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“Why were Rome’s first emperors—the good, the bad, and the ugly—so vulnerable to conspiracies and assassination? . . . an expert analysis . . . compelling.” —Adrienne Mayor, author of The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates and Rome’s Deadliest Enemy Exploring the history of internal security under the first Roman dynasty, this groundbreaking book answers the enduring question: If there were 9,000 men guarding the emperor, how were three-quarters of Rome’s leaders assassinated? Rose Mary Sheldon traces the evolution of internal security mechanisms under the Julio-Claudians, evaluating the system that Augustus first developed to protect the imperial family and the ...
As a well-known phenomenon in everyday communication, ambiguity has increasingly become the subject of interdisciplinary research in recent years. However, within this context, it has been observed that words or expressions situated within the artistic framework of storytelling have not yet been at the centre of research interest. This book aims to bridge this gap by examining the phenomenon of ambiguity from the perspective of narratology – understood as a general theory of narration and narrative communication. The volume pursues two goals: Firstly, it seeks to demonstrate that the interdisciplinary combination of linguistics, cultural history and narratology enriches the field of litera...
The poet Robert Graves' use of material from classical sources has been contentious to scholars for many years, with a number of classicists baulking at his interpretation of myth and his novelization of history, and questioning its academic value. This collection of essays provides the latest scholarship on Graves' historical fiction (for example in I, Claudius and Count Belisarius) and his use of mythical figures in his poetry, as well as an examination of his controversial retelling of the Greek Myths. The essays explore Graves' unique perspective and expand our understanding of his works within their original context, while at the same time considering their relevance in how we comprehend the ancient world.
Why devote a Companion to the "mirrors for princes", whose very existence is debated? These texts offer key insights into political thoughts of the past. Their ambiguous, problematic status further enhances their interest. And although recent research has fundamentally challenged established views of these texts, until now there has been no critical introduction to the genre. This volume therefore fills this important gap, while promoting a global historical perspective of different “mirrors for princes” traditions from antiquity to humanism, via Byzantium, Persia, Islam, and the medieval West. This Companion also proposes new avenues of reflection on the anchoring of these texts in their historical realities. Contributors are Makram Abbès, Denise Aigle, Olivier Biaggini, Hugo Bizzarri, Charles F. Briggs, Sylvène Edouard, Jean-Philippe Genet, John R. Lenz, Louise Marlow, Cary J. Nederman, Corinne Peneau, Stéphane Péquignot, Noëlle-Laetitia Perret, Günter Prinzing, Volker Reinhardt, Hans-Joachim Schmidt, Tom Stevenson, Karl Ubl, and Steven J. Williams.
A vivid account of the political triumphs and domestic tragedies of the Jewish king Herod the Great during the turmoil of the Roman revolution Herod the Great (73–4 BCE) was a phenomenally energetic ruler who took advantage of the chaos of the Roman revolution to establish himself as a major figure in a changing Roman world and transform the landscape of Judaea. Both Jews and Christians developed myths about his cruelty and rashness: in Christian tradition he was cast as the tyrant who ordered the Massacre of the Innocents; in the Talmud, despite fond memories of his glorious Temple in Jerusalem, he was recalled as a persecutor of rabbis. The life of Herod is better documented than that of...
Every year, the Bibliography catalogues the most important new publications, historiographical monographs, and journal articles throughout the world, extending from prehistory and ancient history to the most recent contemporary historical studies. Within the systematic classification according to epoch, region, and historical discipline, works are also listed according to author’s name and characteristic keywords in their title.
In der literarischen Diskussion nach ihrem Tod erscheinen Nero und Domitian als größenwahnsinnige Tyrannen, in der Panegyrik zu ihren Lebzeiten werden sie überschwänglich gepriesen. Angesichts dieser Diskrepanz hat man in den Übersteigerungen des Herrscherlobs versteckte Kritik am Kaiser vermutet. Der Band betrachtet das disparate Bild mit einem neuen, kommunikationstheoretischen Ansatz als Resultat von Prozessen der Kodierung und Umkodierung von Herrscherrepräsentation. Während das Motiv der Transgression in der Panegyrik für Nero und Domitian eine zentrale Rolle spielt, wird in der Selbstdarstellung ihrer Nachfolger darauf verzichtet. Mit dem Wechsel der Macht geht also ein Wechsel...
Eine informative Gesamtorientierung über die internationale Forschung zum antiken Mythos in den letzten hundert Jahren war schon seit langem ein wissenschaftliches Desiderat. Dieser Forschungsbericht, hervorgegangen aus einer fünf Dezennien umfassenden ‚Arbeit am Mythos‘, bezieht sich als erster seiner Art als selektive Übersicht nicht nur auf den traditionellen altertumswissenschaftlichen Kernbereich (von den altorientalischen Vorlagen über die frühgriechischen Anfänge und die weitere Entwicklung in der griechisch-römischen Gesamtkultur bis zur christlichen Spätantike), sondern auch auf den in der Forschung zunehmend beachteten rezeptionsgeschichtlichen Zusatzbereich (von Byzanz...
The greatest of Roman historians, Publius Cornelius Tacitus (56-117 CE) studied rhetoric in Rome. His rhetorical and oratorical gifts are evident throughout his most substantial works, the incomplete but still remarkable Annals and Histories. In concise and concentrated prose, marked by sometimes bitter and ironic reflections on the human capacity to misuse power, Tacitus charts the violent trajectory of the Roman Empire from Augustus' death in 14 CE to the end of Domitian's rule in 96. Victoria Emma Pagan looks at Tacitus from a range of perspectives: as a literary stylist, perhaps influenced by Sallust; his notion of time; his modes of discourse; his place in the historiography of the era; and the later reception of Tacitus in the Renaissance and early modern periods. Tacitus remains of major interest to students of the Bible, as well as classicists, by virtue of his reference to 'Christus' and Nero's persecution of the Christians after the great fire of Rome in 64 CE. This lively survey enables its readers fully to appreciate why, in holding a mirror up to venality and greed, the work of Tacitus remains eternal.
A Prosopography to Martial’s Epigrams is the first dictionary of all the characters and personal names found in the work of Marcus Valerius Martialis, containing nearly 1,000 comprehensive entries. Each of them compiles and analyses all the relevant information regarding the characters themselves, as well as the literary implications of their presence in Martial’s poems. Unlike other works of this kind, the book encompasses not only real people, whose positive existence is beyond doubt, but also fictional characters invented by the poet or inherited from the cultural and literary tradition. Its entries provide the passages of the epigrams where the respective characters appear; the general category to which they belong; the full name (in the case of historical characters); onomastic information, especially about frequency, meaning, and etymology; other literary or epigraphical sources; a prosopographical sketch; a discussion of relevant manuscript variants; and a bibliography. Much attention is paid to the literary portrayal of each character and the poetic usages of their names. This reference work is a much needed tool and is intended as a stimulus for further research.