![Statue-Augustus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Statue-Augustus.jpg)
In
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
word ''adlocutio'' means an address given by a general, usually the emperor, to his massed army and legions, and a general form of
Roman salute
The Roman salute, alternatively called the Fascist salute, is a gesture in which the right arm is fully extended, facing forward, with palm down and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held ...
from the army to their leader. The research of ''adlocutio'' focuses on the art of statuary and coinage aspects. It is often portrayed in sculpture, either simply as a single, life-size
contrapposto
''Contrapposto'' () is an Italian term that means "counterpoise". It is used in the visual arts to describe a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot, so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs in the ...
figure of the general with his arm outstretched, or a relief scene of the general on a podium addressing the army. Such relief scenes also frequently appear on imperial coinage.
The ''adlocutio'' is one of the most widely represented formulas of Roman art. The convention is regularly shown in individual figures like the famous
Augustus of Prima Porta
Augustus of Prima Porta ( it, Augusto di Prima Porta) is a full-length portrait statue of Augustus Caesar, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. The marble statue stands tall and weighs . The statue was discovered on April 20, 1863, during archa ...
or can be put into a narrative context as seen in the Aurelian panel. Gestures and body language are crucial for the study of ''adlocutio'' in ancient times, as addressing to thousands of soldiers was less penetrable by voice compared to body language and gestures which were more powerful, infectiously raising the army's enthusiasm. Characteristic of the formula is the outstretched hand of speech as well as the contrapposto pose with the weight clearly shifted to one leg. Much information about ''adlocutio'' can be interpreted by these sculptures.
The Augustus of Prima Porta
The outstretched right hand raised by Augustus can be seen as power and authority, even in the point of view of gods in ancient Rome, right hand represents divinity, and this characteristic is also illustrated by
Cancelleria Reliefs with the emperor's right hand raised among the gods. The bare feet of Augustus may seems incongruous as compared with the cuirassed details in the chest. This indicates the heroicization of Augustus could be posthumous. This feature also adds civilian portrait to the statue besides military aspect. The small
Cupid besides the right leg claims the divine lineage and status. The breastplate relief in front of him depicts the gods. The spear in the left hand is a symbol of Augustus' ruling power over the empire.
Roman coinage
Many Roman AE/
As coins are with ''adlocutio'' of emperors. The coinages of ''adlocutio'' tell the differences between the ways each emperor addressing the army.
AE of Caligula with ''adlocutio cohortium''
![AE of Caligula with adlocutio cohortium](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/AE_of_Caligula_with_adlocutio_cohortium.png)
The term "ADLOCVT COH" refers to ''adlocutio cohortium'', which means the address given by the emperor towards the cohorts as the AE coin is presenting. Notice the typical gesture of Caligula: outstretching raised-arm salute, kneeling left leg. The soldiers are standing in a compact line.
AE of Nero with ''adlocutio''
![NERONE-RIC I 491-886135 ADLOCUTIO](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/NERONE-RIC_I_491-886135_ADLOCUTIO.jpg)
In the coin AE of Nero with ''adlocutio'', soldiers are standing in more scattered position compared to those who are depicted in AE of Caligula with ''adlocutio'', which are adhering in a mass. Also the weakened architectural background and the sheltering roof covering soldiers and their commander can be interpreted as more amiable atmosphere between Nero and his soldiers. Notice that Nero is not standing alone on the platform, there is the
Praetorian prefect who stands behind him.
Panel relief of Marcus Aurelius
This panel presents an integral angle looking at ''adlocutio'' scene. On this panel depicting the ''adlocutio'' event, emperor
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
is doing an ''adlocutio'' toward the army with his son-in-law
Pompeianus standing behind him as an adviser, making Marcus Aurelius stand out as the leader, the
imperator of the army.
Salute from the army
The Roman salute in military contexts, is often seen as the right hands raised from the soldiers to their leader's head. As depicted in the Trajan's Column, Scenes LXXXIV-LXXXV. Trajan conducting sacrifice, half of the crowd raise arms extended straight and another half bent at the elbow. Among the straight arms, one palm is open but held vertically; on the others, both thumb and index fingers are extended with others bent back. And for the hands of the bent arm, their fingers on the hands are pointing downwards. The ''adlocutio'' scenes depicted in sculpture and on coins and medallions are almost identical to this raised-arm salute. The first-century-A.D. teacher of rhetoric and author of most Roman oratory handbook, Quintilian has discussed about the hand and arm gestures, the emperor's raised hands carry the message of mighty force of absolute power to his soldiers and civilians, and when a hand is raised above shoulder height, the gesture is probably signalling the warning as "''illa cava et rara et super umeri altitudinem elata ... velut hortatrix manus''." . This information might be the historical origin to
Nazi Germany's straight-arm salute.
Use of the ''adlocutio'' pose
Due to the widely recognized connection between the ''adlocutio'' pose and the ideas of power and authority, the raised and extended right hand has been used on a number of statues of leaders and thinkers in recent years. These include:
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
,
Kim Il-Sung
Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...
,
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
,
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
,
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
,
Captain James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
,
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
and
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
to name a few.
References
External links
Dictionary of Roman Coins(on Numiswiki)
*https://www.oneonta.edu/faculty/farberas/arth/arth200/politics/aurelian_panels.html
Military of ancient Rome
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