D. S. Levene
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199572069
- eISBN:
- 9780191738739
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199572069.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
The creation of cultural identity through historical memory often involves as much forgetting as remembering. The process of forgetting through selection is usually hidden. This chapter focuses on ...
More
The creation of cultural identity through historical memory often involves as much forgetting as remembering. The process of forgetting through selection is usually hidden. This chapter focuses on occasions when ancient writers were surprisingly open about it, directly recording attempts to ‘lose’ inconvenient portions of the past through enforced forgetfulness. The ancient writer's record may operate as a simple challenge, bringing the forgotten back into prominence by reminding readers that it had — or could have — disappeared (Cremutius Cordus in Tacitus, Annals 4.34-35 is an obvious example). But sometimes ancient historians acted in another way, in a process parallel to that of damnatio memoriae: reinforcing the significance of forgetting by recording and commenting on the fact that the forgetting has taken place. Both versions are key to understanding the Romans' own account of their creation of a present identity from a careful combination of memory, selection, and oblivion.Less
The creation of cultural identity through historical memory often involves as much forgetting as remembering. The process of forgetting through selection is usually hidden. This chapter focuses on occasions when ancient writers were surprisingly open about it, directly recording attempts to ‘lose’ inconvenient portions of the past through enforced forgetfulness. The ancient writer's record may operate as a simple challenge, bringing the forgotten back into prominence by reminding readers that it had — or could have — disappeared (Cremutius Cordus in Tacitus, Annals 4.34-35 is an obvious example). But sometimes ancient historians acted in another way, in a process parallel to that of damnatio memoriae: reinforcing the significance of forgetting by recording and commenting on the fact that the forgetting has taken place. Both versions are key to understanding the Romans' own account of their creation of a present identity from a careful combination of memory, selection, and oblivion.
Alan K. Bowman, Hannah M. Cotton, Martin Goodman, and Simon Price (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197262764
- eISBN:
- 9780191753947
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197262764.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This book covers the whole of the period in which Rome dominated the Mediterranean world. The belief shared by all the contributors is that the Roman empire is best understood from the standpoint of ...
More
This book covers the whole of the period in which Rome dominated the Mediterranean world. The belief shared by all the contributors is that the Roman empire is best understood from the standpoint of the Mediterranean world looking in to Rome, rather than from Rome looking out. The chapters focus on the development of political institutions in Rome itself and in her empire, and on the nature of the relationship between Rome and her provincial subjects. They also discuss historiographical approaches to different kinds of source material, literary and documentary — including the major Roman historians, the evidence for the pre-Roman near east, and the Christian writers of later antiquity. The book reflects the immense complexity of the political and cultural history of the ancient Mediterranean, from the late Republic to the age of Augustine.Less
This book covers the whole of the period in which Rome dominated the Mediterranean world. The belief shared by all the contributors is that the Roman empire is best understood from the standpoint of the Mediterranean world looking in to Rome, rather than from Rome looking out. The chapters focus on the development of political institutions in Rome itself and in her empire, and on the nature of the relationship between Rome and her provincial subjects. They also discuss historiographical approaches to different kinds of source material, literary and documentary — including the major Roman historians, the evidence for the pre-Roman near east, and the Christian writers of later antiquity. The book reflects the immense complexity of the political and cultural history of the ancient Mediterranean, from the late Republic to the age of Augustine.
Catalina Balmaceda
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781469635125
- eISBN:
- 9781469635132
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469635125.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter briefly discusses the nature of historical writing in Rome, including its complex relationship with rhetoric and didactic purposes, and challenges some current views on these points. The ...
More
This chapter briefly discusses the nature of historical writing in Rome, including its complex relationship with rhetoric and didactic purposes, and challenges some current views on these points. The central questions of this study are addressed: a) why was virtus so important to the Roman historians? and b) what role does political change play in the (re)definition of the concept of virtus and also in the development of its expression in practice? It also discusses how and why the Roman historians, who saw historiography as an account of the life and mores [cf. Livy, Praef. 9] of the Roman people through time, made morality a valid category for explaining their past, and why, therefore, the analysis of the concept of virtus through their narratives is a sound way of approaching Roman historical writing.Less
This chapter briefly discusses the nature of historical writing in Rome, including its complex relationship with rhetoric and didactic purposes, and challenges some current views on these points. The central questions of this study are addressed: a) why was virtus so important to the Roman historians? and b) what role does political change play in the (re)definition of the concept of virtus and also in the development of its expression in practice? It also discusses how and why the Roman historians, who saw historiography as an account of the life and mores [cf. Livy, Praef. 9] of the Roman people through time, made morality a valid category for explaining their past, and why, therefore, the analysis of the concept of virtus through their narratives is a sound way of approaching Roman historical writing.
G. O. Hutchinson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199670703
- eISBN:
- 9780191757020
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199670703.003.0012
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
‘Ground’ is adapted from the term in cognitive grammar for the set-up of a conversation. In Roman philosophical works the basic grounds are populated by Romans, to whom treatises are addressed and ...
More
‘Ground’ is adapted from the term in cognitive grammar for the set-up of a conversation. In Roman philosophical works the basic grounds are populated by Romans, to whom treatises are addressed and letters written, and who participate in dialogues; the Greek and general material is given Roman settings. History is not usually addressed to anyone, and the Roman material is presented with some elements of distance over identity. Historical works have a spatial structure, in which Rome forms the centre of the spatial viewpoint. Speeches form an inset ground; Roman historians deploy the Greek idea inventively. Real Roman occasions are at the heart of oratory, but the reality is complicated by fictional grounds, by publication, and by the role of rhetoric. The handling of space transfers but differs from that found in Athenian oratory.Less
‘Ground’ is adapted from the term in cognitive grammar for the set-up of a conversation. In Roman philosophical works the basic grounds are populated by Romans, to whom treatises are addressed and letters written, and who participate in dialogues; the Greek and general material is given Roman settings. History is not usually addressed to anyone, and the Roman material is presented with some elements of distance over identity. Historical works have a spatial structure, in which Rome forms the centre of the spatial viewpoint. Speeches form an inset ground; Roman historians deploy the Greek idea inventively. Real Roman occasions are at the heart of oratory, but the reality is complicated by fictional grounds, by publication, and by the role of rhetoric. The handling of space transfers but differs from that found in Athenian oratory.
Ausgusto Fraschetti
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748621200
- eISBN:
- 9780748651030
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748621200.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This book describes the legends surrounding the origins, foundation, and early history of Rome; the significance the Romans attached to the legends of their origins; and the uses to which they put ...
More
This book describes the legends surrounding the origins, foundation, and early history of Rome; the significance the Romans attached to the legends of their origins; and the uses to which they put them. Between 1000 BC and 650 BC a cluster of small, isolated groups of thatched huts on the Roman hills became an extensive and complex city, its monumental buildings and large public spaces evidence of power and wealth. Two competing foundation legends accounted for this shift, one featuring the Trojan fugitive Aeneas and the other the wolf-reared Romulus and Remus. Both played a significant role in Roman thought and identity, preoccupying generations of Roman historians and providing an important theme in Roman poetry. In the last two centuries, the foundation era of Rome has been the subject of extensive investigations by archaeologists. These have revealed much that was previously a mystery and have allowed the piecing together of a coherent account of the early history of the city. The book considers this evidence and the degree to which it supports or undermines the legends, Roman documentary accounts, and the work of modern scholars. It reveals what now seems the most probable history of Rome's origins and rise to regional pre-eminence.Less
This book describes the legends surrounding the origins, foundation, and early history of Rome; the significance the Romans attached to the legends of their origins; and the uses to which they put them. Between 1000 BC and 650 BC a cluster of small, isolated groups of thatched huts on the Roman hills became an extensive and complex city, its monumental buildings and large public spaces evidence of power and wealth. Two competing foundation legends accounted for this shift, one featuring the Trojan fugitive Aeneas and the other the wolf-reared Romulus and Remus. Both played a significant role in Roman thought and identity, preoccupying generations of Roman historians and providing an important theme in Roman poetry. In the last two centuries, the foundation era of Rome has been the subject of extensive investigations by archaeologists. These have revealed much that was previously a mystery and have allowed the piecing together of a coherent account of the early history of the city. The book considers this evidence and the degree to which it supports or undermines the legends, Roman documentary accounts, and the work of modern scholars. It reveals what now seems the most probable history of Rome's origins and rise to regional pre-eminence.
Martin M. Winkler
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190252915
- eISBN:
- 9780190252939
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190252915.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter demonstrates that the process of historical mythmaking about Arminius began as early as in Augustan Rome. Ancient historians and poets interpreted the scanty facts concerning Varus’ ...
More
This chapter demonstrates that the process of historical mythmaking about Arminius began as early as in Augustan Rome. Ancient historians and poets interpreted the scanty facts concerning Varus’ defeat to present a coherent and meaningful picture. This process began with Tacitus, who called Arminius “doubtless the liberator of Germany.” Modern German historians, e.g. Theodor Mommsen, continued the tradition until a strictly fact-based approach, culminating in the studies by Dieter Timpe and increasingly supported by archaeological evidence, stripped away all legendary and patriotic accretions. Nevertheless, political debates about the importance and meaning of Arminius’ victory for the Romans and for German history are continuing.Less
This chapter demonstrates that the process of historical mythmaking about Arminius began as early as in Augustan Rome. Ancient historians and poets interpreted the scanty facts concerning Varus’ defeat to present a coherent and meaningful picture. This process began with Tacitus, who called Arminius “doubtless the liberator of Germany.” Modern German historians, e.g. Theodor Mommsen, continued the tradition until a strictly fact-based approach, culminating in the studies by Dieter Timpe and increasingly supported by archaeological evidence, stripped away all legendary and patriotic accretions. Nevertheless, political debates about the importance and meaning of Arminius’ victory for the Romans and for German history are continuing.
Catalina Balmaceda
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781469635125
- eISBN:
- 9781469635132
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469635125.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
The conclusion emphasizes how the historians discussed throughout the book responded intellectually to one another and established a sort of dialogue among themselves. The investigation of the ...
More
The conclusion emphasizes how the historians discussed throughout the book responded intellectually to one another and established a sort of dialogue among themselves. The investigation of the development of Roman historiography in an integrated manner aims at a more vital and comprehensive approach to Roman cultural and intellectual historyLess
The conclusion emphasizes how the historians discussed throughout the book responded intellectually to one another and established a sort of dialogue among themselves. The investigation of the development of Roman historiography in an integrated manner aims at a more vital and comprehensive approach to Roman cultural and intellectual history
A. J. Woodman
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199608652
- eISBN:
- 9780191804649
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199608652.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter considers Horace's autobiographies and his engagement with Roman historians. It suggests that the actual words which Horace describes himself closely parallel the descriptions given of ...
More
This chapter considers Horace's autobiographies and his engagement with Roman historians. It suggests that the actual words which Horace describes himself closely parallel the descriptions given of Cn. Flavius, the aedile of 304 BC, particularly the description by historian L. Calpurnius Piso, whose longest fragment is devoted to Flavius.Less
This chapter considers Horace's autobiographies and his engagement with Roman historians. It suggests that the actual words which Horace describes himself closely parallel the descriptions given of Cn. Flavius, the aedile of 304 BC, particularly the description by historian L. Calpurnius Piso, whose longest fragment is devoted to Flavius.
