Hadrian and the Triumph of Rome (6 page)

Hadrian was also fascinated by astrology and other arcane means of foretelling things to come. Because it depended on complicated mathematical calculations, reading the stars was felt to be more of a science than spells and incantations and, despite its inherent implausibility, was bracketed with astronomy as a legitimate form of inquiry. It gave humankind a godlike knowledge compared to which even kingship was insignificant.

It was precisely because the authorities were convinced that astrologers genuinely opened a door into the future that they frowned on their art; casting an emperor’s horoscope was high treason, for it might predict the time and manner of his death. None of this deterred Hadrian from making himself something of an expert, at least in his own eyes; he developed a habit of casting his horoscope every New Year’s Day, writing down all the things he would be doing in the coming year.

Hadrian was never frightened by contradiction. His philhellenism was essentially antiquarian and archaic: what he admired was Greece’s glorious past. At the same time, he looked back with nostalgia and respect to the heyday of the Roman Republic, long before the catastrophic first century
B.C
., when it broke down in a welter of bloodshed and the “free state” gave way to the rule of emperors. He did not much enjoy studying the classics of the age, Virgil and Cicero, finding their styles too polished and orotund.

He came to prefer the rougher, more muscular writing of Quintus Ennius, who flourished in the third and early second centuries and was a close friend of Scipio Africanus, Hannibal’s nemesis. Ennius was the author of the
Annals
, an epic poem that told the story of Rome from the fall of Troy and the arrival of the Trojan prince Aeneas on the shores of prehistoric Italy to the present day. For many years the
Annals
was a set text at school, although the
Aeneid
came to supplant it.

Ennius stood for old values. He set out his philosophy in a line that, like the best writing in Latin, requires at least twice the number of English words if a translation is to do it full justice:
moribus antiquis res stat Romana virisque
, “the Roman state depends on the customs and morals of ancient times and on real men, who deserve the name.”

Another of Hadrian’s heroes was Marcus Porcius Cato, whom Ennius knew well personally. Cato wrote
Origines
(sadly, lost), which traced the rise of the Italian cities and told the story of Rome from the time of the kings—a parallel track in prose to Ennius’ epic. He loathed the noblemen of his day, whom he regarded as corrupt, self-serving, and softened by luxury. In his account of the Punic Wars (the usual
name for the wars with Carthage), Cato refused to praise any of them by name, singling out for bravery only a one-tusked Carthaginian elephant called the Syrian.

At first sight Hadrian’s respect for these authors contradicts his enthusiasm for all things Hellenic. But appearances deceive. Ennius was of Greek descent and came from southern Italy, an area so dominated by Greek cities that it was named Magna Graecia, or Greater Greece. As well as the
Annals
, he wrote many plays in the classical Greek manner, often closely imitating works by the Athenian tragedian Euripides.

And although Cato made much of his down-to-earth Romanness, a close examination of his writings reveals a detailed knowledge of Greek literature from Homer onward. He published a textbook on public speaking, inspired by Greek rhetorical theory, and was clearly familiar with the best Greek texts.

So what are we to conclude? Cato and Ennius represented a bridge between the two cultures at their respective and distinctive bests. By Hadrian’s time it was evident that Cato’s gloomy prognostications were mistaken. Rome could safely enjoy Hellenic thought, imagination, and artistry without risking its predominance. However, the Greeks
had
failed militarily and politically. By contrast, soldiering, military élan, and true grit were fundamental to a Roman’s idea of himself; in the social sphere, so too was the rule of custom and law; and, in the public square, the old Republican elite had shown a talent for finding practical solutions to problems and for reasonably clean administration.

As Hadrian matured from boy to man, he understood that Rome’s future good fortune required a commitment to the
mos maiorum
, to the way generations of forefathers had done things—even if he remained a Graeculus in the center of his being.

On January 24, 90, Publius Aelius Hadrianus Afer celebrated his fifteenth birthday. Roman boys usually attained their majority in their mid-teens, and sometime in the months that followed, he officially came of age. The occasion, marking the onset of physical puberty rather than psychological maturity, was usually celebrated in a special ceremony on
March 17, the day of the Liberalia. This was a festival of the ancient Italian fertility deities Liber (identified with Bacchus, god of wine) and Libera, to whom images of female and male genitalia were dedicated in their temple in Rome.

Hadrian put aside forever his
toga praetexta
, a purple-edged toga that was a boy’s uniform on formal occasions, and his
bulla
, a golden plate-or boss-shaped amulet that hung from the neck; he then robed himself in the all-white
toga virilis
that signified adulthood. He sacrificed at home to the household gods and, if he was at Rome, made his way, surrounded by relatives, friends, and family clients, to the Capitol, the citadel overlooking the Forum Romanum, where he visited the colossal temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Best and Greatest; he paid his respects to the divinity that protected the civic community of which he had become a full member.

On quitting the status of a child, Hadrian, like other Roman boys, left school. However, his education was not yet over. Wellborn young men were expected to spend time in the capital “shadowing” a senior political personality (rather as an intern does today), and to follow advanced studies in the art of rhetoric. He also undertook military training.

In Hadrian’s case, though, there was to be a variation on the general rule. Officially he was now head of the family, and this presented his kin with a serious problem. In the ordinary course of events an adolescent adult’s father would be alive and well, and empowered to exercise authority over his inexperienced son, guiding him away from the temptations that beset wealthy young men. Somehow the Aelii had to find a way of keeping their juvenile paterfamilias on the rails.

Perhaps as a holding measure, Domitia Paulina and his guardians, Trajan and Attianus, decided that Hadrian should go to Baetica to inspect the family estates in his capacity as the new master. Although he had spent most of his childhood in or near Rome, Hadrian had visited Baetica once before; we are not sure exactly when, but if, as has been suggested, his father had been posted there at some point after his praetorship, he would have taken his family with him. Hadrian was now back on home ground in his own right.

It is hard to imagine Domitia Paulina allowing her inexperienced son
to travel alone, and she presumably accompanied him. She will have introduced him to relatives on her side of the family in the port of Gades. He definitely met a paternal great-uncle; the encounter was more than the fulfillment of a polite obligation, for this Aelius Hadrianus was, fascinatingly, a master of astrology. He cast the boy’s horoscope and predicted imperial power. Prophecies of this sort were perilous and must have been kept secret, only to be revealed many years later in Hadrian’s autobiography.

The young master visited his lands a few miles upstream from Italica; these were mostly devoted to the production and export of olive oil, and storage amphorae have been found stamped
port. P.A.H.—
“from the warehouse of Publius Aelius Hadrianus.” This does not mean that Hadrian’s father had run the estate directly himself, nor would his son be expected to do so. A senator—or for that matter a senator’s son—was not supposed to soil his hands too openly with “trade.” He took an interest in the exploitation of his assets, but often set up in business his more able slaves or freedmen and invested in their commercial activities. Bailiffs managed his estates, supervising the labor force and negotiating with tenants.

Duty done, Hadrian went on to have a thoroughly good time. He learned something of military life; this did not entail joining the army but becoming a member of a local
collegium
, or association, of teenage boys of good family.
Iuvenes
, as they were called (literally, the word means “youths”), received some training, and were also expected to do good works: we know of a
collegium
in the province of Africa that dedicated a basilica (a large building used for trials and as a conference and shopping center) and some storehouses for public use.

We can safely assume that they also enjoyed hunting, to which Hadrian was introduced when he was in Baetica. He cannot have known much about the sport beforehand, although Trajan, who was a keen huntsman, may have mentioned the subject, for most upper-class Italians saw it more as an amusement for slaves and freedmen, or as a spectacle in the amphitheater, than as a pursuit for gentlemen.

Hadrian had no time for such reservations, and hunting immediately engaged his impassioned attention. The animal most commonly pursued
in the ancient world was the hare, often hunted on foot with the assistance of scent hounds and driven into nets. However, by the time of the empire sight hounds were in use, which were fast enough to have a good chance of catching the animal, and nets could be dispensed with. Huntsmen rode on horseback if they wanted to keep up with the chase without having to run long distances.

A larger and more alarming enemy than the hare was the wild boar, and in the eastern provinces and northern Africa, intrepid enthusiasts hunted the lion, the leopard, the lynx, the cheetah, and the bear.

One of hunting’s attractions for Hadrian was that, even if it was not yet fashionable in Rome, it was popular with Greeks, for whom it was not just a pastime but an exercise in bravery and a religious act. It promoted good health, improved sight and hearing, delayed old age, and, in particular, trained men for war. Xenophon, an Athenian who studied under Socrates in the fifth century
B.C
., wrote a classic text on the subject, which was still widely read. The Olympian deities themselves enjoyed hunting, according to him, and liked to watch the sport. Pious huntsmen opened proceedings with a prayer to Apollo and his sister, Artemis (goddess of the chase, equivalent to the Roman Diana), to grant them a good bag, and closed them with a short thanksgiving.

So Hadrian was able to cite respectable justification for his new craze. He needed to, for his family was showing signs of anxiety about him. Hunting was not merely time-consuming but expensive. When a friend once complained about his son’s extravagant expenditure on hounds and horses, Pliny counseled calm. “Surely everyone is liable to make mistakes,” he remarked, “and everyone has his own foibles.”

But, despite his own enjoyment of the chase, Trajan did not take such a relaxed view. His ward was getting above himself and had attracted criticism in Italica. His Hellenic posturing may also have irritated the thoroughly “Roman” Trajan; it is telling that years later he used Hadrian’s old nickname when he referred dismissively to some Hellenic provincials as “these Graeculi.” The boy needed to be taken in hand, so Trajan, then a legionary commander in northern Spain, ordered him back to Rome. From now on he treated his ward as his son,
pro filio—
a gesture that had as much to do with control as with affection.

Hadrian’s interlude of independence was over. He would never again be in a position to kick over the traces. This may well have rankled, but not for long. Trajan was close to the seat of power, serving as consul in 91, and was well regarded by the emperor. The sixteen-year-old Hadrian found himself at the fulcrum of great events. It was an exciting time to be in Rome.

Back from Spain, Hadrian was ready to complete his education by studying public speaking under the guidance of a
rhetor
, or specialist in oratory. By contrast with schoolteachers,
rhetors
were well paid and were often hired to give speeches on public occasions; some of them were celebrities and, as on today’s lecture circuit, could command high fees.

There were plenty of these oratorical experts in Rome, and the leader in a competitive field was the educational expert Quintilian. Another Spanish import, he came from what is today Navarre. He founded a very popular school of oratory in Rome, for which he received an unprecedented state grant of 100,000 sesterces a year. The authorities saw the school as a means of creating a responsible, hardworking, and well-trained ruling class, for, in Cato’s footsteps, Quintilian’s aim was to educate the complete man rather than simply to impart a skill. He wrote: