Roma y la damnatio memoriae. Algunas observaciones sobre las tensiones antiguas entre el poder, la historia y la memoria

Abstract

This article delves into the complex relationship of power in ancient Rome with history and memory from the damnatio memoriae viewpoint. To this purpose, we shall first aim to undo the current misunderstandings that identify damnatio memoriae with a simple will to suppress memory. We examine the different uses of these condemnations of memory, but also their limitations, the numerous rehabilitations and, finally, the recycling of many of the statues of the condemned. The overall objective is to show how damnatio memoriae was never a single or homogeneous reality, but rather a modern category that refers to a plurality of related but often unlike practices that help to understand the intricate relationship between power, history, and memory in ancient Rome.