The Emperor's Retrospect: Augustus' «Res Gestae» in Epigraphy, Historiography and Commentary: 39 (Studia Hellenistica) - Softcover

Ridley, R.T.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9042913479 ISBN 13: 9789042913479

Publisher: Peeters Publishers, 2003

Synopsis

The most famous of all Latin inscriptions is the A"Res Gestae divi AugustiA" ("the achievements of the late emperor Augustus"), published after his death at the entrance to his mausoleum in Rome, but known to us from various copies set up in the eastern provinces. It set out the things he most wanted to be remembered for from his first bid for power at the age of 19. The first copies were brought back to Europe in the sixteenth century, and the text has been a focus of scholarship ever since. This monograph tells the mostly neglected story of the recovery of the text over some four centuries, then the way modern scholars have attempted to understand it. It reveals that assessment has lacked insight to an alarming degree, and that many misunderstandings have become canonical. This study attempts to understand the text in its own terms, and test it against the author's own intentions - about both what is said and what is not said. The standard list of omissions turns out to be mostly mistaken, while many real omissions have not been signalled. The standard list of objections to the author's reliability often turns out to be highly defensive but defensible statements. The largest chapter, however, confronts the many cases where Augustus' statements can be directly challenged, despite the oft-repeated modern claim that he could not possibly tell a lie, because too many people knew the truth. These lies have generally been signalled before, but not previously assembled. The text is finally placed in the context of the Augustan age and its audience and the Augustan world view.

About this title

Synopsis

Scholars have argued that there is no text in the whole of the ancient world to equal the puzzles of the account of his achievements by the first emperor of Rome. The Res Gestae has been the subject of endless analysis since its first copying in the sixteenth century and more specifically since the publication of the first definitive edition in the nineteenth century. There is no aspect of the text that has not been the subject of controversy, often vigorous. T he debates have ranged from the attempt to establish its genre and purpose, and have encompassed also the date of its composition and, most importantly, what the document should include and the reliability of what it does record. This book addresses these problems, the last in particular. The author lays great stress upon the examination of Augustus' text with reference to the labours inherent in the books historiography. This is the first known title to collect the debates that have arisen from the core text and through them arriving at the truth or the approximate truth at the kernel of the Res Gestae.

About this edition

• Publisher: Peeters Publishers
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 9042913479
• ISBN 13: 9789042913479
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 252