Cleopatra's statue in the Temple of Venus Genetrix

Let's see how the statue of Cleopatra in the Temple of Venus Genetrix was perceived by the Romans.

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An excerpt from "Cleopatra: A Life" by Stacy Schiff:

"In his favorite temple, at what was essentially his business address, he installed a gold, life-size statue of Cleopatra beside Venus. It was a signal honor, the more so as Caesar had not yet erected a statue of himself. The tribute made some sense; to the Roman mind, Isis and Venus were, in their maternal roles, closely allied. As homages went, it was also excessive and perplexing, an unprecedented step beyond what was required of Caesar if Cleopatra had come, as Dio maintains, for official recognition “among the friends and allies of the Roman people.” That diplomatic formula mattered—it had been worth its weight in Auletes’ gold—but had not previously entailed costly statues of foreign monarchs at sacred addresses in the heart of Rome. It struck an odd chord in a city where humans did not traditionally mingle among cult images. Cleopatra may or may not have fully grasped the irregularity of Caesar’s tribute; gold statues were not new to her."

This is one of those biographies that tend to idolize their subject. And in this particular instance, the author misunderstands some aspects of Roman culture and society.

1. Roman temples were more than just places of worship. They were also museums.

"Temples, Religion and Politics in the Roman Republic" by Eric M. Orlin:

"The temple was the natural place for the display of objects captured in war; a long-standing feature of Roman temples was that they served for the display of works of art or for the display of important public documents, and these uses date back to the earliest days of the Republic. Pliny's Natural History makes it clear that the typical place for the display of statues and paintings was in temples; indeed it seems that sometimes the Romans treated temples almost as if they were museums."

2. Not only captured booty was put on display. Commissioned works were as well. Let's look at the Theatre of Pompey as an example. It was the first permanent stone building in Rome's history. A massive complex that included a theatre, temples, parks, etc.

"The whole development was littered with sculpture and painting, in part the booty from the east, in part (as Pliny remarks about statues of a pair of heroines, one of whom was famous for giving birth to an elephant) specially commissioned." – Mary Beard

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Now that we've got the general idea, let's look at Schiff's quote point by point...

a) "In his favorite temple, at what was essentially his business address..."

Caesar's business address was Caesar himself. He worked at any place at any time.

b) "he installed a gold, life-size statue of Cleopatra beside Venus."

I agree that it was Caesar who installed the statue, but it's worth noting that some historians suggest that the statue was installed by Octavian after the battle of Actium (where he defeated Antony and Cleopatra). Cassius Dio's statement can be interpreted like that.

c) "It was a signal honor, the more so as Caesar had not yet erected a statue of himself."

There is no indication that Caesar ever planned to install his own statue in the Temple of Venus Genetrix. It wasn't a temple dedicated to him, but to Venus. Of course, he could've done it if he wanted to, but he put his statue outside the temple.

d) "It was a signal honor. . . .  it was also excessive and perplexing, an unprecedented step."

It was neither excessive nor perplexing, and almost certainly not unprecedented. For example, the statues of Mithridates VI and Pharnaces I were displayed in Pompey's third triumph. We don't know where he put them after that, but a temple is the most likely place.

Caesar's enemies criticized everything he did during this period. He couldn't sneeze without them making snide remarks. Had a statue of a foreign monarch in a Roman temple been unprecedented, you can bet they would've raised hell. But nobody said a thing. Not even Cicero in the torrent of abuse that he directed at Caesar. The same Cicero who didn't miss a chance to make scathing remarks about Caesar's statue in the Temple of Salus. 

Had this been considered excessive and perplexing, Octavian would've removed her statue at the first opportunity. But he didn't. The statue remained standing even during his reign! In fact, Cleopatra's jewelry (taken after the battle of Actium) was displayed in various Roman temples. And the beaks of the ships taken at Actium decorated the facade of the Temple of Divus Iulius.

e) "That diplomatic formula mattered. . . but had not previously entailed costly statues of foreign monarchs at sacred addresses in the heart of Rome. . . Cleopatra may or may not have fully grasped the irregularity of Caesar’s tribute; gold statues were not new to her."

Who says that Caesar had it commissioned? It's more likely that he took it as a booty after the Alexandrian War or as payment for the debt that Cleopatra's father owned him.

f) "It struck an odd chord in a city where humans did not traditionally mingle among cult images."

This is factually incorrect. Statues of people, including Roman citizens, have stood in Roman temples since the 2nd century BCE at the very least. For example, the poet Accius put his own statue in the Temple of Camenae; a statue of Cato the Elder stood in the Temple of Salus, etc.

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Only two sources mention the statue: Appian and Cassius Dio. Neither of them claims that it caused a stir. Which is very telling because everyone knew that Cleopatra was Caesar's mistress. Yet nobody acted scandalized about her statue in the Temple of Venus Genetrix. Why? Because it was one of many pieces of art in public spaces.

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