Description
Book SynopsisThis book approaches the manifestation and evolution of the idea of Rome as an expression of Roman patriotism and as an (urban) archetype of utopia in late Roman thought in a period extending from AD 357 to 417. Within this period of about a human lifetime, the concepts of Rome and Romanitas were reshaped and used for various ideological causes. This monograph unfolds through a selection of sources that represent the patterns and diversity of this ideological process. The theme of Rome as a personified and anthropomorphic figure and as an epitomized notion 'applied' on the urban landscape would become part of the identity of the Romans of Rome highlighting a sense of cultural uniqueness in an era when their city’s privileged status was challenged. Towards the end of the chronological limits set in this thesis various versions of Romanitas would emerge indicating new physical and spiritual potentials.
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Between a Physical and an Imaginary City
I Looking Backwards: Ordo Renascendi
II The Adventus of Constantius
III Between Rome and Athens: The Artificial Romanitas of Julian
IV Between the Altar and the Court: Symmachus and Claudian in Action
V Between Christ and a Roman Place: The Emergence of Christian Rome in Time and Space
VI Between Jerusalem and Babylon: The Archetype of Rome in the City of God
Conclusions: From Rome to Eternity
Bibliography
Index
