Adlocutio
Adlocutio is a term from Latin literature and Roman art .
In literary-rhetorical texts, adlocutio generally denotes a personally encouraging speech or greeting, a comforting speech ( Greek παραίνεσις parainesis ) or the direct address of an audience (Greek apostrophe ) by a speaker.
With a political or military reference, an adlocutio is a personal address to the Senate , the People's Assembly, or a military assembly. It was reserved for the emperor and took place, for example, when he took office or when the successor was adopted.
The adlocutio is also an element of the symbolic language of numismatics and the art of the imperial era . Often an adlocutio is shown on columns of honor and triumphal arches ( Trajan's column , Mark Aurelian column ). From Caligula to Maxentius , the adlocutio was a popular motif on coins. The adlocutio is shown as an address by the emperor to his soldiers, as a symbol of the bond between the emperor and the military. In late antiquity , adlocutio scenes took a back seat to other visual programs.
In this specific meaning, the word adlocutio is not documented in literature or in inscriptions , but the term occurs frequently on coins ( adlocutio coh. Or adlocutio coh. Praet. ).
Literary evidence (selection)
- Quintilian inst. 9.2.37
- Seneca ad Helv. 1,3
- Valerius Maximus 2,7,4
- Varro ling. 6.57
- Suetonius Tib. 23
- Livy per. 104
- Fronto Verus 132.1
literature
- Conrad Cichorius : Adlocutio . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume I, 1, Stuttgart 1893, Col. 375 f.