HADRIAN THE TRAVELER: Motifs and Expressions of Roman Imperial Power in the Vita Hadriani

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper explores the links between travel and power that the journeys of Hadrian in the Vita Hadriani reveal, and suggests that these links have broader implications for our interpretation of the Historia Augusta as a whole, and of its author's literary skill and political awareness. It offers a close reading of the contexts in which Hadrian is depicted traveling in the Vita Hadriani, and argues that they may be interpreted as part of an internal dialog over alternate strategies for expressing and legitimating imperial power. It suggests that it is the moments when Hadrian is in the act of traveling that provide the clearest clues as to our author's attitude towards appropriate behavior by an emperor.

Keywords

• Historia Augusta
• Vita Hadriani
• legitimacy
• power
• travel
• imperial administration