Livy's Written Rome.

JAEGER, M.,

ISBN 10: 0472107895 / ISBN 13: 9780472107896

Published by University of Michigan Press, 1997

About this Item

University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 2000. XII,205p. Original blue cloth with dust wrps. The book's 'concern is with Livy's 'representation of space, monuments, and memory' and with 'the 'Ab Urbe Condita' as a spatial entity, a monument, and a lengthy act of remembering'. These interests are pursued in an introductory chapter, which discusses Livy's history as a 'monumentum', and four separate studies of individual episodes. (.) J.'s longest and perhaps most ambitious study is a reinterpretation of Livy's notorious treatment of the trials of the Scipios. In J.'s view the introduction of variant accounts (.) is not to be seen as his bowing to an unpalatable historiographical imperative, but Livy's embracing features of the historical record which allow him to advance a broader and more coherent interpretation of Scipio Africanus. Livy welcomes the uncertainty introduced by these variants because they draw attention to an historical figure who transcends any normal historical treatment. (.) This is a novel and challenging interpretation. (.) It is not possible in such a short review to respond comprehensively to the content both good and bad, of J.'s work. (.) It should be obvious that I approach Livy from a more traditional viewpoint. The major disagreement would be in our assessment of the range of literary techniques which an ancient historian might use to project meaning, and therefore the complexity of the messages which he might be able to convey. J. reckons this ability to be extremely high; more traditional critics reckon it much lower. (.) J. for the most part (she is not always transparent) attempts to discover what Livy sought to convey to his readership.' (S.J. NORTHWOOD in The Classical Review (New Series), 2000, pp.455-457). From the library of Prof. Carl Deroux.

Seller Inventory # 51249

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Livy's Written Rome.
• Publisher: University of Michigan Press
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0472107895
• ISBN 13: 9780472107896
• Binding: Hardcover

About this title

Synopsis

The modern age is not the only one in which Romans and visitors to Rome have been fascinated with the city's striking juxtapositions of past and present. Rome's wealth of history also captured the imagination of the ancients. Livy's Written Rome, by Mary Jaeger, shows how one writer explored the relationship between events in Roman history, the landscape in which they occurred, and the monuments that commemorated them. While Augustus reconstructed the physical city to reflect the ideology of the Empire, the historian Livy created a written Rome and taught his readers to look beyond the city's dramatically altered landscape. In so doing, they gained insight into the lessons of the lost Republic.

 

Drawing upon modern discourse on the connection between private mental spaces and public civic spaces, this first in-depth study of Livy's use of the urban landscape offers discerning views on his interpretation of ancient theories of historiography. Livy's Written Rome discusses the Roman idea of the monument as a place where memory and space intersect and includes fresh readings of several historical episodes, including the battle over the Sabine Women, the sedition of Marcus Manlius, and the trials of the Scipios.

 

Scholars have long criticized Livy as a historian because his work is not in accord with modern historiographical standards. Yet even his critics agree that Livy is a masterful literary artist, and recent work on Livy has argued for the complexity and originality of his thought. Across the humanities, recent scholarship has focused on the role of memory in civic consciousness and identity. This book explores the ways in which Livy's texts question traditional assumptions about the preservation and use of the past. In doing so, it identifies a new and important facet of Livy's representation of urban Rome.

Livy's Written Rome will be of interest to classicists and historians, students of ancient historiography and classical rhetoric, as well as general readers interested in memory, monuments, and historical narrative.

Mary Jaeger is Professor of Classics, University of Oregon.

Synopsis

This title presents the Roman view of history through the eyes of Livy. The modern age is not the only one in which Romans and visitors to Rome have been fascinated with the city's striking juxtapositions of past and present. Rome's wealth of history also captured the imagination of the ancients. "Livy's Written Rome", by Mary Jaeger, shows how one writer explored the relationship between events in Roman history, the landscape in which they occurred, and the monuments that commemorated them.While Augustus reconstructed the physical city to reflect the ideology of the Empire, the historian Livy created a written Rome and taught his readers to look beyond the city's dramatically altered landscape. In so doing, the Romans gained insight into the lessons of the lost Republic. "Livy's Written Rome" will be of interest to classicists and historians, students of ancient historiography and classical rhetoric, as well as general readers interested in memory, monuments, and historical narrative.