Se souvenir qu’il faut oublier : Marc Antoine et l’art de l’oubli augustéen

Abstract

This article provides a viewpoint on historical, epigraphic and literary proofs that testify of a complex form of damnatio memoriae against Mark Antony, Octavian’s enemy, the Augustus to be. The very notion of damnatio memoriae, which consists of a condemnation of the memory of a given individual, raises issues regarding Mark Antony. The first part of this article discusses various elements to attempt to explore whether or not Mark Antony has actually been victim of this type of memory condemnation, orchestrated by the princeps. The second part examines poetical references to the character of Mark Antony in Vergil’s, Propertius’ and Horace’s works, which confirm the application of a political strategy of forgetting targeting the defeated enemy. Between said and unsaid, Mark Antony’s character is subject to a poetical stigmatization, sometimes focusing on its name itself, sometimes applied under allusive form, like a kind of infamia that reinforces and confirms the analysis performed in the first part of the article. One must remember that one must forget: this could be the most applicable saying when it comes to the study of the treatment of Mark Antony’s memory during the Augustan period.

Keywords

• Augustus
• damnatio memoriae
• infamia
• Vergil
• Propertius
• Horace