Damnatio memoriae is the Latin phrase literally meaning "damnation of memory", in the sense of removed from the remembrance. It was a form of dishonor that could be passed by the Roman Senate upon traitors or others who brought discredit to the Roman State.
Not much of a damnation, if you ask me. Here we go on forgetting about the good deeds and hard work our ancestors did. Our memory is clear when it comes to who fucked up what, unfortunately it is like a seive when remembering subtle acts of goodness, or the goodwill of others.
We all have a share in forgetting. No doubt you forgot about the best friend you had in preschool and the teddy bear you hugged to sleep at night.
The practice of damnatio memoriae was rarely, if ever, an official practice. Any truly effective damnatio memoriae would not be noticeable to later historians, since by definition, it would entail the complete and total erasure of the individual in question from the historical record.
