Ushering in a new Republic : theologies of arrival at Rome in the first century BCE / Trevor S. Luke.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Luke, Trevor S., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Performance--Religious aspects.

History.

Rome--Politics and government--265-30 B.C.

Rome.

Rome--Politics and government--30 B.C.-68 A.D.

Rome--History, Military.

Rome (Empire).

History, Military.

Emperors--Rome--History.

Emperors.

Generals--Rome--History.

Generals.

Political customs and rites--Rome--History.

Political customs and rites.

Religion and politics--Rome--History.

Religion and politics.

Theology--Political aspects--Rome--History.

Theology.

Performance--Religious aspects--History.

Performance.

Classical literature--History and criticism.

Classical literature.

Physical Description:

xii, 328 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor : The University of Michigan Press, [2014]

Summary:

The ancient Romans are well known for their love of the pageantry of power. No single ceremony better attests to this characteristic than the triumph, which celebrated the victory of a Roman commander through a grand ceremonial entrance into the city that ended in rites performed to Rome's chief tutelary deity, Jupiter Optimus Maximus, on the Capitoline hill. The triumph, however, was only one form of ceremonial arrival at the city, and Jupiter was not the only god to whom vows were made and subsequently fulfilled at the end of a successful assignment. Ushering in a New Republic expands our view beyond a narrow focus on the triumph to look at the creative ways in which the great figures of Rome in the first century BCE (men such as Sulla, Caesar, Augustus, and others) crafted theological performances and narratives both in and around their departures from Rome and then returned to cast themselves in the role of divinely supported saviors of a faltering Republic. Trevor S. Luke tackles some of the major issues of the history of the Late Republic and the transition to the Empire in a novel way. Taking the perspective that Roman elites, even at this late date, took their own religion seriously as a way to communicate meaning to their fellow Romans, the volume reinterprets some of the most famous events of that period in order to highlight what Sulla, Caesar, and figures of similar stature did to make a religious argument or defense for their actions. This exploration will be of interest to scholars of religion, political science, sociology, classics, and ancient history and to the general history enthusianst. While many people are aware of the important battles and major thinkers of this period of Roman history the story of its theological discourse and competition is unfolded here for the first time. Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction: Performance, political theology, and arrival

The theology of departure and arrival in Sulla's memoir

Pompey's Recognitio equitum

Cicero's epic and civic theologies of departure and return

Julius Caesar as Rex : the Ovatio of January 44

Octavian's return in 36 : achieving his father's honors

The Res Gestae as divine relic

Theologies of arrival in the Res Gestae

Augustus as the new Numa

Conclusion: Apotheosis and succession.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780472072224

0472072226

9780472052226

0472052225

OCLC:

878664333