Imperial Nuptials at Pompeii: CIL IV.1261, an Obscene Take on the Marriage of Nero and Pythagoras

Abstract:Among Pompeian wall inscriptions CIL IV.1261 is well known for its brisk obscenities and problems of text and interpretation. According to the text as it is currently printed, the graffito is generally understood to make a political statement of some kind about the mistreatment of the Roman citizen body; in what circumstances and by whom the collective of ciues Romani has been mistreated cannot be determined from the evidence of the graffito. In this paper, I present a revised text of the graffito, and I argue that the phrase ciuium Romanorum cunnus refers not to the Roman citizen body but to the emperor Nero and that the scene described in the text is the earliest extant testimony to an event that took place in 64 CE and was witnessed by persons unknown, Nero's marriage as bride to his freedman Pythagoras.