A Rebel Syllable in the Heart of the Empire: Political and Gender Tensions in Domitian’s Principate

Abstract

The aim of this article is to highlight the political and gender tensions during Domitian’s principate (81-96 AD) through the representations of the eunuch Earinus created in poems by Statius and Martial. More specifically, we sought, based on gender and queer studies, to analyse this emblematic figure that helped the construction of images of the measures taken by the Domitian emperor, both in the political and literary fields, as well as in the ambit of gender and sexuality regulations. Hence, it was perceived that the political and gender tensions that surrounded Domitian’s court were intertwined and sought to reinforce gender performances through the representation of a rebellious, not fixed or homogeneous identity.