Description
Book SynopsisLibertas and Res Publica in the Roman Republic offers some essential ideas for an understanding of Roman politics during the Republican period by analysing two key concepts: libertas (liberty) and res publica (public matter, republic). Exploring these concepts through a variety of different aspects – legal, religious, literary, political, and cultural – this book aims to explain the profound relationship between the two. Through the examination of a rich array of sources ranging from classical authors to coins, from legal texts to works of art, Balmaceda and her co-authors propose new readings that elucidate the complex meanings and inter-related functions of libertas and res publica, in a thought-provoking, deep, but very readable study of Roman political culture and identity.
Trade Review"This volume succeeds in prompting a desire for further study of what the relevant terms mean politically, which must involve Roman citizens of different statuses, as well as women, foreigners and the enslaved." Panayiotis Christoforou, BMCR 2022.07.07
Table of ContentsAbbreviations Notes on Contributors Introduction Catalina Balmaceda 1 Archaic Ideas on the Concept of Libertas Carlos Amunátegui 2 Libertas in Early Latin Authors Catalina Balmaceda 3 The God Liber and Republican Notions of Libertas in the Late Roman Republic Valentina Arena 4 The Freedom of the Rhodians: Cato the Elder and Demosthenes Harriet Flower 5 Ex Imperio Libertas: Freedom and Republican Empire Clifford Ando 6 The Notion of Res Publica and Its Conflicting Meanings at the End of the Roman Republic Claudia Moatti 7 The Consulship under the Triumvirs: a Phantom Office? Francisco Pina Polo 8 Arbitration in the Res Publica: a Novel Way of Solving Internal Political Conflicts in the 40s and 30s BC Cristina Rosillo-López 9 The Auctoritas and Libertas of Augustus: Metamorphosis of the Roman res publica Frédéric Hurlet 10 A Great and Arduous Struggle: Marcus Antonius and the Rhetoric of Libertas in 44–43 BC Jeff Tatum 11 Res Publica, Libertas and Free Speech in Retrosp
