Citizens of Discord: Rome and Its Civil Wars - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195389573 ISBN 13: 9780195389579

Publisher: OUP USA, 2010

Synopsis

Civil wars, more than other wars, sear themselves into the memory of societies that suffer them. This is particularly true at Rome, where in a period of 150 years the Romans fought four epochal wars against themselves. The present volume brings together exciting new perspectives on the subject by an international group of distinguished contributors. The basis of the investigation is broad, encompassing literary texts, documentary texts, and material culture, spanning the Greek and Roman worlds. Attention is devoted not only to Rome's four major conflicts from the period between the 80s BC and AD 69, but the frame extends to engage conflicts both previous and much later, as well as post-classical constructions of the theme of civil war at Rome. Divided into four sections, the first ("Beginnings, Endings") addresses the basic questions of when civil war began in Rome and when it ended. "Cycles" is concerned with civil war as a recurrent phenomenon without end. "Aftermath" focuses on attempts to put civil war in the past, or, conversely, to claim the legacy of past civil wars, for better or worse. Finally, the section "Afterlife" provides views of Rome's civil wars from more distant perspectives, from those found in Augustan lyric and elegy to those in much later post-classical literary responses. As a whole, the collection sheds new light on the ways in which the Roman civil wars were perceived, experienced, and represented across a variety of media and historical periods.

About this title

About the Author

Brian Breed: Associate Professor of Classics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Cynthia Damon Professor of Classical Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Andreola Rossi Has taught at various institutions, including Princeton University, Harvard University, and Amherst College

Edition details

• Publisher: OUP USA
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195389573
• ISBN 13: 9780195389579
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352
• Editor: Breed Brian, Damon Cynthia, Rossi Andreola