History of Erasing Unpopular Leaders: Damnatio Memoriae

Statue of Nero with his head removed

During the early Roman Empire two millennia ago, an emperor might be deified after he died if he was popular and good. (Think: the Divine Augustus.) Alternatively, if he was unpopular and wicked, he was “erased” from society’s memory.

The Latin term Damnatio Memoriae means the condemnation of the memory of a person by the Senate. The practice of the abolition of a…