POLITICAL MOTIVES IN THE IMAGE OF THE NILE IN ROMAN FINE ARTS AND LITERATURE OF THE ANTONINE ERA
This article is a continuation of the author’s series of studies devoted to the study of the image of the Nile in Roman literature and the comparison of this image with the Nilotic scenes within the framework of an extensive issue of cross-cultural dialogue between Egypt and Rome. Exploring the image of the Nile in Roman literature of the 2nd century AD, the author notes that of all the variety of images of Egypt created in the time of Octavian, the Antonines used only the image of triumph over Egypt as a symbol of unlimited autocracy within the empire. In this regard, the Nile is reinterpreted in literature, first of all, as a synonym for Egypt itself, it is no longer depicted as an amazing natural phenomenon, but at the same time the rejection of this “alien” image to the Romans also disappears. The Nile becomes part of the imperial picture of the world, but at the same time remains a mental object that needs to be conquered, subjugated, even if this happens through allegorical images. The author comes to the conclusion that the lack of interest to the “real” Egypt and its culture is common to the image of the Nile in Roman fine arts and literature at the end of the 1st - 2nd century AD. Egypt itself and its visual images become only a tool in achieving certain goals. Both in Roman literature and in the Nilotic scenes, the mention of the Nile, its involvement in the plot and compositionformation was least dependent on Egyptian realities. In some cases, it can be said that the “real” Egypt could trigger a certain reaction from the author, but did not independently determine either his vision or ways of self-expression. The Nilotic landscapes, once created as a manifestation of Roman interest in a distant and exotic state, after the conquest of Egypt remained only as separate elements in the new propaganda visualization of the Nile Valley space. By the end of the 2nd century AD Nilotic scenes had already become part of the Roman cultural and domestic space, but in the vast majority of cases there is not even a hint of interest in Egyptian culture. Basically, they remained part of the stereotypes and scattered knowledge of previous eras, to which they turned and relied on.