Cur invidendis postibus moliar atrium: envy and control as the two modi of political communication on the villas of Roman nobility

This article takes a fresh look on the problem of envy and control as emotional, symbolical and psychological entities applicable to political, social and architectural contexts of ancient roman villas. Having analyzed scenarios of invidia in literary sources, the author comes to the conclusion that invidia can be feasibly assumed as one of the emotions targeted by visual perspectives and other architectural means of suggestiveness. The texts show an ambiguous attitude towards envy, interpreted as a possible incentive for imitation, and, therefore, having the potential of becoming a socially approved norm in the Roman society, where rivalry within the elite and ambition were inherent elements. Subsequently, author examines Statius’s poem Silvae, in which images of the symbolic control of architecture (and its owners) over the natural elements were analyzed. The identified images of control were then compared with the visual perspectives at Villa San Marco. Suggestions of envy through architectural means are typically found at the beginning of a visitors' route (and belong to premises accessible to visitors from lower social groups). Suggestions of control, on the contrary, were normally to be found in the more private parts of the villa, where it was more likely for the peers to be accepted as visitors and friends. Finally, author sets forward a possible way to combine both suggestions within the framework of one intention, with imperium considered as just another way to target the same invidia, but applied to more sophisticated visitor groups.