Anicia Juliana lived between 462 and 528. She was a Roman imperial princess, the daughter of western Roman Emperor Olybrius. Described as a Pre-Justinian of Constantinople, and ‘both the most aristocratic and wealthiest inhabitant.’ (Michael Mass, The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian. Cambridge University Press, 2005. P.439)
This portrait of Anicia Juliana Is found In the Vienna Dioskurorides, which is a huge volume devoted pharmaceutical knowledge from the 5th century. Juliana’s very feature in it tells us a lot about her influence in early Constantinople. The people of this society were expected to be responsible for the public good, and those with the means did.
In ‘Byzantine Garden Culture’, Leslie Brubaker aligns Juliana with a Pagan rather than Christian orientation. Juliana was head of a materfamilias[1], a luxurious household but also potentially practical as a medical compendium for domestic use, and importantly as a means of higher social rank. Brubaker emphasizes the significance of Juliana’s presence in this book by iterating the importance of plants in a time before penicillin.
In the image, Juliana is flanked by personifications of magnanimity and prudence. She presented with a closed book by an allegory of ‘Gratitude for the arts’. Possibly the most significant clue of her embodiment of dynastic ideology is the inscription at Juliana’s feet that reads ‘Great Patron’, which is reinforced by her ‘costume’- something only worn by those with power in the ecclesiastic matters of the community. Imperial duties and ability was something generally reserved for men, therefore making Juliana’s contribution somewhat exceptional.
[1] I feel it is poignant to mention here that the little red line, indicating a spelling error, appears under ‘materfamilia’, and it’s spelling suggestion is ‘paterfamilias’.
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