Crisis of Masculinity in the Age of Augustus

Racette-campbell, Melanie

ISBN 10: 0299343545 / ISBN 13: 9780299343545

Published by University of Wisconsin Press, 2025

Unread book in perfect condition. Seller Inventory # 50244273

Synopsis:

The political rupture caused by the ascension of Augustus Caesar in ancient Rome, which ended the centuries-old Republic, had drastic consequences for the performance and understanding of masculinity in a markedly androcentric society. Previously, masculinity was established and maintained through the frame of competition, in both public and private spheres—but the total accumulation of power by one man foreclosed most avenues of, and even appreciation for, competition. Melanie Racette-Campbell examines how Rome's elite men navigated this liminal moment between Republic and Empire, and shows that the process was neither linear nor uniform.

Already in the late Republic, prior to Augustus's rise to power, cracks in the hegemonic concept of masculinity were starting to show. Careful reading of contemporary texts reveals a decades-long process as tumultuous and unsteady as the political events they echoed, one in which multiple and competing strategies for reconceiving the nature of masculinity were tested, employed, discarded, and adopted in a complex public-private discourse. The eventual reconstitution of a definition of Roman manhood was not easily agreed upon. Masculinity in both the Republic and the Empire are well studied subjects, but by shining a light on the precise moment of transition Racette-Campbell unveils the precise complexity, contours, and nuances of the Augustan crisis of masculinity.

About the Author: Melanie Racette-Campbell is an assistant professor of classics at the University of Winnipeg. She is coeditor of the forthcoming volume Toxic Masculinity in the Ancient World.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Crisis of Masculinity in the Age of Augustus
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Publication Date: 2025
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: As New