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The depiction of Roman senses of smell on screen: I Claudius and Rome

The ways antiquity is reflected in the public imagination have changed over the course of the last decennia. Part of this development should be seen in the context of recent academic contributions on the topic of the senses – and sight especially. We know that the streets were filthy, we know that the statues were painted in bright colours. Both academics and the more general audience have become more aware of the vibrancy and dynamics of daily life.

Ancient food and banquets have long been used in popular culture to show Roman extravagance (consider the banquets in Fellini’s Trimalchio) and more recently served to depict vibrancy of ancient streets (think of the outdoor markets in the movie ‘Pompeii’ or tv-series ‘Rome’). However, what happens if we reconsider our question and focus – instead on sight – toward smell. Smell is an important sensory experience and can serve to generate a connection between the characters of series/movie and its audience. How are Roman smells described? How does smells function in the narrative? Which rhetorical functions does smelling fulfil in modern ideas about ancient Rome? How do we imagine the Roman world to smell and what does this say about our images of ancient Rome? A methodological question we may ask is concerned with influence: does academia influence popular culture, or is it they other way around?

I will investigate at least two television series in order to investigate possible developments through time: one produced long before the study and popularization of the senses became prominent, and one after: I Claudius and Rome.