Description
Book SynopsisThe princeps Augustus (63 BCE - 14 CE), recognized as the first of the Roman emperors, looms large in the teaching and writing of Roman history. Major political, literary, and artistic developments alike are attributed to him. This book deliberately and provocatively shifts the focus off Augustus while still looking at events of his time. Contributors uncover the perspectives and contributions of a range of individuals other than the princeps. Not all thought they were living in the Augustan Age. Not all took their cues from Augustus. In their self-display or ideas for reform, some anticipated Augustus. Others found ways to oppose him that also helped to shape the future of their community. The volume challenges the very idea of an Augustan Age by breaking down traditional turning points and showing the continuous experimentation and development of these years to be in continuity with earlier Roman culture. In showcasing absences of Augustus and giving other figures their due, the papers here make a seemingly familiar period startlingly new.
Trade Review...so great and distinct... * Lindsay Powell, Ancient Warfare *
The Alternative Augustan Age, has the desire to explore the 'underside' of this crucial period, and is appropriately dedicated to the memory of Powell...this long period of history has subsequently been treated in either a homogenized or a linear way, which not only flattens out nuance, but promotes teleological interpretations. This volume instead shifts the spotlight onto other actors, not just by giving them their moment in the sun, but by not defining their importance in relation to Augustus. This allows us to see a 'a series of alternatives- alternative spaces, alternative worldviews, and alternative narratives'. * Greece & Rome *
Table of ContentsPreface List of contributors Table of figures 1. The alternative Augustan age Hannah Mitchell, Kit Morrell, Josiah Osgood, and Kathryn Welch 2. Augustus as magpie Kit Morrell 3. Hopes and aspirations: res publica, leges et iura, and alternatives at Rome Eleanor Cowan 4. Rebuilding Romulus' Senate: The lectio senatus of 18 BCE Andrew Pettinger 5. The good wife: fate, fortune, and familia in Augustan Rome Bronwyn Hopwood 6. At magnus Caesar, and Yet! Social resistance against Augustan legislation Werner Eck 7. C. Asinius Pollio and the politics of cosmopolitanism Joel Allen 8. For Rome or for Augustus? Triumphs beyond the imperial family in the post-civil war period Carsten Hjort Lange 9. Egyptian victories: the praefectus Aegypti and the presentation of military success in the age of Augustus Wolfgang Havener 10. African alternatives Josiah Osgood 11. The reputation of L. Munatius Plancus and the idea of "serving the times" Hannah Mitchell 12. How do you solve a problem like Marcus Agrippa? James Tan 13. Acting "republican" under Augustus: the coin types of the gens Antistia Megan Goldman-Petri 14. Saecular discourse: qualitative periodization in first century BCE Rome Paul Hay 15. Maecenas and the Augustan poets: the background of a cultural ambition Philippe Le Doze 16. Gauls on top: provincials ruling Rome on the shield of Aeneas Geraldine Herbert-Brown 17. The rise of the centumviral court in the Augustan age: an alternative arena of aristocratic competition Matthew Roller 18. Shields of Virtue(s) Kathryn Welch 19. The popular reception of Augustus and the self-infantilization of Rome's citizenry Tom Hillard 20. Inventing the imperial Senate Amy Russell Bibliography
