Tanusia. Makt, politik & handlingsutrymme på teatern under det andra triumviratet

Sammanfattning: This study examines Tanusia, a woman depicted in the historiographical work of Dio Cassius. The study is focusing on the confrontation between Tanusia and Octavianus [Augustus] at the theatre during the second triumvirate (43 b.C – 31 a.D). The meeting between the two was a result of Tanusia’s husband being proscribed in the aftermath of Julius Caesar’s murder. Being proscribed initially meant being given a death sentence. However, in historiographical accounts one finds several examples of individuals who put their own safety at risk in order to keep loved ones safe, one of whom was Tanusia asking for her husband to be pardoned. Not only did the proscriptions result in personal losses and risk taking, but it also meant an upheaval of societal structures and traditional roles, which Tanusia’s actions to some degree bear witness to. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyze Dio’s narrative of Tanusia and examine her actions in relation to the theatre space. Further the study tries to establish how the theatre space relates to gender, power, politics, and societal hierarchy during the second triumvirate. The analysis goes on to show that when applying theories of how public and private space can be understood and gendered, Tanusia and the meeting at the theatre reveals several underlying aspects such as power structures, political ambition, propaganda, and public opinion. Consequently, the encounter at the theatre, and therefore this study, touches upon several intertwined subjects and aspects that provides a multifaceted and to some extent, an interchangeable understanding of the confrontation. Especially when relating to Goffman’s sociological perspective and use of theatrical metaphors to explain human behavior.