, Trajan refuses to take a
third consulate; 59-60, he accepts it after being urged.
' Agamemnon 905-957. The incident of the purple carpet appears to be an addition to the myth
which was not without reference to actuality during the period of the Persian Wars. The trilogy
was produced in 458. See also the references quoted by Alfoldi, 7Zeremoniell, p. 9 f.
6 cf. below, n. 15.
6 cf. Gage, 'La Theologie de la Victoire imperiale', Revue Hislorique 171, 1933, p. 1-43; Treitin-
ger, Reichsidee, p. 168 f.; p. 177 n. 65. 7 Pan. Lat. III, 14.
8 This generalisation of imperial characterictics can also be documented in a general manner on
the portraiture of the coinage. As regards style in particular, the numismatic portraiture of the Te-
trarchy is still easily identifiable. Constantinian portraiture underwent a series of changes, which
were also, in part, of a stylistic nature. Thereafter portraits of different emperors become more and
more difficult to distinguish on the coinage, except by very difinite personal features like Julian's
beard. The emperor's individual features were regarded as of less importance than the imperial im-
age: the emperor was recognized by his insignia, rather than by his face; cf. A. Cameron, Claudian,
Change and Continuity in Late Antiquity: The Ceremony of Adventus 723
The ceremony of adventus, whatever the particular message it was intended

to convey, follows a certain general pattern, within which a few variations
are possible. From the Hellenistic sources the following outline can be
made: : when the arrival of a ruler in a city was announced ahead of time, the
citizens would decorate their city, and on the appointed day, a procession of
citizens, headed by their dignitaries, would go out to a certain point outside
the city walls, where they would meet the ruler. It appears that in many cas-
es, if not all, the point to which one would go, was fixed. Those in the pro-
cession would carry flowers, olive or palm-branches, lights and incense,
and there could be the signs of the various guilds and corporations of the
town, and, more important, the statues of the gods. Singing and acciama-
tions are also regularly mentioned.'0 The ruler did not, of course, appear
alone, but had a splendid retinue of his own. After greetings were ex-
changed, the citizens accompanied their ruler into the city, where there could
be further ceremonies of welcome." In the case of the emperors, there often
was a meeting between the emperor and the local senate, during which re-
quests could be made and granted, and here, in a very real sense, an emperor
could be the benefactor and saviour of his subjects.'2 In fact, the ceremony
was commonly viewed in such a light: when a great ruler enters a city, says
Athanasius, no enemy will dare to attack it while he is living there.'3 On a
subsequent day there often were games in the circus, with due distribution of
largesse.'4
This paper deals mainly with late antiquity, a time when Christianity was
of crucial importance, not only so far as religion was concerned, but also in
all other fields of life. If, before the empire had become Christian, the empe-
1970, p. 303-304; also, H. P. L'Orange, Art Forms and Civic Life in the later Roman Empire, 1965,
p. 105 f.
9 Peterson, op. cit.; Peterson's account can be confirmed and extended by the evidence of the
Panegyrici Latini and other Latin sources, cf. below, n. 24; cf. the references collected by T. E.V.
Pearce in ClassicalQuarterly vol. 20, 1970 p. 313-316. '0 cf. below, p. 733, etc.
11 the arrival of rulers (and of the images of the Roman emperors, below notes 146 and 147) was
an occasion for panegyrics, see Menander's section a,epi ientfaTi1piov, in Spengel, Rhetores Gracci,
III, 1856, p. 377 f. 12 eg Pan. Lat. VIII, 10-14.
13 Athanasius, De Incarnatione 9; cf. 10; 13; I am grateful to the Rev. Dr. T. Parker for referring
me to this text.
14 eg Ammianus, 21, 10, 1 f.; Claudian, Sixth Consulship of Honorius 611 if.; see also Procopius
BP II, 11, 24 f.: when Chosroes entered Apamea, chariot races were held. Since Justinian fa-
voured the Blues, it was arranged that the Greens should win. The incident is interesting because
it illustrates how a public entertainment was considered to form part of an arrival in the Greco-
46*
ror's or other ruler's model had been Zeus, luppiter, Hercules, or Sol,", this
role was after the conversion taken by Christ the Pantokrator,'6 enthroned
above the celestial spheres, as we see him for instance in San Vitale.
Accordingly, two biblical accounts of adventus will be discussed briefly.'7
The first describes Christ's entry into Jerusalem. All the gospels have an ac-
count of it.18 The Synoptic gospels relate how the donkey on which Christ
rode was found and brought to him, and how the crowds met him with
shouts of welcome, spread their garments in the way and carried palm
branches. Judean adventus coins of the emperor Hadrian also show the pro-
vince of Judaea, accompanied by children with palm branches, welcoming the
emperor.'9 John, in his account, uses the technical term for the reception of a
ruler - vIanaS at: - which regularly appears in Hellenistic sources describing
adventus.
aKovaavm 6'rc O?pXaTA 'IIaoio e IFpoou'vha, )afloov Ta& flatt aT5v oOtVtKWV
Katewroov Etl V7UaVT?7(YtV avTz, Kac EKpavyaCov acravva , o 08Vo5 6 ?pxO' rVo~
EV ovo6,aTt KVptOV, Kat 6 faat2evrOV 'Iqpai1.
Roman world. It also throws a revealing sidelight on the rivalry between Byzantine emperors and
Sassanian kings. The distribution of largesse at arrivals of all sorts was taken for granted, cf. Came-
ron, op. cit. p. 384 f.
16 cf. eg Callimachus, Hymn I, 70 ff., and Themistius, or. VII, 89 c (ed. Dindorf), 6K bi Atckg
flaaLA7eg,; Themistius frequently develops the theme of the link between the emperor and god, eg
or. I, 8b f.; or. V, 68 d-69 d; for Sol, cf. below, p. 727; 731 f.; on luppiter and Trajan, see I. S. Ry-
berg, Rites of the State Reiigion in Roman Imperial Art (Memoirs of the American Academy in
Rome, xxii, 1955), p. 155; cf. Pliny's panegyric, 80, 4. An example from the third century,
C. C. Vermeule, Roman Imperial Art in Greece and Asia Minor 1968, p. 330, fig. 150; Hercules and
Commodus, cf. J. M. C. Toynbee, Roman Medallions (Numismatic Studies V, 1944), p. 73 f.; for
the Tetrarchy and Iuppiter and Hercules, cf. Pan. Lat. III, 3; 10, 5; in general, see the summaries
in L. Cerfaux and J. Tondriau, Le Culte des Souverains, 1956, p. 399 f.
16 The iconography of the portraiture of Christ may throw some light on this question. Very
broadly speaking, Christ is portrayed as the youthful shepherd, teacher and philosopher, in the
early Christian period, until the first half of the fourth century, and the imagery is based on proto-
types in contemporary art (cf. A. Grabar, Christian Iconography, 1969, p. 33 f.). Subsequently, the
image of Christ, shown as the Pantokrator, in majesty, bearded and older, became more common.
Christ is shown as the ruler, and in this role, he parallels the role of the emperor. No actual identifi-
cation of Christ and the emperor was made, however, as this paper attempts to show. It should
also be noted that no rigid line can be drawn, separating the period when Christ was shown as the
young teacher, from that when he was shown as the bearded Pantokrator. A wall painting (third
century?) in the catacomb of Commodilla (Grabar, op. cit. fig. 81) shows a bearded older Christ,
and in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia he is still the young shepherd; he is also shown youthful
and unbearded, seated on the globe, in the apse of San Vitale. See also P. Beskow, Rex Gloriae,
1962, p. 11-31. 17 This approach arises from Peterson's discussion, op. cit. p. 682 f.
Is Mat. 21, 1-11; Mark, 11, 1-10; Luke, 19, 28-40;John, 12, 12-19; on the details of John's ac-
count, see R. Bultmann, Das Evangelium des Johannes, 1941, p. 319.
19 H. Mattingly, Roman Imperial Coinage, (hereafter RIC) II, pl. 16, 322, reverse IUDAEA,
Judaea with libation bowl and altar, and two boys holding palms; ibid. 325, ADVENTUS
IUDAEAE, Judaea with libation bowl and altar, three boys holding palm.
The use of this term indicates that Christ's arrival in Jerusalem can be consi-
dered in the context of the arrivals of Hellenistic rulers and their successors.
The entry into Jerusalem was not so very unusual - it was the type of event
with which the citizens would be thoroughly familiar. The religious over-
tones are there, but they need not be taken as the exclusively determining
factor of the event, as is the case with the second example.20 At Christ's se-
cond coming, St. Paul explains, those who have died in Christ will meet him
first, and we "who still survive for the advent of the lord" will then rise up
and with the departed will meet him in the clouds - in mid-air. Again the
technical term - damvT?crt~ - is used.
Elg Ol' i6VTE5 OF' zplTElt&7O'[Evot a"ya av'v av'To' a4p.rayiqo'jyEOa ?'V veqESAatl El
wadVmatv ToV KVptOv Etl aepa.
St. Paul's description of this scene is clearly inspired by the ceremonial arri-
vals of which he and his readers must have seen a great number, yet it is a
universal event of an entirely different order and beyond the limitations of
ordinary existence. It is to happen at the end of time, and will be the arrival
par excellence of the lord of all. It will affect the whole cosmos, and
everyone, living and dead, and, according to patristic exegesis, willing and
unwilling,22 will take part in it.
These two types of adventus give an idea of the scope of the ceremony and
the significance which could be attributed to it. It will be seen at a later stage
how they were illustrated in art in the fourth and fifth centuries.23
II
The adventus ceremony as celebrated in honour of the Roman emperors in

late antiquity took over the features of the anavirrvt in the Greek East.24 There
is, however, a further ingredient in the ceremony of Roman adventus which it
is worth pointing out. It was developed against the background of the
triumph, the entry of a victorious general into Rome, which was, after the
20 I. Thess. 4, 17.
21 the two words d':7vriJat and Prdvrnatq designate the same event and are used interchang-
ably, Peterson op. cit. p. 693.
22 Chrysostom, de perfecia carinate 6, Migne, Pairologia Graeca (hereafter PG) 56, 286-8; cf. ad
Theod. lapsum, I, 12, PG 47, 292-3; cf. PG 59, 650, quoted by J. Kollwitz, Ostromische Plas/ik 1941,
p. 61; Cyril of Jerusalem, Ka/ech. 15, 1, PG 33, 869; I would like to thank Philip Rousseau for
pointing out this last ext to me. 28 below p. 743 f.
24 Pan. Lat. II, 14, 4; III, 8, 1 ff.; IV, 6; 19; VI, 8, 7; VII, 7, 5; VIII, 7, 6 ff; IX, 7, 5; 14, 1; 19;
X, 30, 4 ff.; XI, 6, 3 if.; XII, 37; 47, 3 f.; Claudian III Consulship, 111 if.; 126 ff.; IV Consulship
561 f.; VI Consulship 125; 331 ff.; 494 if.; 523 ff.; to the passages from Ammianus cited below
p. 733, notes 77-80 and 82, add, Ammianus 22, 9, 3-5; 27, 8, 8.
end of the republic, generally reserved for the emperor alone.25 The culmina-
tion of the triumph, and the point where it differed crucially from an ordinary
adventus was the time-honoured emperor's visit to the temple of Iuppiter
Capitolinus. This visit was omitted by Constantine in his triumph over Max-
entius in 312,26 and in the panegyrics Constantine's entry into Rome is des-
cribed in terms of an adventus.27 The empire gradually became Christian, and
no subsequent emperors performed the sacrifice to Iuppiter Optimus Maxi-
mus. Thus the emperor's victorious arrival, formerly triumph, was assimilat-
ed into the adventus ceremonial.28 Such victorious arrivals could be celebrated
in any city of the empire, but Rome continued to possess a certain dignity,
which set it apart from other cities.29 It was, according to Themistius, the
yyrpo6rAo2z Tcov Tponakcov.30
Although the ceremonial sigriifcance of adventus is here discussed, it
would be a mistake to ignore the very real material and political advantages
which an imperial arrival could bring with it. Constantine entering Autun in
311,31 made substantial remissions of tax arrears, and in Rome in 312, apart
from bestowing the more intangible advantage of freeing the Romans from
the so-called tyrant Maxentius, erected or completed several public build-
ings. Almost all the emperor Julian's arrivals were accompanied by benefits
of this nature,32 sometimes on a considerable scale, and so throughout the
period here treated. The general fault of government in late antiquity was
slowness and inefficiency leading to faulty administration and inadequate
defence of the frontiers; 33 against such evils the presence of the emperor
himself could provide an effective remedy, as is shown for instance by Juli-
an's administration of Gaul.
The changes of emphasis which the ceremony of adventus underwent in late

antiquity illustrate the progress of the official Christianisation of the empire.
As one might expect,34 the Tetrarchy and the early reign of Constantine were
26 Mommsen, Staatsrecht, I, p. 126 f.; cf. PW 2. Reihe, 13 Halbband 499; Alfoldi, Zeremoniell
p. 93; see also H. S. Versnel, Triumphus, 1970; on triumph and adventus p. 384-96.
26 cf. Straub, 'Konstantins Verzicht auf den Gang zum Kapitol', Historia 4, 1955, 297 f.
27 Pan. Lat. IX, 19; X, 30, 4 f.; 31, by contrast, Pan. Lat. VI, 8, 7.
2B see the enumeration of such triumphal occasions in J. Kollwitz, Ostromische Plastik 1941,
p. 63 ff. 29 see however, below n. 72. 30 Themistius or. III, 42 b.
31 Pan. Lat. VIII, 10 f.
22 Anmianus 22, 9, 5; Pan. Lat. XI, 10, 4; see also Ammianus 15, 8, 21.
33 cf. eg A. H. M. Jones, The Later Roman Empire, 1964, p. 391 f.; 601 f.; 1035 f.
24 It appears from the relevant Latin panegyrics and the bitter feelings of Christians against
Diocletian and his colleagues, that Diocletian envisaged a renewal of the empire, combined with a
renewal of Roman religion, into which the emperors were incorporated (on this see especially
Maximian's 'Genethliacus', Pan. Lat. III). How little longterm effect this programme had, and
the period when the ceremony was most clearly used as a vehicle to express
the divine nature of the emperors, both in the panegyrics and in imperial art,
in which the coinage is included for the purposes of this paper. Significantly
it is also in this period that the treatment of adventus in art and panegyric cor-
respond and overlap most closely. This unity of treatment did not recur at
any later period. The impact of Christianity destroyed certain aspects of im-
perial propaganda - those where the emperor was represented as divine in
pagan terms. But these aspects were not removed without uprooting others
as well. Christianity destroyed the unity and coherence of imperial propagan-
da, for it destroyed in part the traditional forms, the iconography and the lit-
erary idiom in which this propaganda was expressed. As a result, imperial art
and panegyric do not in the later fourth century present the uniform picture
that they did in the earlier part of the century.36
In examining first the supernatural elements that may find expression in
adventus and then adventus as expressing the timelessness of imperial actions,
and finally as a straightforwardly historical event, one proceeds, roughly
speaking, chronologically; for it was the supernatural elements in adventus
that were removed when the empire became Christian.
The panegyric of 29136 interprets the arrival of Diocletian and Maximian

at Milan in January 291 as a religious event, as a revelation of divinities, that
is, of luppiter and Hercules, whose images on earth the two emperors
claimed to be.37 The very speed of the approach of the emperors,38 who were
crossing different parts of the Alps in winter, was miraculous; Pan. Lat. III,
8, 3, "divinus quidam impetus fuit, quo repente in eundem locum ab utroque
solis adverso fine venistis". It appeared as if the emperors did not arrive in
terrestial vehicles, but in the chariots of Luna or Sol.39 The same was said
about Constantine's arrival in Britain in 307.40 III, 9, 2, 'adversus inclemen-
how vigorous Christianity was at this period, can be understood from the fact that Julian's revival
of paganism was based on quite different foundations. It is important to note in this context that
Julian rejected the divine origin of the emperor, see G. Dagron, 'L'empire au IVe si6cle et les tra-
ditions politiques de l'Hellenisme', Travaux et Memoires 3, 1968, p. 64; see also Julian, ep. 64, ed.
and tr. J. Bidez L'empereurJulien, Oeuvrei complites, vol. 12, 1960, p. 217. Et uE'v Et' rT O aTpov Aaflcov
ZafAOov, EV+ObElE- EtL 46 Etl ra LEpa, ri r5rV 7viav X yET6 Kai /eLTrVeCKaTE V'I5uV Tar EvAq' a; eia ToOg
Oeov'; yaeov 6d of OEol Td' EVC017lV OV Ot3 Xp{pOvalv. see below p. 735 f.; p. 739 f.
36 Pan. La!. III, 8, 1 ff. 37 Pan. Lat. III, 14; cf. 10, 5.
38 this is a panegyric topos, cf. eg Pan. Lat. III, 4, 4; IX, 5, 5; 15, 3; 21, 5; X, 36, 5; XI, 6, 4; 7,
1 f.; XII, 39, 1 f.; Symmachus, ed. Seeck, secondpanegyric on Valentinian I, 24; Claudian, IV Consul-
ship, 539 f.
39 Pan. Lat. III, 8, 3; cf. 4; on the arch of Constantine, this idea, here expressed as an orator's
compliment, is taken more seriously, below p. 736 f. 40 Pan. Lat. VII, 7, 5.
tiam locorum ac siderum vestrae vos maiestatis potentia tuebatur... vos so-
los aurae lenes vernique flatus et diductis nubibus ad itinera vestra directi so-
lis radii sequebantur. . . vos ... Alpium vias ... clivinis vestigiis aperuistis,
ut quondam Hercules. . .' At the approach of the divine emperors 'tota Italia
clarior lux diffusa',41 so that all men wondered what gods might be appearing
from the height of the Alps; the answer was soon clear: 'conspicuus et prae-
sens luppiter. .. non advena, sed imperator Hercules'.42 Then, at Milan, in
the palace, 'velut interioribus sacrariis' the emperors received the adoratio of
the people.
No other panegyric account interprets an adventus as clearly and consistent-
ly as a religious event, but various aspects of this approach do appear else-
where. One of the points emphasized here is the beneficial influence of the
emperor's arrival on the seasons. Nazarius treating Constantine's victory
over Maxentius in 312, and his triumphal entry into Rome, makes a similar
point. It was late October, a stormy time in the Mediterranean, and past the
end of the sailing season, when Constantine won his victory, but nonetheless
(Pan. Lat. X, 32, 6) 'affuerunt navigantibus felices aurae et fluctus secundi,
beatissimamque victoriam ipsa etiam elementa iuverunt'.43
In 296 Constantius, having defeated the usurper Allectus, was welcomed
in Britain as 'exoptatus olim vindex et liberator'. Pan. Lat. IV, 19, If, 'obvius
sese maiestati tui triumphus effudit, exsultantesque gaudio Britanni cum con-
iugibus et liberis obtulerunt .. . et ipsum ... quem ut caelo delapsum intue-
bantur. venerantes.' Elsewhere it is said that Constantius brought Britain
back 'in conspectum Romanae lucis',"4 a significant phrase, as will be seen.
When Constantine arrived in Autun in 311, the images of the gods were
brought out to greet him, as an acknowledgement of his divinity.45 On other
occasions it was said that the goddess Roma had received Maximian 'amplexu
quodam suo',46 and that the populace of Rome almost carried him in
triumph to the lap of Capitoline Iuppiter.47 The arrival of the emperor is an
event in which the gods may play their part; this is no new develcpment of
the late third century, but had found ample expression in earlier imperial
art.48 It is also illustrated on the coinage of the Tetrarchy and the earlier coin-
41 Pan. Lat. III, 10, 4; such beneficial influence of the emperor on nature is frequently pointed to
in the panegyrics, cf. Cicero, de imp. Cn. Pomp. 48; Pan. Lat. II, 12, 3 f.; III, 15; IV, 2, 2; 15, 1; VI,
12, 7 f.; VII, 13, 3; XII, 6, 4; Claudian, III Cons.rlship, 18-21; 89 f.; 123 f.; IVConsuilship 170 f.
42 Pan. Lat. III, 10, 5; note, here also, the eulogist's passion for improving on the exemplhm,
met with frequently in all panegyrics, see eg below p. 736 and notes 148; 149.
43 cf. note 41. 44 Pan. Lat. V, 18, 3, cf. Pan. Lat. IV, 19, 2 'vera imperii luce recreati'.
46 Pan. Lat. VIII, 8, 4. 46 Pan. Lat. VI, 8, 8. 4' Pan. La!. VI, 8, 7.
48 P. G. Hamberg, Studies in Roman Imperial Art, 1945, p. 56 ff.; 78 f.; 83 f., a profec!io; cf.
C. C. Vermeule, Roman Imperial Ar! in Greece and Asia Minor, p. 107-8, a profec!io, or perhaps,
more correctly, apotbeosis.
age of Constantine, showing the emperor greeting Sol, luppiter, Mars or

Roma and receiving a globe or Victoriola as a token of god-appointed
rule.49
As indicated above, during the Tetrarchy and the earlier part of the reign
of Constantine, imperial art and panegyric represent a consistent picture, and
panegyric accounts have parallels in imperial art. There survives in art a di-
rect illustration of Constantius' arrival in Britain, the Arras Medallion.50 The
emperor comes riding from the left, and kneeling before him is Londinium,
who has just come out of her city gate, which is also represented. Below is
one of the ships that has carried Constantius and his army across the chan-
nel.51 The legend is significant, for it defines this arrival as a supernatural
one: it reads REDDITOR LUCIS AETERNAE, and matches what the pa-
negyric has to say about this event.52 Another well known medalion may be
mentioned here, the one issued at Ticinum in 313 to commemorate Constan-
tine's journey to Milan.53 The obverse INVICTUS CONSTANTINUS
MAX AUG shows the busts of Constantine and Sol. On Constantine's shield
appears the quadriga of Sol rising above Oceanus and Tellus. It is not possi-
ble here to do more than point to the close interrelation between the empe-
ror and Sol during the later third and early fourth centuries,54 which found
its last direct expression under Constantine, and disappeared under the im-
pact of Christianity. The reverse, FELIX ADVENTUS AUGG NN, shows
Constantine mounted, the horse being led by Victoria, who holds out a
wreath; behind follows the goddess Roma (or Virtus). The obverse and re-
verse of this medallion, taken together, illustrate the divine nature of the em-
peror and the reflection which this casts on his arrival.
The designs of the Arras medallion and the medallion from Ticinum are
elaborations of the usual adventus designs of the coinage,55 which show the
43 Sol: Constantine only, see RIC VII, index II, under SOLI COMITI AUG N and FELICI-
TAS PERPETUA SAECULI. Iuppiter: Diocletian, Maximian, Constantius I, Galerius, in almost
all mints during the period 294-7; in Alexandria also 305-7, RIC VI, p. 283; 355; 358; 465; 531;
532; 580; 581; 621-2; 667; 670; 675. Mars: Maxentius only, Ostia, RIC VI, pp. 400-402; 405;
Roma in temple with Maxentius, RIC VI, p. 296; 325 = pl. 5, 113; p. 378. Roma: Constantine,
cf. RIC VII, index II, under RESTITUTORI LIBERTATIS.
50 Toynbee, Roman Medallions, pl. 8, 4. 51 mentioned in Pan. Lat. 4, 19, 1.
52 above, 728 n. 44. See also the EXPECTATE VENI coinage of Carausius, RIC V2, p. 439 f.;
pl. 16, 6. 53 Toynbee, op. cit. p. 108-9 and pl. 17, 11.
cf. M. Nilsson, Geschichte dergriechiscben Religion II, p. 469; H. P. L'Orange, 'Sol invictus im-
perator', Symb. Osl. XIV, 1935, p. 86-114.
56 Toynbee, op. cit. pl. 18, 1-9. Imperial arrivals are noted on the ordinary coinage from the
time of Augustus, cf. Toynbee op. cit. p. 103 f.; also eg RIC I, p. 85 FORTUN REDU CAESARI
AUG SPQR. Fortuna Reddux appears on the coinage until Constantine; one of the last pieces is a
solidus from Ticinum of 316, RIC VII, p. 367, 51 = pl. 10 FORTUNAE REDUCI, Fortuna seat-
mounted emperor riding forward with billowing cloak and raising his right
hand in a gesture of adlocutio. Such issues illustrate the various arrivals of the
emperors, but usually without making any specific reference to any particu-
lar arrival. The impression which was thus created on the coin handling pub-
1ic66 was one of regular imperial arrival, a safeguard of general security and
imperial interest in the various parts of the empire. These adventus issues con-
tinued throughout the reign of Constantine, and towards its end and thereaf-
ter became somewhat rare.57 The type was still used for Honorius, and a last
issue, coined at Constantinople, appeared for the emperor Marcian.68
Two treatments of imperial adventus in monumental art survive on the
arches of Galerius and Constantine. The arch of Galerius in a relief framed
by victories shows the departure of the emperor from one city, marked by a
city gate, and arrival at another, also marked by a city gate, from which
emerge citizens and soldiers to greet him.59 The arriving emperor is seated
on a very ornate throne on a chariot which is decorated with ivy - a remin-
iscence, possibly, of the triumph of Bacchus, which is mentioned by Claudi-
ed on a throne with rudder and cornucopia, which were her usual attributes. See also Claudian,
who still knows about her in 404, VI Consulship 1 f. One of the earliest predecessors of the adventus
imagery current in late antiquity - the mounted emperor raising his right hand - appears on a coin
of Augustus RIC I, pl. 7, 118 NERO ET DRUSUS CAESARES, both mounted, with raised right
hand. More closelv related in the DECURSIO, ibid. pl. 11, 173, Nero mounted with precursor. An
aureus of Trajan shows the emperor mounted with precursor and two pedisequi, all soldiers, but
the legend is PROFECTIO AUG (RIC II, p. 262 = pl. 9, 154). The Hadrianic adventus coinage
does not in the main use the same iconography as the late classical: usually the emperor is seen
meeting the particular province, or the province is depicted alone: see RIC II, index IV, under
ADVENTUI AUG . . ., and J. M. C. Toynbee, The Hadrianic School, 1934, plates II-V, p. 25 ff.
RIC III, p. 263 = pi. 10, 209, ADVENTUS CAES, Commodus mounted, with raised right hand,
175-6 AD. From the time of the Severi, adventus issues, showing the mounted emperor with or
without companions, became a regular feature in the imperial coinage. Such issues can in most
cases be related to particular arrivals or planned arrivals, but the design does not in general point
to any particular and identificable occasion. The Arras medallion is an exception. On the origins
and meaning of the imagery of adventus cf. D. E. L. Hayes, PBSR, 1939, p. 27-32.
56 on the impact made on the public by the imagery used on the coinage, see the contrasting
points of view of A. H. M. Jones in Essays in Roman Coinage presented to H. Mauing/y, 1956, 'Num-
ismatics and History', p. 14-16, and C. H. V. Sutherland, 'The Intelligibility of Roman Coin-
types', JRS XLIX, 1959, p. 46-53.
57 Constantine, see RIC VII, eg pl. 11, 27= p. 396; pl. 20, 52 = p. 609; pl. 23, 48- p. 685 and
Index II, under ADVENTUS . .. and FELIX ADVENTUS . . . Constantius II: H. Cohen, Des-
cription Historique des Monnaiesfrappees sous l'Empire Romain vol. VII, 1888, p. 450, 79; Jovian, op.
cit. vol. VIII, 1892, p. 74, 1; Valentinian I, RIC IX, p. 15; 20; 30; 50; 75; 94; Honorius ibid. p. 83
n. and F. Gnecchi, I Medaglioni Romani vol. 1, 1912, pl. 19, 10; Sabatier I, 123, no. 1. There is also
the medallion of Justinian, below p. 750.
68 J. Sabatier, Description des monnaies byzantines (1862) I p. 123 no. 1.
59 South West pillar, North East face, top.
Changc and Continuity in Late Antiquity: The Ceremony of Advenlus 731
an in the context of imperial adventus.60 Next to the city gate where the empe-
ror is to arrive, is shown a temple with a divinity standing inside. She strech-
es out her hand towards the emperor in a gesture of greeting. One may recall
the statues of the gods which were carried out at Autun to meet Constantine,
and the coins which show the emperor being received by various divinities.6'
A panel relief, continued at either side by a corner relief on the arch of
Constantine (East side), shows his adventus in Rome in 312. Above it is a ton-
do of Sol in his chariot. The adventus procession moves from left to right,
from the Porta Flaminia to the elephant arch of Domitian on the Campus
Martius 62 from there, traditionally, the victorious emperor went to the Cap-
itol; Constantine did not. On the left corner a cornutus and mounted soldier
are about to enter the Porta Flaminia, which Constantine, seated on a richly
ornamented cathedra on a four wheel cart has just left. The horses are reined
by Victoria, seated at Constantine's feet. He is attired in a tunic and chlamys
(the head is missing); the left hand holds a scroll, the right (missing) was
raised. In front of the cart marches the army, foot and horse, with dragons
and vexilla; 63 some look back at the emperor. Unlike the arch of Galerius,
the arch of Constantine does not show the people welcoming the emperor.
Above this relief is placed the tondo of Sol rising out of the Ocean, per-
sonified by a bearded man reclining to the right, who looks up to Sol, and
raises his right hand to him. Above Sol, a youthful Lucifer clothed only in a
billowing cloak, and holding a torch, flies upwards. Sol stands in a quadriga.
The right hand is raised, like the hand of the emperor in imperial iconogra-
phy,64 the left holds a globe, also like the emperor. He is dressed in a long
chiton, belted under the breast, and a cloak.65 The reins are tied to the char-
'O Claudian, III Consulship, 131-2; IV Consulship, 602 f. On the Dionysian aspect of triumph see
Versnel, Triumphus p. 250 f. 61 above, p. 728-9, notes 45 and 49.
62 thus identified by H. P. L'Orange, Der spdtantike Bildschmuck des Konstantinsbogens, 1939,
p. 72 ff. 83 cf. Ammianus' account of Constantius II's adventus in Rome, below p. 736.
64 he should really be holding the reins, L'Orange, op. cit. p. 162-4.
65 This long chiton of Sol with its straight folds is of interest. On the coinage, Sol was por-
trayed in heroic nudity with a short cloak round his shoulders. But an Apollo Citharoedus by Sco-
pas, which was taken to Apollo's temple on the Palatine by Augustus (M. Bieber, The Sculpture of
the Hellenistic Age, 1955, p. 26-7) wore 'a simple woolen garment with straightflowing folds' (Bie-
ber p. 27), just like Sol on Constantine's arch. Copies of this work were made by Roman sculptors,
some of which survive, but for the present purpose the original on the Palatine is most relevant.
One of the panegyrics (Pan. Lat. VII, 21, 5, cf. below n. 71) indicates that Constantine let it be
known that he had a special relationship with Apollo. Constantine's coinage propagated his link
with Sol. In late antiquity Sol and Apollo were related to each other and identified. It is therefore
possible that the sculptors of the arch of Constantine took as their model of Sol Apollo's statue by
Scopas. The tondo of Sol on the arch would thus be a good illustration of late classical syncretism
and would illustrate how its results were applied to the emperor. (The arch of Constantine does
not provide the only example of Sol in a long chiton, however: he appears similarly attired on
some late Roman sarcophagi.)
jot.66 The panel relief shows a very ordinary rendering of adventus. What
makes the whole into an event of greater significance is the tondo of Sol
placed above it, Sol being, according to the coinage of the later third and ear-
ly fourth centuries, the invictus comes of the emperor.67 Of Diocletian and
Maximian it had been said that one might have believed that they had arrived
in the chariots of Sol or Luna; 68 such imagery was still used by Claudian.69
The juxtaposition of the adventus of Sol and the emperor is a figure of expres-
sion, both in the panegyrics and in art, used to declare the emperor's majesty.
But it is more than this. Constantine's voluminous SOLI COMITI coinage is
an indication, together with his adventus medallion from Ticinum.70 Sol and
the emperor do not simply exist side by side, but they identify each other -
Greek charioteers could also wear a long chiton with straight folds, eg the bronze Charioteer at
Delphi in the Severe Style. But Roman and Byzantine charioteers wore short garments, as is
shown on the fourth century circus mosaic in the Terme Museum (Helbig, Fuhrer durch die offent-
lichen Sammlungen klassischer Alteritimer in Rom III, 1969, no. 2151, p. 52) and on the base of the sta-
tue of the charioteer Porphyrius in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. An influence on the
costume of Sol on Constantine's arch is thus much less likely from this quarter than an imitation of
the Apollo by Scopas.
66 Sol, Luna, Tellas, and sinmilar divinities and personifications were frequently added to a re-
presentation in Roman imperial art to extend the scope of an image or to heighten its significance.
I would like to distinguish this type of image from others, where some gods are simply shown with
the emperor. The latter type of image shows him as the companion, perhaps even the equal of the
gods, whereas the former makes a statement about the nature of his rule. The idea of this type of
representation already occurs in Greek art, for instance in the East pediment of the Parthenon,
where Helios and Selene in either end of the pediment framed the scene of the birth of Athena. In
Roman imperial art, the Gemma Augustea, showing Augustus receiving the homage of Tiberius
and at the same time being crowned by Oikoumene, with Tellus and Oceanus behind his throne, is
a good example of a scene from ordinary life being exalted and transformed by the presence of
these personifications,so as to make a statement about the nature of imperial rule. The Augustus
of Primaporta can also be mentioned in this context. Cf. H. P. L'Orange, Studies on the Iconography
of Cosmic Kingship, 1953, sections 12 and 13. For Sol and Luna on the arch of Constantine see
L'Orange, Der spadantike Bildschmuck ... p. 174-8.
67 Issues dedicated to Sol began to play an important role in the coinage from the reign of Ela-
gabalus (RIC IV2, p. 25). A good example illustrating the link between Sol and the emperor is
provided by coins showing Sol crowning the emperor or presenting a globe to him, eg presenting a
globe to Aurelian, RIC VI, p. 296; 297; and especially p. 300, SOLI INVICTO; Sol crowning Ca-
rus, RIC V2, p. 167; crowning Probus, ibid. p. 61; 62; 67; Diocletian, shown jugate with Sol on an
obverse, in Rome, 286 AD, RIC V2, p. 239, subsequently dropped the Sol imagery, replacing it
with issues dedicated to luppiter and Hercules; cf. W. Seston, Diocl/tien et la Tetracbie, 1946, p.
211 i. In the first part of the reign of Constantine, the coinage presented the link between Sol and
the emperor more consistently and comprehensively than ever before, cf. among many other mo-
tifs, Sol crowning the emperor, RIC VII, p. 374; 467; 471; 472; always with the legend SOLI IN-
VICTO COMITI. Another motif, first used under Aurelian, which illustrates the link between Sol
and the emperor, shows Sol in one of the emperor's roles, ie with a captive, eg RIC VI, p. 272; 306;
it was much used under Constantine (c/. below, n. 73). The emperor himself was frequently shown
with captives. 68 Pan. Lat. III, 8, 3. 'I Claudian, III Consulship, 131.
70 above, p. 729.
Change and Continuity in Late Antiquity: The Ceremony of Advenlus 733
"te in illius specie recognovisti", it had been said of Constantine.7' On the

medallion, Sol wears the radiate crown which is also worn by the emperor,72
and the design on Constantine's shield is the chariot of Sol. Elsewhere, the
coinage shows Sol triumphing over fallen enemies, like the emperor.73 On
the arch, the adventus of Sol for another day is an expression of Constan-
tine's adventus. In a similar manner of expression, Constantius had been called
REDDITOR LUCIS AETERNAE.74
As a result of Constantine's conversion to Christianity, however one may

interpret this event, those aspects of adventus which made it a supernatural
event, the revelation of a divinity, were toned down in later years, as will be
seen below.75 Before discussing the influence of Christianity on imperial ad-
ventus, however, the last manifestations of pagan adventus will be considered.
These found one final expression under the so-called pagan revival under
Julian.76 Ammianus describes a number of Julian's arrivals, implying almost
throughout, that Julian was welcomed as an, in some sence, supra-human
being. These arrivals will be taken in order. In Viennee,77 in 355 AD, Julian
was received as 'optatus' and 'impetrabilis', for 'communiumque remedium
aerumnarum in eius locabat (i. e. plebs universa) adventu, salutarem quen-
dam genium afulsisse conclamantis negotiis arbitrata'. Julian's bid for em-
pire, after initial troubles, is described as a succession of splendid arrivals. At
Sirmium in 361,78 a huge crowd came out of the city with lights and flowers,
71 Pan. Lat. VII, 21, 5. On the identification of Apollo and Helios with each other in late anti-
quity cf. above, n. 65; also PW VIII, 75-6; M. Nilsson, Geichichte d. gr. Religion II, p. 490 n. 3 but
cf. p. 494 n. 3.
72 Alfoldi, Die monarch. Repras., Index s. v. Strahlenkrone.
73 The motif of Sol with one or two captives or spurning a captive, is first used under Aurelian,
RIC V', p. 267; 271-2; 280; 285-6; 292-4; 296; 299-300; 305; 306-7; 308; 309; 311-12; then by
Probus RIC V2, p. 24 and by the Tetrarchs: Diocletian, ibid. p. 231, Maximian, p. 266; 274; Galer-
ius, p. 304; 306; Constantius, p. 299; also Carausius, p. 489; 498; 534; Allectus p. 558. Constan-
tine, RIC VI, p. 328 = pl. 5, 145; p. 390; 409; RIC VII, p. 426 = pl. 12; p. 500 = pl. 15.
74 above p. 728, n. 44. 71 below p. 735 ff.
76 G. Dagron in Travaux et Alimoires 3, 1968, p. 65-82 (cf. 147-9) points out that this revival
was not merely a matter of religions, but also concerned the quality of political life. It affected for
instance the relationship between Constantinople and the provincial cities of the Eastern empire
(op. cit. p. 71-4; 78-9; 81-2). Julian's policy failed to arrest the increasing centralisation of the
Eastern empire, and as a result the importance of Constantinople as a capital grew. In the later
fourth century, this city without a distinguished past did acquire a history of its own (see eg Them-
istius Or. III, 42 d f.). Together with Christianity, the centralisation of the Eastern empire helped
to reduce the importance of imperial adventus (cf. below p. 736). 77 Ammianus 15, 8, 21.
78 Ammianus 21, 10, 1 f.; the phrase 'ut sidus salutare' is also used by Mamertinus, Pan. Lat.
XI, 2, 3, cf. Galletier III, p. 9.
making vows for the future. Encouraged by this welcome, Julian hoped
'quod . .. per alias quoque civitates ut sidus salutare susciperetur'.79 Later,
Julian proceeded to Constantinople from Philippopolis:80 'properabat ex-
inde sublimior, uti quodam Trioptolemi curru . . .'. Arrived at Constantino-
ple, a large concourse of people received him 'tamquam demissum aliquem
visura de caelo'.8' They were convinced that, Constantius being now dead,
Julian had received the empire 'deferente nutu caelesti'. In 362, Julian ar-
rived at Antioch: 82 'videre properans Antiochiam . .. in speciem alicuius nu-
minis votis excipitur publicis, miratus voces multitudinis magnae, salutare
sidus illuxisse eois partibus acclamantis'.83
Mamertinus' panegyric of 362 on Julian, although more restrained and
discreet in view of the largely Christian Senate of Constantinople, to whom
it was addressed, makes similar implications. Mamertinus describes Julian's
victorious progress along the Danube in 361, with the Barbarians on the
North bank of the river addressing humble prayers to him, and the provin-
cials welcoming him with rejoicing. The benefits bestowed by Julian are e-
numerated in detail, and, as in Ammianus,84 an allusion is made to Trioptole-
mus.85 'Qua dignitate describerem . .. principem nostrum alta puppe subli-
men, non per cuiuscemodi agros frumenta spargentem, sed Romanis oppidis
bonas spes, libertatem, divitias dividentem . . .'. Libanius86in a panegyric on
Julian also describes this voyage and adds: 'You were, for the body of our
world (oiKOVuIvrq), what in legend Asclepius was for Hippolytus. You res-
tored the dead to life,87 and now at last the title of emperor has gained fulfil-
ment'. Libanius here appears to view the emperor as fulfilling some func-
tions, at least, which were beyond the scope of an ord&nary human being.
There are echoes of such divine arrivals in Claudian's panegyrics on Ho-
7 Ammianus 21, 10, 2. 80 Amnmianus 22, 2, 3-5.

81 This was also said of Constantius I, above p. 728.
82 Ammianus 22, 9, 14: see also Ammianus 24, 2, 21, on Julian's reception after the surrender of
Pirisabora in 363; the people came out of the city, shouting 'salutarem genium afulsisse sibi, clami-
tans Caesarem, magnum et lenem'.
83 on 'sidus salutare' cJ. above, n. 78. As Oswvn Mturrav has pointed out to me, the acclamation
to Julian at Antioch, 'salutare sidus illuxisse eois partibus', is Christian, from Matthew 2, 2. I think,
however, that this is an exception, and that the greeting of sormeone as a star, or a healthgiving
star, has pagan, not Christian roots. In Ammianus it is onlv applied to Julian, who was a pagan.
There are a few earlier parallels, which may throw light on the question: see Alfoldi, Zeremoniell
p. 88, a quotation fronm Aristophanes; op. cit. p. 93 n. I on Ptolemy Epiphanes; Eitrem, 'Zur Apo-
theose', Symb. Os/. XI, 1932, p. 19, n. 1 quoting Suet. Cal. 13, Caligula was greeted as a star at his
accession. Eitrem links this with receptions of Julian as repjorted by Ammianus.
84 cf. H. Gartner, 'Einige Oberlegungen zur kaiserzeitlichen Panegyrik und zu Ammians Cha-
rakteristik des Kaisersjulian', Akad. d. IFliss. und d. Lit., MainZ, Abbandlungen, Geistes - und soZial-
wissr. KI. 1968, no. 10, p. 509 f. 85 Pan. Lat. XI, 8, 4.
86 Libanius, Or. XIII, 42, ed. and tr. A. F. Norman, Loeb, 1969.
87 TEOs'edTar TE a6vga7T7a,; a play on the Christian Anastasis?
Change and Continuity in Late Antiquity: The Ccremony of Adventus 735
norius, but it will be argued below,88 that these are of literary and antiqua-
rian, rather than historical interest.
Looking now at the artistic side of adventus, what has happened? The
coinage of the Tetrarchy and of the earlier reign of Constantine placed the
emperor in general, and imperial adventus in particular, into an undeniably di-
vine setting. This is also true of the arches of Galerius and Constantine. On
these arches the adventtus itself is rendered as a largely historical event, but the
elements which accompany it, especially Sol on the arch of Constantine, raise
it to another level. As regards the arch of Galerius, one should look at the re-
lief showing the emperors enthroned above Earth and Sky89 to see what im-
perial presence could imply. On the coinage of Constantine the divine con-
comitants of adventus disappear, although the adventus imagery in its essentials
continued. Valens is still to be seen on the coinage welcomed by the turret-
ted city goddess of Antioch,90 just as Londinium had been shown welcom-
ing Constantius I, but the legend is a plain GLORIA ROMANORUM, not
REDDITOR LUCIS AETERNAE. Now it is interesting to note that dur-
ing the reign of the pagan Julian, the imagery of divine adventus did not reap-
pear on the coinage, although, according to Ammianus, who was a more de-
tached observer than authors of panegyrics, he was in fact welcomed as a di-
vine being. The Christianisation of the empire had, by this time, taken its
first irrevocable steps, and the iconography of adventus was in part lost. This
&dd not mean, however, that the emperor could not be welcomed in other
ways.
III
Imperial adventus ceased to be a religious event, but it did not thereby be-
come a merely historical one. In art, adventus was expressed in a generalized,
"8 below, p. 738.

89 Arch of Galerius, South West pillar, North East face. In view of the later Christian iconogra-
phy and its significance, the personifications under the two semicircles are unlikely to be a river-
god and a naiad, as is suggested by K. F. Kinch, L'Arc de Triomphe de Salonique, 1890, p. 24. If on
the other hand, the two personifications are interpreted as earth and sky, Maximian Herculius is
seated over the Earth, and Diocletian Jovius over the Sky, thus impersonating the roles of Her-
cules and Iuppiter, their respective patrons. Constantine was represented in a similar manner, but
after his death, Eusebius VC ed. Heikel, 1902, IV, 69.
90 Gnecchi, I Medaglioni Romani I, pl. 16, 1; 17, 1; on the ground reclines Tellus. City goddess
with the mounted, nimbate Maxentius: Toynbee, Roman Medallions, pl. 34, 12. A barbarian imita-
tion of a medallion showing, obverse, confronted busts of Valentinian I and Valens, and reverse,
mounted emperor with city goddess and Tcllus, Toynbee, op. cit. pl. 10 and p. 178, n. 159.
non-specific way, which hinted at its timeless and empire wide signific-
ance. This concept, which had already found some expression under the Te-
trarchy,91 was stated more emphatically in art after the first half of the fourth
century. Panegyric accounts of adventus, on the other hand, were not so suc-
cessful at finding a new idiom. The pagan terminology and imagery had to
be discarded or had to be used merely figuratively. In the latter case, the con-
viction of the individual could no longer play a part. Significantly, Clau-
dian's most convincing account of imperial adventus is the one where he can
mention what probably was a personal experience.92 Art and panegyric no
longer worked in unison, as they had done under the Tetrarchy.
Eusebius in his Life of Constantine gives the earliest Christian version of
an imperial adventus. He says about Constantine's entry into Rome in 312:93
"As if freed from prison the Senate and other men of rank with the whole
Roman people met him with joyful acclamations . . . All greeted him as re-
deemer, saviour and benefactor. Yet Constantine", let us take note, "was not
rendered arrogant by his honour, but gave thanks to god as the author of his
victory". No eulogy of a pagan emperor of that or an earlier period could
have made a statement of this sort. The details of an adventus which would
not offend a moderately tolerant Christian, are given by Ammianus when he
describes Constantius' entry into Rome in 357.94 He sees this adventus in the
context of a triumph, naturally now without the sacrifice to luppiter. Con-
stantius passed through Ocriculi, 'elatus honoribus magnis, stipatusque ag-
minibus formidandis, tamquam acie ducebatur instructa, omnium oculis in
eum contuitu pertinaci intentis'. Near the city, the Senate welcomed him, to-
gether with a vast concourse of people, who watched him seated alone in his
golden car, arrayed in shining jewels. Constantius was surrounded by dragon
standards woven of purple and gold, and by a double line of infantrymen in
glittering mail. The cavalry were equally impressive. Greeted as Augustus
by the people, so that the hills resounded with the shouts, Constantius did
not move at all, but stood completely rigid, gazing straight ahead.95 Not-
withstanding all this ceremony, however, he subsequently talked with the
senators, when presiding in the circus, granted the Roman people their tradi-
tional liberties,96 and looked at the monuments of Rome. But during the ad-
91 see above, p. 729. 92 see Cameron, Claudian, p. 201-2, and below, p. 737.
93 VC I, 39. 94 Ammianus 16, 10, 1 ff.
96 see Charlesworth, 'Imperial Deportment', JRS 37, 1947, p. 34-38; J. A. Straub, Vom
Herrscherideal in der Spaianlike, 1939 (Darmstadt 1964), p. 184-5. As Straub savs, the fact that the
accoun-t of Ammianus bears striking resemblances with Xenophon, Cyropaedia VIII, 1, 40-42 (cf.
I, 2, 16; 3, 2), need not detract from Ammianus' veracity. Similar occurrences evoke similar des-
criptions. Charlesworth suggests borrowings from the East.
96 The picture given bv Ammianus makes an overall contrast between the conduct of the empe-
ror outside the city, i. c. during the adventux ceremonv, and inside it, i. e. when the ceremony was
ventus ceremony itself, the emperor was to be seen as utterly remote and un-
approachable. The ceremony, in other words, became more and more splen-
did, formal and complicated, but Ammianus' account nowhere indicates that
Constantius - like Julian - was welcomed as in any sense divine.
Claudian gives a similar impression of Honorius. Describing Honorius'
consular procession in Milan in 398, he says:97 'What garments, what mira-
cles of splendour have we not seen, when in Ausonian garb you advanced
through Liguria, and were carried, a starry burden (sidereum onus), on the
shoulders of picked warriors, surrounded by the cohorts clad in white' (Plat-
nauer).
Sic numina Memphis
in vulgus proferre solet; penetralibus exit effigies ...
The allusion is to an Egyptian festival celebrated at the winter solstice,98
when the statue of a small boy representing the sun at its lowest point, when
the days are beginning to get longer, was carried from a shrine. It is interest-
ing that this simile of Claudian's likens the emperor to a symbol for the sun -
over. During the ceremony, his bearing was statuesque and majestic, after it was over, it was less
formal and the people could take certain liberties, especially in the circus. Straub, Herrscberideal p.
175 if., especially p. 187-8, deduces from this and other accounts of advenius in Rome, that the cere-
mony in Rome took a different form, i. e. once the emperor had entered Rome, he was expected to
behave as civis, not dominus. He was expected to meet the senators on an equal footing, as had been
done by other good emperors, eg Pliny, Panegyric 22 f.; cf. Pan. Lat. IX, 20, 1; X, 34, 4; XII, 47, 3.
Such a distinction, according to Straub, was not made elsewhere. Also, he takes Ammianus' criti-
cism of Constantius' adventus as implying that, according to Ammianus, Constantius did not ob-
serve the rules about adventus in Rome properly. However, Ammianus did not criticize the advenius
itself, but its military aspect; since there had been no victory over a foreign enemy, there was no
caust to take the army to Rome as if for a triumph. Ammianus applies the old rules about
triumphs, which, by this time, however, were out of date (cf. p. 725). Apart from the question of
the emperor arriving with his army, there is some evidence that once an emperor had entered any
city, i. e. after the adventur ceremony was over, his conduct, and as a result that of his subjects, be-
came less formal. At Autun, Constantine, having received the adoratio of the local senate, raises
them 'voce divina, porrectaque hac invicta dextera' (Pan. Lat. VIII, 1, 3) and hears their requests
in an informal atmosphere (ibid. 9). The liberties taken by the Antiochenes once Julian had ar-
rived, are well known, although their behaviour at the actual adventus was respectful enough
(Amm. 22, 9, 4). Accordingly, the emphasis should be changed: the distinction to be made is not
between imperial conduct at adventus in Rome and elsewhere, but between conduct during cere-
monial actions and outside them. This is not to say that the emperor's conduct in Rome was not
governed by special precedents; the point is, these did not make the ceremony of adventus any dif-
ferent. It could, nonetheless, be ajusted for special circumstances. Thus, in 404, the Senators were
dispensed from walking before Honorius' chariot (Claudian, VI Consulship 550-551 and Cameron,
Claudian p. 382). The fact that Claudian specially points this out, seems to indicate that normally,
they did pay the emperor this honour, eg Pan. Lat. X, 31, 1 'Non agebantur quidem ante currum
vincti duces, sed incedebat soluta nobilitas. Non coniecti in carcerem barbari, sed educti e carcere
consularis'. "I IV Consulship 565 f.
98 Macrobius Sat. 1, 18, 10; see Cameron, Claudian, p. 201-2.
47 Historia XXI/4
it is a remnant of the old imagery. In Claudian's account of the adventus of

Honorius, as in Ammianus' account of the arrival of Constantius II, the em-
peror looks like a statue. On the former occasion, the nobility of Italy, Spain
and Gaul were present to honour Honorius. His robes were decorated with
jewels from all parts of the earth, giving him the appearance of triumphant
Bacchus.99 Honorius' consular adventus is an augury of glory and worldwide
victory,'00 thus affecting the whole empire, even the whole world, but the
significance of the event remains terrestial; any hint of the supernatural has
gone.
On the occasion of Honorius' sixth consulship, Claudian describes his trium-

phal entry into Rome, "sacra adventus tui",10' to celebrate the defeat of Ala-
rich. The imperial arrival had been longingly awaited by Roma, who pleads
with the emperor and comes from her temple to welcome him.'02 The whole
poem is filled with allusions from mythology and history. A huge crowd
filled the area between the Palatine and the Milvian Bridge,'03 to watch the
arrival of Honorius and his mailclad army. He rode in a chariot with Stilicho,
accompanied on foot by Stilicho's son Eucherius and his sister. The Sena-
tors, by special courtesy of the emperor, did not walk before the triumphal
chariot. Honorius addressed the people from the Rostra,'04 and the Senate in
the Curia.'05 Then, along the Via Sacra, he proceeded to the Palatium, and la-
ter, in the circus, the affection of the people was again displayed to him. This
is, on the whole, the usual adventus ceremony, elaborately described. The
sight is a splendid one, but Honorius is not divine.
Some passages in Claudian might indeed give the impression that he is,
but I would argue that this is the result of Claudian's literary technique, rath-
er than the portrayal of an actual state of affairs.'06 Theodosius and Honorius
are compared to Sol and Lucifer,'07 Honorius' progress is likened to that of
Bacchus.'08 However, these statements appear among a host of other histori-
cal and mythological allusions and elaborations of the theme which formed
"I IV Coniulsbip 602 f.

100 ibid. 652 f., prophesying victory on the Rhine and in Babylon, and the conquest of Suebi and
Bactrians. This contrast of Eastern and Western victory is an old theme, already used by Augustus
in the RG (32; cf. 29 f.), which found elaborate expression on imperial monuments of late antiqui-
ty, eg the arch of Constantine, the Obelisc base of Theodosius and the column base of Arcadius.
The addition of elaborations such as Claudian's here to the adventus theme illustrates the quandary
in which the late fourth century found itself as regards this ceremony. Complexity and splendour
replaced religious, even political, significance. 101 VI Consulship 125.
102 ibid. 361 ff.; 523 ff.; cf. above, p. 728, notes 46; 47; 49; Pan. Lat. III, 12, 1 f.
103 VI ConsulsbiP 543 f.
104 Such an adlocutio, a traditional part of an imperial arrival, is illustrated on one of the panel re-
liefs of the arch of Constantine. 105 VI Consulship 587 f.
106 cf. Cameron, Claudian p. 193 if.; 251-3. 107 III Consulship 131.
108 IV Consulship 602 f.
part of the panegyricist's equipment,109 particularly if he wrote in verse.

Claudian's accounts are not, and were not intended to be, factual in the same
sense as e. g. those of Ammianus, or any historian, or, indeed, those of a
prose panegyricist. His adornments of the theme are not a matter of his or
anyone else's personal conviction, but form part of his art. A Christian varie-
ty of imperial panegyric, where such adornments in the old pagan idiom
might be replaced by Christian, or neutral, ones, was not developed in the
fourth century, despite some attempts."10 This literary genre was a pagan
one.
In the field of art, unlike in panegyric, a solution to the problem of pre-

senting a Christian emperor was evolved in the fourth century, and this will
now be examined.
A silver bowl of Constantius II in the Hermitage"' shows the emperor in
the idiom of the adventus imagery of the coinage. Mounted on a horse with
jewelled reins, he is nimbate and wears an embroidered tunic; in his right
hand, he holds a spear. Before the horse, partly covered by its front legs,
Victoria, drawn on a slightly smaller scale, delicately tripples along. In her
left hand, she holds a palm branch, and in her right, she raises up a wreath to-
wards Constantius."2 A barbarian body guard, also drawn slightly smaller
109 Menander ed. Spengel, in Rbe/ores Graeci vol. III, p. 368-9, the adornment of the pro-
oemium, p. 369-370 of the home country, p. 370-1 of the birth of the subject of the panegyric,
p. 371 f., of his character, deeds and habits, and similarly throughout the treatise.
110 As Oswyn Murray has pointed out to me, Ausonius' panegyric on Gratian can be classified
as a Christian one, since he refuses to discuss tht traditional themes. See also the consolationes on the
deaths of Theodosius and Valentinian III by Ambrose.
1I" R. Delbrueck, Spatantike Kaiserportrdts, 1933, pl. 57, p. 151 dates it after 343; A. Grabar,
L'Empereur dans l'Art Bytantin, 1936, p. 48 dates it in the mid fourth century; the emperor is thus
Constantius II.
112 The basic motif of this bowl is taken from the coinage, cf. above, n. 55. Instances on the coin-
age of the mounted emperor preceded by Victoria with wreath and palm, and followed by a sol-
dier: RIC VI, p. 61 Valerian and Gallienus, ADVENTUS AUGG; cf. pl. 11, 165 medallion of
Gallienus and Valerian II, ADVENTUS AUGG; cf. above p. 729, n. 53, Constantine's medal-
lion from Ticinum. Justinian, medallion, below p. 750. Variants of the motif: Probus, RIC V2, p.
44 ADVENTUS AUG, Victoria with wreath and palm, preceding mounted emperor; p. 115, as
above, but emperor raises right hand; p. 78 ADVENTUS AUG, Victoria precedes the mounted
emperor, who raises his right hand; p. 79, as above, but soldier follows behind. Diocletian, ibid. p.
244, VICTORIA AUG, Victoria preceding mounted emperor. Postumus, ibid. p. 350 PROFEC-
TIO AUGUSTI SC, Victoria with wreath and palm leads mounted emperor; p. 355, VICT
COMES AUG, Victoria with palm leads mounted emperor. Constantine, RIC VII p. 609 and n.
52, and p. 626 ADVENTUS AUG N, Victoria with wreath and palm precedes mounted emperor.
Sons of Constantine, cf. A. Alfoldi, Die Kontorniaten, 1943, pl. II, 13; 14; 15; (cf. p. 9), all reading
VICTORIA AUGG, mounted emperor led by Victoria with wreath. Jovian, H. Cohen, Descrip-
47*
than the emperor and partly covered by the hindquarters of the horse and its
tail, follows behind, carrying a spear and a large round shield with a Chi Rho
design. Below the hind legs of the horse, a shield lies on the ground - a trace
of the fallen enemy sometimes shown on the coinage.113 On the surface, the
ingredients of this imperial image are the same as those of Constantine's
medallion from Ticinum; on both, the mounted emperor is led by Victoria
and followed by a pedisequus. But there the similarity ends. On the medallion,
Constantine was shown on the obverse as the counterpart of Sol. Here there
is no such implication: the emperor is alone and majestic, but he remains the
emperor. Instead of resolute forward movement along a horizontal ground-
line, as on the medallion, the silver dish shows the emperor and his compa-
nions as almost stationary, and there is no groundline. The straightforward
and clear cut profile view of the medallion has changed into a more subtle
and complicated three quarter frontality.114 The whole composition is turned
in on itself: Victoria, supposedly moving in the same direction as the empe-
ror, yet looks the other way. But neither she nor the soldier look directly at
the emperor, as some of the followers of Constantine and Galerius did on
their arches; their eyes are discreetly lowered in the presence of majesty. The
emperor looks out beyond his companions and also beyond the viewer of the
image. The image portrays a reality where those who accompany the empe-
ror (here the soldier and Victoria) serve merely as a background and exist on a
different plane. In Ammianus' account also the emperor moves in his proces-
sion as if completely untouched by what surrounds him; he does not turn his
head to the multitude, and does not hear their shouts in his honour.
This representation refers to no specific place or occasion.115 Victory and
arrival are to be understood here as something other than distinct identifia-
ble historical events.
A clearer view of the doctrinal changes which transformed emperor and
empire in the fourth century is to be seen on the column base of Arcadius,
lion bistorique des Monnaies, vol. VIII, 1892, p. 74, 1 ADVENTUS AUGUSTI, mounted emperor
preceded by soldier with labarum, followed by Victoria with wreath; in exergue, ROMA.
113 the mounted emperor riding over, or spearing, a prostrate foe, on the coinage; for the later
empire (the motif was also used earlier) cf. eg Maximinus, RIC JV2, p. 151; 152; Aurelian, RIC VI,
p. 270 ADVENTUS AUG; Probus, RIC V2, p. 46; 50; 66; 104; 114; enc. Maximian, with other
Tetrarchs, ibid. p. 260; RIC VI, p. 320; 323-4; 578 etc. Constantine, ibid. p. 291-3; 323-4; 134-5
ADVENTUS AUG; RIC VII, p. 164; 167; 212; 333; Constantius II, H. Cohen, Description hisuo-
rique des Monnaies, vol. VII, 1888, p. 447, no. 51; p. 461, no. 140. The motif is rare with adventus
legends. With other legends it was used frequently until the later reign of Constantine, when
it was applied mainly to the Caesars. One of the last examples, RIC XI, p. 103 = pl. 7, 13, for
Valentinian II.
114 also used on the Barberini Diptych and the medallion of Justinian, below p. 749.
115 Delbrueck op. cit. p. 147 'Dargestellt ist ein Aufzug des siegreichen Kaisers, aber formelhaft
abgc.kurzt . . .'.
erected in Constantinople in 402.116 Its three sculptured sides explain and ela-
borate each other, but in this context the East side is the most relevant. In
the second register the emperors Arcadius and Honorius are shown as con-
suls, raising their right hand in a gesture of adlocutio. Below, the senators of
Roma and Constantinopolis - the two latter shown under arches at the ex-
treme left and right - make their offerings for the occasion; each procession
is headed by a senator carrying a wreath."7 It is a consular adventus. The em-
perors with their retinues meet the Senators of the two cities, a scene of the
same sort as the one which is described by Claudian in his panegyric on the
sixth consulship of Honorius for Rome alone."18 In the lowest register are
displayed the arms and weapons which point to past and future victories, as
is done by Claudian."19 As on the silver dish of Constantius, any movement
on the part of the emperors has disappeared. They stand there in stationary
dignity.
What now has become of the divine aspect of the emperor? In the top re-
gister we see the all - victorious cross,'20 shown with a guard of honour on
a plaque, and borne upwards by two victories or angels. Left and right fly
Phosphorus and Hesperus, possibly still intended as symbols of supernatural
rule; the design on the West side is similar, where the cross is flanked by Sol
and Luna.'2' It should be noted that these symbols are associated with the
cross, not the emperors.'22
On the other hand, the column base displays with great care and detail all
the earthly and temporal honours which are the emperors' due. The icono-
graphy of the submission of distant enemies and the homage of the provinces
116 Kollwitz, Osirdmiscbe Plastik, p. 33 f.; on the East side, p. 50 f.; pictures, ibid. Beilage, 5-7.
117 cf. Kollwitz, op. cit. p. 51; 54-5; for the wreath as a token of victory, see K. Baus, Der Kran:
in Antike und Christentum, 1940 (1965), p. 142 ff.
118 Adventus, consulship and victory were often related to each other. The victory over Alaric
was the occasion of Honorius' sixth consulship, and consulship itself could be an augury of future
victories: Claudian, IV Consulship 652 f. Honorius' sixth consulship was celebrated in the form of
an adventus in Rome, and Claudian clothes Honorius' fourth consulship into a solemn adventus in
Milan. This last adventus raises a problem: Honorius' consular procession is said to advance 'per
Ligurum populos' (IV Consulship 567). Liguria is the mountainous region South of the Po valley,
whereas Milan, where Honorius celebrated his consulship, is North of the Po in the plain. Hono-
rius was also in Milan on Dec. 26, 297 (0. Seeck, Regesten der Kaiser und Papste, 1919, p. 292). A
quick trip to Liguria and back in the five days between December 26 and January 1 seems rather
unlikely. If this supposition is correct, we have here the interesting case of a consulship with aficti-
tious adventus. Adventus would thus be regarded as a proper ceremonial ingredient to consulship,
and if no actual adventus from outside the city occurred, one could invent one.
119 above, p. 738 and n. 100.
120 The sign by which Constantine was victorious by this time was thought to be the cross. See
Gage, 'Zravp'g' VLKooToLO: la victoire imperialc dans l'empire chretien', Rev. d'Histoire et de Pbilos.
rel. 1933, p. 370-400, and Grabar, L'Empereur dans l'Art Byzantin p. 34 f.
121 cf. above, n. 66. 122 cf. below p. 749, on the Barberini Diptych.
was elaborated at this time,123 to replace, I would like to say, those honours,
which, since they now belonged to Christ, could no longer be attributed to
the emperor.'24 What remains, however, is the understanding of an imperial
event as in some sense universal, i. e. not confined to any particular time or
place: in fact, what is shown on the column base never occurred, for Arcad-
ius and Honorius did not meet as consuls.'25 This did not matter: the column
base makes a statement of the nature of imperial rule,126 not about this or
that historical fact in connection with it. Thus imperial arrival, which already
in the panegyrics of the Tetrarchy had been said to be always and every-
where occurring,'27 becomes a timeless event and is represented as such.
During the fourth century, the setting of the ceremony of adventus was
generally still a pagan one: particularly in literature, no other idiom could be
found for it, although it has been seen that this was not entirely so in art.
Nonetheless, on the coinage, adventus issues become quite rare after c. 350
AD, and had clearly lost much of their former importance. Moreover, in the
West, the ceremony itself disappeared. One of the last ceremonial imperial
arrivals was Honorius' triumphal entry into Rome after the defeat of Alaric,
which was described by Claudian. Sidonius Apollinaris, in his panegyrics on
Avitus, Majorian and Anthemius, despite ample opportunity,'28 describes no
adventus. His literary model was Claudian, and the vocabulary and method
were thus not lacking. The implication is that Sidonius did not see an adven-
tus of the emperor, and describing one therefore did not occur to him. It was
otherwise too good a panegyric theme to miss. The panegyrics of Sidonius
are not independent creations, but imitations of Claudian with other ingre-
123 cf. above, n. 100; I intend to treat this topic in detail elsewhere.
124 The arch of Galerius and S. Vitale, Ravenna may serve as examples. The arch, South West
pillar, North East face, third register, shows the emperors seated on earth and sky. In the apse of
S. Vitale, Christ is seated on the sphere, a motif which occurs many times elsewhere, eg in S. Theo-
dore, Rome, and S. Lorenzo. No such representation of an emperor dating after Constantine ex-
ists (cf. above, n. 89). The missorium of Theodosius is perhaps an approximation (Tellus in the
exergue). 126 cf. Kollwitz, op. cit. p. 59.
126 In this case, one of the aspects hinted at is concordia. Possibly this points to a similar publicity
campaign in the East as that in the West, outlined by Cameron, Claudian p. 51-2; 97-8; 102;
110-111; 368. The column base, however, is later than the relevant poems by Claudian.
127 Pan. Lat. III, 14, 3; cf. 4, 4.
128 Avitus' arrival in Rome, Majorian's arrival in Lyon, and Anthemius' arrival in Rome and
the West as a whole. Sidonius' panegyrics, especially that on Majorian, could really be construed
as panegyrics on the occasion of adventus. He came to Rome with Avitus, welcomed Majorian in
Lyon, and praised Anthemius on the occasion of his first consulship as emperor. Cf. A. Loyen,
Recherches his/oriques surlespanigyriques de Sidoine lpollinaire, 1942, p. 17; 36; 62; 85 f.
dients added. The skill of composing panegyrics was being forgotten in the
course of the fifth century, and in the general collapse of Roman culture and
administration which occurred in the West at that time, the ceremony of im-
peria] adventus likewise disappeared.
Christianity changed the interpretation of imperial adventus in the fourth

century, and also, in this field as in others, it adapted imperial iconography
for its own uses. The two biblical accounts of adventus which have been re-
ferred to above, are illustrated in Christian art.
Christ's entry into Jerusalem is narrated by all the evangelists in much cir-
cumstantial detail, and it is thus that it is represented on early fourth century
Christian sarcophagi and elsewhere.'29 We see Christ on the donkey, fre-
quently with the foal trotting along behind,'30 and people spreading their
clothes in the way. On some representations a man in a tree looks down on
the scene, an intermixture of Christ's entry into Jerusalems with his encoun-
ter with Zacchaeus the publican. Just as the arches of Galerius and Constan-
tine show the city gate into which the emperor is about to enter, so here, on
the sarcophagi: on the right of the composition is usually to be seen the city
gate of Jerusalem, and, on some sarcophagi of the later fourth century, the
personiification of Jerusalem making her welcome, crowned with a mural
crown: this is a good parallel to the medallion of Constantius' adventus in
Londinium, mentioned above,'3' and other similar coins. The adventus coin-
age frequently showed the mounted emperor advancing and raising his
right hand in a gesture of adlocutio:132 the same is the case with Christ on
these fourth century sarcophagi. The adlocutio gesture, the city gate, and the
city goddess do not form part of the biblical account, although they were
regular components in the description and representation of imperial adven-
tus. We have here an assimilation of the adventus of Christ to that of the em-
peror historically conceived. On the arches of Galerius and Constantine -
taking aside the tondo of Sol - and on the sarcophagi, what is being repre-
sented is a precisely defined historical event: arrival at a definite place at a de-
finite time.
129 see F. W. Deichmann, Repelitorium der christlichen antiken Sarkophage I, Rom - Ostia, 1967,
nos. 14 (with Zacchaeus in tree); 21; 26; 63; 680, 1 (Junius Bassus, with Zacchaeus in tree); 772;
841; F. Benoit, Sarc. paliochr. d'Arles et de Marseille, 1954, no. 45. The scene is also shown on the
cathedra of Maximus and other ivory works.
130 but the foal was left out in later sarcophagi, where the scene is more closely assimilated to
representations of imperial adventus. 131 p. 729, n. 50.
132 Some issues of Constantine, contemporary with the earliest of the sarcophagi, may serve as
examples: RIC VII, p. 97, no. 1 = pl. 1; p. 98; 427; 527; 609 = pl. 20, 52. Cf. the medallion from
Ticinum, above, n. 53.
As has been pointed out above,'33 adventus which took place at a precise
place and time, was expanded into the concept of universal and timeless ad-
ventus, which affects the whole world. This type of event is represented on
the column base of Arcadius, without, however, making the emperor divine.
The epistle to the Thessalonians describes this timeless and universal ad-
ventus, the second coming of Christ, at which all mankind, living and dead,
will be present. John Chrysostom,134 among others describes this coming in
terms of an imperial advent, when men will wish to be among those welcom-
ing Christ, just as the emperor's subjects rejoice in welcoming their ruler. No
words can describe that divine coming, Chrysostom says, for if we can barely
describe the emperor with his splendid retinue, as he comes dressed in purple
and jewels, how can we describe the thousands and thousands of angels who
shall appear with Christ, the lord of all, and the splendour of his counte-
nance ?13' Such an advent of Christ precluded that the emperor should still be
welcomed as divine.
The coming of Christ is represented on one of the panels of the doors of
S. Sabina (c. 430 AD).'36 These panels were originally arranged in such a
way that each Old Testament scene was balanced by one from New Testa-
ment. For the NT, there is Christ, surrounded by a wreath and the four apo-
calyptic beasts,137 appearing above the celestial sphere with sun, moon and
stars. Below, two men, perhaps Peter and Paul, stretch out their hands to-
ward, or hold, a cross in a circle: this has been interpreted'38 as the sign of
Christ, which precedes him at the second cominsg, and is welcomed by the
faithful. Between the two men stands a woman in ecstasy; she probably rep-
resents the church.'39
One of the biblical texts recalled by Cyril of Jerusalem and by John Chry-
sostom in the context of the second coming is the prophet Malachi: 140 'Be-
133 above, p. 722.

134 see above, n. 22, and also the examples quoted by Kantorovicz, 'The King's Advent . .
Art Bulletin XXVI, 1944, p. 224 ff.
135 we may here recall the panegyrics which describe the radiance of the imperial face and the
emperor's beauty, eg, Pan. Lat. IV, 19, 3; VI, 3, 3-4; VII, 17, 1 f.; 21, 6 f.; IX, 7, 5; 19, 6; X, 34, 4;
XII, 6; also Eusebius VCI, 19; III, 10; cf. Menander, ed. Spengel, p. 371.
136 Kantorovicz, op. cit. p. 223. Kantorovicz' interpretation is accepted here.
137 rather than the symbols of the evangelists, as according to Kantorovica, op. cit. p. 223, quot-
ing Morey. 138 Kantorovicz, op. cit. p. 225-7; 228.
139 C-O. Nordstrom, Ravennastudien, 1953, pl. 5a and p. 30 on a similar representation of the se-
cond coming in the Cod. Vat. Grec. 699, of Cosmas Indicopleustes. The division into registers of
this image is more pronounced, the technique being closely related to that on the column base of
Arcadius. See also Kollwitz, op. cit. p. 61.
140 Cyril of Jerusalem, Katech. XV, 2, PG 33, 872; John Chrysostom, Ad Theod. Lapsum 1, 12,
PG 47, 293; Malachi 3, 2, 3; the words 'Behold, the lord shall suddenly come to his temple' are
quoted by Cyril but not by Chrysostom, but the association of this passage with the second com-
ing is nonetheless significant.
hold, the lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple ... but who
may abide the day of his coming?' This coming of the lord to his temple is
shown on the Old Testament panel, which originally balanced the New Tes-
tament one, described above.14' The panel is divided into three registers. In
the top one is seen the temple and in its door the veils are drawn aside and
the lord appears. Next to him stands the angel, the 'messenger', according to
Malachi, who announces his coming. Below in two different registers, are
two groups of men acclaiming the lord, just as in imperial art the subjects are
shown acclaiming the emperor. On both these panels, Christ, or, more inde-
finitely, the lord coming to his temple, is shown quite clearly as divine in a
manner which could not now be employed for the emperor. The column
base of Arcadius is an example of one method of overcoming the resulting
difficulty.
Looking now at the artists' methods of presenting the adventus ceremony,
some revealing contrasts can be made, which illustrate the development of
the ceremony. On the arches of Galerius and Constantine, the adventus is
shown as a particular historical event which the artist describes: there are the
city gates, the imperial entourage, the emperor himself. On the arch of Ga-
lerius, the relief is framed by Victories, and on the arch of Constantine,Victo-
ria drives the chariot of the emperor. These reliefs, although clearly belong-
ing to the later empire, are still made in the tradition of Roman imperial art
which narrates an event.'42 The scenes represented - despite the gods who
sometimes appear in them - are rendered naturalistically, in such a way that
the onlooker might regard himself as participating in them. The same is the
case with the sarcophagi which show Christ's entry into Jerusalem.
It is rather different with the column base of Arcadius and the panels of
S. Sabina. These works are divided into more than one section by means of
registers, thus destroying the naturalistic impression given by earlier works
of this nature. This enables the artist to present several ideas at once, and in
descending importance. The tondo of Sol on the arch of Constantine makes a
first step towards this association of ideas in art. But as yet, the concepts
141 1 follow Kantorovicz' interpretation of this panel, but see Delbrueck, Art Bulletin XXXI,
1949, p. 215-17, for a different view. The drawing aside of veils, with the accompanying revela-
tion of royalty or divinity is an aspect of adventus and parousia, cf. Treitinger, Reichsidee, p. 55. The
palace of Theoderic represented in S. Apollinare Nuovo also shows veils which are drawn aside.
Before Justinian's alterations of this mosaic, Theoderic and dignitaries of his court were to be seen
appearing between the veils, just like the Lord appears on the door panel of S. Sabina.
142 The word 'narrate' is not here used in any technical sense. On its use in the context of Ro-
man and ancient art as a whole cf. D. Strong, Roman Imperial Sculpture, 1961, p. 27 f., on the Col-
umn of Trajan and the Great Trajanic frieze; P. G. Hamberg, Studies in Roman Imperial Art, 1945,
p. 108 ff.; 149 ff.; and cf. p. 15 f.; 41-5. In the Symposium on 'Narration in Ancient Art', AJA 61,
1957, p. 43 f., the papers by Hanfmann, Blanckenhagen, and Weitzmann alone show in what a va-
riety of meanings the term 'narration' is used in the context of art.
which the viewer is intended to relate to each other and intertwine, are not
brought into a real unity. In the two panels of S. Sabina on the other hand, as
on the column base, this unity has been achieved. On the OT panel, first the
lord is to be seen appearing with the messenger, in the temple. The accla-
mantes, presumably standing outside the temple, would, at an earlier time, ac-
cording to the usage of Roman imperial art, have been shown actually out-
side it; but here they are in two more registers, first the more important,
more elaborately dressed acclamantes, then some less important, smaller ones.
In each register the figures are slightly smaller than those in the register
above, the lord and the angel thus being taller than any of the acclamantes. In
the NT panel, the division into registers is not quite so rigid, but it is rein-
forced by the ideas being represented. Above the arch of heaven, with sun,
moon and stars - that is beyond the confines of this earth - Christ appears
with the apocalyptic beasts. In the lower part of the picture is shown the
earth and what is happening there - another world. Such a juxtaposition of
the earthly with that which is beyond space and time, the thing which John
saw "in the spirit", would have been almost inconceivable in earlier Roman
art, but it became the usual mode of expression in mediaeval and Byzantine
art. One of the earliest representations in Roman art of such a transcendental
scene appears on the arch of Galerius, showing the emperors enthroned on
earth and sky.143 The imperial iconography for this type of theme had been
developed just early enough for Christianity to make use of it.144 In the
Christian empire, this novel method of representation was used for Christ
and the emperor alike: the emperor also had a non-historical, universal ad-
ventus of sorts, but its limitations were very carefully observed in the fourth
and early fifth centuries, and ultimately this type of iconography in connec-
tion with imperial adventus was dropped.'45
IV
In the West, the ceremony of imperial adventus, both historically and uni-
versally conceived, disappeared, but in Byzantium, although somewhat
changed under the impact of Christianity, it survived. It remains to see what
it became. The emperors were resident in Constantinople, and in the early
Byzantinc period rarely if at all left the city. There was thus less occasion for
143 South West pillar, North East face, third register.

144 As the type of thing artists wanted to represent changed, so did, of necessity, the methods
they employed. We are dealing, as is now generally agreed, not with a period of artistic decline,
but with the creation of a new style and new artistic concepts; cf. Grahar, 'Plotin et les origines de
1'esth6tique medicvale', Cabiers Archf'oIogiquies, I, 1945, p. 15 f. 15 below p. 751.
adventus than formerly. But one aspect of the ceremony, not so far touched
upon continued as before: the arrival of the imperial images, which were,
and since the time of Augustus had been, sent round the various cities and
provinces of the empire at each accession.'46 Violation of the imperial images
was lese majest6, and they were treated with the same reverence and decorum
as the emperor. Thus, their arrival was in itself and adventus, and the formali-
ties of the ceremony very similar to an imperial adventus.'47 In other words,
the tradition continued.
It continued, however, in Christian terms. Not only the emperor and im-
perial images arrived ceremonially, but also relics and bishops. Already
Athanasius had been formally welcomed by the populace of Alexandria
when he returned from his second exile in 346. According to his eulogist
Gregory Nazianzen, he received greater honour in his welcome than the em-
peror Co:nstantius.148 Gregory also draws a lengthy parallel - in doubtful
taste - with Christ's entry into Jerusalem, going as far as to say that the fes-
tivities in honour of Athanasius were greater. This type of remark is, of
course, usual in panegyric when making a comparison.'49 Such a compari-
148 for this and the following see H. Kruse, Studien zur ofllziellen Gelung des Kaiserbildes, 1934, p.
23 f.; K. M. Setton, 'Christian Attitude toward; the Emperor. . .' p. 297 f.; also Treitinger, Reichs-
idee, p. 204-211.
147 These formalities were still observed in the Rome of Gregory the Great, MGH Epist. II,
p. 364-5; for the eighth century, see Mansi XII, col. 969. Cf. Gregoire, Byzantion 4, 1927-8,
p. 479-480. Constantine Porphyrogenitus, De Caer. (Bonn), I, 87, p. 395-6, on the arrival of the im-
age of Anthemius in Constantinople in 467 AD. This was the occasion of panegyrics on Leo and
Anthemius by Diapherentios and Dioskorios prefect and exprefect of Constantinople respectively.
The emperor's personal arrival was also celebrated by panegyrics, as has already been noted: the
emperor and his image were treated with equal respect.
148 Laudes Athan. 27 if., Pg 35, 1113 f., see at 1116, quoted in part by Peterson, 'Die Einholung
des Kyrios' Zeitschr. J. Systematische Theol. VII, 1930, p. 690; cf. Theodoret, HE 2, 19, PG 82,
1023.
149 PG 35, 1117; Menander ed. Spengel, p. 370, cf. 372; 374 etc. 150. This reluctance to place
Christ and the emperor on a similar footing in ceremonial had long term results in the West and in
Russia. Under the influence of the Palm Sunday rites of Jerusalem and the alleged service of strator
which Constantine performed for the pope according to the Constitutum Constantini (which be-
came known in Russia in the early 16. century), in sixteenth and seventeenth century Moscow, the
Czar held the stirrup for the patriarch, who in the Palm Sunday procession impersonated Christ
(see Ostrogorsky, 'Zum Stratordienst des Herrschers' Semin. Kondakov. 7, 1935, p. 187-204). This
impasse, the implied submission of ruler to patriarch, was avoided in Byzantium, where the empe-
rors did not celebrate Palm Sunday in S. Sophia (de Caer. I, 32), and did not come into contact
with the patriarch on that day. However, in late Byzantine ceremonial, according to Codinus, the
emperor did impersonate Christ on Palm Sunday, see Treitinger, Reichsidee p. 125 f. This idea,
however, could only take root after a long history of cautious parallels between god, or Christ,
and the emperor (cf. Treitinger, op. cit. p. 258). Such an identification has no place in the period
here treated. Although the service of strator was not performed by Byzantine emperors, they did
walk before relics when these were brought to Constantinople, and before the sacrament, cf. Kan-
son, considered justified for a bishop, was, however, never made in connec-
tion with the emperor.160 The populace of Constantinople went out to the
suburbs to welcome back John Chrysostom after his first exile,'5' and when
later he died in exile, they paid the same honour to his bones when they were
brought back to the capital.152 There were many more such occasions, des-
cribed by the ecclesiastical historians of the fourth and fifth centuries. The
outward form of the ceremony as applied to bishops and relics remained the
same. The people awaited the arrival outside the city walls, and with singing,
lights and incense brought whoever it was back to the city.
Relics were placed on a decorated carriage.'53 When the head of Johhn the
Baptist entered Constantinople, it was covered in the purple of Theodo-
sius II.154 However, whereas formerly, the Tetrarchs had been welcomed as
the representatives on earth of Iuppiter and Hercules, and Julian had been
acclaimed as a healthgiving star,'55 the whole ceremony being a pagan one,
bishops and relics were accompanied with the singing of psalms and Christ-
ian slogans. 'Let all those who adore graven images be confounded', shout-
ed the citizens of Antioch amid singing of psalms, when they had to remove
the relics of S. Babylas from Daphne at the command of Julian.156 When the
relics of Meletius entered Antioch, in order to be placed next to the tomb of
S. Babylas, psalms were sung all along the way.'57 The anniversary of the en-
try of the relics of S. Ignatius into Antioch became the occasion of an annual
festival, just like the adventus divi formerly.l157 But adventus had now become a
Christian ceremony, and the empire was a Christian one. Thus the emperor
on his arrival would no longer be welcomed as a divinity, in pagan terms,
even if, as in Claudian, paganism could survive in terms of literary conven-
tion, rather than in terms of conviction on the part of the participants of the
ceremony.'58
torovicz, in Mullus, Festscbr. Tb. Klauser, p. 181 f., 'Constantinus Strator'; cf. Treitinger, op. cit.
p. 138.
161 Socrates, HE 6, 16, PG 67, 713.
152 Socrates, HE 7, 45, PG 67, 836; cf. on adventus of relies, Versnel, Triumphus p. 384 f.
153 cf. the sixth or seventh century ivory relief from Constantinople, illustrating an adventus of
relics, in the Cathedral treasury, Trier, D. Talbot Rice, Byzantine Art, 1968, fig. 399.
164 Sozomen, HE 7, 21, PG 67, 1484; see also ibid. 9, 2, PG 67, 1601.
155 above, p. 728, n. 42; p. 734, n. 79; n. 82. 158 Theodoret, HE 3, 6, PG 82, 1097.
157 Sozomen, HE 7, 10, PG 67, 1441.
}57a Evagrius, HE 1, 16, PG 86, II, 2465-8; for the adventus divi, celebrated annually, see
K. Latte, Rimiscbe Religionsgeschichte, 1960, p. 439, calendar for July, Augustus' return from Spain;
p. 442, calendar for October, Augustus' return from the East and 'ludi divi Augusti et Fortunae
Reducis'. Note on 29. October, 'Circenses ob adventum divi', to commemorate Constantine's en-
try into Rome on 29. Oct. 312.
158 but cf. Brehier, Monde Byzantin, II, 1949, p. 74 f., on candles and incense still being carried
before the arriving Byzantine emperor after the fifth century. The formal part of advenlus remained
Change and Continuity in Late Antiquity: The Ceremony of Advefusr 749
There is a hint of adventus as adventus of the imperial image - in Procopius

of Gaza's panegyric on the emperor Anastasius, and the tone is ajusted to the
new circumstances. The emperor receives all earthly honours, but no divine
ones. Procopius describes the joyful anticipation of the citizens of Gaza at see-
ing the portrait of Anastasius, which stands for the imperial presence.
"Already, oh mighty emperor, the whole city tums her thoughts towards
you and rejoices in your trophies .. . And she admires her benefactor all
the more for his benefactions, since his deeds excel her attempts at recom-
pense. This glory indeed befits the emperor, that having overcome his
enemies, he should likewise overcome his subjects, the former by force of
arms, the latter by a multitude of benefactions, and both by his virtues.
Our city, having received the image of her benefactor, like some eager
lover now lives in the anticipation of seeing himself and experiences every
joy. The father points out the emperor to his son, the old man to the
youth, and they rejoice together at the sight."''59
In the face of this presence, Procopius, as he says, will express the city's
thanks, the one on behalf of all. The panegyric is not outspokenly a Christian
one, but on the other hand, it is not distinctly pagan either 160,
In this context, the Barberini Diptych may be considered, which probably
dates from the reign of Anastasius.161 This may, in a general way, serve to il-
lustrate an arrival. The mounted emperor is supported below by Tellus, and
a Scythian holds his spear from behind. From the right, Victoria flies with
palmbranch and wreath (missing) to crown him. It appears that the emperor
is about to dismount. In the left panel the consul for the year brings the em-
peror a statue of Victoria (the right panel is missing). Below, Persians and
Indians bring gifts, symbolizing the homage of the East.162 The emperor re-
ceives all the honours which are his due on earth, but divine rule and divine
nature, formerly attributed to the emperor in the context of adventus, belong
to Christ, who appears on the diptych in the top panel, in the heavenly
similar; on victorious arrivals of later Byzantine emperors cf. Treitinger, Reicbsidee, p. 172 f. and
below. Cf. Evagrius, HE 1, 20, PG 86, II, 2473-6, on a formal welcome for the empress of Theo-
dosius II, Eudocia, in Antioch; she made a speech and a statue was erected to her. See also Liut-
prand of Cremona, ed. J. Becker, 1915, Relatio de Legatione 8; 10, on parts of the old adventus cere-
monial still in use in the tenth century. The 'adventus' takes place purely within the city (cf. above,
n. 118), for the emperor Nikephoros only moves from the palace to S. Sophia.
159 Bonn, 1829, p. 489-90. The longing of a city, especially of Rome, for an emperor, had been a
frequent panegyric point, cf. Pan. Lat. III, 12, 1; VI, 8, 8; VIII, 7, 6 (Autun); IX, 14, 2; Claudian,
VI Consulship 356 f.; 523 f.
160 cf. Previale, 'Teoria e prassi del panegirico Bizantino', Emerina XVII, 1949, p. 83 f.; 87 f.
161 R. Delbrueck, Die Konsulardiptychen, 1929, no. 48, text p. 193 f.; but cf. the doubts of
A. Grabar, L'Empereur dans / 'Arn Byz. p. 48-9.
162 The Scythian in the main panel makes an indirect contrast to these Easterners, cf. above,
n. 100.
sphere with sun, moon and a star, supported above the clouds (illustrated by
two volutes left and right of the sphere) by two angels. Subsequent imperial
arrivals illustrate how this approach affected the ceremony in practice.
Procopius did not describe an adventus in full, but it can be ascertained that
the ceremony continued.'63 The old adventus imagery of the coinage was re-
vived once more on a medallion struck at Constantinople in 534, probably in
connection with the Byzantine victory over the Vandals. Justinian did enter
the city ceremonially at this time.164 This piece has no parallels at all on the
coinage of that period and should be taken as one of the manifestations of
the antiquarianism of this age. The whole composition, with its three quarter
frontality, is reminiscent of the silver dish of Constantius 11.165 The star is a,
for this time, exceptional addition, reminiscent of paganism,166 but this not-
withstanding, the legend reads quite soberly SALUS ET GLORIA RO-
MANORUM.167
The arrivals of the emperor Heraclius show the old ceremony still in exist-
ence, but it is somewhat adapted to new conditions. At Jerusalem, the empe-
ror is no longer welcomed by the local Curia, but instead "the monks of the
Al Sik monastery met him, with the citizens of Jerusalem and Modestus
(their acting patriarch), carrying incense. When, entering the city, he saw
the Persians had destroyed and burnt, he was overcome with great sadness."'168
Previously, Heraclius had been welcomed at Tiberias by the Jewish inhabi-
tants of that city, and by the people of upland Galilee and Nazareth and other
towns. They brought gifts, called blessings on the emperor and asked for his
protection, which was granted, in the form of a signed treaty.169
After the conclusion of the Persian war in 629, Heraclius ceremonially en-
tered Constantinople. In the account of Theophanes, to heighten its signific-
ance, this event receives a biblical interpretation, instead of, as formerly a
mythological or outrightly pagan one.
"The emperor, having for six years fought against Persia, in the seventh
made peace, and with great rejoicing returned to Constantinople, demon-
strating thereby some sacred meaning.'70 For God created the whole
163 below p. 752 f.

164 cf. M. Restle, Kunst und byzantinische MunZpragung, Athens, 1964, p. 147-9; but Rumpf, Stil-
phasen 1955, p. 41-2 dates it in or after 559. 165 above, p. 739 f.
166 cf. passages of Ammianus on Julian, referred to above, p. 733, and Pan. Lat. XI, 2, 3.
167 Legends of this type, GLORIA ROMANORUM, SALUS REIPUBLICAE, SALUS ET
SPES REIPUBLICAE, especially the first, were extremely common during and after the reign of
Constantine, in the fourth and fifth centuries. In the third century, Salus was portrayed on the
coinage as a divine personification, and this was in some sense still the case under Constantine (cf.
RIC VII, p. 53), but thereafter Salus became an abstract notion, i. e. was not shown as a female
figure (on the treatment in art of gods and personifications after the conversion of Constantine, cf.
J. M. C. Toynbee, 'Roma and Constantinopolis in late antique Art', IRS 37, 1947, p. 135 f.).
168 Eutychius, PG 111, 1089. 169 ibid. 170 MVGTtK P Tlva OEwpiav.
Change and Continuity in Late Antiquity: The Ceremony of Advenius 751
world in six days and called the seventh a day of rest. Thus the emperor
also for six years endured many toils, and rested on the seventh, when he
returned to the city with peace and rejoicing. And the people, when they
learnt of his approach, with great longing went out to Hiera to welcome
him, together with the Patriarch, and with Constantine the other emperor
and the son of Heracius. They carried olive branches and lights and
praised Heraclius with rejoicing and tears. When his son came close to
him, he fell before his feet and embraced him, and both moistened the
ground with their tears. The people, seeing all this began singing hymns of
thanksgiving to God, and thus they brought back the emperor with joy
and entered the city."''7'
This profoundly moving description contains all the formal elements of the
old ceremony, yet the atmosphere is completely different. The biblical paral-
lel enhances the simple seriousness of the account, while yet leaving the em-
peror on a human footing. It is an entirely different type of comparison from
the somewhat bombastic one made by Gregory Nazianzen in his panegyric
of Athanasius.172 The fact that tears were shed on such an occasion of joy
adds a new element to the ceremony, which had not been present earlier.
Nicephorus describes the event in a lighter vein.173 The emperor, he says,
was received with joy by all, and brought with him four elephants, which, to
everyone's great diversion, appeared in the hippodrome. Further, some pro-
perties of the Great Church, which had been confiscated, were restored;
Constantine, the emperor's son, became consul,173a and the other son, Hera-
cius II, was nominated Caesar.
In 688, the emperor Justinian II made a triumphal entry in Salonica after
the defeat of the Avars. During his stay, he published an edict granting a
saltmine to the church of S. Demetrius, as an act of thanksgiving for his vic-
tory, in which, it appears, S. Demetrius had lent his assistance.174 Subse-
quently, a fresco was painted in the church of S. Demetrius, commemorating
Justinian's entry.'76 He is shown mounted, in conformity with the tradition-
al imagery which has been presented, with two precursors, and horsemen
following behind. In the background are the city walls of Salonica. There
might have been a group of people receiving the emperor, and a city gate,
but they are not shown the surviving fragment of the painting.
171 Theophanes, ed. C. de Boor, p. 327-8. 172 above, p. 746 f.

173 ed. C. de Boor, p. 22-23.
173a On the continued use of the consulate for dating and to denote dignity, after 541, cf.
E. Stein, 'Post - consulat et aV'ToKpaTopia', in Melanges Bidet, 1934, p. 869-912.
174 see Vasiliev, 'L'entrce triomphale de 1'empereur Justinien II a Thessalonique en 688', Orien-
talia Christiana Periodica 13, 1947, p. 355-68.
175 Only a copy in the Byzantine Museum in Athens survives, illustrated in Grabar, L'Empereur
dans l'A ri By.Z. pl. 7, 2.
752 SABINE MACCORMACK, The Ceremony of Adventus
This fresco depicting an imperial arrival and the descriptions retailed

above show all the old ingredients of the ceremony: the local dignitaries,
now Christian ones, still come out with lights, incence and olive branches to
welcome the emperor and bring him back into the city. If formerly the empe-
ror upon arrival rem-iitted tax arrears, and erected public buildings, he now
makes concessions to the church: arrival is still accompanied by material ad-
vantages. He presides in the hippodrome, and Heraclius' nominations of his
sons as consul and Caesar are in accordance with ancient usage.176 The empe-
ror still receives supernatural aid, if no longer from gods like Sol or the
Dioscuri177, then from S. Demetrius. However, the interpretation of adventus
as a supernatural or in any sense universal event has disappeared. The Christian
interpretation of adventus as it affected the emperor has thus gone a step fur-
ther. There are no monuments - or at least no surviving ones - which might
parallel the column base of Arcadius. Paganism in this context is a thing of
the past, and there is no more cautions searching for the right nuances, as
there had been in the fourth and early fifth centuries. The adventus ceremony
documents the transition from the concept of the divine emperor to that of
the emperor by the grace of God. There was a real rupture with old tradition
before this second concept could find root in Byzantium. The whole atmo-
sphere of the ceremony is a different, securely Christian one. The frame of
reference has changed.
Oxford Sabine MacCormack
176 cf. Fink, Hoey, Snyder, 'The Feriale Duranum', Yale Classical Studies VII, 1940, p. 79 f., as a
result of the capture of Ctesiphon Caracalla was made Augustus and Geta Caesar.
177 One of the predominant themes of Pan. Lat. III is the divine protection afforded to Diocle-
tian and Maximian by Iuppiter and Hercules. Pronounced pagan feeling gives way to something
more indistinct during the reign of Constantine - a period which must have been a panegyricist's
nightmarel - cf. Pan. Lat. X, 14, 1 f.; 15, 2 f.; 16, 1-2. Pacatus merely talks of 'immortalis dei
cura',Pan. Lat. XII, 39, 4.

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Change and Continuity in Late Antiquity: The Ceremony of "Adventus"

Author(s): Sabine MacCormack

The ceremony of adventus in the ancient world is closely related to what

count of Agamemnon's return to Mycenae4 indicates that the problem of

The ceremony of adventus, whatever the particular message it was intended

The adventus ceremony as celebrated in honour of the Roman emperors in

The changes of emphasis which the ceremony of adventus underwent in late

The panegyric of 29136 interprets the arrival of Diocletian and Maximian

age of Constantine, showing the emperor greeting Sol, luppiter, Mars or

"te in illius specie recognovisti", it had been said of Constantine.7' On the

As a result of Constantine's conversion to Christianity, however one may

7 Ammianus 21, 10, 2. 80 Amnmianus 22, 2, 3-5.

"8 below, p. 738.

it is a remnant of the old imagery. In Claudian's account of the adventus of

On the occasion of Honorius' sixth consulship, Claudian describes his trium-

"I IV Coniulsbip 602 f.

part of the panegyricist's equipment,109 particularly if he wrote in verse.

In the field of art, unlike in panegyric, a solution to the problem of pre-

Christianity changed the interpretation of imperial adventus in the fourth

133 above, p. 722.

143 South West pillar, North East face, third register.

There is a hint of adventus as adventus of the imperial image - in Procopius

163 below p. 752 f.

171 Theophanes, ed. C. de Boor, p. 327-8. 172 above, p. 746 f.

This fresco depicting an imperial arrival and the descriptions retailed

Oxford Sabine MacCormack

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